Motive Communications, Inc.

Motive, Inc.

Silicon Valley Bank

Francis X Sullivan

Brian Jay Vetter

Thomas William Bereiter

Duke P Browning

A method, system, computer system, and computer-readable medium to provide an interface for defining a model of a particular functionality of an information processing system. Intelligent models can be defined that can be used by an application to discover actual relationship, dependency, or configuration data for components of an information processing system. Models can be defined to include a set of one or more instructions to discover data about an existing information system, where the data are related to the specific information processing function being modeled. Models provide a context for analyzing and evaluating the functionality of an information processing system. The interface can also be used to define the model itself, including components of the model, properties of the components, and relationships between components.

Model-building interface

A method, system, computer system, and computer-readable medium to create a snapshot of an existing information system using a model of an information processing system. The model defines a set of instructions that is operable to discover data about a resource in the existing information processing system, and the snapshot is created by executing the set of instructions. An analysis of the snapshot is performed to identify a set of actions needed to make a change to the existing information processing system. Changes to the existing information processing system may include, for example, upgrading the existing information processing system, deploying a new instance of the existing information processing system, and optimizing performance of the existing information processing system.

Model-based management of an existing information processing system

A method for automated technical support in a computer network having a client machine, and at least one server from which live help is available. The method begins initiates a guided self-help session in response to entry by a user of a problem area and description. During the self-help session, the user is provided with an option to escalate to live help. If the user exercises that option, the system automatically provides a support engineer at the server with a data stream summarizing the self-help session. During the live help, the support engineer may then repeat a portion of the user's self-help session, view information generated during that session, and/or execute certain actions with respect to the user's machine, all from the engineer's desktop. An active journal is maintained for each problem incident, and active journals may be used by other analysts to facilitate problem resolutions for new incidents.

Technical support chain automation with guided self-help capability, escalation to live help, and active journaling

A method for automated technical support in a computer network having a client machine, and at least one server from which live help is available. The method begins in response to entry by a user of a problem area and description. In response, a diagnostic map is executed to explore the user's machine and the problem description. The map returns a self-help search string that, upon execution in a search engine, is expected to return relevant search results. The search string may then be executed to facilitate a guided self-help session.

Technical support chain automation with guided self-help capability via a system-supplied search string

Guided self-help is facilitated through use of so-called &ldquo;active content&rdquo; pages that are selectively filtered and retrieved as a function of a set of declarative &ldquo;assertions.&rdquo; An assertion typically is an individual statement or building block of a larger, more comprehensive diagnostic map. An assertions map is a smaller, more focused version of a diagnostic map that is executed against a user's computer system to diagnose a particular problem situation that the user has encountered. When a user encounters a technical problem, he or she navigates to a search window and enables a given command when entering a search string to identify fixes for the problem. A server process responds to the search request and downloads an assertions map that checks the state of the end user system and returns results. The server process then processes the conditions, filters content that matches conditions on the end user system, and ranks and displays search results to the relevant active content based on a hierarchy of assertion results.

Technical support chain automation with guided self-help capability using active content assertions

A method for automated technical support in a computer network having a client machine, and at least one server from which live help is available. The method begins initiates a guided self-help session in response to entry by a user of a problem area and description. During the self-help session, the user is provided with an option to escalate to live help. If the user exercises that option, the system automatically provides a support engineer at the server with a data stream summarizing the self-help session. During the live help, the support engineer may then repeat a portion of the user's self-help session, view information generated during that session, and/or execute certain actions with respect to the user's machine, all from the engineer's desktop.

Technical support chain automation with guided self-help capability and option to escalate to live help

Guided self-help is facilitated through use of so-called &ldquo;active content&rdquo; pages that are selectively viewable by given &ldquo;audiences&rdquo; within a technical support chain automation system. Active content is Web-based content (e.g., content viewable by a Web browser) that has one or more diagnostic maps initiated when certain actions are taken According to the invention, users are assigned to a hierarchy of audiences. A given audience within the hierarchy has the right to view active content written for that audience and active content written for any audience within the hierarchy at a lower level in the hierarchy. Given segments or portions of an active content database are associated with given audiences in the hierarchy. Thus, during a guided technical support session initiated by a user, given active content is served to the user as a function of the audience to which the user has been assigned.

Technical support chain automation with guided self-help capability using active content developed for specific audiences

A method for automated technical support in a computer network having a client machine, and at least one server. The method begins in response to entry by a user of a problem areas and description. During a guided self-help session, the user is presented with active content, for example, technical support information that may be &ldquo;activated&rdquo; via a diagnostic map. A given diagnostic map encapsulates a set of one or more methods that, upon execution, explore the user's machine and gathers diagnostic data. The active content is useful to facilitate diagnosis or self-repair during the self-help session.

Growing community of inventors

Round Rock, TX, United States of America

Francis X Sullivan