Customer self service subsystem for context cluster discovery and validation

Abstract

A system and method for clustering user contexts in a customer self service system that performs resource search and selection. The customer self service system includes a context attribute database comprising types of user contexts and one or more context attributes associated with each user context for processing by the system, and context attribute function database comprising functions for computing values for each context attribute. The context clustering system receives user interaction data from among a database of user interaction records and a distance metric for associating closeness of the user interaction data and clusters the user interaction data according to the distance metric to determine new user contexts and associated attributes for use in subsequent resource searches initiated by users in the system. Improved user query definition and resource lookup results from the new determined user context attributes. The user interaction data comprises past and present user queries, system responses to user queries, raw context information including: one or more of static, historical context, transient context, organizational context, community context, and environment context, and, other raw context associated with the user and dependent upon that user's interaction state and customer query domain.