Information processing device, instruction evaluation system, and instruction evaluation method

Abstract

To provide an information processing device for performing the efficiency of improvement work of an instruction to which a general user refers.SOLUTION: In an instruction evaluation system, an instruction management server 103 being an information processing device includes a control part, a storage part 104, an input part and an output part. The control part has an analysis function to provide a terminal operated by a user with an instruction to instruct prescribed work to the user. The storage part stores a process metadata table obtained by associating contents of the instruction with a work block, work elements and operation that should be executed by the user. The input part is a general input device and / or a communication part 107, acquires a processing history detected by the terminal when the user uses the instruction in each work block, and records the processing history as a work history table. The analysis function analyzes which work element causes an element of work efficiency deterioration among the work elements in a work block with low work efficiency to the user with reference to the process metadata table and the work history table.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technology for determining the appropriateness of instructions referred to by users, and in particular to a system for supporting the improvement of instructions, such as furniture assembly instructions, that are primarily referred to by general users, by performing analysis processing based on history data of users' references to instructions on their terminals. [Background technology]

[0002] The techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are known as techniques for evaluating the appropriateness of an explanation for a model task that a worker is provided with, based on information collected from the task actions performed by the worker.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a technology that determines whether or not a work manual contains tacit knowledge by comparing the work time taken by skilled and unskilled workers with photographed data of the work process and detecting work steps where work delays occur or where the actions differ.

[0004] Patent Document 2 describes a technology that displays an assembly scenario that has been filmed in advance according to the worker's level of proficiency, measures the time and films each process, and when the worker has the highest work efficiency, saves the filmed work video as a scenario to be displayed from the next time, and notifies workers with poor work efficiency of areas to improve their work. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-004274 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2011-134224 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, the systems described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 can only evaluate manuals that are referred to by workers at production sites where detailed work data can be obtained, who have mastered at least the minimum necessary operations and whose levels of proficiency can be classified according to the number of experiences, year of joining the company, etc.

[0007] In other words, the technologies described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 can be applied to improving instructions for people who perform work as part of their job, by taking videos of the work and inputting work data for each completed small process. However, it is difficult to apply these technologies directly to general users, who have different abilities and experiences with respect to individual operations and for whom it is not possible to require the acquisition of work data.

[0008] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for improving the efficiency of the work of improving instructions that general users refer to. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] One aspect of the present invention is an information processing device having a control unit, a memory unit, an input unit, and an output unit, the control unit having an analysis function, the control unit having a function of providing instructions instructing a user to perform a specified task from the output unit to a terminal operated by the user, the memory unit associates the contents of the instructions with work blocks, work elements associated with the work blocks, and operations that the user should perform on the work elements, and stores a process metadata table that stores the work blocks, the work elements, and the operations in relation to each other, the input unit acquires a history of processing detected by the terminal when the user uses the instructions for each work block and records it in the memory unit as a work history table, and the analysis function refers to the process metadata table and the work history table, and analyzes which of the work elements is a cause of reduced work efficiency in a work block where work efficiency is low for the user.

[0010] Another aspect of the present invention is an instruction evaluation system including the information processing device described above and a terminal operated by the user, wherein the terminal displays the instruction data in units of work blocks within one screen of a display, either simultaneously or by scrolling the screen, and the processing history detected by the terminal is information on the timing of screen switching on the display.

[0011] Another aspect of the present invention is an instruction evaluation system including the information processing device described above and a terminal operated by the user, wherein the processing history detected by the terminal is at least one of information on the number of operations on an icon or image displayed on the display of the terminal and history information of a chat function.

[0012] Another aspect of the present invention is an instruction evaluation method executed by an information processing device having a control unit, a memory unit, an input unit, and an output unit, the control unit having an analysis function, the memory unit correlating the contents of an instruction instructing a user to perform a specified task with a work block, a work element associated with the work block, and an operation to be performed by the user with the work element, and storing a process metadata table that correlates the work block, the work element, and the operation with each other, the control unit providing the instruction from the output unit to a terminal operated by the user, a second step in which the input unit acquires, for each work block, a history of processing detected by the terminal when the user uses the instruction, and the memory unit stores the history of processing for a plurality of users in association with a combination of the user ID and the work block. a third step of recording a work history table storing the reflected numerical values; a fourth step of the analysis function referring to the work history table, calculating the average value of the numerical values ​​for each of the work blocks, and comparing the average value with a reference value to extract one or more target work blocks from the work blocks; a fifth step of the analysis function referring to the process metadata table and identifying, from among multiple types of operations contained in the instructions, operations that are unevenly distributed in the target work blocks as one or more target operations; a sixth step of the analysis function referring to the process metadata table and identifying, from among the target work blocks, those to which at least one of the target operations is associated as a work element; and a seventh step of the output unit outputting information indicating the identified work elements. Effect of the Invention

[0013] We can provide technology that will streamline the work of improving instructions that general users refer to. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an instruction manual evaluation system. [Diagram 2]1 is a data table illustrating an example of a BEM table according to an embodiment. [Diagram 3] 1 is a data table illustrating an example of a work history table according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] 11 is a data table illustrating an example of a user table according to the embodiment. [Diagram 5] 13 is a flowchart showing a process in a user system. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is an image diagram showing an example of an instruction manual displayed on the terminal. [Figure 7] 1 is a flowchart of a matching function. [Figure 8] 1 is a flowchart of an analysis function. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is an image showing an example of an instruction evaluation screen displayed on a PC. [Figure 10] 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a statistical process of a work history performed by an analysis function of the embodiment. [Figure 11] 13 is an example of a data table in which a matrix T according to an embodiment is recorded. [Figure 12] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for determining a weak task block performed by the analysis function of the embodiment. [Figure 13] 13 is an example of a data table in which a matrix B according to the embodiment is recorded. [Figure 14] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process of determining an unfavourable operation performed by the analysis function of the embodiment. [Figure 15] 13 is an example of a data table in which a matrix M according to an embodiment is recorded. [Figure 16] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for determining a task element that is difficult to perform, which is performed by an analysis function of the embodiment. [Figure 17] 13 is an example of a data table in which a matrix E according to an embodiment is recorded. [Figure 18] 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a notification message issuing process performed by the analysis function of the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] The embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited to the description of the embodiments shown below. It will be easily understood by those skilled in the art that the specific configuration can be changed without departing from the concept or purpose of the present invention.

[0016] In the configurations of the embodiments described below, the same parts or parts having similar functions are denoted by the same reference numerals in different drawings, and duplicated explanations may be omitted.

[0017] When there are multiple elements having the same or similar functions, they may be described by using the same reference numerals with different subscripts. However, when there is no need to distinguish between multiple elements, the subscripts may be omitted.

[0018] The designations "first," "second," "third," and the like in this specification are given to identify components, and do not necessarily limit the number, order, or content. Furthermore, numbers for identifying components are used in different contexts, and a number used in one context does not necessarily indicate the same configuration in another context. Furthermore, a component identified by a certain number does not prevent the component from also having the function of a component identified by another number.

[0019] In order to facilitate understanding of the invention, the position, size, shape, range, etc. of each component shown in the drawings, etc. may not represent the actual position, size, shape, range, etc. Therefore, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the position, size, shape, range, etc. disclosed in the drawings, etc.

[0020] All publications, patents, and patent applications cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

[0021] As used herein, elements referred to in the singular are intended to include the plural unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0022] The systems described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not address the following issues that arise when evaluating whether instructions for general users, such as furniture assembly instructions, are useful in supporting general users in their work, i.e., when evaluating the appropriateness of the work support provided by instructions for general users.

[0023] First, it is difficult to determine in detail which tasks were not performed properly based on the task data that can be collected from general users. Since general users are not skilled in operations (such as "tightening" a screw or "fixing" a component), it is expected that they will not be able to perform each operation properly. Therefore, there is a method in which general users are asked to check which operations were not performed properly one by one during the work process, such as assembling furniture. However, if a report is required for each operation that was not performed properly, the flow of the assembly work will be stopped for the user each time, which may reduce the efficiency of the assembly work that is originally intended to be achieved.

[0024] In the first place, even if general users are encouraged to record their work results in detail, it is not always possible to obtain reliable data. For example, even if you require users to press the confirmation button after completing each operation, it is expected that users will press the confirmation button multiple times at once when they have completed a task.

[0025] Furthermore, in environments such as the home where users are expected to refer to instructions for general users, it is not possible to use techniques such as installing cameras as in production sites and analyzing work videos to identify poor operations.

[0026] Secondly, for general users, it is not possible to find attributes that clearly correlate with strengths and weaknesses in tasks, such as the year of joining the company or number of years of experience. For this reason, it is not possible to take a method to effectively detect inappropriate parts of instructions by focusing on the work performance of workers who have attributes that make them relatively weak at tasks. On the other hand, if it is not considered which types of users are weak at the target tasks, it is possible that processes that are not a problem for most users but are inappropriate for some users will not be detected.

[0027] For example, even if elderly people are particularly slow in a process because they cannot distinguish small symbols on the screws, areas for improvement in that process may be overlooked because the work data of a small number of elderly users does not contribute significantly to statistics based on the work data of all users.

[0028] The technology described in the embodiment proposes the following solution to the above problem. For example, an assembly task that is the subject of an instruction manual (e.g., assembling a chest) is broken down into "an operation (fixing with screws)," "a task element (fixing component A and component B with screws) that includes an operation (fixing with screws) and an operation target (component A and component B)," and "a task block (making a drawer) that includes one or more task elements."

[0029] Then, the system obtains the user's browsing history in "work block" units, which allows for obtaining reliable behavioral data from general users, identifies "weak work blocks" from the "work blocks" in the browsing history, identifies "weak operations" that are common to multiple "weak work blocks," identifies "weak work elements" that include the "weak operations" from among the "weak work blocks," and notifies the user of the identified "weak work elements" as targets for improvement.

[0030] Furthermore, general users are classified according to characteristics (gender, age, native language, etc.) that can be extracted from general users and that may correlate with strengths and weaknesses in tasks, and task elements that they are weak at are identified for each characteristic value (gender: male / female, age: elderly / middle-aged / young, native language: Japanese / non-Japanese, etc.).

[0031] This allows the user to simply input the reference history for each task block, and the instruction manual creator can determine whether or not the instruction manual needs to be improved for each task element, making it easier to evaluate the appropriateness of the instruction manual. Furthermore, it is possible to detect task elements for which inappropriate explanations are provided only for users with specific characteristic values, even if the number of such task elements is small. In addition, by revising the explanation for each characteristic value, it is possible to deliver the most suitable instruction manual to each user. Note that in this specification, the term "instruction manual" is intended to include not only documents but also general content such as images, audio, and video that instruct users to perform a specific task.

[0032] (1. System Configuration) Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an instruction manual evaluation system according to an embodiment of the present invention, which includes a PC 102, an instruction manual management server 103, and a terminal 113. Here, an assembly instruction manual for a piece of furniture such as a chest of drawers is taken as a specific example.

[0033] (1-1. Manual Management Server) First, a description will be given of the configuration of the instruction manual management server 103. The instruction manual management server 103 is managed, for example, by a business that provides products and their instructions. The instruction manual management server 103 is generally configured as a business server or cloud.

[0034] The PC 102 operated by the instruction manual creator 101 is a general personal computer equipped with an input section, a display section, a storage section, and a control section, and is connected to a communication section 106 of the instruction manual management server 103 via a network line.

[0035] The instruction manual management server 103 is a server equipped with a memory unit 104, a control unit 105, and a communication unit 106, and is connected to the PC 102 and the communication unit 107 of the user system 112 via a network line. The instruction manual management server 103 also has a general input device (input unit) and an output device (output unit). The communication unit 107 may be considered as one of the input device (input unit) and output device (output unit). The PC 102 may also be configured as part of the instruction manual management server 103.

[0036] The memory unit 104 of the instruction manual management server 103 has data such as an instruction manual DB 104a, a BEM table 104b, a work history table 104c, a user table 104d, a notice table 104e, and a match table 104f. The memory unit 104 can be configured by arbitrarily combining storage devices such as a magnetic disk device and a semiconductor memory.

[0037] The instruction manual DB 104a stores instructions linked to instruction manual IDs. The instruction manual here is a content for explaining the procedure for assembling a product to be assembled (e.g., a chest of drawers), and is composed of a set of multiple instructions for a work block (making a drawer) including one or more work elements (fixing component A and component B with screws) including an operation (fixing with screws) and components to be operated (components A and B).

[0038] The data format of the instruction manual may include text, images, videos, and audio. The instruction manual data is created in advance by an instruction manual creator 101 or a system administrator, and stored in the storage unit 104. The instruction manual data is transmitted to the terminal 113 as necessary, and made available for use by the user 114.

[0039] 2 is a data table showing an example of the BEM table 104b. The BEM table 104b is a table created in a 1:1 correspondence with the instruction manual, and defines the association between the work blocks (Blocks) constituting the instruction manual, the work elements (Elements) constituting the work blocks, and the operations (Manipulations) included in the work elements.

[0040] FIG. 2 shows data for one instruction manual. One or more work block IDs that identify work blocks are associated with an instruction ID that identifies the instruction manual. One or more work element IDs that identify work elements are associated with one work block ID. One work element includes a set of any number of work targets and any number of operations. In this example, standard work time data for a work block is included, but instead of or in addition to this, other data for evaluating work efficiency may also be included.

[0041] The data of the BEM table 104b is created in advance by the instruction manual creator 101 or a system administrator, and is stored in the memory unit 104. In this case, the definitions of the work block, work element, and operation are arbitrary. In the example of FIG. 2, the work elements include two operation objects and one operation, but the number of operation objects and operations is not limited to this. It is also arbitrary how many work elements are included in one work block, but it is preferable to summarize contents that are easy for the user 114 to separate into one work block. As an example, it is possible to associate one or more work elements, the explanation of which can be displayed on one screen of the terminal 113, with one work block.

[0042] 3 is a data table showing an example of the work history table 104c. The work history table 104c is created on a one-to-one basis for the instruction manual, and links the user ID with information about the user's work history. The work history is recorded for each work block, and may be any information that can be recorded by the user 114 operating the terminal. The work history table 104c is designed to collect data from a large number of users, and the collected data is subjected to statistical processing.

[0043] In the example of Fig. 3, the work history of users with user IDs "1" to "5" is stored for the instruction manual with instruction manual ID "1". One work history is recorded for each work block such as "assembling the drawer" and "assembling the storage section", and in this example, the work time (seconds) is stored. The recording means of the work history table 104c will be described later.

[0044] FIG. 4 is a data table showing an example of the user table 104d. In the user table 104d, a user ID that identifies a user registered in the user system is associated with the value of the characteristic (hereinafter referred to as a characteristic value). In FIG. 4, "gender," "age class," and "native language" are recorded as examples of characteristics. As an example of a characteristic value, "male" and "female" are recorded for "gender." The characteristic value may be a category or a numerical value. Furthermore, the characteristics and characteristic values ​​linked to a user may be anything as long as they can be extracted from general users.

[0045] The characteristic values ​​may be surveyed by conducting a questionnaire before or after the work, or by utilizing information acquired when the user registers in the user system 112. Alternatively, the user table 104d may be created by a system administrator based on information collected in advance and stored in the storage unit 104. Alternatively, the user 114 may input the information from the terminal 113 when using the instructions in the instruction DB 104a.

[0046] In the notification table 104e, notification messages for notifying the instruction manual creator 101 of the process in which the instruction manual management server 103 has determined that the explanation is inappropriate are recorded in association with the instruction manual ID. The data of the notification table 104e is created by the analysis function 105b and stored in the storage unit 104.

[0047] The match table 104f is a table that uses the product ID and characteristic value as a composite primary key, searches for instruction manual IDs, and is used to classify multiple instructions for one product when they are remade for each characteristic value. The data in the match table 104f is created in advance by the instruction manual creator 101 or the system administrator, and is stored in the memory unit 104.

[0048] The control unit 105 is hardware that functions as a computer, and includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), RAM (Random Access Memory), and ROM (Read Only Memory) as processing devices, and controls the operation of the instruction manual management server 103. The control unit 105 controls the execution of the matching function 105a and the analysis function 105b. The matching function 105a and the analysis function 105b are realized by the CPU executing a program stored in, for example, the RAM or the ROM. In terms of the system configuration, the matching function 105a may be understood as a matching function section, and the analysis function 105b may be understood as an analysis function section.

[0049] The control unit 105 or the instruction manual management server 103 may be configured as a single computer, or any part of the input device, output device, processing device, and storage device may be configured as other computers connected via a network. In addition, functions equivalent to those configured by software can also be realized by hardware such as FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) and ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

[0050] The matching function 105a is responsible for retrieving an appropriate instruction manual from the match table 104f and transmitting the instruction manual to the user system 112 upon receiving a request for an instruction manual from the user system 112.

[0051] When the analysis function 105b receives the instructions to be evaluated from the PC 102, it is responsible for identifying steps that may contain inappropriate instructions, issuing a notification to notify them, and transmitting the analysis results to the PC 102.

[0052] (1-2. User system) Next, a description will be given of the configuration of the user system 112. As a specific example, the user system 112 is composed of a personal computer or a portable information terminal (terminal 113) used by a general user 114.

[0053] The terminal 113 operated by the user 114 is, for example, a typical smartphone, and is equipped with an input unit (touch panel) 111, a display unit 110, a memory unit 108, a control unit 109, and a communication unit 107, and can be connected to the communication unit 106 of the instruction manual management server 103 via a network line.

[0054] The user system 112 stores an instruction manual DB 108a and an operation history table 108b in the memory unit 108. Also, the control unit 109 is provided with an operation history acquisition function 109a. The users 114 are assumed to be general users with various characteristics, for example, from the elderly to children.

[0055] The control unit 109 is hardware that functions as a computer, includes a CPU, RAM, and ROM, and controls the operation of the user system 112. The control unit 109 controls the execution of a work history acquisition function 109a. The work history acquisition function 109a is realized by the CPU executing a program stored in, for example, the RAM or ROM. The program is downloaded from, for example, the instruction manual management server 103.

[0056] The work history acquisition function 109a acquires the work history from the operations performed by the user 114 on the terminal 113 for each work block, and records the work history in a work history table 108b, which will be described later. The data in the work history table 108b is transmitted to the instruction manual management server 103 at any time and collected in a work history table 104c.

[0057] An operation performed on the terminal 113 is, for example, "the user 114 taps the Next button 304" on a task block screen (described later in FIG. 6), i.e., the timing of switching the screen, etc. In this case, the work history acquisition function 109a may record the time from when the explanation screen for one task block starts to be displayed until the Next button 306 is tapped (i.e., equivalent to the task time for the task block) as the task history for that task block.

[0058] The storage unit 108 includes an instruction manual DB 108a and a work history table 108b. The instruction manual DB 108a stores instructions requested by the user 114 and returned from the instruction manual management server 103, linked to a product ID and an instruction manual ID. The work history table 108b records information on the history of the user's reference to an instruction manual, acquired by the work history acquisition function 109a, for each work block, and records the information in association with the instruction manual ID.

[0059] First, we will explain an example of a series of operations in the user system 112, from when the user 114 requests instructions from the instruction management server 103 to when the work history is sent to the instruction management server 103, and an example of operations in the matching function 105a, from when the request from the user 114 is accepted to when an appropriate instruction is searched for and a response is sent to the user 114.

[0060] (2. Operation Description) (2-1. Example of user system operation) Fig. 5 is a flow chart showing the processing of the user system 112. First, when the user 114 starts up the terminal 113 and selects a product for which he / she wishes to view the manual using the input unit 111, the processing shown in Fig. 5 starts (S201).

[0061] When the process starts, the control unit 109 transmits the product ID of the selected product and the user ID of the user acquired from the terminal to the instruction manual management server 103 via the communication unit 107, and requests the instruction manual (S202).

[0062] After S202, the instruction manual management server 103 processes a matching function 105a (described later), and returns appropriate instructions from the instruction manual DB 104a to the user system 112 via the communication units 106 and 107.

[0063] The instruction manual sent back to the user system 112 is stored in the instruction manual DB 108a by the control unit 109 (S203). The data in the instruction manual DB 108a is considered to be a partial copy of the data in the instruction manual DB 104a. When the user 114 selects an instruction manual for a product to be assembled from the input unit 111, a new work history table 108b is created and the instruction manual ID and user ID are recorded (S204).

[0064] When user 114 selects start of work from input unit 111, the first work block screen is displayed on display unit 110 of terminal 113 (S206).

[0065] Fig. 6 is an example of a task block screen displayed on the display unit 110 of the terminal 113, and includes a task block description 301, a description 302 of the task elements that make up the task block, and a next button 304. These contents correspond to the data structure of the BEM table 104b shown in Fig. 2, and are created based on the data in the instruction manual DB 108a.

[0066] Here, the work element description 302 may include an image 303. The image is intended to provide a supplementary explanation of the operation of the work element, and may include information such as images, videos, and text. A chat icon 305 may also be added to the work block screen, and a chat screen may be displayed when the chat icon is pressed. In this case, the user 114 can use the chat to ask the person in charge of receiving questions about any questions that arise when performing the work block.

[0067] When the Next button 304 is pressed (S207), the work history for the first work block is acquired by the work history acquisition function 109a and saved in the work history table 108b (S208). The work history acquired here may be anything that can be recorded by the user 114 operating the terminal 113. For example, as described above, the work history may be the work time estimated from the time from when the work block screen is displayed until the Next button 304 is tapped (completion time). Alternatively, it may be the number of times an image is tapped (number of views). Alternatively, it may be the number of times a video is played repeatedly. Furthermore, if a chat function is added, a question sent by the user may be acquired as the work history.

[0068] After S208, the process returns to S205, and the explanatory screen for the next work block is displayed. The processes from S206 to S208 are repeated until the explanatory screens for all work blocks that make up the instruction manual are displayed. After that, the user system 112 transmits the work history table 108b to the instruction manual management server 103 via the communication units 107 and 106 (S210), and the processing of the user system ends.

[0069] After receiving the work history table 108b, the analysis function 105b of the instruction manual management server 103 records the information recorded in the received table in the work history table 104c.

[0070] The terminal 113 displays the instruction manual data in units of work blocks on one screen of the display simultaneously or by scrolling the screen, making it easier for the user to work. At this time, information on the timing of switching the display screen when the user operates the next button 304 can be used as information in the work history table 104c.

[0071] (2-2. Example of matching function operation) Fig. 7 is a flowchart of the process of the matching function 105a. When the instruction manual management server 103 receives a request for an instruction manual from the user system 112, the process shown in Fig. 7 starts (S601). The matching function 105a first searches the user table 104d for a user that matches the user ID of the request source terminal, and obtains the characteristic values ​​as a list (S602).

[0072] Then, the instruction manual ID is searched for in the match table 104f using the product ID and the element of the characteristic value list included in the instruction manual request as keys (S603). As an example of the match table 104f, consider a table having the product ID and characteristic value as key columns and the instruction manual ID and priority as key values. Here, the priority column is used to uniquely search for the instruction manual with the highest priority value when there are separate instructions for multiple characteristic values ​​for the same product.

[0073] For example, consider a match table in which the instruction manual for product ID "1" is registered as "Instruction Manual ID = 2 · Priority = 10" for age = elderly, "Instruction Manual ID = 3 · Priority = 5" for gender = female, and "Instruction Manual ID = 1" for other characteristics.

[0074] In this case, if you search with product ID = 1 and characteristic values ​​= [female, elderly, Japanese], the instruction manual ID = 2, which has the highest priority, will be searched for among "instruction manual ID = 2, 3" that match the key "product ID = 1, characteristic values ​​= female, elderly."

[0075] Thereafter, the instruction DB 104a is searched for an instruction matching the instruction ID searched for in S603 (S604), and the searched instruction is returned to the requesting terminal (S605), completing the processing of the matching function 105a.

[0076] (2-3. Analysis function operation) Fig. 8 is a flowchart of the analysis function 105b. The analysis function 105b will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 8. First, the instruction manual creator 101 starts up the PC 102 and displays an instruction manual evaluation screen.

[0077] Fig. 9 is an image diagram showing an example of an instruction manual evaluation screen displayed on the PC 102. The instruction manual evaluation screen has an instruction manual ID input field 401 and a search icon 402, and the instruction manual creator 101 inputs the ID of the instruction manual to be evaluated in the instruction manual ID input field 401, and then presses the search icon 402 to request an evaluation of the instruction manual from the instruction manual management server 103. When the instruction manual management server 103 receives the evaluation request, processing of the analysis function 105b shown in Fig. 8 is started (S501).

[0078] After starting S501, the analysis function 105b first searches the work history table 104c and the BEM table 104b linked to the instruction manual ID for which the request was accepted from the storage unit 104 (S502). After that, the statistical value of the work history in each work block recorded in the work history table 104c is calculated for each characteristic value (S503).

[0079] Next, the statistical values ​​calculated in S503 are compared with the reference values ​​stored in BEM table 104b for each work block, for example, to determine whether the explanation of each work block was appropriate for each characteristic value (S504).

[0080] Next, in S504, operations contained in multiple work blocks that have been determined to have inappropriate explanations for a user of a certain characteristic value are searched for in BEM table 104b, and operations that are commonly contained in each work block are extracted and determined to be operations whose explanations are inappropriate (S505).

[0081] Next, the BEM table 104b is searched for operations included in the work block determined in S503 to have an inappropriate explanation for a user with a certain characteristic value, and it is determined whether or not those operations include an operation determined in S505 to have an inappropriate explanation for a user with a certain characteristic value. If such an operation is present, the work element in that work block that includes that operation is determined to be a work element with an inappropriate explanation (S506).

[0082] Next, a notification message is created to notify the instruction manual creator 101 of the task element for which the explanation identified in S506 is inappropriate, and is stored in the notification message table 104e in association with the instruction manual ID (S507).

[0083] Finally, the instruction manual management server 103 transmits the notification message table 104e to the PC 102, and the processing of the analysis function 105b ends.

[0084] (2-4. Specific examples of analysis function operation) The process of the analysis function 105b will be specifically described below using the assembly of a chest (product ID=1) as an example.

[0085] Assembling a chest is considered to consist of four work blocks ("assemble the drawers," "assemble the storage section," "attach the top," and "install the casters"), and each work block is broken down into one or more work elements (e.g., "bolt plate A and plate B together") defined by a combination of an operation and an object of operation. Furthermore, it is considered that there are four types of operations required to assemble a chest ("screw fastening," "bonding," "cam lock fastening," and "bolt fastening"). An example of this kind is shown earlier in Figure 2.

[0086] 4 is an example of user table 104d, in which the user IDs of five users are associated with their respective characteristic values. In this example, the characteristics for classifying users are gender, age group, and native language, and the possible characteristic values ​​are male / female, elderly / middle-aged / young, Japanese / non-Japanese.

[0087] 3 is an example of the work history table 104c, in which the time (seconds) required to complete each work block is recorded as the work history for each user ID. As described above, the time required to complete a work block can be measured as the time from when the explanation for one work block is displayed until the user 114 instructs the display of the next work block, and this timing can be obtained when the user 114 taps the next button 304 (FIG. 6) on the work block screen of the terminal 113. Note that, for simplification, five users are analyzed in this example, but in practice, in order to obtain highly reliable statistics, it is desirable to evaluate the instructions after obtaining the work histories of more users.

[0088] The instruction manual creator 101 starts the PC 102, inputs "1" in the instruction manual ID input field 401 on the instruction manual evaluation screen (FIG. 9), and presses the search icon 402 to start the processing of the analysis function 105b (S501). The instruction manual management server 103 searches the work history table 104c and the BEM table 104b for data whose instruction manual ID matches "1" in the storage unit 104, and stores the data in a temporary storage area (S502). The temporary storage area can be the RAM of the control unit 105 or the storage area of ​​the storage unit 104. The data of T (task block, characteristic value), B (task block, characteristic value), M (operation, characteristic value), and M (operation, characteristic value), which will be described below with reference to FIG. 11, FIG. 13, FIG. 15, and FIG. 17, are also stored in the temporary storage area in the same manner. After S502, the processing S503 is started.

[0089] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing in S503, which is processing for determining the average time T (task block, characteristic value) required for a user of each characteristic value to complete each task block.

[0090] Here, the matrix X(P,Q) is an N×M matrix with the subscripts being the set of elements in the set P={p1, p2,…,pN} and Q={q1, q2,…,qM}, and the component in the i-th row and j-th column is denoted as X(pi,qj). For example, for task block={“assembly of drawers”, “assembly of storage unit”} and characteristic value={“male”, “female”}, T(“task block”, “characteristic value”) is a 2×2 matrix, and its component T(“assembly of drawers”, “male”) is the average time it takes male users to complete assembling a drawer.

[0091] First, the first row of the task history table 104c is extracted, and the user ID and task block completion time list are obtained (S702). Next, the user table 104d is searched using the user ID as a key, and a characteristic value list of a user with a matching user ID is obtained (S703). Next, for each element of the characteristic value list, 1 is added to N (characteristic value), which indicates the number of users who have a certain characteristic value (S704).

[0092] Next, the elements of the task block completion time list are added to V(task block, characteristic value), which represents the total time taken by a user having a certain characteristic value to complete a certain task block (S706). After S706, the process returns to S702 and is repeated until extraction of all rows in the task history table is completed. Then, T(task block, characteristic value) is obtained by dividing V(task block, characteristic value) by N(characteristic value).

[0093] FIG. 11 shows T(task block, characteristic value) calculated based on the user table shown in FIG. 4 and the task history table shown in FIG. 3. For example, there are two users with ID=1 and 2 who have the characteristic value "elderly" (N(elderly)=2), and the total time taken to complete the task block "assembling a drawer" is 1800 (V(assembling a drawer, elderly)=1800), so T(assembling a drawer, elderly)=900. According to T(task block, characteristic value), the average time T taken by users with each characteristic value (e.g. elderly) to complete each task block (e.g. assembling a drawer) is determined. After completion of S503, the analysis function 105b starts the process of S504.

[0094] Figure 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing in S504, which is a process to calculate a matrix B (task block, characteristic value) that is 1 if the average time it takes a user with a certain characteristic value to complete a certain task block is longer than an expected value, and is 0 otherwise.

[0095] First, all elements of B are set to 0 (S802). Next, the first task block row recorded in BEM table 104b is searched for, and the value of the reference time column is recorded in TM. Next, T (task block, characteristic value) is compared with TM for each characteristic value (S806), and if T (task block, characteristic value) is greater than TM, 1 is recorded in B (task block, characteristic value) (S807). After S807, the process returns to S803 and is repeated until searching of all task blocks recorded in the BEM table is completed.

[0096] FIG. 13 shows an example of the B(work block, characteristic value) calculated based on the BEM table 104b illustrated in FIG. 2 and the T(work block, characteristic value) illustrated in FIG. 11. For example, regarding the work block "drawer assembly", when the characteristic value is "low age group", since T(drawer assembly, low age group) = 100 < TM = 800, B(drawer assembly, low age group) = 0. On the other hand, when the characteristic value is "high age group", since T(drawer assembly, high age group) = 900 > 800, B(drawer assembly, high age group) = 1. From B(work block, characteristic value), it is found that a work block with low work efficiency (requiring a work time longer than the standard time) for a user with a specific characteristic value. After the completion of S504, the analysis function 105b starts the process of S505.

[0097] FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of the process in S505. For each characteristic value of the user 114, it is a process of calculating a matrix M(operation, characteristic value) representing the ratio of the number of operations included in the work block that took longer than the standard time to the total number of operations executed for a predetermined operation in the whole work.

[0098] First, all elements of M are set to 0 (S902). Next, from the BEM table 104b, a work block including a certain operation in the operation sequence is searched (S903). Next, for each searched work block, the number of times of that operation included in the operation sequence is recorded in K (S905), and K is added to L(operation) representing the number of times of executing the operation in the whole work (S906). Subsequently, for each characteristic value, it is determined whether B(work block, characteristic value) = 1 (S908). If so, for a user with a certain characteristic value in the whole work, K is added to U(operation, characteristic value) representing the number of times that a certain operation is included in the work block that took longer than the standard time (S909). After S909, the process returns to S903 and repeats until the processing for all operations is completed.

[0099] FIG. 15 is an example of M (operation, characteristic value) calculated based on the BEM table 104b illustrated in FIG. 2 and B (work block, characteristic value) illustrated in FIG. 13. For example, according to the BEM table 104b, the operation "bolt fixing" is performed once each in the work blocks "assembling the drawer", "attaching the top plate", and "installing the casters", so L (bolt fixing) = 3. In the case of the characteristic value "elderly person", the work blocks for which B (work block, elderly person) = 1 are "assembling the drawer" and "attaching the top plate", so U (bolt fixing, elderly person) = 2. Therefore, M (bolt fixing, elderly person) = U (bolt fixing, elderly person) / L (bolt fixing) = 0.67 (rounded to the third decimal place). In the example of FIG. 2, the operation "bolt fixing" appears repeatedly throughout the entire process, but the processing is similar even for an operation that appears only once. In that case, M has two values, "1" and "0".

[0100] In this way, M(operation, characteristic value) is obtained by examining operations that are concentrated in a task block that has low task efficiency for a specific user among specific types of operations included in the task. M(operation, characteristic value) identifies operations that may have low task efficiency for a user with a specific characteristic value. After completion of S505, the analysis function 105b starts the process of S506.

[0101] As described above, in this embodiment, it is possible to identify an operation that the user cannot perform appropriately based on information that can be collected by the user 114 simply touching the Next button 304 in Fig. 6. Therefore, it is desirable to review the explanation in the manual by focusing on the operation in question.

[0102] Figure 16 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing in S506, which is a process for calculating a matrix E (work element ID, characteristic value) that is 1 if the work elements that make up a work block where B (work block, characteristic value) = 1 for a user with a certain characteristic value include an operation where M (operation, characteristic value) is greater than a reference value, and is 0 otherwise.

[0103] First, all elements of E are set to 0 (S1002). Next, the first work block row is extracted from the BEM table (S1003), and for each characteristic value, it is determined whether B(work block, characteristic value) = 1 (S1005). If so, for each operation of the work elements contained in the work block (S1006), it is determined whether M(operation, characteristic value) > 0.6 (S1008). If so, E(work element ID, characteristic value) = 1 is recorded (S1009). Note that the reference value of 0.6 can be set arbitrarily. Here, 0.6 is used as the reference value for the majority. After S1009, the process returns to S1003 and is repeated until processing is completed for all work blocks.

[0104] Fig. 17 is an example of E (task element, characteristic value) calculated based on the BEM table illustrated in Fig. 2, B (task block, characteristic value) illustrated in Fig. 13, and M (operation, characteristic value) illustrated in Fig. 15. In the case of a task block "assembly of a drawer" and a characteristic value "senior citizen", B (assembly of a drawer, elderly citizen) = 1, so S1006 is processed.

[0105] The task block "assembly of drawer" is composed of task element IDs 1, 2, and 3, which correspond to the operations "bonding," "screw tightening," and "bolt fixing," respectively. Of these, the operation for which M(operation, elderly person)>0.6 is "bolt fixing," and the task element ID corresponding to the operation "bolt fixing" is "3," so E(3, elderly person)=1. Using E(task element, characteristic value), it is possible to determine which task element may be the cause of the decrease in task efficiency in a task block in which the task efficiency of a user with a specific characteristic value was low. After completion of S506, the analysis function 105b starts the process of S507.

[0106] Figure 18 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing in S507, which is a process in which, for each work element that constitutes a work block where B(work block, characteristic value) = 1 for each characteristic value, if E(work element ID, characteristic value) = 1, a notification is issued to notify that the explanation of the work element ID is inappropriate for that characteristic value.

[0107] For example, consider a process for issuing a notification message regarding the characteristic value "elderly person" based on B (task block, characteristic value) illustrated in Fig. 13 and E (task element ID, characteristic value) illustrated in Fig. 17. The task blocks for which B (task block, elderly person) = 1 are "assembling the drawer" and "attaching the top plate." Of the task elements (ID = 1, 2, 3) that make up the task block "assembling the drawer," the task element ID for which E (task element ID, elderly person) = 1 is "3." Therefore, in S1107, a notification message stating "The explanation of task element ID 3 seems inappropriate for elderly people" is issued and saved in the notification message table (S1108).

[0108] Similarly, among the task elements that make up the task block "Install the tabletop", the task element with E(task element ID, elderly person)=1 is task element ID=7, so in S1107, a notification message stating "The explanation for task element ID7 seems inappropriate for elderly people" is issued and saved in the notification message table (S1108). After completing S507, analysis function 105b processes S508 and returns the notification message table to requesting PC 102.

[0109] When the evaluation result is received from the instruction manual management server 103, the PC 102 displays the evaluation result on the instruction manual evaluation screen.

[0110] The instruction manual creator 101 may create multiple instructions for the same product for each characteristic value according to the notification content. For example, if the instruction manual creator infers from the notification text 403 that "it is difficult for elderly people to bolt board A to other boards," the instruction manual creator may add an "image of an appropriate posture when bolting board A" to the images of task elements 3 and 7 in the instruction manual for elderly people. In this case, a unique ID (for example, "2") is given to the newly created instruction manual, a row is added to the match table 104f with product ID=1 and characteristic value="elderly people" as a composite primary key, and 2 is recorded in the instruction manual ID column.

[0111] (3. Application Examples) 9, the results of statistical processing performed on the work history in S503 may be displayed as a graph 409. In this case, the calculated statistical value is stored in the storage unit 104 in S503, and the statistical value is transmitted to the PC terminal 102 in S508.

[0112] As an example, in graph 409, the value of T (task block, elderly person) is displayed as a bar graph for each task block together with the reference time. In this case, a characteristic value selection field 404 may be provided so that the value of T can be displayed for each characteristic value.

[0113] In S503, a process of calculating various statistics (variance, standard deviation, etc.) related to the work history of each work block may be added. In this case, statistics other than the average value may be used in S504, S505, and S506 to identify work elements whose explanation is inappropriate, or a statistics selection field 406 may be provided to display a graph related to any statistics.

[0114] The work history targeted by the analysis function 105b is not limited to the work completion time, but may be anything that can be acquired by the user operating the terminal (for example, the number of times the image 303 is tapped to view, the number of chat questions, etc.), and in S503, statistical processing of the various work histories may be added. In this case, the statistical values ​​of the various work histories may be used in S504, S505, and S506 to utilize work elements that are inappropriately explained. In addition, if the work history is numerical data, a work history selection field 405 may be provided so that statistics regarding any work history can be displayed. Furthermore, if the work history is natural language data such as a question, frequently occurring words may be extracted in S503, and a word cloud 410 may be displayed.

[0115] The contents of the notification text may include not only the task elements, but also task blocks or operations whose explanations have been determined to be inappropriate in S505 or S506.

[0116] Identifying work elements for which the explanation is inappropriate may include not only information about the operation but also information about the "operation target" that is commonly used in each work block. For example, if many of the average times to complete work blocks that include board A as an operation target exceed the reference time, it is possible that the work elements that include board A as an operation target are impeding the appropriate progress of the work. By notifying the user of such work elements, for example, the creator of the instruction manual can come up with the idea that "the user has difficulty using board A, the heaviest of the components, as the operation target," and add a note such as "this work should be done by two people" to the explanation of the work element in which component A is the operation target.

[0117] As described in detail in the above embodiment, all assembly processes of a product involving assembly are broken down into processes (task blocks) for assembling one part that constitutes the product, and processes (task elements) that constitute the task blocks and are each composed of a single operation and an operation target. The task history is acquired for each task block from the operations performed by the user 114 on the terminal 113 to view the instruction manual, and is stored in the instruction manual management server 103. The instruction manual management server 103 determines a task block with an unfavorable tendency in the task history acquired from multiple users as a "weak task block," determines an operation commonly included in multiple "weak task blocks" as a "weak operation," determines a task element that includes a "weak operation" among the "weak task blocks" as a "weak task element," and notifies the user of the determined "weak task element" as an improvement target. This allows the instruction manual creator to determine whether or not the instruction manual needs to be improved on a task element-by-task element basis, simply by having the user input the reference history on a task block-by-task block basis, and facilitates the evaluation of the appropriateness of the instruction manual.

[0118] In the above embodiment, furniture assembly instructions were used as an example, but the present invention can be widely applied to any content that explains specific operating procedures to the user, such as cooking instructions or operating instructions for office equipment.

[0119] In the case of a cooking procedure manual, the instruction DB 104a is composed of a plurality of series of instructions for a work block (e.g., making a roux) including one or more work elements (e.g., frying flour and butter) including an operation (e.g., frying) and a material to be operated (e.g., flour and butter) for explaining the work procedure for cooking the dish to be cooked (e.g., curry). In the case of an instruction manual for office equipment, the instruction manual DB 104a would consist of a collection of multiple sets of instructions for work blocks (e.g., setup) that each include one or more work elements (e.g., downloading a printer driver) that include an operation (e.g., downloading) and a component to be operated (e.g., a printer driver) to explain the procedure for installing the target office equipment (e.g., a printer).

[0120] In this way, it is possible to provide a technology for effectively evaluating instructions that general users refer to. According to the above embodiment, efficient work can be realized, which reduces energy consumption and carbon emissions, prevents global warming, and contributes to the realization of a sustainable society. [Explanation of symbols]

[0121] 103: instruction manual management server, 104: memory unit, 105: control unit, 112: user system, 113: terminal

Claims

1. An information processing device having a control unit, a storage unit, an input unit, and an output unit, wherein the control unit has an analysis function, the control unit has a function of providing instructions instructing a user to perform a predetermined task from the output unit to a terminal operated by the user; the storage unit stores a process metadata table that associates the contents of the instruction manual with task blocks, task elements associated with the task blocks, and operations to be performed by the user on the task elements, and stores the task blocks, task elements, and operations in association with each other; the input unit acquires a history of processing detected by the terminal when the user uses the instruction manual for each task block, and records the history in the storage unit as a task history table; the analysis function refers to the process metadata table and the work history table, and analyzes which of the work elements in the work block in which the work efficiency of the user is low is a factor in the decrease in work efficiency; Information processing device.

2. the storage unit has a user table that stores characteristic values ​​of the user in correspondence with a user ID that identifies the user, the process metadata table stores a reference value for evaluating work efficiency for each work block; the work history table stores, for a plurality of users, numerical values ​​that reflect the history of the processing in correspondence with the combination of the user ID and the work block; the analysis function refers to the user table, the process metadata table, and the work history table, aggregates the numerical values ​​in the work history table for each user having a specific characteristic value, and compares the aggregated result with the reference value to identify the work block having low work efficiency for the user having the specific characteristic value as one or more work blocks of interest; 2. The information processing device according to claim 1.

3. The analysis function refers to the process metadata table, and calculates the proportion of each of the multiple types of operations included in the instruction manual that are included in the target work block, thereby identifying operations that are unevenly distributed in the target work block as one or more target operations.

3. The information processing device according to claim 2.

4. The analysis function refers to the process metadata table, and identifies, among the target work blocks, a work element to which at least one of the target operations is associated; the output unit outputs information indicating the identified work element.

4. The information processing device according to claim 3.

5. the output unit outputs, together with the identified task element, information indicating a characteristic value of a user having low task efficiency for the task block of interest.

5. The information processing device according to claim 4.

6. the input unit detects, for each task block, at least one of the timing and the number of times the user operates the terminal when using the distributed instruction manual, thereby acquiring the processing history for each task block.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1.

7. The processing history detected by the terminal is the timing of display switching when the instruction manual is displayed on the terminal in units of the work blocks.

7. The information processing device according to claim 6.

8. 10. A manual evaluation system including the information processing device according to claim 1 and a terminal operated by the user, the terminal displays the instruction manual data in units of the work blocks on one screen of a display simultaneously or by scrolling the screen; The processing history detected by the terminal is information on the timing of screen switching on the display. Instruction evaluation system.

9. 10. A manual evaluation system including the information processing device according to claim 1 and a terminal operated by the user, The processing history detected by the terminal is at least one of information on the number of operations on an icon or image displayed on a display of the terminal and history information on a chat function. Instruction evaluation system.

10. An instruction evaluation method executed by an information processing device having a control unit, a memory unit, an input unit, and an output unit, wherein the control unit has an analysis function, the storage unit stores a process metadata table that associates the contents of instructions instructing a user to perform a predetermined task with task blocks, task elements associated with the task blocks, and operations that the user should perform with the task elements, and stores the task blocks, task elements, and operations in association with each other; a first step in which the control unit provides the instruction manual from the output unit to a terminal operated by the user; a second step in which the input unit acquires, for each work block, a history of processing detected by the terminal when the user uses the instruction manual; a third step in which the storage unit records a work history table in which, for a plurality of users, numerical values ​​reflecting the history of the processing are stored in association with combinations of the user IDs and the work blocks; a fourth step in which the analysis function refers to the work history table, calculates an average value of the numerical values ​​for each work block, and compares the average value with a reference value to extract one or more work blocks of interest from the work blocks; a fifth step in which the analysis function refers to the process metadata table and identifies, among a plurality of types of operations included in the instruction manual, operations that are unevenly distributed in the target work block as one or more target operations; a sixth step in which the analysis function refers to the process metadata table and identifies, among the target work blocks, a work element to which at least one of the target operations is associated; a seventh step in which the output unit outputs information indicating the identified work element; Instructions for performing the evaluation method.

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