Case 1:20-cv-00351-UNA Document 1-2 Filed 03/11/20 Page 1 of 23 PageID #: 61
`
`Exhibit B
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`

`

`Case 1:20-cv-00351-UNA Document 1-2 Filed 03/11/20 Page 2 of 23 PageID #: 62
`
`(12) United States Patent
`Biebesheimer et al.
`
`USOO6778193B2
`US 6,778,193 B2
`Aug. 17, 2004
`
`(10) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`(54) CUSTOMER SELF SERVICE ICONIC
`INTERFACE FOR PORTAL ENTRY AND
`SEARCH SPECIFICATION
`
`(*) Notice:
`
`(List continued on next page.)
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`Mladenic, D, “Text-learning and related intelligent agents:
`a Survey', IEEE Intelligent Systems, IEEE, Vol. 14, No. 4,
`(75) Inventors: Debra L. Biebesheimer, Carmel, NY
`Jul. 1999, pp. 44-54, XP-002205012.
`(US); Donn P. Jasura, Staatsburg, NY
`Göker, A., “Capturing Information Need by Learning User
`(US); Neal M. Keller, Somers, NY
`Context', 16th International Joint Conferent in Artificial
`(US); Daniel A. Oblinger, New York,
`Intelligence: Learning About User Workshop, Jul. 31, 1999,
`NY (US); Mark E. Podlaseck, New
`pp. 21–27, XP-002205013.
`Preston, CT (US); Stephen J. Rolando,
`Katonah, NY (US)
`(List continued on next page.)
`Primary Examiner Steven Sax
`(73) Assignee: International Business Machines
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Scully, Scott, Murphy &
`Corporation, Armonk, NY (US)
`Presser; Daniel P. Morris, Esq.
`-
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`(57)
`ABSTRACT
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`Agraphical user interface for a customer Self Service System
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 625 days.
`that performs resource Search and Selection. The interface
`comprises an entry field enabling entry of a query for a
`(21) Appl. No.: 09/778,136
`resource and Selection of one or more user context icons,
`each representing a context associated with the current user
`(22) Filed:
`Feb. 7, 2001
`Situation, and having context attributes associated therewith;
`(65)
`Prior Publication Data
`a first Visual WorkSpace is provided for visualizing and
`exploring the Set of resources that the customer Self Service
`US 2002/0149614A1 Oct. 17, 2002
`System has determined to match the user's query, the System
`7
`(51) Int. Cl." ................................................ G06F 15/00 RNA a degree of fit of the
`in E.
`(52) U.S. Cl. ........................................ 345/805; 345/854
`the Guery, based on the user's COInteXt, asSociated resource
`(58) Field of Search ................................. 345/853–855,
`Selection parameters and associated relevant resource evalu
`345/711, 802, 803, 804, 805, 799, 800,
`ation criteria utilized by a Search mechanism in the System;
`801, 795-797, 738, 734–737, 771-773,
`and, a Second Visual WorkSpace including detail specifica
`811, 815–818; 707/1, 10, 11, 5,3; 706/60,
`tion workSpace for enabling user to Select and modify user
`11, 47, 45
`context attribute values and further relevant resource evalu
`ation criteria; and a mechanism for enabling the user to
`continuously navigate among the first and Second visual
`WorkSpaces to enable increased specificity and accuracy of
`query's Search parameters and resource evaluation criteria
`and thereby identify and improve Selection logic and
`response Sets fitted to a query. The graphical user interface
`permits user interactivity for querying a customer Self Ser
`Vice System and enhancing response Set results for a variety
`of Self Service domains including education, real estate and
`travel.
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
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`*Y. m-m-Y
`
`-------mm-mm s- -w-
`
`------ a--ar-----
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`
`SELECT?
`
`332
`
`o:
`
`3398
`
`catch. TE
`-33Sb
`CREA 4: THING
`
`-----
`
`33S
`
`E
`
`330
`
`G%, CRTE Ais RISK
`as Attal, our 3
`or
`CAITERIA 1: COST
`342-RESOURCE AE,
`EIGHT
`RANKE
`SRAPE RESOURCES
`DEA
`
`3. R" ... is
`
`F
`
`
`
`35
`
`PESCEEARISPLAY
`NAME:
`XXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX
`^ E.
`SEE
`DESCRIPTION: xxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxxx
`MORE
`PES
`8XXXXXXXXXXXX
`is:
`r
`COST: $xxxixx
`PRENEW
`TING: xxx xxxx
`Exi?tE -
`TERNSS CONDITIONS: xxxx xxxxxx
`XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
`-
`3-D. At SCIFICERs
`NDESAIL SPECIFICAIC:-
`- SEETENEXT - 136
`
`i
`
`

`

`Case 1:20-cv-00351-UNA Document 1-2 Filed 03/11/20 Page 3 of 23 PageID #: 63
`
`US 6,778,193 B2
`Page 2
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`5,802,515 A 9/1998 Adar et al. .................... 707/5
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`5,918,217 A 6/1999 Maggioncalda et al.
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`9/1999 Chu .............................. 707/3
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`5.999927. A 12/1999 Tukey et al.
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`6,009,422 A 12/1999 Ciccarelli ...................... 707/4
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`6,237,006 B1
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`6,243,094 B1
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`6.256,633 B1
`7/2001 Dharap
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`6,282.540 B1 * 8/2001 Goldensher et al. ........... 707/6
`6,326,962 B1 12/2001 Szabo
`6,327,590 B1 12/2001 Chidlovskii et al.
`6,347,313 B1
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`6,442,526 B1
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`6,490,577 B1 12/2002 Anwar
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`6,513,031 B1
`1/2003 Fries et al. .................... 707/5
`6,519,586 B2
`2/2003 Anick et al. ................... 707/3
`6,578,037 B1
`6/2003 Wong et al.
`6,594,670 B1
`7/2003 Genser
`6,601,059 B1
`7/2003 Fries ............................. 707/3
`2001/0051958 A1 12/2001 deVries et al.
`2002/0129.015 A1
`9/2002 Caudill et al.
`2003/0018632 A1
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`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`Anonymous, “Taxonomized Web Search”, IBM Technical
`Disclosure Bulletin, IBM Corp. New York, US, vol. 40, No.
`5, May 1, 1997, pp. 195-196, XP-002133594; and.
`Davies, J., et al., “Knowledge Discovery and Delivery',
`British Telecommunications Engineering, London, GB, Vol.
`17, No. 1, Apr. 1, 1998, pp. 25–35, XP-000765546.
`Billsus, D., et al., “A learning agent for wireleSS news
`ss
`access,” Proceedings of IUI 2000: International Conference
`on Intelligent User Interfaces, ACM, Jan. 9-12, 2000, pp.
`33–36, XP-002205011.
`Olsen, K., et al., “Visualization of a Document Collection:
`The Vibe System”, Information Processing & Management,
`Elsevier, Barking, GB, vol. 29, No. 1, 1993, pp. 69–81, XP
`OOO574984.
`* cited by examiner
`
`

`

`Case 1:20-cv-00351-UNA Document 1-2 Filed 03/11/20 Page 4 of 23 PageID #: 64
`Case 1:20-cv-OO351-UNA Document 1-2 Filed 03/11/20 Page 4 of 23 PageID #: 64
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`Case 1:20-cv-00351-UNA Document 1-2 Filed 03/11/20 Page 5 of 23 PageID #: 65
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 17, 2004
`
`Sheet 2 of 9
`
`US 6,778,193 B2
`
`CONTEXT
`SELECTION
`WORKSPACE
`
`
`
`FIG 2
`
`DETAI
`SPECIFICATION
`WORKSPACE
`
`RESULTS
`DISPLAY
`WORKSPACE
`
`

`

`Case 1:20-cv-00351-UNA Document 1-2 Filed 03/11/20 Page 6 of 23 PageID #: 66
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 17, 2004
`
`Sheet 3 of 9
`
`US 6,778,193 B2
`
`FIG. 3
`
`EDUCATION
`EDUCATION
`(EX: ENVIRONMENT) 60 FX: SUBJEC y O
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`95
`
`96
`
`

`

`Case 1:20-cv-00351-UNA Document 1-2 Filed 03/11/20 Page 7 of 23 PageID #: 67
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 17, 2004
`
`Sheet 4 of 9
`
`US 6,778,193 B2
`
`| SELECT USER CONTEXT.
`
`13
`1.
`
`132
`
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`
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`RECOMMENDED
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`|
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`ENTER OVERY HERE:
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`34
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`135
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`
`

`

`Case 1:20-cv-00351-UNA Document 1-2 Filed 03/11/20 Page 8 of 23 PageID #: 68
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`Case 1:20-cv-00351-UNA Document 1-2 Filed 03/11/20 Page 9 of 23 PageID #: 69
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 17, 2004
`
`Sheet 6 of 9
`
`US 6,778,193 B2
`
`
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`Case 1:20-cv-00351-UNA Document 1-2 Filed 03/11/20 Page 10 of 23 PageID #: 70
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`Case 1:20-cv-00351-UNA Document 1-2 Filed 03/11/20 Page 12 of 23 PageID #: 72
`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 17, 2004
`
`Sheet 9 of 9
`
`US 6,778,193 B2
`
`
`
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`
`
`
`
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`

`

`Case 1:20-cv-00351-UNA Document 1-2 Filed 03/11/20 Page 13 of 23 PageID #: 73
`
`US 6,778,193 B2
`
`1
`CUSTOMER SELF SERVICE CONC
`INTERFACE FOR PORTAL ENTRY AND
`SEARCH SPECIFICATION
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`1. Field of the Invention
`This invention relates generally to the field of customer
`Self Service Systems for resource Search and Selection, and
`more specifically, to a novel graphical user interface for Such
`a System.
`2. Discussion of the Prior Art
`Currently there exist many Systems designed to perform
`Search and retrieval functions. These Systems may be clas
`sified variously as knowledge management Systems, infor
`mation portals, Search engines, data miners, etc. Providing
`effective customer Self Service Systems for resource Search
`and Selection presents Several Significant challenges. The
`first challenge for current Systems with query capability is
`that Serving queries intelligently requires a large amount of
`user Supplied contextual information, while at the same time
`the user has limited time, patience, ability and interest to
`provide it. The Second challenge is that Searching without
`sufficient context results in a very inefficient search (both
`user time and System resource intensive) with frequently
`disappointing results (overwhelming amount of information,
`high percentage of irrelevant information). The third chal
`lenge is that much of a user's actual use and Satisfaction with
`search results differ from that defined at the start of the
`Search: either because the users behave contrary to their own
`Specifications, or because there are other contextual issues at
`play that have not been defined into the Search.
`Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) provide ways for users
`of computers and other devices to effectively communicate
`with the computer. In GUIs, available applications and data
`Sets are often represented by icons consisting of Small
`graphical representations which can be selected by a user
`and moved on the Screen. The Selection of icons often takes
`the place of typing in a command using a keyboard in order
`to initiate a program. In general, icons are tiny on-Screen
`Symbols that Simplify functions like the access to a program,
`command, or data file. Icons are usually activated or Selected
`by moving a mouse-controlled cursor onto the icon and
`pressing the mouse button.
`GUIs for customer self service systems for resource
`Search and Selection have the potential to enable users to
`efficiently enter large amounts of contextual information.
`The prior art has addressed a 1:1 correspondence between a
`limited range of contextual variables and icons. A major
`limitation of these approaches is that they fail to address the
`full range of relevant user contextual variables as part of the
`query and require extensive time and patience on the part of
`the user to make even limited contextual Selections. Another
`limitation of these approaches is that they fail to provide for
`a graphical method of fine tuning the context variables
`relevant to the user's Search, focusing only on the fine tuning
`of the content variables.
`AS will be hereinafter explained in greater detail, Some
`representative prior art Search and retrieval Systems imple
`menting novel user interfaces include U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,
`361 entitled “Search and Retrieval System”; U.S. Pat. No.
`5,608,899 entitled “Method and Apparatus for Searching a
`Database by Interactively Modifying a Database Query';
`U.S. Pat. No. 5,768,578 entitled “User Interface for Infor
`mation Retrieval System”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,841,437 entitled
`“Method and Apparatus for Interactive Database Queries via
`
`15
`
`25
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`2
`Movable Viewing Operation Regions”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,
`217 entitled “User Interface for a Financial Advisory Sys
`tem”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,930,501 entitled “Pictorial User Inter
`face for Establishing Time of Day and Geographical or
`Environmental Context on a Computer Display or Other
`Monitor'.
`U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,361 describes a text search and
`retrieval System which builds an indeX representing every
`word in Stored files created by a variety of applications,
`Searches for requested words using the index, ranks the files
`based on the relative strength of match with the search
`request and displays the ranked filenames for user Selection.
`U.S. Pat. No. 5,608,899 describes an apparatus for search
`ing a database and modifying database queries including an
`approach to Searching multidimensional data, e.g., by con
`Structing a query from a Sequential process of identifying
`constraints from bar, line, and pie charts.
`U.S. Pat. No. 5,768,578 describes an information retrieval
`System user interface for retrieving information from a
`plurality of Sources and for Storing information Source
`descriptions in a knowledge base. The user interface
`includes a hypertext browser enabling a user to browse an
`unstructured information Space and, a knowledge base
`browser/editor for displaying a directed graph representing
`a generalization taxonomy of the knowledge base, with the
`nodes representing concepts and edges representing rela
`tionships between concepts. The System also allows for
`querying a structured information Source and using query
`results to focus the hypertext browser on the most relevant
`unstructured data Sources.
`U.S. Pat. No. 5,841,437 describes an information visual
`ization System that uses dynamic queries in combination
`with movable viewing operation regions for Searching of
`two dimensional databases.
`U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,217 describes a user interface for a
`financial advisory System in which a user may interactively
`explore how changes in one or more input decisions Such as
`a risk tolerance, a Savings level, and a retirement age affect
`one or more output values Such as a probability of achieving
`a financial goal or an indication of Short-term risk. Although
`it deals exclusively with financial Systems, the concept of
`enabling interactive exploration of a multidimensional data
`Set is described.
`U.S. Pat. No. 5,930,501 describes a system for retrieving
`and displaying a pictorial user interface on a computer
`display or other monitor and addresses the issue of a Single
`context variable with a pictorial approach.
`It would be highly desirable to provide a graphical user
`interface for a customer Self Service resource Search and
`Selection System that is capable of addressing multiple
`context variables abstractly, using an interactive information
`graphic.
`Representative prior art references addressing the issue of
`providing Some element of context to Search and retrieval
`systems includes U.S. Pat. No. 5,794,178 entitled “Visual
`ization of Information Using Graphical Representations of
`Context Vector Based Relationships and Attributes”; U.S.
`Pat. No. 6,014,661 entitled “System and Method for Auto
`matic Analysis of Data Bases and for User-Controlled
`Dynamic Querying”; U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,386 entitled “Data
`Processing System Having Context Sensitive Visual Feed
`back for User Interface Controls and Method Therefor”.
`Particularly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,794,178 describes a system
`and method for automatically generating context vectors
`representing conceptual relationships among information
`items by quantitative means for use in Storage and retrieval
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`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`Further features, aspects and advantages of the apparatus
`and methods of the present invention will become better
`understood with regard to the following description,
`appended claims, and the accompanying drawings where:
`FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the steps of the control flow
`between the component inventions included in the generic
`preferred embodiment of the system invention.
`FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the generic proceSS Steps of
`the users interaction with the customer Self Service System
`through the iconic interfaces of the preferred embodiment of
`the invention.
`FIG. 3 provides examples of data elements from the
`education, real estate and travel domains given example user
`interactions with the customer Self Service System via the
`iconic interfaces of the invention.
`FIG. 4 illustrates the first Graphical User Interface 12
`providing a Context Selection Workspace 13 for enabling
`entry of query and context Selection according to the inven
`tion.
`FIGS. 5(a)-5(d) illustrate in detail the second iconic
`graphical user interface 22 including the Detail Specification
`WorkSpace 23 according to the invention.
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`4
`It is a further object of the present invention to provide an
`intuitive graphical user interface for a customer Self Service
`System, wherein the GUI provides elements to enter Search
`terms, Select and fine tune user context definitions.
`It is yet another object of the present invention to provide
`an intuitive graphical user interface for a customer Self
`service system, wherein the GUI enables establishment of
`inclusionary and exclusionary resource filters, and enables
`the Specification of resource priorities by Selecting, Sequenc
`ing and weighting relevant criteria.
`The GUI described by this invention facilitates the effi
`cient location of relevant resources by the user because it
`enables the expression of a user's context as part of the
`query.
`According to the invention, there is provided a graphical
`user interface for a customer Self Service System that per
`forms resource Search and Selection. The interface com
`prises a first visual WorkSpace comprising entry field
`enabling entry of a query for a resource and, one or more
`Selectable user context icons, each representing a context
`asSociated with the current user Situation, and having con
`text attributes associated there with; a Second Visual work
`Space for visualizing and exploring the Set of resources that
`the customer Self Service System has determined to match
`the user's query, the System indicating a degree of fit of the
`determined resources with the query, based on the user's
`context, associated resource Selection parameters and asso
`ciated relevant resource evaluation criteria utilized by a
`Search mechanism in the System; a third visual WorkSpace
`including detail Specification WorkSpace for enabling user to
`Select and modify user context attribute values, and further
`relevant resource evaluation criteria; and Visual means
`enabling the user to continuously navigate among the first,
`Second and third Visual WorkSpaces to enable increased
`Specificity and accuracy of query's Search parameters and
`resource evaluation criteria and thereby identify and
`improve Selection logic and response Sets fitted to a query.
`Advantageously, Such a customer Self Service System is
`applicable to a variety of customer Self Service domains
`including, but not limited to: education, real estate and
`travel.
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`of documents and other information items and for displaying
`them visually to a user. A neural network operates on a
`training corpus of records to develop relationship-based
`context vectors based on word proximity and co-importance
`using a technique of “windowed co-occurrence'. Relation
`ships among context vectors are deterministic, So that a
`context vector Set has one logical Solution, although it may
`have a plurality of physical Solutions. No human knowledge,
`knowledge base, or conceptual hierarchy, is required. Sum
`mary vectors of records may be clustered to reduce Search
`1O
`ing time, by forming a tree of clustered nodes. Once the
`context vectors are determined, records may be retrieved
`using a query interface that allows a user to Specify content
`terms, Boolean terms, and/or document feedback. Thus,
`context vectors are translated into visual and graphical
`representations to thereby provide user visualization of
`textual information and enable visual representations of
`meaning So that users may apply human pattern recognition
`skills to document Searches.
`U.S. Pat. No. 6,014,661 describes a system that utilizes
`user-adjusted relevance criteria to generate a query. It is
`primarily directed to a main processing System that accesses
`a database, which contains data records, each of which is
`divided into data fields. The system preferably automatically
`determines the type of data in each field, as well as its range
`of values. It then determines one or more relational Struc
`tures of the field data using a corresponding number of
`relevance measures. For each field, a preferably user
`adjustable, Software-generated query device is displayed,
`preferably in the order of the relevance measures of the
`respective fields. The plot of one or more fields data relative
`to that of another field is initially generated using the fields
`in order of relevance. The relevance measure forming the
`basis of the field ordering, the order of fields, and the ranges
`of the plotted, displayed fields may be adjusted interactively
`by the user by moving and adjusting the various query
`devices.
`U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,386 is directed to a data processing
`System that transforms the limited user interface toolkits
`currently in use in the Software development industry to
`provide control interfaces which are Sensitive to a user's
`operational context.
`Thus, the prior art has addressed the issues of database
`Searching, dynamic query formulation, and the Visual rep
`resentation of multidimensional data. Newer Search engines
`are just beginning to use Some of these ideas to express
`queries and results. There has heretofore never been an
`information Search and retrieval method providing the
`means to express the relevance of the results to a particular
`user in terms beyond that of the results content.
`It would be highly desirable to provide in a customerself
`Service System, an interface that facilitates the efficient
`location of relevant resources by the busy user by enabling
`the expression of a user's context as part of the query, and
`the relevance of the results to that context.
`More specifically, it would be highly desirable to provide
`in a customer Self Service System, an intuitive graphical user
`interface that provides elements to enter Search terms, Select
`and fine tune user context definitions from pull-down menus
`as part of the query, establish inclusionary and exclusionary
`resource filters, and Specify resource priorities by Selecting,
`Sequencing and weighting relevant criteria.
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`It is an object of the present invention to provide an
`intuitive graphical user interface for a customer Self Service
`System enabling resource Search and Selection.
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`co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/778,147
`entitled CUSTOMER SELF SERVICE ICONIC INTER
`FACE FOR RESOURCE SEARCH RESULTS DISPLAY
`AND SELECTION the contents and disclosure of which are
`incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
`Referring back to FIG. 1, there is depicted a conceptual
`control flow 10 for the customerself service resource search
`and Selection System according to a preferred embodiment.
`Via the three-part intuitive graphic user interface (GUI)
`users are enabled to enter queries and manipulate the SyS
`tem's responses according to their resource needs. Behind
`the Scenes, as will be described, is a set of Sub-System
`components that cooperate to derive, assume, Sense and
`infer particular user contexts with minimal user effort. These
`components include databases Such as: 1) a Context
`Attributes Master database 14 which stores the definitions of
`all the attributes known to the System and their relationships
`to predefined user contexts; 2) an Attribute Value Functions
`database 16 which Stores the definitions and logic associated
`with assigning a value to an attribute for Specific instances
`(context default, groups of users); 3) a Resource Indexing
`Functions database 18 which stores the definitions and logic
`for mapping Specific resources to Specific context sets, and,
`4) a historical User Interaction Records database 15 which
`Stores the users’ prior queries, responses, and interactions
`with the system 10. The first three databases are created
`before system startup and the User Interaction Records 15 is
`created with the first user/use of the System, however, it is
`understood that all four databases are maintained and
`enhanced through System operations described below. First,
`prior to a user Signing on to the System, and before the user
`first views the iconic interface 12, the system 10 performs
`Several pre-processing steps including: 1) creating of an
`empty "user context vector 25 and populating the context
`vector with minimal information from external data ele
`ments 11 integrated with the System or, from System Sensing/
`discovery; and, 2) processing the minimal user context
`vector 25 against the Context Attributes database 14, the
`Attribute Value Functions database 16, and the User Inter
`action Records database 15 using context classification logic
`to result in a “Suggestion' that this particular user may be
`classified into one of a Small number of user context
`definitions from the System's predefined long list of context
`definitions. After these pre-processing Steps, the first iconic
`interface 12 is then displayed for the user at the user's
`terminal, or web-browser, in the case of resource Searches
`conducted over a web-based communication link. The
`iconic Context Selection Workspace 13 initially displays a
`Small set of User Context Icons it has determined are most
`appropriate, captures the user's Selection of the one that
`Seems most fitting for the current user Search Session, and
`captures the user's actual query. In most cases, this minimal
`entry will Suffice to begin the Search because the System has
`already determined the relevant attributes, default values
`and parameters to drive the System forward through the user
`Search without any additional entry on the user's part.
`However, if the user wishes to review their defaults or to fine
`tune Some context or resource variables, there is an option
`to proceed to the iconic Detailed Specification Workspace
`display 22 before Starting the Search. These two WorkSpaces
`12, 22 and their iconic elements are described more fully
`herein.
`Regardless of the Screen navigation path chosen, when the
`user initiates the query, the System 10 packages the user
`query with a detailed User Context Vector 25 Summarizing
`what is known of the user's needs at this point. Once the
`Search is initiated, the query and context vector are pro
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`FIG. 6 illustrates in detail the third iconic graphical user
`interface 32 including the Results Display Workspace 33.
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
`FIG. 1 illustrates a customer self service system
`(“system”) 10 which is described in detail commonly
`owned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/778,
`146 entitled CUSTOMER SELF SERVICE SYSTEM FOR
`RESOURCE SEARCH AND SELECTION the contents and
`disclosure of which are incorporated by reference as if fully
`set forth herein. The system 10 is a comprehensive self
`Service System providing an end-to-end Solution that inte
`grates the user and System, the content and context, and, the
`Search and result So that the System may learn from each and
`all users and operationally benefit all users over time. The
`present invention particularly comprises a graphical user
`interface (GUI) that is iconic, and enables users to enter
`queries and manipulate the detailed Specifications which
`drive the Sel