Mobile device and distribution server for surveys using interactive media

• US 8,285,196 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2007
• Issued: 10/09/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualtrics LLC (SAP SE)
• Original Assignee: Bindu Rama Rao
• Inventors: Rao, Bindu Rama
• Primary Examiner(s): TRINH, TAN H
• Application Number:
  US11/978,851
• Publication Number:
  US 20080119134A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,807 Days
• Field of Search: 455/2.01, 455/3.04, 455/3.05, 455/424, 455/425, 455/456.5, 455/456.6, 455/414, 455/466, 455/557, 702/179, 705/10, 705/14, 725/13, 725/9, 725/11, 725/110, 725/134, 725/62
• US Class Current: 455/2.01
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

An electronic infrastructure consisting a plurality of client mobile devices, a distribution server and network that communicatively couples the plurality of client mobile devices and distribution server, wherein the distribution server collects survey questionnaires from a questionnaire source, distributes survey questionnaire to the plurality of client mobile devices. Then, the distribution server receives responses from the users of plurality of client mobile devices and analyses the responses based upon several criteria. The questionnaire source is a user of the distribution server who delivers survey questionnaire. The criteria includes region based analysis, race based analysis, age based analysis, other criteria based analysis, high priority analysis and/or satisfaction level analysis. The survey questionnaire may be presented as one question per screen with multi choice answers, or multiple questions per screen in a tabular form.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a communication circuitry;

at least one non-volatile memory having stored therein one or both of firmware and software;

a demographic profile reference stored in the at least one non-volatile memory;

at least one processor operably coupled to the non-volatile memory, wherein the at least one processor, during operation, at least;

employs the communication circuitry to communicate with a distribution server that supports delivery of a questionnaire to the electronic device and processes responses from the electronic device;

receives a questionnaire from the distribution server and displays it to a user;

receives the user'"'"'s input and gathers a response; and

communicates the response to the distribution server along with the demographic profile reference.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the demographic profile reference comprises a URN of a demographic profile stored in at least one of a web portal, a server, a database and a local file, and wherein the electronic device communicates the response to the distribution server along with the demographic profile reference.

3. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the electronic device communicates the response to the distribution server along with the demographic profile reference only when the questionnaire received from the distribution server is not accompanied by another demographic profile reference.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the demographic profile reference comprises a URN or a link to demographic profile data stored in the electronic device and the electronic device communicates the response to the distribution server along with the demographic profile data.

5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the questionnaire displayed by the electronic device comprises at least one of multi choice questions and question set in multiple rows in a tabular form.

6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the questionnaire comprises criteria tags inserted by the distribution server wherein the criteria tags determine the criteria for analysis by the distribution server, an age based analysis, a priority based analysis and a satisfaction level analysis.

7. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the questionnaire comprises at least one question soliciting selection by a user of an agreement level, in response to which the electronic device prompts the user to select at least one level of agreement from the set comprising ‘

Strongly Agree’

, ‘

Somewhat Agree’

, ‘

Neutral’

, ‘

Somewhat Disagree’ and

‘

Strongly Disagree.

8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the electronic device facilitates higher priority selections by a user for at least one question in the questionnaire in which the user selects his individual higher priorities among multi choice answers for the at least one question.

9. A method of operating an electronic device comprising communication circuitry and at least one non-volatile memory having stored therein one or both of firmware and software, the method comprising:

communicating with a distribution server that supports delivery of a questionnaire to the electronic device and that processes responses from the electronic device;

receiving a questionnaire from the distribution server and displaying it to a user;

receiving the user'"'"'s input and gathering a response; and

communicating the response to the distribution server along with a demographic profile reference stored in the at least one non-volatile memory of the electronic device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the demographic profile reference comprises a URN of a demographic profile stored in at least one of a web portal, a server, a database and a local file, and wherein the electronic device communicates the response to the distribution server along with the demographic profile reference.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the electronic device communicates the response to the distribution server along with the demographic profile reference only when the questionnaire received from the distribution server is not accompanied by another demographic profile reference.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the demographic profile reference comprises a URN or a link to demographic profile data stored in the electronic device and the electronic device communicates the response to the distribution server along with the demographic profile data.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the questionnaire displayed by the electronic device comprises at least one of multi choice questions and question set in multiple rows in a tabular form.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the questionnaire comprises criteria tags inserted by the distribution server wherein the criteria tags determine the criteria for analysis by the distribution server, an age based analysis, a priority based analysis and a satisfaction level analysis.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the questionnaire comprises at least one question soliciting selection by a user of an agreement level, in response to which the electronic device prompts the user to select at least one level of agreement from the set comprising ‘

Strongly Agree’

, ‘

Somewhat Agree’

, ‘

Neutral’

, ‘

Somewhat Disagree’ and

‘

Strongly Disagree.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein the electronic device facilitates higher priority selections by a user for at least one question in the questionnaire in which the user selects his individual higher priorities among multi choice answers for the at least one question.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored therein a plurality of instructions executable by at least one processor, the instructions causing the at least one processor to perform a method of operating an electronic device comprising communication circuitry, the method comprising:

communicating with a distribution server that supports delivery of a questionnaire to the electronic device and that processes responses from the electronic device;

receiving a questionnaire from the distribution server and displaying it to a user;

receiving the user'"'"'s input and gathering a response; and

communicating the response to the distribution server along with a demographic profile reference stored in at least one non-volatile memory of the electronic device.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the demographic profile reference comprises a URN of a demographic profile stored in at least one of a web portal, a server, a database and a local file, and wherein the electronic device communicates the response to the distribution server along with the demographic profile reference.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the electronic device communicates the response to the distribution server along with the demographic profile reference only when the questionnaire received from the distribution server is not accompanied by another demographic profile reference.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the demographic profile reference comprises a URN or a link to demographic profile data stored in the electronic device and the electronic device communicates the response to the distribution server along with the demographic profile data.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the questionnaire displayed by the electronic device comprises at least one of multi choice questions and question set in multiple rows in a tabular form.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the questionnaire comprises criteria tags inserted by the distribution server wherein the criteria tags determine the criteria for analysis by the distribution server, an age based analysis, a priority based analysis and a satisfaction level analysis.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 22, wherein the questionnaire comprises at least one question soliciting selection by a user of an agreement level, in response to which the electronic device prompts the user to select at least one level of agreement from the set comprising ‘

Strongly Agree’

, ‘

Somewhat Agree’

, ‘

Neutral’

, ‘

Somewhat Disagree’ and

‘

Strongly Disagree.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the electronic device facilitates higher priority selections by a user for at least one question in the questionnaire in which the user selects his individual higher priorities among multi choice answers for the at least one question.