IS REOUESgRVICE
Contents
1. discloses a method of dispatching a service call for document production device A dispatching server receives a commu nication requesting service on the device The communica tion includes a unique identifier corresponding to that device The dispatching server accesses operational history data for the device to retrieve service data and sends a service order message to a customer service representative mobile commu nication device The message includes a location identifier and operator contact information for the device as well as the service data 0014 U S Pat No 7 565 338 issued Jul 21 2009 entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SHARING KNOWLEDGE by Beniaminy et al discloses a method for providing technical support via a network The method involves providing a database which contains searchable technical support information which is remotely accessible and divided into a plurality of support sessions When the database is accessed for technical support the method per forms an electronic serial dialogue between the database and a user If no solution to the failure is obtained at the end of the electronic serial dialogue the method immediately transfers a display of the electronic serial dialogue so far conducted to a selected expert 0015 U S Pat No 6 959 263 issued Oct 25 2005 entitled INTERACTIVE DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM AND METHOD DRIVEN BY EXPERT SYSTEM by Wilson et al discloses a system for troubleshooting of network2. In the first level of support local support level a user 36 facing a problem with the device may follow direc tions on the user interface 16 and interact with the device 10 to try and solve a problem The problem may be due to a device fault a need for replacement of consumables such as toner or because the user does not know how to perform a particular action on the device such as double sided printing The user interface 16 includes a display 38 and a user input device 40 such as a keypad touch screen or the like The user interface communicates with a user interface controller 42 which may be hosted by the device controller 18 Sensors 44 on the device detect actions ofthe user such as opening doors 46 moving levers 48 to gain access to the paper path 49 for removing paper jams other repair operations and the like A data acquisition component 50 collects the data received by the various sensors 44 and from the user interactions with the user interface 16 and stores the information in data memory 52 A diagnostic component 54 processes the information from the sensors 44 and other components ofthe printer 10 to US 2011 0270771 Al determine a status of the printer 10 When the status relates to a problem the device controller provides the user 36 with information on the user interface 16 for resolving detected user correctable problems In this local self help stage this may include displaying text and or graphics identifying a
3. problem and what the user can do to try to resolve it such as moving levers to access the paper path replacing consumable items and the like 0032 illustrated in FIG 2 the components 42 50 54 ofthe device controller 18 may include software instructions stored in main memory 56 which are executed by an associ ated processor 58 The processor 58 such as a CPU may also control the overall operation of the printer 0033 The device controller 18 includes a network inter face 60 which enables the device 10 to communicate with the network 28 The communication server 26 thus links the device controller 18 with the session server 30 e g via a local area network or wide area network such as the Internet 62 0034 As will be appreciated FIG 2 provides only a sim plified view of the device controller 18 and sensors 44 Fur ther details on diagnostic systems which may be used herein are disclosed for example in U S Pub No 2008 0126860 published May 29 2008 entitled FAULT MANAGEMENT FOR A PRINTING SYSTEM by Meera Sampath et al and the references cited therein the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties 0035 In one embodiment the session manager 12 moni tors the user actions on the operable parts of the device 10 that are equipped with sensors 44 the status code of the device and the actions on the local UI 16 Operational history data is provided by the data acquisiti
4. to provide for escalation to the higher remote support level is based on the stored interactions with the device during the self help session Nov 3 2011 12 The method of claim 1 wherein the higher support level is provided by a operator in communication with the current user 13 The method of claim 1 wherein the providing for the escalation includes suggesting escalation to the user via a user interface and if the user requests the escalation automati cally initiating the escalation to the higher remote support level 14 The method of claim 1 further comprising providing for information on the current user s interactions during the lower support level to be accessed at the higher remote sup port level 15 The method of claim 1 wherein the method further comprises provision for escalation from a local support level provided by the device to the first remote support level based on stored information on the current users interactions with the device during a local self help session 16 The method of claim 16 wherein the provision for escalation to the first remote support level includes determin ing whether at least one of the following conditions is met a computed level of confidence that the current user will persevere in the local self help session on the device is below a first threshold and a computed level of confidence that the current local self help session is not leading to success is above a second t
5. capa bilities in addition to one or more other capabilities In gen eral such devices render an image on print media such as paper or other suitable print media substrate using marking material such as ink s or toner s The operation of applying images to print media for example graphics text photo graphs etc is generally referred to herein as printing or marking While the exemplary embodiment is described in terms of a printer it is to be appreciated that other electrome chanical devices are also contemplated 0026 With reference to FIG 1 a device troubleshooting system 1 is illustrated in the context of a printer environment The troubleshooting system 1 is accessible from the devices and encapsulates a solution for self help and remote collabo rative support where the escalation to each higher support level is assisted Escalation levels A and B are illustrated although it is to be appreciated that there may be fewer or more than two escalation levels The exemplary system 1 has three support levels which assist a user in resolving a problem with an electromechanical device 10 which may be referred to herein as troubleshooting The three support levels are labeled support levels 1 2 and 3 respectively and are asso ciated with different components of the printer environment as will be described in greater detail below The first level may be a local support level performed on the device 10 The second support leve
6. indicate an actual or potential maintenance requirement for the printer user interactions with the printer detected by the sensors 44 such as opening of doors user interactions with the local user interface 16 a configuration reflecting indi vidual components that are included as part of the printer a software type and version for the device 10 or its individual components a time of the last status check a machine run ning time an indication of whether routine maintenance is due for a consumable component a measurement of time or usage since an individual component such as a photorecep tor toner cartridge pressure roll or other component was last installed cleaned or otherwise serviced a measurement of toner weight and the like 0051 At S104 the session manager 12 based on an analy sis ofthe data provided by the printer 10 assesses whetherthe user is facing difficulties This analysis is generally made before the user requests remote assistance 1 based solely on the information received 0052 At S106 when at least one threshold condition is met to suggest that the user is having trouble the session manager 12 checks to see if the printer is detected to be in a failure status that requires a service engineer intervention If US 2011 0270771 Al so at S108 the session manager 12 or the printer controller 18 generates a message which is displayed on the user inter face 16 to alert the user that the printer
7. printing system and defining conditions for notification to one or more recipients of intervention states of the printing system The time delay for transmitting escalated intervention notification message may be dynamically determined in accordance with present operating parameters of the printing system 0010 U S Pub No 2006 0197973 published Sep 7 2006 entitled BI DIRECTIONAL REMOTE VISUALIZA TION FOR SUPPORTING COLLABORATIVE MACHINE TROUBLESHOOTING by Castellani et al discloses a communication system and apparatus for a xerographic imaging system for enhanced collaborative communication between the machine user and the remote troubleshooting advisor The machine includes an imager for showing a selected virtual representation of the machine including an image of the machine illustrating an area of the machine having the troubleshooting need A communication link exists between the user and the advisor and comprises a bi directional visualization of a selected virtual representa tion synchronously displayed to the user and the advisor via respective imagers n image adjuster is operated by the expert for selective adjustment ofthe virtual representation to suggest a section ofthe area ofthe machine wherein action by the machine user may resolve the troubleshooting need The corrective action is identified to the user by identifying a difference between the actual machine state and the shared virtual representation The visual in
8. 73 2 Total number of user actions 0074 3 Number of repeated user actions 0075 Inthe case of the self help level when detecting the need to trigger a remote support session with an expert both the events from the self help server 70 and from the device 10 which occurred during the time ofthe self help session can be considered For example one or more of the following parameters can be monitored and used to compute the level of confidence 0076 1 Overall duration of the self help session 0077 2 Number of searches conducted in the KB 74 0078 3 Number of cases and or solution pages visited by the user in the KB each solution can be considered as a separate page which when opened by the user is detected by the system 1 Similarly the system detects each case as a whole which is viewed where a given case may include one or more solution pages 0079 4 Duration of the application of a set of instruc tions detailed on the currently displayed solution page of the KB 74 each solution may be associated with a threshold time which is deducted from the elapsed time to account for the time normally expected to be required for the user to implement the steps ofthe solution 0080 5 Number of detectable operations on the device 10 performed by theuser during the time whena solution page of the KB is displayed 0081 For determining whether Condition 2 is met the following parameters may be considered and used to co
9. H A PRINTER WHICH INDICATE A POSSIBLE PROBLEM WITH THE PRINTER 5104 IS USER FACING DIFFICULTIES Y S106 S108 5 Y REQUEST SERVICE SERVICE ENGINEER REQUIRED ENGINEER N S110 TRIGGER FIRST LEVEL ESCALATION 112 MONITOR SELF HELP SESSION AND STORE INFORMATION IN DATABASE 5114 IS USER FACING DIFFICULTIES Y 5116 TRIGGER SECOND LEVEL ESCALATION 5118 INITIATE LIVE REMOTE SUPPORT SESSION 120 RECEIVE INTERACTIONS FROM SESSIONS DATABASE 122 CONDUCT LIVE REMOTE SUPPORT SESSION 124 126 REQUEST SERVICE CALL IF Ee PROBLEM NOT RESOLVED FIG 3 Patent Application Publication Nov 3 2011 Sheet 4 of 4 US 2011 0270771 A1 NUMBER OF VISITED CASES FIG 4 c c c co PERCENTAGE OF USERS THAT HAVE LEFT THE SESSION 100 US 2011 0270771 Al SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR A FLEXIBLE MANAGEMENT OF THE ESCALATION OF SUPPORT FOR DEVICES BACKGROUND 0001 The exemplary embodiment relates to provision of support for users in resolving problems with electromechani cal devices such as printers In particular it relates to a system and method for advancement to a higher level of support based on stored interactions of the user with the device or remote support system 0002 Office printers and multifunction devices MFDs with printing capabilities are typically supplied to customers with a service contract which provides various levels of assis tance for diagnosing and solving problems with the device for example i
10. US 20110270771A1 a2 Patent Application Publication Pub No US 2011 0270771 1 as United States Coursimault et al 43 Pub Date Nov 3 2011 54 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR A FLEXIBLE MANAGEMENT OF THE ESCALATION OF SUPPORT FOR DEVICES Jean Marc Coursimault Revel FR Maria Antonietta Grasso Grenoble FR Frederic Roulland Le Versoud FR Stefania Castellani Meylan FR 75 Inventors 73 Assignee Xerox Corporation Norwalk CT US 21 Appl No 12 772 692 22 Filed May 3 2010 Publication Classification 51 Int Cl G06Q 10 00 2006 01 ida re ree 705 304 57 ABSTRACT A system and method are disclosed for determining when to escalate from one support level to a higher support level in assisting a user resolve a problem with a device The method includes storing information on past users interactions witha self help server during prior self help sessions the self help server providing a first remote support level for troubleshoot ing a problem witha device Information is stored on a current user s interactions with the self help server during a current self help session for troubleshooting the current user s prob lem with a device A determination of when to provide for escalation to a higher remote support level for troubleshoot ing the current user s problem with the device is based on the stored information on the past users interactions and th
11. ameters In the exemplary embodiment the session man ager 12 monitors a combination of parameters which alone or in combination can trigger an escalation For example a trigger for escalation will be fired as soon as a single one or in some embodiments both of the two following conditions are met 0068 Condition 1 The computed level of confidence that the user will persevere in the troubleshooting activity is too low This can be computed as a function of when one or a combination of the monitored parameters of a session has dropped below a first threshold 0069 Condition 2 The customer s last interaction com bined with the current session status suggests strongly that the session is not currently leading to success i e indicates this is probably an interaction that is more associated with a backtrack step than a conclusion step Thus a computed level of confidence that the current self help session is not leading to success is above a second threshold US 2011 0270771 Al 0070 For determining whether Condition 1 is satisfied relevant parameters are those of the session s observable vari ables that are strongly associated with a cost for the user 0071 Inthe case of the first level where a user attempts to solve the problem using his own knowledge or with instruc tions displayed on the printer one or more of the following parameters can be monitored within a session 0072 1 Overall duration of the session 00
12. cted It assists the customer in switching to the third level of assistance 24 when the probability of success level of confidence with self help is predicted to be too low It also enables the third level resource 24 to benefit from what was done at the second level to avoid redundant operations at the third level In particular the session manager 12 collects information on relevant interactions of the user 36 with the device 10 and with the self help server 70 The information on the user interactions with the device e g opening a door on the device moving levers opening drawers removing consum ables such as toner containers etc as well as status informa tion of the device provided by sensors 44 are synchronously sent to the session manager 12 by the device controller 18 The information on the user interactions with the KB 74 e g entering a natural language query is sent by the self help server 70 to the session server and stored in sessions database 14 for processing by the session manager 12 The session manager 12 analyzes the data collected and is responsible for automatically triggering the escalation to the self help service or to the remote support service when certain threshold con ditions are met 0045 The memory 52 56 32 ofthe device 10 and servers 30 70 80 may represent any type of tangible computer read able medium such as random access memory RAM read only memory ROM magnetic disk or tape optical dis
13. d from infor mation and rules provided by experts in the field A plurality of sensors monitors the operation of the machine and a variety of user actions If the system determines that the user needs help by comparing the operation of the machine with the information and rules in the knowledge base the system will interrupt the user and offer or provide assistance If the user is performing proper steps to correct a problem or perform a specific job the system will not interrupt the user 0008 17 5 Pub No 2007 0220365 published Sep 20 2007 U S Pat No 7 647 534 entitled METHOD FOR AVOIDING REPETITION OF USER ACTIONS BY USING PAST USERS EXPERIENCES by Castellani etal discloses a method for assisting a user to connect a problem with a device such as a printer includes extracting from records comprising user actions on the device string of user actions on the device The string of user action is compared with at least one predetermined sequence of user actions for correction of predefined problem with the device Based on the comparison an evaluation is made as to whether at least one prior user has attempted the predetermined sequence and if so a procedure is implemented to avoid a user repeating the prior attempt 0009 U S Pub No 2007 0279668 published Dec 6 2007 entitled NOTIFICATION ESCALATION IN PRINT ING SYSTEMS by Czyszczewski et al discloses a method and system for sensing an intervention state of a
14. dicators may direct the user to a particular location and percussion centers on the US 2011 0270771 Al machine identify a particular tapping location by the user to verify position identification to the troubleshooting expert 0011 U S Pub No 2008 0294423 published Nov 27 2008 entitled INFORMING TROUBLESHOOTING SES SIONS WITH DEVICE DATA by Castellani et al discloses a method for troubleshooting a problem with a device which includes acquiring device data for the device receiving a user s query concerning the device in a natural language presenting possible refinements to at least a portion of the user s query for defining a problem statement and presenting candidate solutions that are associated with the defined prob lem statement in a knowledge base These latter steps can be informed by device data that is linked through a diagnostic model of the device to at least one of the problem statements and candidate solutions 0012 U S Pub No 2009 0292700 published Nov 26 2009 entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SEMI AU TOMATIC CREATION AND MAINTENANCE OF QUERY EXPANSION RULES by Stefania Castellani et al discloses a system and method which enable semi automated generation of query expansion rules for searching a knowl edge base based on records of prior user interactions 0013 U S Pub No 2009 0094091 published Apr 9 2009 entitled SERVICE CALL DATA SELECTION AND DELIVERY METHOD AND SYSTEM by Thieret et al
15. duration of the application by the current user of a set of instructions detailed on a currently displayed solu tion page of the knowledge base and a number of operations on the device performed during the time when a solution page of the knowledge base is displayed 6 The method of claim 5 further comprising comparing the current value with stored values recorded in prior ses sions 7 The method of claim 3 wherein the computed level of confidence that the current self help session is not leading to success is based on detecting at least one of an operation performed by the user on the device that does not turn back the device to its normal state of functioning that occurs when a solution of a knowledge base is being displayed a start of a new search in the knowledge base by the user and aselection by the user of a new case of the knowledge base after having visited at least a predetermined number of other cases 8 The method of claim 1 wherein each remote self help session includes searching a knowledge base based on a user s query and retrieving where present in the knowledge base at least one solution for a user to perform 9 The method of claim 8 wherein the stored interactions include the solutions reviewed by the user 10 The method of claim 1 wherein the stored information further comprises stored interactions with the device during the self help session 11 The method of claim 9 wherein the determining when
16. e current user s interactions S100 102 MONITOR ACTIONS OF A USER WITH A PRINTER WHICH INDICATE A POSSIBLE PROBLEM WITH THE PRINTER S104 IS USER FACING DIFFICULTIES IS SERVICE ENGINEER REQUIRED N 110 TRIGGER FIRST LEVEL ESCALATION 5112 MONITOR SELF HELP SESSION AND STORE INFORMATION IN DATABASE IS USER FACING DIFFICULTIES Y S116 TRIGGER SECOND LEVEL ESCALATION 18 INITIATE LIVE REMOTE SUPPORT SESSION meu 20 RECEIVE INTERACTIONS FROM SESSIONS DATABASE EGE musmos 5122 CONDUCT LIVE REMOTE SUPPORT SESSION 124 Vd REQUEST SERVICE CALL IF PROBLEM NOT RESOLVED Nov 3 2011 Sheet 1 of 4 US 2011 0270771 A1 Patent Application Publication 914 1404405 3115 1404405 1404415 Wai 411115 104405 41 0350 01 8 NOIIVTV2S3 MI 14044 AXIS 4138 4136 V NOIIVIV2S3 80 51015535 vl 439VNYW 015535 Nov 3 2011 Sheet 2 of 4 US 2011 0270771 A1 Patent Application Publication 115 1404415 55 NS SENN 3139VNVW 413 4135 J39VNVW 015515 40551034 456 NOILVIINNWWOD YIANIS NOISSIS ONINAYW 10405 04 97 Patent Application Publication Nov 3 2011 Sheet 3 of 4 US 2011 0270771 A1 102 MONITOR ACTIONS OF A USER WIT
17. ed elec tronic devices An input receives verbal or text commands from an operator to notify the system of a fault in the net worked electronic devices An inference engine inputs a fact from the command to a knowledge base and applies rules from the knowledge base which are triggered by the fact in conjunction with a plurality of previously asserted facts con tained in the knowledge base The rules may require the inference engine to send commands to peripheral devices for gathering data about the networked electronic devices Responses in turn trigger the inference engine to input new Nov 3 2011 facts into the knowledge base which may trigger new rules to be executed by the inference engine to troubleshoot the net worked electronic devices 0016 17 5 Pat No 6 393 490 issued 21 2002 entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR A PROGRAM MATIC FEEDBACK PROCESS FOR END USER SUP PORT by Stiles et al discloses a method for supporting the end user of a software application program The user is pro vided with the capability of communicating directly with the application program vendor and or developer to request enhancement provide comments report defects and or to ask questions This provides the developer of an application pro gram such critical information as usage of program or docu ment information defects and user comments BRIEF DESCRIPTION 0017 In accordance with one aspect of the exemplary embodiment a method fo
18. elephone electronic mail or messaging or another communications mechanism The expert 84 may review a graphical representation of the device 10 on a display 86 while the same graphical representation is contempora neously displayed to the user on the local UI 16 Information on the self help session first remote support level may be provided to the call center operator 84 by the session manager 12 or self help server 70 so that he is aware of which solutions have already been reviewed attempted If the call center operator 84 is unable to resolve an issue he may initiate a request to send a customer service representative such as an engineer or technician to the printer location for on site service 0042 Both the self help server 70 and remote support server 80 are in communication with a session server 30 0043 Each of the illustrated support servers 70 80 may include any suitable computing device with memory and an associated computer processor configured for executing instructions stored in the memory as software for implement ing the operations of these components as described herein Although the servers 30 70 80 are shown as separate com ponents two or more of them may alternatively be combined 0044 As discussed above the exemplary session manager 12 supports the escalation toward the higher levels of support In particular it directs the customer 36 to self help resources 20 second level when a difficulty is first dete
19. er determines when to escalate from a local support level to the first remote support level based on whether at least one of the following conditions is met a computed level of confidence that the current user will persevere in the self help session is below a first thresh old and US 2011 0270771 Al a computed level of confidence that the current self help session is not leading to success is above a second threshold 22 A method for determining when to escalate from one support level to a higher support level comprising storing information on a current user s interactions with a device during a first level of support based on the interactions with the device determining when to propose escalation to a second level of support the second level of support being provided by a self help manager which inputs a user s query to a knowledge base Nov 3 2011 storing information on past users interactions with the self help manager during prior users self help sessions storing information on the current user s interactions with the self help manager in a self help session at the second level of support and based on the stored information on the past users interac tions and the current user s interactions with the self help manager determining when to provide for escalation to a third support level which provides communication with a remote operator
20. er 12 retrieve the data comprising the interac tions that were monitored during the self help session at S112 and stored in the sessions database 14 and display them to the call center agent 84 Additional information stored in the first stage may also be made available to the call center operator This information is a benefit to the agent since the agent is able to have an understanding of what was done already by the user and will avoid wasting time questioning the user about it 0059 At S122 the user and call center agent engage in a troubleshooting session in which the user and call center agent may view a representation ofthe printer on their respec tive screens and the call center agent can guide the user through a sequence of operations intended to cure the prob lem 0060 At S124 if the dialog and actions taken by the user are unable to resolve the problem the call center operator enters a request for a service call 0061 The method ends at S126 0062 The method illustrated in FIG 3 may be imple mented in a computer program product that may be executed ona computer ora set of computers The computer program product may be a computer readable recording medium on which a control program is recorded such as a disk hard drive or the like Common forms of computer readable media include for example floppy disks flexible disks hard disks magnetic tape or any other magnetic storage medium CD ROM DVD or any other
21. er 36 may attempt one or more of the solutions proposed by the self help server 70 Data collected related to these attempts such as how many queries the user entered which solutions the user reviewed which detectable actions the user undertook on the device 10 and whether or not the session was successful is acquired by the session manager 12 This information is stored in the sessions database 14 Information extracted from the sessions database is used by the session manager 12 to identify when to propose escalating to the next level to the user i e the third level of support 0041 For the third level resource 24 the printers 10 and or their human operators 36 are able to communicate with a remote support server 80 which provides access to the third level of support second remote support level The remote support server 80 enables a user 36 of the device to engage in a live conversation with a remote expert In particular the remote support server 80 is linked to a remote call center 82 by a wired or wireless link The communication between the user and an expert 84 may be text communication via the user US 2011 0270771 Al interface 16 voice communication facsimile electronic mail or messaging or other communication by which a device operator 36 may request service from the call center 82 The call center 82 may include a group of experts 84 who can communicate with printer users 36 to attempt to resolve a service issue by t
22. er aspect a method for determining when to escalate from one support level to a higher support level includes storing information on a current user s interactions with a device during a first level of support Based on the interactions with the device the method includes determining when to propose escalation to a second level of support the second level of support being provided by a self help manager which inputs a user s query to a knowledge base Information is stored on past users interactions with the selfhelp manager during prior users self help sessions Information is stored on the current user s interactions with the self help manager in a self help session at the second level of support Based on the stored information on the past users interactions and the current user s interactions with the self help manager the method includes determining when to provide for escalation to a third support level which provides communication with a remote operator BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 0020 FIG 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating escalation levels in an exemplary troubleshooting operation US 2011 0270771 Al 0021 FIG 2 is functional block diagram of a trouble shooting system in accordance with one aspect of the exem plary embodiment 0022 FIG 3 illustrates a method which may be performed with the system of FIG 2 and 0023 FIG 4 illustrates an example of distribution of visits to knowledge base cases in t
23. f two or more parameters Alter natively or additionally escalation may be triggered by any one of a set of thresholds being met 0092 While the system has been described in terms of a printing system it is also applicable to other networked devices such as cash distributors ATMs 0093 The system and method provide higher customer satisfaction and more rational access to customer services call centers 0094 It will be appreciated that various of the above disclosed and other features and functions or alternatives thereof may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications Also that various presently unfore seen or unanticipated alternatives modifications variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims What is claimed is 1 A method for determining when to escalate from one support level to a higher support level comprising storing information on past users interactions with a self help server during prior self help sessions the self help server providing a first remote support level for trouble shooting a problem with a device storing information on a current user s interactions with the self help server during a current self help session for troubleshooting the current user s problem with a device and determining when to provide for escalation to a higher remote support level for t
24. hat esca lation is predicted to take place before at least a percentage of the prior users population would have given up For example if f 0 5 for the session duration the duration corresponding to the time where 50 of the users had already stopped in the past is taken 0089 For example FIG 4 shows the number of KB cases that were visited in troubleshooting sessions taken from actual logs The plot does not distinguish between users who left the session because the problem was resolved and users who left without resolving the problem It can be seen that 40 of users left the session after having visited at most 2 cases and 70 of users left the session after at most 3 cases In this case the threshold will be reached after 3 cases are visited if the administrator of the system has set f 0 5 for this parameter 0090 Another way to establish the thresholds is to them linked to the current context of the session This is particularly well adapted for parameters that monitor time or actions performed when a particular solution of the KB 74 is displayed to the user In this particular case the thresholds are associated with the specific solution e g a maximum esti mated time to complete the solution a maximum number of operations allowed These parameters may be documented in the solution itself and retrieved by the session manager 12 0091 As will be appreciated thresholds may be estab lished which are a function o
25. he second one being an escalation of the first However both levels of service rely heavily on the willingness of the customer to participate in the troubleshoot ing activity Some customers are reticent to use the self help options if they have a problem using it Further when a user has spent considerable time using the self help resources without success he may be unwilling to engage in a remote troubleshooting session taking up more of his time The in person visit of a service engineer while often the most likely option to lead to a successful resolution of the problem is generally the most costly to the service provider The cus tomer may also be inconvenienced by the delay in waiting for the service visit 0005 The exemplary system and method provide a mechanism for escalating the assistance being provided to a higher level which encourages the appropriate usage of assis tance resources by the customer Nov 3 2011 INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE 0006 The following references the disclosures of which are incorporated in their entireties by reference are men tioned 0007 U S Pat No 5 490 089 issued Feb 6 1996 entitled INTERACTIVE USER SUPPORT SYSTEM AND METHOD USING SENSORS AND MACHINE KNOWL EDGE by Smith et al discloses an interactive user support system for a document processing system or an image pro ducing device which controls the operation of the machine using an internally stored knowledge base derive
26. hreshold 17 The method of claim 1 wherein the device comprises a printer 18 A computer program product encoding instructions which when executed on a computer causes the computer to perform the method of claim 1 19 A system for determining when to escalate from a first support level to a second support level comprising a self help server providing a first remote support level for troubleshooting a user s problem with a device memory which stores information on a current user s and prior users interactions with the self help server during self help sessions a session manager implemented in hardware and software which is configured to provide for escalation from the first remote support level to a second remote self help level for troubleshooting a current user s problem with a device based on stored information on the past users interactions and the current user s interactions with the self help server 20 The system of claim 19 wherein the session manager determines when to escalate from the first remote support level to the second remote support level based on whether at least one of the following conditions is met a computed level of confidence that the current user will persevere in the self help session is below a first thresh old and a computed level of confidence that the current self help session is not leading to success is above a second threshold 21 The system of claim 19 wherein the session manag
27. k flash memory or holographic memory In one embodiment the memory comprises a combination of random access memory and read only memory The digital processors 58 34 of the device 10 and servers 30 70 80 can be variously embodied such as by a single core processor a dual core processor or more generally by a multiple core processor a digital processor and cooperating math coprocessor a digital controller or the like The digital processors separately or in Nov 3 2011 combination in addition to controlling the operation of the device and respective servers execute instructions stored in memory for performing the method outlined in FIG 3 0046 The term software as used herein is intended to encompass any collection or set of instructions executable by a computer or other digital system so as to configure the computer or other digital system to perform the task that is the intent of the software The term software as used herein is intended to encompass such instructions stored in storage medium such as RAM a hard disk optical disk or so forth and is also intended to encompass so called firmware that is software stored on a ROM or so forth Such software may be organized in various ways and may include software com ponents organized as libraries Internet based programs stored on a remote server or so forth source code interpretive code object code directly executable code and so forth It is contemp
28. l is a first remote support level in which a user accesses a knowledge base The third support level is a second remote support level providing access to a call center operator 0027 The system 1 is configured for executing a method to establish when the system should escalate from one defined support level to a higher one ofthe support levels taking into Nov 3 2011 account records of the customer experience during the troubleshooting activity and records of prior users experi ence In the exemplary embodiment the decision of when itis appropriate to escalate to a next support level is made by a session manager 12 which may be based on information gathered during a troubleshooting session as well as on prior session information both of which may be stored in a ses sions database 14 0028 With reference also to FIG 2 which illustrates one exemplary configuration of the system 1 in a printing envi ronment one or more printers 10 have a local user interface UI 16 mounted on or otherwise associated with the printer 10 A device controller 18 of the printer 10 in cooperation with the UI 16 serves as a first local support resource to the user The device controller 18 may be resident on the printer as shown e g in the digital front end DFE or linked thereto and may include both hardware and software 0029 Access to second and third levels of support in the form of troubleshooting resources 20 22 is provided by the
29. lated that the software may invoke system level code orcallsto other software residing on a server orother location to perform certain functions 0047 FIG 3 illustrates an exemplary method for manag ing the escalation process 0048 The method begins at S100 0049 At S102 actions of a user with the printer 10 which indicate a possible problem with the printer are detected by the printer At this stage the user is interacting solely with the printer 10 and has not sought remote assistance from the self help server or remote support server The session manager 12 monitors the actions on the operable parts of the device 10 that are equipped with sensors the status code of the device and the actions on the local UI 0050 In one embodiment all user actions are monitored In other embodiments triggering actions begin monitoring The communication server 26 may periodically execute com mands to collect operational history data from its correspond ing printers 10 by polling the printers 10 and forward the data to the session server 30 upon request ofthe session server or automatically Alternatively the printers 10 may push opera tional history data to the communication server 26 in a man ner that is continuous periodic or responsive to one or more actions at the printer 10 Examples of operational data that a printer 10 may transmit to the session server 30 in this way may include status information one or more fault codes that
30. mpute the level of confidence 0082 A When detecting the need to trigger self help any operation performed by the user on the device 10 that does not turn back the device to its normal function ing state 0083 When detecting the need to trigger a remote support session with an expert the following interac tions can be considered 0084 1 Any operation performed by the user on the device that does not turn back the device to its normal state of functioning that occurs when a solution of the KB 74 is being displayed 0085 2 The start of a new search in the KB 0086 3 The selection of a new case of the KB after having visited at least one other one Thresholds Settings 0087 The thresholds for each of the parameters can be defined in two ways 0088 A They can be computed from an analysis of pre vious sessions records in database 14 e g by determining at what point did each user in the past for a population of prior users give up on the session For example a cumulative distribution of each parameter of a set of monitored param eters over the sessions is computed From this distribution a value x is identified that corresponds to a cumulated popula tion F x gt f f is a parameter of the system which is set with respect to how quickly the session manager 12 should esca Nov 3 2011 late to the next level This value can be set by an administrator to a value for example between 0 2 and 0 8 such t
31. n the event of a malfunctioning of the device Typical problems arise because of machine faults such as paper jams or poor print quality on the output documents in the case of a printer The first level of assistance may be a self help level For some printers the self help assistance may be provided by built in diagnostic tools on the device or may be in the form of a user manual or diagrams on the user interface showing possible locations of printer jams and out of supply notices For printers linked to a personal computer the install disk of the printer may include diagnostics in the form of a utility program to be run on the user s personal computer Additionally users of the device may have access to an on line support system such as a knowledge base which provides solutions for known problems with the device 0003 Ifthe self help assistance fails to resolve the prob lem the user may enlist the help ofan operator ina remote call center who guides the user in diagnosing and solving prob lems with the device In the event that neither the self help or call center assistance fails to resolve the problem the user may call out a service engineer to the site of the printer 0004 To provide cost effective and timely service to the customer the service provider encourages the user to utilize the self help resources followed by use of the call center remote troubleshooting These two assistance levels may be seen as incremental t
32. on and or diagnostic compo nents 50 54 within the printer 10 which may be sent auto matically at intervals or upon receiving a request from the system 1 In one embodiment information sent to the session manager 12 may include information only related to those interactions which are predominantly associated with main tenance or faults and not with normal operations on the printer 0036 Based on the information received the session man ager 12 determines when the user 36 is having a problem with the device 10 that the user is unable to correct For example the session manager 12 may detect that the user is having a problem because the user presses a button repeatedly without printing a job or performs some other action on the device not associated with normal operation of the device The session manager analyses the data received from the printer 10 to extract information associated with a single user session in order to identify the duration of the session Each session corresponds to a series of user s interactions The time between actions on a device can be used to distinguish one session from a prior user session In one embodiment based on the history of durations of prior user sessions stored in the KB 14 the session manager 12 is able to predict whenthe user is likely to give up and offer the self help session at a suitable time e g before the user is likely to give up but not so soon as to annoy the user 0037 When the se
33. optical medium a RAM a PROM an EPROM a FLASH EPROM or other memory chip or cartridge or any other tangible medium from which a computer can read and use Alternatively the method may be implemented in a transmittable carrier wave in which the control program is embodied as a data signal using transmis sion media such as acoustic or light waves such as those generated during radio wave and infrared data communica tions and the like Nov 3 2011 0063 The exemplary method may be implemented on one or more general purpose computers special purpose comput er s a programmed microprocessor or microcontroller and peripheral integrated circuit elements an ASIC or other inte grated circuit a digital signal processor a hardwired elec tronic or logic circuit such as a discrete element circuit a programmable logic device such as a PLD PLA FPGA Graphical card CPU GPU or PAL or the like In general any device capable of implementing a finite state machine thatis inturn capable ofimplementing the flowchart shown in FIG 3 can be used to implement the method for adaptive escalation of a troubleshooting session 0064 Having described in the overall process for an adap tive escalation of support resources further details of the system and method will now be described Determination of What Constitutes a Session 0065 For detecting the need to trigger a self help escala tion from one level to the next a time frame for
34. problem will require a service engineer visit and may automatically request one 0053 Ifat S106 no such failure state is detected then at 5110 the session manager triggers a first level ofescalation A involving the self help server 70 For example a popup or message appears on the local UI 16 of the device to ask the user if he or she wants to engage in a self help session If the user accepts this starts the self help session 0054 At S112 while the user is engaged in a self help session the interactions with the self help server 70 are moni tored by the session manager 12 and stored in the associated database 14 0055 At S114 the session manager 12 assesses whether the state of the self help session suggests that the user is experiencing some difficulties in order to find the appropriate solution to his or her problem If so a second level of esca lation B is initiated 0056 At S116 the session manager triggers the remote support server 80 For example a message or popup appears on the local UI 16 of the device to propose to the user to start a live remote support session with an expert 0057 At S118 ifthe user accepts a call to a call center 82 is issued An agent from the call centre can then take the call and this establishes a live remote support session with the user 36 of the device 10 0058 At S120 at the beginning of the remote support session the remote support server 80 can connect to the session manag
35. puter processor such as the server 70 s CPU not shown 0039 In the case of printers the KB 74 includes an indexed set of cases which relate to known problems with a printer on the network 28 Each case may include a problem statement which describes a known problem that can occur on the printer 10 and one or more solutions Each solution includes a sequence of steps which a user can perform on a malfunctioning printer 10 to correct the problem Since a particular observed problem can have several solutions depending on the underlying cause of the observed problem the solutions are presented to the user in a ranked order often with the solutions that are easiest to perform listed first The remote help manager 72 receives a user query and based on the user query conducts a search of the knowledge base 74 to retrieve responsive cases Device information e g acquired by the session manager 12 may also be used by the remote help manager 72 for example in ranking the cases Systems for developing user queries for conducting a search of such a knowledge base 74 are disclosed for example in U S Pub Nos 2007 0192085 2007 0220365 2008 0091408 2008 0294423 2009 0106224 and 2009 0292700 the disclosures of which are incorporated herein in their entireties by refer ence The solutions are communicated from the self help server 70 to the device controller 18 which causes them to be displayed on the user interface 16 0040 us
36. r determining when to escalate from one support level to a higher support level includes storing information on past users interactions with a self help server during prior self help sessions the self help server providing a first remote support level for troubleshooting a problem with a device Information is stored on a current user s inter actions with the self help server during a current self help session for troubleshooting the current user s problem with a device A determination of when to provide for escalation to a higher remote support level for troubleshooting the current user s problem with the device is based on the stored infor mation on the past users interactions and the current user s interactions 0018 In another aspect a system for determining when to escalate from a first support level to a second support level includes a self help server providing a first remote support level for troubleshooting a user s problem with a device Memory stores information on a current user s and prior users interactions with the self help server during self help sessions A session manager is implemented in hardware and software and is configured to provide for escalation from the first remote support level to a second remote self help level for troubleshooting a current user s problem with a device based on stored information on the past users interactions and the current user s interactions with the self help server 0019 Inanoth
37. roubleshooting sessions DETAILED DESCRIPTION 0024 Aspects of the exemplary embodiment relate to a system and method for flexibly advancing the escalation of customer support through different levels of support taking into account the customer s experience The exemplary embodiment can provide a cost effective support for custom ers of electromechanical devices such as printers Different levels of support are provided One or more levels may involve provision of resources which the customer can use for self help This may include providing access to a local or remote resource which proposes solutions to the user Another resource level may be the provision of remote troubleshooting from call center where the call center opera tor may guide the user through steps for solving the problem Yet another level of support may involve a service engineer visiting the customers site These support levels can proceed incrementally with the user progressing from one level to a higher level the higher level being an escalation of the first one The escalation may be triggered by the user or automati cally when for example a lower support level such as the self help level fails to resolve the problem 0025 As used herein a printer can include any device for rendering an image on print media such as a copier laser printer bookmaking machine facsimile machine or a mul tifunction machine which includes at least one of these
38. roubleshooting the current user s problem with the device based on the stored infor mation on the past users interactions and the current user s interactions US 2011 0270771 Al 2 The method of claim 1 wherein determination of when to provide for escalation is performed by a computer proces sor 3 The method of claim 1 wherein the determining when to provide for escalation includes determining whether at least one of the following conditions is met a computed level of confidence that the current user will persevere in the self help session is below a first thresh old and a computed level of confidence that the current self help session is not leading to success is above a second threshold 4 The method of claim 3 wherein the determining whether at least one of the conditions is met includes determining whether both conditions are met 5 The method of claim 3 wherein computation of whether the current user will persevere in the self help session is below a first threshold comprises monitoring parameters within the current self help session and computing an overall current value based on the monitored parameters the parameters being selected from an overall duration of the current self help session a total number of searches conducted in a knowledge base during the current self help session a total number of cases or solution pages visited by the user in the knowledge base during the current selfhelp session a
39. ssion manager 12 determines that the user is unable to solve the problem in the local support ses sion the session manager triggers the provision ofthe second level resource 20 For example a popup or other message appears on the local UI 16 of the device 10 to ask the user if he wants to engage in a self help session with the remote Nov 3 2011 resource 20 If the user accepts this automatically initiates escalation to the first remote support level which starts a remote self help session 0038 Inthe exemplary embodiment the remote self help resource 20 is hosted by a self help server 70 which can be the same or a separate computer from the session server 30 and like the session server include hardware and software for implementing the first remote support level The remote self help server 70 provides a second level of support to the user based on data communicated from the printer 10 by provid ing access to troubleshooting information The data commu nicated to the self help server 70 may include user queries input through the user interface 16 as well as diagnostic and operational history information from the device controller 18 In the exemplary embodiment the self help server 70 hosts a remote self help manager 72 which has access to a knowl edge base KB 74 stored in memory which may be located on the server 70 or accessible thereto The remote help man ager 72 may include software stored in memory executed by a com
40. system 1 In one embodiment each printer 10 is in commu nication with one or more communication servers 26 that collect data from the printers 10 and relay that data to the system 1 Each communication server 26 may communicate with its corresponding printers 10 within a network 28 The network 28 may be in the form of wired or wireless links or other means capable of supplying or communicating elec tronic data to and or from the connected linked elements For example the links between elements can be telephone lines computer cables ISDN lines wireless communication links e g employing Bluetooth wireless technology or the like The network 28 may include but is not limited to a local area network LAN a wide area network WAN the Inter net or another communications network such as a wireless or wired network 0030 Each of the support resources 18 20 22 is in com munication with a session server 30 which hosts the session manager 12 and sessions database 14 In the exemplary embodiment the session manager 12 is implemented in hard ware and software the software being stored in memory 32 which may also store the sessions database 14 The software is executed by an associated processor 34 The session server 30 can comprise any suitable computing device and may be linked directly or indirectly to the network 28 through an input output device 35 Components 32 34 35 and 14 are linked by a data control bus 33 0031
41. what consti tutes a session is determined so that a set of events can be associated with a particular session In the case of the first level sequences of close events on the device that can be linked to a repair operation can be used to define the time period of a user session Events linked to a repair operation are sometimes difficult to distinguish from normal operations auser may performon the device such as replacing paper etc Methods have been developed for distinguishing sequences of actions related to a repair from normal sequences by com paring them with known repair sequences See for example above mentioned U S Pub No 2007 0220365 the disclo sure of which is incorporated herein by reference For example the session manager compares the detected actions which have been performed on the printer over the course of for example a day and finds a sequence of events which are close together in time and which show at least some similarity with a known repair sequence allowing for the fact that a user may not always follow repair instructions correctly and or which involve actions which are associated with repairs but rarely performed in normal operation of the device 0066 The duration of the session for the second level is readily determined from the time the user first inputs a query which is used to search the knowledge base 74 Escalation Trigger Criteria 0067 Each escalation decision is triggered by one or more par
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