User feedback correlated to specific user interface or application features

• US 8,191,004 B2
• Filed: 08/06/2008
• Issued: 05/29/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Chandrasekar, Raman, Slawson, Dean A., Scott, Matthew R., Ayakkad, Dharmarajan Ratnagiri, Makoski, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong, Stephen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Velez-Lopez, Mario M
• Application Number:
  US12/186,521
• Publication Number:
  US 20100037166A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,392 Days
• Field of Search: 715/701, 715/705, 715/708, 715/710, 715/772
• US Class Current: 715/769
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

A user interface display for software has a user satisfaction portion displayed on each page. The user satisfaction portion includes a user selectable element which allows a user to provide a user satisfaction score (or level) with a single mouse click. In response to receiving the user satisfaction level, the context of the software which the user is using is recorded, and the user satisfaction level is correlated to that context. The captured data can be provided to application designers and developers directly or via computed metrics.

Claims

1. A method of calculating user satisfaction relative to a software system, the method comprising:

displaying a user selectable satisfaction indicator on a selected portion of a plurality of different user interface screens, the user selectable satisfaction indicator including at least one user selectable element, selectable by a user to indicate one of a plurality of different user satisfaction levels;

receiving a plurality of different user satisfaction inputs for the software system, each user satisfaction input indicative of a user selecting one of the user selectable elements;

storing context information indicative of a context of the software system when each of the plurality of different user satisfaction inputs are received;

calculating a user satisfaction metric based on the plurality of different user satisfaction inputs;

generating a user interface display prompting a user for further user satisfaction information, wherein prompting comprises displaying a user selectable task indicator;

receiving a user task input, separate from the user satisfaction inputs, indicative of the user selecting the user selectable task indicator identifying a task within the software system being performed by the user when one or more of the user satisfaction inputs were received; and

correlating, using a computer processing unit, the user satisfaction metric to the context information and the identified task.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein displaying a user selectable satisfaction indicator on a selected portion of a plurality of different user interface screens comprises:

displaying the user selectable satisfaction indicator on the selected portion, such that the selected portion is small relative to the different user interface screens.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the user selectable satisfaction indicator includes a plurality of user selectable elements each indicative of a different user satisfaction level.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the context information comprises user interface features describing a user interface screen being displayed when the user satisfaction input is received.

5. A user satisfaction system identifying a user satisfaction level for portions of a software system, the user satisfaction system, including a processor and a memory, comprising:

a user interface component generating user interface display screens for the software system, the user interface display screens including a software system display and a user satisfaction display, displayed together with the software system display, and having selectable elements being selected by a user to indicate a user satisfaction level;

a user satisfaction component receiving a user satisfaction input indicative of the user selecting one of the selectable elements and storing context features indicative of a plurality of specific user interface features of the software system display being displayed when the user satisfaction input is received;

a metric calculator calculating a user satisfaction metric and correlating the user satisfaction metric with each of the plurality of specific user interface features of the software system displayed when the user satisfaction input was received; and

an output component outputting the user satisfaction metric correlated with each of the software system display features.

6. The user satisfaction system of claim 5 wherein the context features include a time feature indicative of a time within a user session that the user satisfaction input was received, and wherein the metric calculator correlates the user satisfaction metric to the time feature.

7. The user satisfaction system of claim 5 wherein the user satisfaction component generates a prompt for receiving a user task input indicative of a task type being performed when the user satisfaction input was received, and wherein the metric calculator correlates the user satisfaction metric to the task type.

8. The user satisfaction system of claim 5 wherein the software system comprises a search application and wherein the context features include a text string indicative of a query input by a user when the user satisfaction input was received.

16. The user satisfaction system of claim 5, wherein the plurality of specific user interface features comprise physical user interface features of the software system.

17. The user satisfaction system of claim 16, wherein the physical user interface features comprise one or more of a font, a font size, a font color, a background color, a foreground color, and a placement of user interface elements on a display screen.

9. A method of identifying user satisfaction for a software system, the method comprising:

displaying, on each of a plurality of different display screens generated by the software system, a plurality of different user selectable satisfaction elements, each user selectable satisfaction element being indicative of a user satisfaction level;

receiving a plurality of satisfaction inputs each indicative of a selected user satisfaction level, wherein the plurality of satisfaction inputs comprises a satisfaction input received for each of the plurality of different display screens;

in response to receiving each of the satisfaction inputs, storing a plurality of features indicative of context features of a respective one of the plurality of different display screens that was displayed at a time when the satisfaction input is received;

calculating a metric based on the user satisfaction levels indicated by the plurality of satisfaction inputs received for the plurality of different display screens;

correlating the metric to the plurality of features using a processing unit; and

outputting a user satisfaction relative to each feature of the plurality of features based on correlations between the metric and the features.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the user selectable satisfaction elements comprise actuable face icons, each indicating a different user satisfaction level.

11. The method of claim 9 and further comprising:

in response to receiving each of the satisfaction inputs, generating a prompt display prompting for task information; and

if the user enters the task information, storing the task information.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein generating a prompt display comprises:

generating a drop down box with a list of selectable tasks;

receiving a user input indicative of user selection of one of the selectable tasks in the list;

receiving additional textual comments from the user; and

wherein outputting a user satisfaction comprises outputting, to an application developer, the satisfaction inputs and additional textual information directly or through the metric.

13. The method of claim 12 and further comprising:

correlating the metric to selected tasks.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein storing a plurality of features comprises:

storing a text string indicative of a query input by a user into the respective one of the plurality of different display screens when the user satisfaction input was received.

15. The method of claim 9, and further comprising:

receiving a drag and drop input indicative of a user repositioning the user selectable satisfaction elements on the display screens;

repositioning the user selectable satisfaction elements based on the drag and drop input.