Keyboard Command Control in CRM Systems
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
CRM systems are complex and require a priori knowledge to navigate and execute commands, leading to tedious manual interactions, making it difficult to locate data or perform actions efficiently.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for keyboard command and control in CRM systems that detects pre-determined keyboard strokes to display a global search window, allowing users to input textual characters to locate matching data objects and system commands, aggregating references with icons for display as activatable entries, and invoking commands as if manually selected.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual navigation through menu hierarchy is used to locate data or execute commands, then the system can maintain its structured organization, but the user interaction becomes tedious and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical manual navigation process (mouse clicking through menus) with a keyboard-based command system. Users can directly type commands or search terms to locate data objects and execute actions, eliminating the need to manually traverse the menu hierarchy and significantly reducing navigation time while maintaining system organization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a command interpreter as an intermediary between the user and the CRM system. This intermediary translates keyboard commands and search queries into appropriate system actions, allowing users to access data and execute commands without manually navigating through the interface structure.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a priori knowledge of menu hierarchy is required to execute commands, then the system can maintain its structured organization, but the complexity of learning and using the system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal command interface that can access any data object or system function through a consistent keyboard-based search mechanism. Instead of requiring users to learn different navigation paths for different functions, the system provides a single universal approach (typing commands or search terms) that works across all modules and functions, reducing the learning curve while maintaining structured organization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes the mechanical menu navigation system with a keyboard command system that doesn't require a priori knowledge of the menu hierarchy. Users can directly type commands or search terms to access any function, eliminating the need to learn and memorize the structured menu organization while preserving it in the background.
3Productivity
If keyboard-based direct command input is implemented, then user interaction efficiency improves, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a command interpreter as an intermediary layer that handles the complexity of translating keyboard commands into system actions. This intermediary absorbs the system complexity, allowing users to benefit from fast keyboard-based data retrieval without directly encountering the underlying complexity of command parsing, execution, and error handling.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the invention provide for keyboard command and control in a customer relationship management (CRM) system. A method for keyboard command and control in a CRM system includes detecting a pre-determined combination of keyboard strokes occurring in a user interface of a CRM application and in response, a global search window is displayed. Thereafter, a sequence of textual characters are received into a text input control of the window and for each received character, a reference to one or more data objects at least partially matching the received character and stored in connection with the CRM application are located. For each located object, a corresponding program module of the CRM application is determined and each located reference is aggregated with an icon for a corresponding one of the program modules. Finally, the aggregated reference and icon are displayed as an activatable entry in a result set in the window.