Response support device

Abstract

To provide a reply support device that supports giving an appropriate reply considering the elapse of time since a past inquiry.SOLUTION: A reply support device 1 includes: an inquiry DB 11A that stores bases of replies to past inquiries, and a basis DB 11B that stores revision histories of the bases; a determination unit that determines, when receiving an inquiry from an inquirer, whether the basis for a reply to a past inquiry similar to the inquiry has been revised based on the revision histories; and a revision output unit that outputs basis revision information regarding the revision to a respondent when it is determined that there is a revision.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0004] ,

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[0005] , , , , , , <00000XX><00000XX>​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​To solve the above problems, an answer support device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a storage unit that stores the basis for answers to past inquiries and the revision history of said basis; a determination unit that, when an inquiry is received from an inquirer, determines whether or not the basis for answers to past inquiries similar to the current inquiry has been revised, based on the revision history; and a revision output unit that, when it is determined that a revision has been made, outputs information on the basis revision related to said revision to the answerer.

[0007] In the above embodiment, the determination unit may determine whether or not the basis for the response to the similar past inquiry has been revised since the response to the past inquiry.

[0008] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the storage unit may further store answers to past inquiries, and the revised output unit may output answers to similar past inquiries to the respondent in addition to the basis revision information.

[0009] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the system may further include a reference response output unit that outputs to the respondent past responses similar to the response proposal obtained from the respondent, as well as the basis for said responses.

[0010] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the determination unit may determine whether or not the basis for the similar past answers has been revised, and if it is determined that there has been a revision, the reference answer output unit may further output to the respondent information regarding the revision of the basis for the revision.

[0011] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an attribute output unit may be further provided that outputs the attributes of the inquirer of the inquiry received from the outside to the respondent.

[0012] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, a revision schedule output unit may be provided to output the planned revision of the basis for the answer. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to the present invention, it becomes possible to easily create appropriate responses to various inquiries.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0014] [Figure 1] Block diagram showing the configuration of the answer support device and its communication destinations. [Figure 2] Diagram showing an example of the layout of the inquiry database. [Figure 3] Diagram showing an example of the layout of the basis database. [Figure 4] Flowchart showing the procedure of the reference answer providing process. [Figure 5] Diagram showing an example of the inquiry information input screen. [Figure 6] Diagram showing an example of the inquiry information output screen. [Figure 7A] Diagram showing an example of the reference answer screen. [Figure 7B] Diagram showing another example of the reference answer screen. [Figure 8] Flowchart showing the procedure of the answer registration process. [Figure 9] Diagram showing an example of the answer editing screen. [Figure 10] Diagram showing an example of the similar answer screen. [Figure 11] Flowchart showing the procedure of the revision scheduled notice process.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0015] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that each of the embodiments shown below exemplifies methods and apparatuses for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and the technical idea of the present invention is not limited to the following. The technical idea of the present invention can be variously modified within the technical scope described in the claims.

[0016] [Configuration of Answer Support Device] In the case of this embodiment, the response support device 1 is a device that supports a responder when the responder answers an inquiry regarding an information system related to financial institutions such as banks and credit card companies. Note that the present invention is not limited to this, and it is needless to say that it can execute support for responses to various inquiries in various fields.

[0017] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the response support device and its communication destination in this embodiment. The response support device 1 is communicably connected to a plurality of inquirer terminals 2 and responder terminals 3 via a network 100. The network 100 includes various communication networks such as the Internet and an intranet.

[0018] The inquirer terminal 2 is a device provided on the inquirer side for making various inquiries, and is composed of a personal computer, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or the like. Further, the responder terminal 3 is a device provided on the responder side for answering an inquiry from the inquirer, and is similarly composed of a personal computer or the like.

[0019] The response support device 1 is a computer including a control unit including a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM, and a storage unit, and each process described later is executed by this control unit. In the storage unit of the response support device 1, an inquiry database (DB) 11A for storing information regarding past inquiries, a basis DB 11B for storing information regarding the basis of responses to inquiries, and a revision schedule DB 11C for storing information regarding the scheduled revision of the basis are provided. Details of these databases will be described below.

[0020] (A) Inquiry DB 11A FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the layout of the inquiry DB 11A. As shown in FIG. 2, the inquiry DB 11A stores at least the content of past inquiries, the name of the inquirer who made the inquiry, the attributes of the inquirer, the inquiry date, the content of the response to the inquiry, the name of the responder who made the response, the response date, and the basis of the response.

[0021] In the example shown in Figure 2, the content of past inquiries concerns design specifications for multiple financial information systems. Such inquiries are made by service developers (such as system engineers) who develop the information systems, service providers (such as employees of financial institutions) who provide services through the information systems to customers, and creators of user manuals for the information systems. The attributes of these inquiryrs are linked to each inquiry and stored in the inquiry DB11A.

[0022] The answers to past queries stored in query DB11A are responses created by respondents. Typical examples of respondents include system engineers who have a comprehensive understanding of the contents of each information system.

[0023] The answers provided by respondents are based on established criteria. For example, as shown in Figure 2, answers to inquiries about screen design are based on the provisions of the Credit Card Member User Interface Standards, the Credit Card Member Screen Design Document, and the Internet Banking Screen Design Document. Similarly, answers to inquiries about the handling of various types of data are based on the provisions of the DB Design Document, etc. Thus, in this embodiment, the provisions in various design documents and specifications related to the information system serve as the basis for the answers.

[0024] (B) Basis DB11B Figure 3 shows an example of the layout of the basis DB11B. As shown in Figure 3, the basis DB11B stores at least the name of each design document / specification, the content of the provisions, and the revision history. When each provision in a design document / specification is revised, the revision date is stored in conjunction with that provision. The revision dates stored in this way constitute the revision history.

[0025] (C) Revised DB11C The revision schedule DB11C stores the planned revisions for the provisions of each design document and specification document stored in the basis DB11B. This revision schedule includes at least the provisions to be revised and the planned revision date. Each revision schedule is registered in the revision schedule DB11C by the administrator of each information system.

[0026] [Operation of the response support device] Next, the operation of the response support device 1, configured as described above, will be explained with reference to the flowchart. Below, the details of each process will be explained: (1) the reference response provision process, which is executed when a new inquiry is received from an inquirer; (2) the response registration process, which is executed when a draft response is received from a respondent; and (3) the revision schedule notification process, which notifies each relevant party of the planned revision of the basis.

[0027] (1) Processing of providing reference answers Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure for providing reference answers performed by the answer support device 1. When the answer support device 1 receives a new inquiry from an inquirer, it performs the following reference answer provision procedure to provide information that will be useful as a reference for the answer to that inquiry to the respondent who is preparing to answer the inquiry. The respondent to whom this information is provided is automatically identified according to predetermined rules (for example, "Respondent A for inquiries in field X" or "Respondent C for inquiries by inquirer B").

[0028] Inquirers, such as service developers, service providers, and user manual creators for each information system, access the response support device 1 using the inquiry terminal 2 and execute their desired inquiry. Specifically, the inquiry is executed when the inquiryer inputs the inquiry details into the inquiry information input screen, which is obtained from the response support device 1 and displayed on the display unit of the inquiry terminal 2. When the response support device 1 accepts access from the inquiry terminal 2, it identifies the attributes of the inquiryer. This attribute identification may be performed using information about the inquiryer that has been stored in advance, or it may be performed by obtaining the attributes of the inquiryer from the inquiry terminal 2 at the time of access.

[0029] Figure 5 shows an example of an inquiry information input screen. The inquirer enters their inquiry into the input fields on the inquiry information input screen 101. In the example shown in Figure 5, the inquiry is "Are there any points to note regarding the screen design for credit card member enrollment and withdrawal?" After entering the inquiry, the search button is clicked, and the inquiry information, including the entered inquiry, is sent from the inquirer terminal 2 to the answer support device 1.

[0030] When the response support device 1 receives inquiry information from the inquirer terminal 2 (S101), it transmits the inquiry information to the respondent who will provide an answer to the inquiry (S102). At this time, the inquirer's attributes are also transmitted to the respondent. The respondent receives this information using the respondent terminal 3 and displays the inquiry information output screen on the display unit of the respondent terminal 3.

[0031] Figure 6 shows an example of an inquiry information output screen. As shown in Figure 6, the inquiry information output screen 102 displays the content of the inquiry and the attributes of the inquirer. The respondent can understand the inquiry by referring to this inquiry information output screen 102. As will be described later, reference information for creating a response to this inquiry is then provided to the respondent.

[0032] Returning to Figure 4, the response support device 1 identifies past inquiries with similar content to the inquiry information obtained in step S101 (S103). This identification of similar inquiries is performed based on the degree of similarity between the inquiry information obtained from the inquirer terminal 2 and past inquiries stored in the inquiry DB 11A, as well as the degree of matching of the inquirer's attributes.

[0033] The calculation of the similarity between queries described above can be performed using known natural language processing techniques. For example, the similarity between the current query and past queries can be determined by vectorizing each query based on the frequency of word occurrences and calculating the similarity between those vectors. If the similarity is above a predetermined threshold, the two queries are determined to be similar. Alternatively, a human may determine whether the two queries are similar or not and input the result of that determination to the answer support device 1.

[0034] Furthermore, the degree of matching of the inquirer's attributes is determined by whether the attributes of the inquirer in the current query match the attributes of the inquirer in past queries stored in query DB11A. If the attributes of both inquirers do not match, even if there are past queries with a similarity score above a predetermined threshold, it is determined that no similar queries exist. Therefore, a past query is identified as a similar query only when the similarity score is above a predetermined threshold and the inquirer's attributes match.

[0035] As described above, in this embodiment, the attributes of the inquirer are used to identify similar queries, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and similar queries may be identified based solely on the similarity of the queries without considering the attributes of the inquirer.

[0036] If the similarity to the current inquiry exceeds a predetermined threshold and there are no past inquiries with matching inquirer attributes, i.e., if there are no past inquiries similar to the current inquiry, the response support device 1 will notify the respondent of a message to that effect. In this case, the respondent will manually create an answer to the current inquiry using the respondent terminal 3 and provide it to the response support device 1. Upon receiving this answer, the response support device 1 will link the current inquiry and its answer and register them in the inquiry DB 11A.

[0037] If a similar inquiry is identified in step S103, the response support device 1 identifies the answer and its basis stored in the inquiry DB 11A that is associated with that similar inquiry (S104). In some cases, multiple similar inquiries may be identified, in which case multiple answers and their basis will be identified. For example, if the first and second rows of the inquiry DB 11A shown in Figure 2 are identified as similar inquiries, the answers identified will be "Make the screen as simple as possible." and "The number of display fields per screen is...", and the basis for the answers will be "Credit card member user interface standards" and "Credit card member screen design document".

[0038] Next, the response support device 1 refers to the basis DB 11B and determines whether the basis has been revised since the date of the response (S105). For example, in the inquiry DB 11A shown in Figure 2, the response date in the first row is "October 1, 2021", and in the basis DB 11B shown in Figure 3, the revision date for Chapter 4 of the credit card member user interface standards is "May 1, 2022", so it is determined that the basis has been revised since the date of the response.

[0039] If step S105 determines that the basis has been revised since the response date (YES in S105), the response support device 1 sends reference response information, which uses the response identified in step S104 as a reference response, and basis revision information, which indicates that the basis for that reference response has been revised since the response date, to the respondent (S106).

[0040] On the other hand, if step S105 determines that the basis has not been revised since the response date (NO in S105), the response support device 1 sends reference response information to the respondent, using the response identified in step S104 as the reference response (S107).

[0041] As described above, respondents receive the information transmitted from the response support device 1 using the respondent terminal 3. In this case, the display unit of the respondent terminal 3 shows a reference response screen that includes reference response information. Figures 7A and 7B show examples of such reference response screens. Figure 7A shows a reference response screen that includes reference response information and justification revision information, while Figure 7B shows a reference response screen that only shows reference response information.

[0042] As shown in Figure 7A, the reference answer information displayed on the reference answer screen 103 includes the date of the inquiry made for a similar inquiry, the answer to that inquiry (reference answer), the attributes of the inquirer, the name of the respondent who provided the reference answer, the date of the reference answer, and the basis for the reference answer. In addition, the basis revision information displayed on the reference answer screen 103 includes the fact that the basis for the reference answer has been revised, the date of the revision, and the content of the provisions before and after the revision. If there are multiple reference answer information and basis revision information, the other reference answer information and basis revision information may be displayed on separate screens or on the same screen.

[0043] Respondents will be able to easily create an appropriate response to this inquiry by referring to the above-mentioned sample response information and revised evidence information. For example, by reviewing the contents of the sample response and revised evidence, respondents can consider whether there are any parts in the sample response that have become inappropriate due to the revision of the evidence, and if so, how they should be corrected. Based on the results of this consideration, they will be able to create an appropriate response to this inquiry.

[0044] Furthermore, respondents can understand the attributes of the inquirer, allowing them to create responses tailored to those attributes. For example, if the inquirer is a service developer, they can provide more detailed technical information, while if the inquirer is a service provider, they can provide simpler information.

[0045] If the basis for the reference answer has not been revised since the date of the reference answer, only the reference answer information will be displayed on the reference answer screen 104, as shown in Figure 7B. In this case, the reference answer screen 104 may also explicitly indicate that the basis for the reference answer has not been revised since the date of the reference answer. A respondent who refers to this reference answer screen 104 can understand that the content of the reference answer is still appropriate at that time because the basis has not been revised, and can then use the content of the reference answer to create a response to the inquiry. Furthermore, as described above, the respondent can create a response with appropriate content according to the attributes of the inquirer.

[0046] In the above, the response support device 1 provides the respondent with information on the revision of the basis if the basis is revised after the response date for a similar inquiry. However, it is also acceptable to provide the respondent with information on revisions to the basis that occurred before the response date. This is because the fact that the basis of a reference response has been revised can function as reference information, regardless of when the revision took place.

[0047] (2) Answer registration process Through the reference answer provision process described above, the respondent obtains reference information to help them create their answer to the inquiry. The answer created by the respondent using this reference information is registered with the answer support device 1. The answer registration process performed at that time is described below.

[0048] Figure 8 is a flowchart showing the procedure for the response registration process performed by the response support device 1. First, the response support device 1 sends a response creation request to the respondent, prompting them to create a response to the current inquiry (S201). In this case, the respondent receives the response creation request using the respondent terminal 3. Upon receiving the response creation request, the respondent terminal 3 displays a response editing screen on its display unit for creating the response.

[0049] Figure 9 shows an example of a response editing screen. Respondents enter their proposed response into the input fields on the response editing screen 105. At this time, respondents create their proposed response using the reference information (reference response information and rationale revision information) obtained through the reference response provision process and enter it into the input fields. In the example shown in Figure 9, a respondent who referred to the reference response screen 103 exemplified in Figure 7A has created a proposed response using the reference response information and rationale revision information shown on that reference response screen 103 as a reference.

[0050] As shown in Figure 9, the response editing screen 105 is equipped with a response search button and a registration button. After the respondent enters their response in the input field, they click the registration button to register the response as is, or the response search button to search for past responses similar to the response. When either the registration button or the response search button is clicked, the respondent terminal 3 transmits response information, including the entered response and the identifier of the clicked button, to the response support device 1.

[0051] Returning to Figure 8, when the response support device 1 receives response information from the respondent terminal 3 (S202), it determines, based on that response information, whether the registration button or the response search button was clicked (S203). If it determines that the registration button was clicked ("Register" in S203), the response support device 1 registers the response information contained in the response information in the inquiry DB 11A, linking it to the current inquiry (S204). In this case, the response becomes the answer to the current inquiry.

[0052] On the other hand, if it is determined that the answer search button was clicked in step S203 ("Search" in S203), the answer support device 1 refers to the inquiry DB 11A and identifies past answers similar to the answer proposal obtained from the respondent (S205). This identification of similar answers is performed based on the degree of similarity between the answer proposal and past answers.

[0053] The calculation of similarity described above can be performed using known natural language processing techniques. For example, the similarity between the current answer and past answers can be determined by vectorizing each answer based on the frequency of word occurrences and calculating the similarity between those vectors. If the similarity is above a predetermined threshold, the two are determined to be similar. Alternatively, a human may judge whether the two are similar or not and input the result of that judgment to the answer support device 1.

[0054] The response support device 1 transmits similar response information, including past responses identified as similar responses, to the respondent (S206). The respondent receives the similar response information using the respondent terminal 3. Upon receiving the similar response information, the respondent terminal 3 displays a similar response screen showing the content of the similar responses on its display unit.

[0055] Figure 10 shows an example of a similar response screen. As shown in Figure 10, the similar response screen 106 displays not only the content of the similar response, but also the content of the inquiry related to that similar response, the date of the inquiry, the attributes of the inquirer, the name of the respondent of the similar response, the date of the response of the similar response, and the basis for the similar response. By referring to this similar response screen 106, the respondent can check whether there are any omissions in the content of the response they have created, whether there are any errors in the information used as the basis for the response, etc.

[0056] Although the similar response screen 106 illustrated in Figure 10 does not show the revised basis information, it may show the revised basis information as in Figure 7A. In that case, the response support device 1 should determine whether the basis of the similar response has been revised based on the basis DB 11B, and if it determines that it has been revised, it should send similar response information including the revised basis information indicating that the basis of the similar response has been revised to the respondent (S206).

[0057] When a respondent reviews similar response information and determines that a change to their response is necessary, they edit their response using the response editing screen 105 shown in Figure 9, and then click the registration button. In this case, the response support device 1 receives the response information, including the revised response, from the respondent terminal 3 (S202), and registers the revised response in the inquiry DB 11A, linking it to the current inquiry (S204). As a result, the revised response is stored as the answer to the current inquiry.

[0058] Once an answer is registered in the inquiry database 11A as described above, the answer support device 1 sends the answer to the inquirer. This answer is received by the inquirer terminal 2 and displayed on its display unit. In this way, the inquirer can obtain an answer to the inquiry they made.

[0059] (3) Processing of notifications of planned revisions It would be convenient for both the inquirer and the respondent if they could know in advance that the basis for answers to past inquiries would be revised. The following revision notification process is designed to achieve this.

[0060] Figure 11 is a flowchart showing the procedure for the notification of the basis for revisions performed by the response support device 1. The response support device 1 first refers to the revision schedule DB11C and obtains the basis for revision schedule (S301). This basis for revision schedule includes the provisions to be revised and the revision date.

[0061] Next, the response support device 1 identifies the stakeholders of the basis for the planned revision based on the provisions to be revised (S302). Here, stakeholders refer to inquirers who are expected to make inquiries related to the basis for the planned revision, and respondents who are expected to provide answers using that basis. For example, the respondent support device 1 refers to the inquiry DB 11A to extract inquirers and respondents linked to the basis for the planned revision, and identifies these individuals as stakeholders. This is because these inquirers and respondents are expected to continue to make inquiries and provide answers related to the basis in the future, and to perform various tasks related to the basis.

[0062] The response support device 1 notifies the relevant party identified in step S302 of the planned revision information (S303). This planned revision information includes the provisions to be revised and the planned revision date. The relevant party can receive the planned revision information using the inquirer terminal 2 or the respondent terminal 3 and confirm its contents.

[0063] (Other embodiments) In the above embodiment, the response support device 1 includes a query DB 11A, a basis DB 11B, and a revision schedule DB 11C. However, at least one of these databases may be located on an external device, and the response support device 1 may be configured to acquire the information from that external device. In this case, the information acquired from the external device is temporarily stored in the storage unit of the response support device 1 and used.

[0064] Furthermore, although the above embodiment shows that the answer support device 1 is composed of a single computer, it is not limited to this, and the answer support device 1 may be composed of multiple computers. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0065] 1 Answer support device 11A Inquiry Database 11B Supporting Database 11C Revision Planned Database 2. Inquirer terminal 3. Respondent's device 100 Networks 101 Inquiry Information Input Screen 102 Inquiry Information Output Screen 103,104 Reference answer screen 105 Answer Editing Screen 106 Similar answer screen

Claims

1. A memory unit that stores the basis for answers to past inquiries and the revision history of said basis, When an inquiry is received from an inquirer, a determination unit determines, based on the revision history, whether or not the basis for the response to a similar past inquiry has been revised. If a revision is determined to exist, the revision output unit outputs the basis for the revision to the respondent. Equipped with, Answer support device.

2. The determination unit determines whether or not there has been a revision to the basis of the response to the similar past inquiry since the response to the said response. The answer support device according to claim 1.

3. The memory unit further stores the answers to past inquiries, The revision output unit outputs, in addition to the basis revision information, the response to the similar past inquiry to the respondent. The answer support device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. Reference response output unit that outputs to the respondent past responses similar to the response proposal obtained from the respondent, and the basis for those responses. Furthermore, The answer support device according to claim 3.

5. The determination unit determines whether or not the basis for the similar past answers has been revised. If the aforementioned reference response output unit determines that a revision has been made, it further outputs the basis for the revision to the respondent. The answer support device according to claim 4.

6. The system further includes an attribute output unit that outputs the attributes of the inquirer to the respondent. The answer support device according to claim 1 or 2.

7. Revision schedule output section outputs the planned revisions to the basis for the answer. Furthermore, The answer support device according to claim 1 or 2.

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