Method for aligning demonstrated user actions with existing documentation

• US 8,176,422 B2
• Filed: 11/19/2004
• Issued: 05/08/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Activision Publishing Incorporated (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bergman, Lawrence D., Castelli, Vittorio, Creswick, Eugene Rogan, Lau, Tessa A., Oblinger, Daniel A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chow, Doon
• Assistant Examiner(s): Johnson, Grant D
• Application Number:
  US10/993,377
• Publication Number:
  US 20060112322A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,727 Days
• Field of Search: 715/705, 715/707, 715/708, 715/709, 715/710, 434/118, 717/151
• US Class Current: 715/708
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/10 Text processing natural language analysis G06F40/20; semantic analysis G06F40/30; processing or translation of natural language G06F40/40

Abstract

There is provided an apparatus for aligning document actions specified in a documented procedure with demonstrated user actions. The apparatus includes an alignment device for computing an alignment between the document actions and the demonstrated user actions based on at least one similarity metric.

Claims

1. A method for aligning document actions specified in a documented procedure with demonstrated user actions, comprising the steps of:

computing an alignment between the document actions and the demonstrated user actions based on at least one similarity metric,

wherein the demonstrated user actions are performed with respect to a user interface and the at least one similarity metric is based on common strings in the user interface and the documented procedure, and

identifying a next step in the documented procedure based on the alignment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the documented procedure is displayed on a user interface, and the method further comprises the step of providing an identification of the next step to the user interface for use in highlighting the next step on the user interface.

3. A method for aligning document actions specified in a documented procedure with demonstrated user actions, comprising the steps of:

computing an alignment between the document actions and the demonstrated user actions based on at least one similarity metric,

wherein the demonstrated user actions are performed with respect to a user interface, and the at least one similarity metric is based on common strings in the user interface and the documented procedure as well as a probability distribution over at least two steps of the documented procedure.