USER CONTEXT BASED DISTRIBUTED SELF SERVICE SYSTEM FOR SERVICE ENHANCED RESOURCE DELIVERY

• US 20100049625A1
• Filed: 08/19/2009
• Published: 02/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Jasura, Donn P., Keller, Neal M., Lee, Juhnyoung, Rolando, Steve J., Biebesheimer, Debra L.
• Granted Patent: US 8,306,863 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0282 Rating or review of business operators or products
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0629 for generating comparisons
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions

Abstract

Disclosed is a method and system of providing user context-based services over computer networks, using mechanisms for collecting and specifying one or more user context elements, each element representing a context associated with the current buyer state and having context attributes and attribute values associated therewith, mechanisms for collecting affective (emotive) data to inform the user context, and also an interactive graphical view to gain insight into available services for assisting in understanding available service information and making decisions on purchasing.

Claims

1. A self service system for service enhanced resource delivery, comprising a mechanism to enable buyers to select service choices, said mechanism including means to use affective or emotive data to assist buyers in said service choices.

2. A self service system according to claim 1, wherein the affective or emotive data is used to assist buyers during their selection and fine tuning of relevant service bundles.

3. A self service system according to claim 1, wherein the affective (emotive) data is used to assist buyers in responding to recommended changes in service configurations during delivery.

4. A self service system, according to claim 1, wherein a graphical user interface (GUI) enables buyers to select the types of data about them to be collected, the relative weighting to give each type of data, and the actions authorized based on changes in the data.

5. A self service system for service enhanced resource delivery, comprising a mechanism for configuring service bundles, said mechanism including means to enabling service providers to use combinatorial auctions to configure said service bundles.

6. A self service system according to claim 5, wherein a graphical user interface (GUI) enables service providers to respond to reverse, buyer initiated auctions including proposals for the bundling of services from different providers.

7. A self service system according to claim 5, further comprising a network connection for connecting said system to the Internet, and wherein said network connection and the Internet are used to make real time recommendations to buyers.

8. A self service method for service enhanced resource delivery, comprising the step of enabling entry of a query for a service and entry of one or more user context elements, each element representing a context associated with the current buyer state and having context attributes and attribute values associated therewith, said enabling step including the step of enabling buyer specification of relevant service selection criteria for enabling expression of relevance of service results in terms of user context.

9. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for a self service system for service enhanced resource delivery, said method steps comprising:

enabling entry of a query for a service and entry of one or more user context elements, each element representing a context associated with the current buyer state and having context attributes and attribute values associated therewith; and

enabling buyer specification of relevant service selection criteria for enabling expression of relevance of service results in terms of user context.