METHOD FOR ALIGNING DEMONSTRATED USER ACTIONS WITH EXISTING DOCUMENTATION
There is provided an apparatus for aligning document actions specified in a documented procedure with demonstrated user actions. The apparatus includes an alignment device for computing an alignment between the document actions and the demonstrated user actions based on at least one similarity metric.
1 . An apparatus for aligning document actions specified in a documented procedure with demonstrated user actions, comprising:
an alignment device for computing an alignment between the document actions and the demonstrated user actions based on at least one similarity metric,
wherein the at least one similarity metric is based on at least one of a number of words in common between a textual description of a demonstrated user action and a document action, and a probability distribution over at least two steps of the documented procedure.
2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said alignment device identifies a current step in the documented procedure based on the alignment.
3 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the documented procedure is displayed on a user interface, and said alignment device provides an identification of the current step to the user interface for use in highlighting the current step on the user interface.
4 . The apparatus of claim 2 , further comprising a user interface, in signal communication with said alignment device, for displaying the documented procedure, and wherein said alignment device outputs an identification of the current step to the user interface, and said user interface highlights the current step based on the identification.
5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said alignment device identifies a next step in the documented procedure based on the alignment.
6 . The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the documented procedure is displayed on a user interface, and said alignment device provides an identification of the next step to the user interface for use in highlighting the next step on the user interface.
7 . The apparatus of claim 5 , further comprising a user interface, in signal communication with said alignment device, for displaying the documented procedure, and wherein said alignment device outputs an identification of the next step to the user interface, and said user interface highlights the next step based on the identification.
8 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one similarity metric is based on at least one of a number of words in common between a textual description of a demonstrated user action and a document action, a similarity of an action type involved in both a demonstrated user action and a document action, a probability distribution over at least two steps of the documented procedure.
9 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the demonstrated user actions are performed with respect to a user interface, and the at least one similarity metric is based on common strings in the user interface and the documented procedure.
10 . (canceled)
11 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said alignment device computes the alignment further based on previous user experiences with respect to performing the documented procedure.
12 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the documented procedure has a plurality of steps specified therein, and the apparatus further comprises a document action extractor for extracting at least some of the plurality of steps.
13 . An apparatus for guiding user actions with respect to a documented procedure displayed on a user interface, the documented procedure having a plurality of steps specified therein, the apparatus comprising:
an alignment device for computing an alignment between the document actions and the demonstrated user actions based on at least one similarity metric;
a highlighting device, connected in signal communication with said alignment device, for visually highlighting on the user interface at least a portion of a step in the documented procedure based on the alignment computed by said alignment device; and
a scrolling device, connected in signal communication with said alignment device, for automatically scrolling through each of the plurality of steps of the documented procedure on the user interface based on the alignment computed by said alignment device,
wherein the at least one similarity metric is based on at least one of a number of words in common between a textual description of a demonstrated user action and a document action, and a probability distribution over at least two steps of the documented procedure.
14 . The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the at least one similarity metric is based on at least one of a number of words in common between a textual description of a demonstrated user action and a document action, a similarity of an action type involved in both a demonstrated user action and a document action, a probability distribution over at least two steps of the documented procedure, and common strings in the user interface and the documented procedure.
15 . (canceled)
16 . The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein said alignment device computes the alignment further based on previous user experiences with respect to performing the documented procedure.
17 - 32 . (canceled)
33 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is invoked, irrespective of user error.
34 . The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the apparatus is invoked, irrespective of user error.