The presently disclosed embodiments relate to information systems, and more particularly to creating and presenting information or data packages for various consumer services to users.
It is common for people to be placed in situations in which they need to fill out forms, such as applications for a bank account, credit card, passport, Visa, driver's license, telephone services, cable or satellite television services, educational services, and so forth. In many countries, such as emerging markets, the application processes (and workflows related thereto) for most consumer services are still heavily paper based, and customers are required to fill out several forms. The set of forms used in the application processes can be different based on the customers' demographics. Further, the forms may need to be revised over time as requirements change. The customers may also need to attach or provide several supporting documents while filling out the forms and to complete the application process. Once again, based on the service(s) requested and the demographics, the set of supporting documents may differ, which can confuse the customers about an application or workflow process. This problem can be aggravated (and in some cases significantly) by various factors, such as a lack of clear documentation (especially when widespread), lack of customer service(s) (especially when non-existent), untimely customer services, frequently change in instructions and procedures without communication, etc.
As a result, preparation of an application for a consumer, such as in the context of providing customer service(s), can be extremely complicated. This problem exists across a wide socio-economic range, and involves people of different literacy levels (from literates to illiterates), different residential locales (from urban to rural areas), etc. Multiple visits to a service provider's offices for purposes relating to a limited number of issues (and in some cases a single issue) a are quite common, which is particularly inconvenient for applicants located in remote rural areas.
Thus, it may be beneficial to provide a convenient and manageable way of helping users or consumers in the application process of various consumer services.
Some embodiments provide a method for creating a data package for one or more consumer services. The method includes displaying a number of consumer services through an information-retrieving interface to a user. The method also includes receiving a selection of at least one consumer service from the user. The method further includes searching for information corresponding to the selected consumer service in a database. The information may include workflow information, application procedure(s) for the selected consumer service, one or more forms, one or more supporting documents required for applying (or otherwise relevant to the application process), and experiences of other users. The method also includes creating a data package based on results of the searching for information corresponding to the selected consumer service, and presenting the data package associated with the selected consumer service to the user.
Some embodiments provide a system for creating a data package for one or more consumer services. The system includes a server device including a database or database configured to store information related to the one or more consumer services. The information includes workflow information, application procedure(s) for the selected consumer service, one or more forms and one or more supporting documents required for applying (or otherwise relevant to the application process), and experiences of other users. The system also includes a client device including information-retrieving interface configured to display a number of consumer services to a user, and receive a selection of at least one consumer service of the consumer services from the user. The client device also includes a processing module configured to search for information corresponding to the selected consumer service in the database or database. The processing module also creates a data package based on results of the searching for information corresponding to the selected consumer service. The information-retrieving interface presents the user with the data package associated with the selected consumer service.
Some embodiments provide a computer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions for creating a data package for one or more consumer services. The computer program product can perform various operations including displaying a number of consumer services through an information-retrieving interface to a user; receiving a selection of at least one consumer service of the plurality of consumer services from the user; and searching for information corresponding to the selected consumer service in a database and database. The information includes workflow information, application procedure(s) for the selected consumer service, one or more forms and one or more supporting documents required for applying (or otherwise relevant to the application process), and experiences of other users. The operations also include creating a data package based on results of the searching for information corresponding to the selected consumer service; and presenting the user with the data package associated with the selected consumer service.
The following detailed description is made with reference to the figures. Various embodiments are described to illustrate the disclosure, not to limit its scope, which is defined by the claims. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize a number of equivalent variations in the description that follows.
As used herein, a Multi-Function Device (MFD) includes a single device that offers a number of traditionally separate functionalities, such as printing, copying, scanning, and faxing. Further, “mobile device” refers to any device that has a wireless connection with a network or components related to the network. The “mobile device” can also be a landline telephone as long as it can communicate with the MFD remotely. The present disclosure includes mobile users such as cell phones, Smartphones, PDAs, and so on. Moreover, an “address” is any identifying information that allows a device to be accessed on a network, such as an IP address or URL, the URL including both long form (including full protocol information, such as “http://”) or short form, beginning with “www” or only a website name, such as “foobar.com”. An “access code” is an identifier capable of designating a specific device, such as an MFD, on a computer network or local computer system. A “telephone number” is an identifier capable of identifying a device or location on any type of telephone network, including traditional voice networks, packet-oriented, etc.
Some embodiments relate to methods and systems for creating a data package for one or more consumer services. The systems and methods introduced in this disclosure aid users in effectively and efficiently retrieving information relating to various consumer services. In addition, the disclosed system and methods provide the user with the required amount of information that can help the user to prepare an application packet, or a beneficial amount of information for facilitating the user's preparation of the application packet. The data package creating system can be a single device or a combination of one or more devices for creating data packages or an application packet for different types of consumer services based on user requirement(s). The disclosed system can be implemented as a client server architecture. The client device may include an information-retrieving user interface, and a database may be maintained at the server device. The system may include or otherwise involve more than one server device.
A number of consumer services may be displayed at the information-retrieving interface at the client device. The user can select a consumer service from the displayed options of the consumer services. Then, a data package including all (or a beneficial amount of) information regarding the application process of the consumer service can be prepared and presented to the user accordingly.
The information-retrieving interface 108 can display a list of consumer services and a number of other options to the user 102 (or consumer) on the client device 104. Examples of the consumer services may include, but are not limited to, banking service(s), credit service(s), driver's license service(s), passport service(s), visa service(s), telephone service(s), cable or satellite television service(s), educational service(s), and so forth. Examples of the options may include, but are not limited to, a ‘login option’, a ‘signup/register option’, a ‘search option’, and so forth. The user 102 can select one or more consumer services from the displayed list of the consumer services. The information-retrieving interface 108 can display one or more questions with multiple levels of dependencies associated with the selected consumer service to the user 102. Then, the user 102 may provide one or more response(s) to the one or more questions accordingly. The information-retrieving interface 108 is also configured to present/display additional questions to the user 102 based on the received response(s). For example, the user 102 may be asked about his/her age, and the response may be 14 years. In this case, the response indicates or implies that he/she is a minor, and then questions related or otherwise relevant to a minor may appear on the information-retrieving interface. The information-retrieving interface 108 is also configured to display tips or special advice to the user 102 based on the experiences of the other users who have had similar experience(s) with the consumer service in past.
The client device 104 also includes a processing module 110 that may determine whether information corresponding to the selected consumer service is available within a database or database 112 of the server device 106. The processing module 110 can also search and retrieve the information corresponding to the selected consumer service from the database 112 of the server device 106. The information can include workflow information, an application procedure for the selected consumer service, one or more forms, and supporting document(s), such as birth certificate, income proof, valid address proof, bank passbooks, etc. of the user 102 (or other users). Further, the application process may differ based on many factors, such as, but not limited to, age of the person, nationality, demographics, etc. For example, to apply for a passport, the supporting documents and forms for a college student residing in a dormitory can be starkly different from those for a child such as a minor with a single parent. The user 102 may not be aware of exactly which forms and documents are required for applying for a passport. Examples of such supporting document requirements (that the user 102 or consumers are usually unaware of) can be: (a) bank statements, if used as address proof, need to have the manager seal and signature for authenticity, for normal passport applications, a minimum of six months of bank statement may be required and for prioritized applications, a minimum of one year's bank statement may be required; (b) if there is any signature mismatched in any of the documents, then a notarized affidavit may be required; (c) if address is not complete in a document, then a notarized affidavit or a supporting document with a verbatim address may be required, for example, in bank passbooks, which are valid address proof documents, banks tend to shorten the address due to space constraints, and so forth. The disclosed system 100 may provide collated information that is required for applying for a consumer service passport to the user 102.
The database 112 may maintain information about application processes of the consumer services, various associated forms, such as application forms, experiences of other users, supported documents of the registered users, details about the registered users (such as the user 102), and so forth. Further, the information can be stored in the database 112 in a machine-readable format, such as by using XML, for use with the information-retrieving interface 108. The processing module 110 may also create a data package including the forms, supporting documents, and other information corresponding to the selected consumer service. The data package associated with the selected consumer service may be presented to the user 102 via the information-retrieving interface 108 and other techniques and devices, such as a display device connected to the client device 104. The processing module 110 can also present personalized advertisements along with the data package to the user 102 via the information-retrieving interface 108. The server device 106 may store the information about various consumer services in form of articles or web pages.
The server device 106 also includes a registration module 116 that may allow the user 102 (or other users) to register/sign-up with the database 112 by providing one or more details, such as, but are not limited to, name, e-mail identity, phone number, age, marital status, and so forth. In some embodiments, the user 102 may also upload or provide one or more supporting documents, such as birth certificate, bank statement, mark sheets, and so forth. A profile may be created for the user 102 based on the registration with the database 112 of the server device 106. After successful registration, the profile of the user 102 may include all the details entered by the user 102, supporting documents, history of information/articles retrieved by the user 102, and so forth.
For registered users, such as the user 102, the processing module 110 may minimize the number of questions, and generate a list of documents required based on the user's personal details. The user 102 can edit the personal details of this profile. In addition, the registration module 116 can proactively remind and allow the user 102 to update the user profile upon the user login.
The user 102 can fill out the documents, such as forms, questionnaire(s), etc., digitally and/or may take a print out of the same using an associated printer 202, as shown in
The server device 106 may also include an authentication module 118 configured to authenticate identity of the registered users, such as the user 102, based on one or more login credentials entered by the user 102 at the client device 104. The database 112 may maintain data about all of the registered users. The authentication module 118 may perform a matching of the entered login credentials with data stored in the database 112, and may authenticate the users accordingly.
The server device 106 also includes an update module 114 configured to allow the user 102 or other users to edit, add, delete, or update information stored in the database 112. A database administrator (admin 120) can validate the updating of the database 112. The database admin 120 can moderate and verify the changes made by the users (i.e. user 102). The database 112 is updated after verification by the database admin 120. The system may include more than one database admin 120. The system 100 is shown in
To be able to perform the above mentioned functions, the MFD 400 includes a monitoring module 402, a processing module 404, an authorization module 406, a user interface 408, a network interface 410, a database 412, a computer readable media 414, and an input/output (I/O) module 416. Each of these system components is described in detail in the following sections. The network interface 410 allows the MFD 400 to receive and send information to the remote server device 106. The 10 module 416 may take information or may output information to the user 102. The user 102 may submit the first form at the MFD 400 using the 10 module 416. In addition, the 10 module 416 may include a printer for printing the forms. In some instances, the monitoring module 402 may monitor multiple MFD parameters, such as usage, toner availability, performance, paper jam based on requests received from the user 102 or the remote server device 106.
The processing module 404 may receive information from the monitoring module 402 and provide processed information to the user interface 408, the network interface 410 and to the database 412. To this end, the processing module 404 converts the received information into user readable format (in case the information is provided to a user) and database or module readable format (in case information is received from a user). The user 102 may also interact with the MFD 400 through the user interface 408. The user interface 408 can be a graphical user interface (GUI).
If the processing module 404 receives data, such as a filled out form from the user 102 or the remote server device 106, then it may process that information and act upon it, as required. For example, if the received information is a print command, then the processing module 404 retrieves the data to be printed and automatically provides a print command to the MFD 400.
The authorization module 406 regulates access to the MFD 400 based on predetermined user IDs, access codes or preconfigured telephone numbers. For example, each cell phone number of the user 102, or the user 102 may have an associated access code, or unique identity (ID) known only to the user 102. Thus, along with the print command, users may also be prompted to enter an access code or ID for authenticating the user 102 prior to providing access to the MFD 400. For these functions, the database 412 stores profiles of users that includes user information, access codes, telephone numbers, unique IDs, names, preferred printing configurations, preferred paper quality, etc.
The user interface 408 includes multiple modes of communication, such as a simple display, an interactive touch screen display, an audio system, and a combination of a display and audio system. In addition, the user interface 408 may include and provide one or more options to the user 102, for example, for selecting a type of service or form, for submitting form, printing, etc.
The information-retrieving interface 418 may be configured to display a list of consumer services and a number of other options to the user 102. Examples of the options may include, but are not limited to, a ‘login option’, a ‘signup/register option’, a ‘search tab/interface’, ‘update option’, etc. Examples of the consumer services may include, but are not limited to, banking service, driving license service, passport service, visa service, telephone service, and so forth. The user 102 can select one or more consumer services from the displayed list of the consumer services. The information-retrieving interface 418 can also display one or more questions with multiple levels of dependencies associated with the selected consumer service to the user 102. Then, the user 102 may provide one or more response to the one or more questions accordingly. For example, if initially the user's age is asked, and the user enters 15 years as his/her age, then other question(s) related or otherwise relevant to a minor may be displayed to the user. The information-retrieving interface 418 presents/displays additional questions to the user based on the received response. The information-retrieving interface 418 is also configured to display tips or special advice to the user 102 based on the experiences of the other users who have had similar experience(s) with the consumer service in past. For example, the experience(s) of another user who had visited the passport office two days prior to the current user. Such experiences can give the user 102 a better idea and more information about the recent scenario in the consumer service office, such as the passport office.
As discussed with reference to
The database 112 may maintain information about all application process(es) of the consumer services, various forms such as application forms, experiences of other users, supporting documents of the users, details about users (such as the user 102), etc. Further, the information can be stored in the database 112 in a machine-readable format, such as by using XML, for use with the information-retrieving interface 108. The processing module 404 may also create a data package including the forms, supporting documents, and other information corresponding to the selected consumer service. The data package associated with the selected consumer service may be presented to the user 102 via the information-retrieving interface 418 and other techniques and devices, such as a display device connected to the client device 104. The processing module 404 is also configured to present personalized advertisements along with the data package to the user 102 via the information-retrieving interface 418.
The user 102 can browse generic articles about various consumer services by selecting the browse generic articles option 504. The user 102 can download sample forms and/or sample documents by selecting an option 518 and 520, respectively.
Various users can register to the database 112 by selecting the Sign up option 508. The unregistered users can enter his/her personal details to register, and in turn to create a profile at the server device 106 based on the entered details. The users can also upload one or more documents during the registration process. Already registered users, such as the user 102, can login to the system by entering his/her login credentials. The disclosed system may authenticate the user based on the login credentials, and then provide access to the database 112 to the user 102. After logging into the system, the user 102 can update his/her profile by selecting the update option 510 or may browse the articles related to his/her profile by selecting the option 512. The user 102 can download sample forms by selecting the option 518, and/or download the sample documents by selecting the option 520.
The system also provides the user 102 with an option 514 to sign-up for alerts regarding some articles or information. For example, the user 102 may receive alerts regarding updates in passport related information. The user 102 can also contribute to an existing article by selecting the option 516. The user 102 can also upload sample forms by selecting an option 522, and can upload sample documents by selecting an option 524. The user 102 can also add hyperlinks to resource websites by selecting an option 526. The user 102 can also write procedures and steps related to the selected consumer service or article by selecting an option 528.
At step 702, the user 102 accesses the information-retrieving interface 108. The user can access the information-retrieving interface 108 via a web browsing application on the client device 104 or the MFD 302. Alternatively, the user can access the information-retrieving interface 108 via an application running on the client device 104 or the MFD 302. Then, at step 704, one or more consumer services are displayed on the information-retrieving interface along with other options to the user 102. The other options can be a search option, a login option, a sign-up option, and so forth.
At step 706, a selection of at least one consumer service or an option is received from the user 102. Then, at step 708, the processing module 110 may check whether the received selection is of the consumer service. If the user 102 selects the consumer service, then step 710 is executed, or else step 718 is executed. At step 710, information corresponding to the selected consumer service is searched in the database 112 by the processing module 110 (or 404). At step 712, the processing module 110 creates a data package including the information about the consumer service. In some embodiments, the data package may include information about the application process in the form of articles, one or more application forms, supporting document requirement(s), and so forth.
Thereafter, at step 714, one or more forms or the supporting documents may be printed or presented to the user. In some embodiments, a printer connected to the client device 104 may print the forms. At step 716, the data package is presented to the user 102 via the information-retrieving interface 108. In some embodiments, the user 102 can read the information available in the data package, and may apply for the selected consumer service at that time. Alternatively, the user 102 may download the data package and use the information of the data package to for the application process later. In some embodiments, the user 102 may be presented with one or more personalized advertisements along with the data package. For example, if the data package includes information about a driver's license, then advertisement(s) of various driver's training schools may be presented to the user along with the data package on the information-retrieving interface 108.
At step 718, it is checked whether the user 102 is a registered user or not. If the user 102 is a registered user, then the process control goes to step 720, or else control goes to step 726. At step 720, the system 100 (or 200 or 300) receives one or more login credentials from the user 102. Then, at step 722, the authentication module 118 of the server device 106 authenticates the identity of the user 102 based on the received login credentials. Thereafter, when the user is an authenticated user, then the user 102 is allowed to access the information from the database 112 and/or to perform one or more actions at step 724. The actions can be to update his/her profile, and to update/add/delete the data of the database. The database administrator (admin) 120 may moderate and verify every change in the database 112.
If the user 102 is not a registered user, then at step 726, the user 102 is presented with an interface to allow the user to register with the database 112. The user 102 can register with the database 112 or the server device 106 by providing one or more details, such as, but not limited to, name, age, e-mail ID, telephone number, and so forth. The user 102 may also upload one or more personal documents at the time of or after registration.
It will be understood that the modules and the databases referred to in the previous sections are not necessarily utilized together in a single document processing system. Rather, these modules are merely exemplary of the various modules that may be implemented within a document processing system. Further, it will be understood that the document processing system and the MFD may include more modules than the ones described in this disclosure without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
It will be appreciated that several of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations, or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art, which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.