Systems and methods for selection-based contextual help retrieval

1. A computer implemented method comprising:

entering into a help mode of a graphical user interface for a computing system, wherein at least some functionality of the graphical user interface is suspended while in the help mode;

while in the help mode,

identifying an identified user-interface element of the graphical user interface, and

after identifying the identified user-interface element of the graphical user interface, receiving first-query data at the computing device, the first-query data comprising contextual data for the identified user-interface element of the graphical user interface, the contextual data indicating a user-interface element type for the identified user-interface element, a user-interface element location for the identified user-interface element within the graphical user interface, and user-interface element text for the identified user-interface element;

after receiving the first-query data, determining at least one ordered first-query response based on at least the contextual data using the computing system by at least:

determining a respective context score for each determined at least one first-query response based on the contextual data, the context score based on at least one of an element-type metric that is based on the user-interface element type, an element-location metric that is based on the user-interface element location, and an element-text metric that is based on the user-interface element text; and

determining an order for the determined at least one first-query response based on the respective context score for each determined at least one first-query response; and

causing an indication of the determined at least one ordered first-query response to be provided using the graphical user interface via an output device associated with the computing system.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving second-query data indicating a selection of one or more of the at least one first-query responses;

determining at least one second-query response based on the second-query data; and

causing an indication of the determined at least one second-query response to be provided via the output device.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first-query data further comprises search-term data indicating at least one search term, and wherein determining the at least one first query response comprises determining the at least one first-query response based on at least the contextual data and the search-term data.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the respective context score for each determined at least one first-query response comprises:

determining a first value of the element-type metric when the user-interface element type is in the first-query response, and determining a second value of the element-type metric when the user-interface element type is not in the first-query response.

5. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

determining an order of the determined at least one second-query response based on a respective relevance of each determined at least one second-query response, wherein determining the respective relevance of each determined at least one second-query response comprises determining the respective relevance of each determined at least one second-query response based on at least an identity of an author of each determined at least one second-query response.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein entering into the help mode comprises dimming the graphical user interface.

7. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

after causing the indication of the determined at least one second-query response to be provided, receiving helpfulness data indicating an extent to which the at least one second-query response was helpful.

8. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

receiving answer data indicating an answer associated with a given first-query response;

causing the answer data to be stored as a second-query response; and

modifying a status of the author of the answer based on a helpfulness rating of the answer.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving answer-needed data indicating that an answer corresponding to a first-query response is needed.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving question data indicating a question associated with a given user-interface element; and

causing the question data to be stored as a first-query response.

11. A system comprising:

a processor;

a non-transitory computer readable medium; and

program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer readable medium and executable by the processor to:

enter into a help mode of a graphical user interface, wherein at least some functionality of the graphical user interface is suspended while in the help mode;

while in the help mode,

identify an identified user-interface element of the graphical user interface, and

after identifying the identified user-interface element of the graphical user interface, receive first-query data comprising contextual data for the identified user-interface element of the graphical user interface, the contextual data indicating a user-interface element type for the identified user-interface element, a user-interface element location for the identified user-interface element within the graphical user interface, and user-interface element text for the identified user-interface element;

after receiving the first-query data, determine at least one ordered first-query response based on at least the contextual data using the system to at least:

determining a respective context score for each determined at least one first-query response based on the contextual data, the context score based on at least one of an element-type metric that is based on the user-interface element type, an element-location metric that is based on the user-interface element location, and an element-text metric that is based on the user-interface element text; and

determining an order for the determined at least one first-query response based on the respective context score for each determined at least one first-query response;

cause an indication of the determined at least one ordered first-query response to be provided using the graphical user interface via an output device;

receive second-query data indicating a selection of one or more of the at least one first-query responses;

determining at least one second-query response based on the second-query data; and

cause an indication of the determined at least one second-query response to be provided via the output device.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein determining the respective context score for each determined at least one first-query response comprises:

determining a first value of the element-type metric when the user-interface element type is in the first-query response, and determining a second value of the element-type metric when the user-interface element type is not in the first-query response; and

wherein the system further comprising program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer readable medium and executable by the processor to:

determine an order of the determined at least one second-query response based on a respective relevance of each determined at least one second-query response, wherein determining the respective relevance of each determined at least one second-query response comprises determining the respective relevance of each determined at least one second-query response based on at least an identity of an author of each determined at least one second-query response.

13. The system of claim 11 , wherein entering into the help mode comprises dimming the graphical user interface, and the system further comprising program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer readable medium and executable by the processor to:

after causing the indication of the determined at least one second-query response to be provided, receive helpfulness data indicating an extent to which the at least one second-query response was helpful.

14. The system of claim 11 , the system further comprising program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer readable medium and executable by the processor to:

receive answer-needed data indicating that an answer corresponding to a first-query response is needed;

receive answer data indicating an answer associated with a given first-query response;

cause the answer data to be stored as a second-query response; and

modify a status of the author of the answer based on a helpfulness rating of the answer.

15. The system of claim 11 , the system further comprising program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer readable medium and executable by the processor to:

receive question data indicating a question associated with a given user-interface element; and

cause the question data to be stored as a first-query response.

16. A non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions comprising:

instructions for entering into a help mode of a graphical user interface, wherein at least some functionality of the graphical user interface is suspended while in the help mode;

instructions for, while in the help mode,

identifying an identified user-interface element of the graphical user interface, and

after identifying the identified user-interface element of the graphical user interface, receiving first-query data comprising contextual data, the contextual data for the identified user-interface element of the graphical user interface, the contextual data indicating a user-interface element type for the identified user-interface element, a user-interface element location for the identified user-interface element within the graphical user interface, and user-interface element text for the identified user-interface element;

instructions for, after receiving the first-query data, determining at least one ordered first-query response based on at least the contextual data by at least:

determining a respective context score for each determined at least one first-query response based on the contextual data, the context score based on at least one of an element-type metric that is based on the user-interface element type, an element-location metric that is based on the user-interface element location, and an element-text metric that is based on the user-interface element text; and

determining an order for the determined at least one first-query response based on the respective context score for each determined at least one first-query response;

instructions for causing an indication of the determined at least one ordered first-query response to be provided using the graphical user interface via an output device;

instructions for receiving second-query data indicating a selection of one or more of the at least one first-query responses;

instructions for determining at least one second-query response based on the second-query data; and

instructions for causing an indication of the determined at least one second-query response to be provided via the output device.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16 , wherein the instructions for determining the respective context score for each determined at least one first-query response comprise:

instructions for determining a first value of the element-type metric when the user-interface element type is in the first-query response;

instructions for determining a second value of the element-type metric when the user-interface element type is not in the first-query response; and wherein the instructions further comprise:

instructions for determining an order of the determined at least one second-query response based on a respective relevance of each determined at least one second-query response, wherein determining the respective relevance of each determined at least one second-query response comprises determining the respective relevance of each determined at least one second-query response based on at least an identity of an author of each determined at least one second-query response.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16 , wherein the instructions for entering into the help mode comprise instructions for dimming the graphical user interface, and the instructions further comprising:

instructions for, after causing the indication of the determined at least one second-query response to be provided, receiving helpfulness data indicating an extent to which the at least one second-query response was helpful.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16 , the instructions further comprising:

instructions for receiving answer data indicating an answer associated with a given first-query response;

instructions for causing the answer data to be stored as a second-query response; and

instructions for modifying a status of the author of the answer based on a helpfulness rating of the answer.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16 , the instructions further comprising:

instructions for receiving question data indicating a question associated with a given user-interface element; and

instructions for causing the question data to be stored as a first-query response.

21. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving help-mode data indicating a user-preference to enter a help mode corresponding to a graphical user-interface comprising at least one graphical-user-interface element;

entering the help mode corresponding to the graphical user-interface, wherein at least some functionality of the graphical user-interface is suspended while in the help mode, the help mode comprising:

providing an information-overlay interface corresponding to the graphical user-interface, wherein the information-overlay interface comprises at least one information-overlay-interface element corresponding to at least one respective graphical-user-interface element;

receiving selection data indicating a selection of the at least one information-overlay-interface element indicating an identified graphical-user-interface element of the graphical user-interface, wherein the selection data indicates a user-interface element type for the identified graphical-user-interface element, a user-interface element location for the identified graphical-user-interface element within the graphical user interface, and user-interface element text for the identified user-interface element, and wherein the at least one respective graphical-user-interface element comprises the identified graphical-user-interface element; and

after receiving the selection data, causing a visual indication of the selection of the at least one information-overlay-interface element to be displayed on a graphical display by at least:

determining at least one query response based on the selection data;

determining a respective context score for each determined at least one first-query response based on the selection data, the context score based on at least one of an element-type metric that is based on the user-interface element type, an element-location metric that is based on the user-interface element location, and an element-text metric that is based on the user-interface element text; and

determining an order for the at least one query response based on the respective context score for each of the at least one query response, and

causing a visual indication of the ordered at least one query response.

22. The method of claim 21 , wherein the help mode further comprises:

before receiving the selection data, causing a visual indication of an identification of the at least one information-overlay-interface element to be displayed on the graphical display.

23. The method of claim 21 , wherein providing the information-overlay interface comprises dimming the graphical user-interface.

24. The method of claim 21 , wherein determining the respective context score for each of the at least one query response comprises:

determining a first value of the element-type metric when the user-interface element type is in the query response; and

determining a second value of the element-type metric when the user-interface element type is not in the query response.

25. The method of claim 21 , wherein the help mode further comprises:

before receiving the selection data, modifying at least one graphical property of the graphical user-interface.

26. A non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions comprising:

instructions for receiving help-mode data indicating a user-preference to enter a help mode corresponding to a graphical user-interface comprising at least one graphical-user-interface element;

instructions for entering the help mode corresponding to the graphical user-interface, wherein at least some functionality of the graphical user-interface is suspended while in the help mode, the help mode comprising:

providing an information-overlay interface corresponding to the graphical user-interface, wherein the information-overlay interface comprises at least one information-overlay-interface element corresponding to the at least one respective graphical-user-interface element;

receiving selection data indicating a selection of the at least one information-overlay-interface element indicating an identified graphical-user-interface element of the graphical user-interface, wherein the selection data indicates a user-interface element type for the identified graphical-user-interface element, a user-interface element location for the identified graphical-user-interface element within the graphical user interface, and user-interface element text for the identified user-interface element, and wherein the at least one respective graphical-user-interface element comprises the identified graphical-user-interface element; and

after receiving the selection data, causing a visual indication of the selection of the at least one information-overlay-interface element to be displayed on a graphical display by at least:

determining at least one query response based on the selection data;

determining a respective context score for each determined at least one first-query response, the context score based on at least one of an element-type metric that is based on the user-interface element type, an element-location metric that is based on the user-interface element location, and an element-text metric that is based on the user-interface element text; and

determining an order for the at least one query response based on the respective context score for each of the at least one query response, and

causing a visual indication of the ordered at least one query response.