System and Method for Creating, Executing and Searching through a form of Active Web-Based Content

Abstract

Xml pages are obtained from knowledge bases that contain step by step instructions. The xml pages are presented as “active content,” by which we mean a series of prompted questions and answers. A user's interactions with the active content is recorded so that the results may be copied to the user's clipboard for automatic transfer to a problem management/ticketing system. Active content that contains embedded questions asked of the user may be used to infer answers to some of the questions from a search query, and, thus, alleviate the need for the user to answer them.

1 . A computer implemented system, wherein text-based documents are treated in a support knowledge repository as a set of structured directions, or queries for user information, comprising:
 a problem determination engine that interacts with a user through a rendered text-based knowledge document and that gathers answers to asked questions and provides the user with follow on information.   
   
   
       2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the rendered text based document comprises active content. 
   
   
       3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the active content comprises xml. 
   
   
       4 . The system of  claim 2 , further comprising an authoring system, wherein the authoring system creates the active content. 
   
   
       5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the active content is interpreted as a sequence of procedural steps some of which may solicit information from the user. 
   
   
       6 . The system of  claim 2 , further comprising an executor, wherein in response to user interaction with the active content, the executor captures contents of a history of asked questions and provided information and copies the contents to a system or application clipboard, or offers the user the option of copying said contents to a system or application clipboard. 
   
   
       7 . The system of  claim 2 , further comprising an executor, wherein in response to user interaction with the active content, the executor captures contents of a history of asked questions and provided information and copies the contents into a problem ticketing system. 
   
   
       8 . A method for searching through a collection of standard text and active documents used in a product or system support environment, comprising the following: rendering one or more text based document to comprise active content. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the active content comprises xml. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising identification of answers to questions in the documents. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the answers are identified in response to a user search query. 
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the answers are supplied to a problem determination engine. 
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the engine presents the answers to the user. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the engine offers the user the ability to modify answers to questions erroneously presumed to be answered by the search query. 
   
   
       15 . A search method as described in  claim 11 , wherein rank of query results is increased based on the degree to which a problem description or search query implicitly answers the questions. 
   
   
       16 . A computer program product, comprising:
 a computer readable usable medium having computer usable code that renders text-based documents in a knowledge repository as a set of structured directions or queries for user information.   
   
   
       17 . The product of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 an authoring system, wherein the authoring system renders text documents as active content.   
   
   
       18 . The product of  claim 1 , further comprising a problem determination engine that walks a user through a rendered text-based knowledge document and gathers answers to asked questions and provides appropriate follow-on information. 
   
   
       19 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the active content comprises xml. 
   
   
       20 . A knowledge document based system, comprising: one or more computer implemented text based knowledge document, wherein the one or more text based knowledge document comprise xml.