Technique for customizing a user interface
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for customizing a user interface, comprising:
- receiving information associated with behaviors for a set of users when each user interacts with the user interface, wherein, for each user in the set, the information associated with the behavior for the user describes a set of functions of the user interface that are used by the user;
recording the behaviors for the set of users using a directed graph, wherein recording the behaviors for the set of users comprises using the directed graph to aggregate the received information, wherein vertices in the directed graph correspond to visual components in the user interface, and wherein edges in the directed graph that are between the vertices correspond to actions taken by the set of users by using the visual components;
determining a usage pattern from the recorded behaviors for the set of users, wherein said determining comprises identifying at least one path in the directed graph that corresponds to a sequence of actions taken by the set of users by using visual components;
generating a user-specific customization of the user interface based on the determined usage pattern, wherein said generating comprises creating a function that performs the sequence of actions; and
customizing the user interface based on the user-specific customization, wherein said customization comprises adding a visual component to the user interface that corresponds to the function.
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Abstract
A customization technique that provides a customized user interface in software to a user based on user behaviors while using the user interface during one or more sessions is described. In this customization technique, a usage pattern of the user is determined from the user behaviors, and a user-specific customization of the user interface is generated based on the determined usage pattern. Note that determining the usage pattern may involve generating a directed graph in which vertices correspond to visual components in the user interface and edges between vertices correspond to user behaviors. Then, the user interface in a current release of the software is customized based on the user-specific customization. For example, the customized user interface may include: only a subset of the visual components; a different order of the visual components; and/or a visual component associated with a set of operations.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for customizing a user interface, comprising:
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receiving information associated with behaviors for a set of users when each user interacts with the user interface, wherein, for each user in the set, the information associated with the behavior for the user describes a set of functions of the user interface that are used by the user; recording the behaviors for the set of users using a directed graph, wherein recording the behaviors for the set of users comprises using the directed graph to aggregate the received information, wherein vertices in the directed graph correspond to visual components in the user interface, and wherein edges in the directed graph that are between the vertices correspond to actions taken by the set of users by using the visual components; determining a usage pattern from the recorded behaviors for the set of users, wherein said determining comprises identifying at least one path in the directed graph that corresponds to a sequence of actions taken by the set of users by using visual components; generating a user-specific customization of the user interface based on the determined usage pattern, wherein said generating comprises creating a function that performs the sequence of actions; and customizing the user interface based on the user-specific customization, wherein said customization comprises adding a visual component to the user interface that corresponds to the function. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A computer-program product for use in conjunction with a computer system, the computer-program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and a computer-program mechanism embedded therein for customizing a user interface, the computer-program mechanism including:
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instructions for receiving information associated with behaviors for a set of users when each user interacts with the user interface, wherein, for each user in the set, the information associated with the behavior for the user describes a set of functions of the user interface that are used by the user; instructions for recording the behaviors for the set of users using a directed graph, wherein recording the behaviors for the set of users comprises using the directed graph to aggregate the received information, wherein vertices in the directed graph correspond to visual components in the user interface, and wherein edges in the directed graph that are between the vertices correspond to actions taken by the set of users by using the visual components; instructions for determining a usage pattern from the recorded behaviors for the set of users, wherein said determining comprises identifying at least one path in the directed graph that corresponds to a sequence of actions taken by the set of users by using visual components; instructions for generating a user-specific customization of the user interface based on the determined usage pattern, wherein said generating comprises creating a function that performs the sequence of actions; and instructions for customizing the user interface based on the user-specific customization, wherein said customization comprises adding a visual component to the user interface that corresponds to the function. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A computer system, comprising:
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a processor; non-transitory memory; and a program module, wherein the program module is stored in the memory and configurable to be executed by the processor to configure a user interface, the program module including; instructions for receiving information associated with behaviors for a set of users when each user interacts with the user interface, wherein, for each user in the set, the information associated with the behavior for the user describes a set of functions of the user interface that are used by the user; instructions for recording the behaviors for the set of users using a directed graph, wherein recording the behaviors for the set of users comprises using the directed graph to aggregate the received information, wherein vertices in the directed graph correspond to visual components in the user interface, and wherein edges in the directed graph that are between the vertices correspond to actions taken by the set of users by using the visual components; instructions for determining a usage pattern from the user behaviors for the set of users, wherein said determining comprises identifying at least one path in the directed graph that corresponds to a sequence of actions taken by the set of users by using visual components; instructions for generating a user-specific customization of the user interface based on the determined usage pattern, wherein said generating comprises creating a function that performs the sequence of actions; and instructions for customizing the user interface based on the user-specific customization, wherein said customization comprises adding a visual component to the user interface that corresponds to the function.
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Specification