Workflow authoring environment and runtime
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for allowing an author to create instructional material displayed based on user actions, the method comprising:
- displaying an authoring interface of an authoring system configured to build an executable workflow software application, the authoring interface enabling the author to design the executable workflow software application by;
receiving, from the author, a selection of one or more elements to include in a workflow to be presented by the executable workflow software application, the workflow displaying instructional material for using a software application;
receiving, from the author, a control selection for inclusion in the workflow;
receiving a sequence of workflow steps selected by the author that is related to a set of actions the user can perform in the workflow;
receiving one or more triggering actions selected by the author that a user can perform to determine the instructional material displayed to the user via the executable workflow software application, the instructional material being dynamically updateable to display help information to the user related to the user'"'"'s current context and one or more previous choices in the software application, and at least one of the one or more triggering actions comprising receiving one or more executing environment conditions that affect the displayed instructional material and the one or more executing environment conditions that affect the displayed instructional material including at least one of user settings, peripherals, and user properties;
receiving, from the author, an association between the received triggering actions and instructional content related to the actions; and
storing the workflow for subsequent display to a user by the executable workflow software application,the preceding steps being performed by at least one processor.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A workflow authoring system is described herein that provides a design-time authoring environment and a runtime component for displaying interactive, structured instructional content. The authoring environment provides custom controls, templates, and sample pages that allow authors to create a runnable workflow application. The application is a structured, interactive content type that provides users a better way to learn about data flows, workflows, and processes. The application also provides the ability to filter content based on specific actions the user takes, answers that the user provides, information that is retrieved from the user'"'"'s environment, and so forth. This content model facilitates improved net satisfaction (NSAT) with software products, as users more readily find the information they are looking for and receive more dynamic instructional material. Authors that may not have programming experience can use the system to create rich, interactive content.
109 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for allowing an author to create instructional material displayed based on user actions, the method comprising:
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displaying an authoring interface of an authoring system configured to build an executable workflow software application, the authoring interface enabling the author to design the executable workflow software application by; receiving, from the author, a selection of one or more elements to include in a workflow to be presented by the executable workflow software application, the workflow displaying instructional material for using a software application; receiving, from the author, a control selection for inclusion in the workflow; receiving a sequence of workflow steps selected by the author that is related to a set of actions the user can perform in the workflow; receiving one or more triggering actions selected by the author that a user can perform to determine the instructional material displayed to the user via the executable workflow software application, the instructional material being dynamically updateable to display help information to the user related to the user'"'"'s current context and one or more previous choices in the software application, and at least one of the one or more triggering actions comprising receiving one or more executing environment conditions that affect the displayed instructional material and the one or more executing environment conditions that affect the displayed instructional material including at least one of user settings, peripherals, and user properties; receiving, from the author, an association between the received triggering actions and instructional content related to the actions; and storing the workflow for subsequent display to a user by the executable workflow software application, the preceding steps being performed by at least one processor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A computer system for authoring interactive, dynamic instructional information, the system comprising:
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a processor and memory configured to execute software instructions; an authoring environment configured to build an executable workflow software application designed by an author, the author designing the executable workflow software application using a user interface provided by the authoring environment through which the author creates one or more workflows to be presented by the executable workflow software application, the one or more workflows providing content-relevant instructional material to a user of a software application, the instructional material being dynamically updateable by the executable workflow software application to display help information to the user related to the user'"'"'s current context and one or more previous choices in the software application; a trigger setup component configured to receive triggers selected by the author that cause displayed content to change based on user actions; a runtime component configured to use an executable module built by the authoring environment to load and display authored workflows; and an application data store configured to store authored, executable workflow software applications; the executable workflow software application being configured to; detect one or more user actions as the user interacts with the executable workflow software application; detect one or more conditions of a computing environment in which the executable workflow software application and the software application execute, the one or more conditions of the computing environment being unrelated to the user'"'"'s interactions with the executable workflow software application; and provide an interface to the user during run time to display instructional information to the user and receive user actions that determine which instructional material to display. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method executed by at least one processor for controlling a computer system to display instructional material that changes based on user actions, comprising:
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receiving a help request that identifies an instructional application associated with a separate software application that a user is using, the instructional application including one or more workflows that display associated instructional material; invoking the identified instructional application; detecting one or more properties of an executing environment in which the instructional application executes, the one or more properties of the executing environment including at least one property of the executing environment that is not a component of the separate software application, and is not related to the user'"'"'s interactions with the instructional application; displaying help information in response to the received help request, the displayed help information including one or more choices that the user can make to refine the type of help information that the user receives; detecting a user action within a workflow that identifies a particular path within the workflow; and dynamically updating the displayed help information based on the detected user action to display more relevant help information, the instructional material being dynamically updateable to display help information to the user related to the user'"'"'s current context, one or more previous choices in the software application, and the detected one or more properties of the executing environment, said dynamically updating comprising at least one of highlighting a path of the workflow that a user has taken and fading one or more steps of the workflow that are not relevant to the user based on the detected user action. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification