JP7650152B2 - Information processing device, control method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device, a control method, and a program.

Various operations can be performed using a user interface displayed on a touch panel or the like. In the development of such user interfaces, operation logs collected from past products are analyzed and the analysis results are utilized to provide users with better operability. Related technologies are proposed in Patent Documents 1 and 2. Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for identifying the operation type and time required for each series of user operations performed before the job is executed for each job, storing them as a log, and identifying parts that can be replaced by alternative user operations using an operation assistance function. Patent Document 2 discloses a technology for displaying functions related to an operation such as setting a document at the top of a function list display when an operation is performed on an image forming device.

One method for improving the operability of a touch panel is to dynamically change the screen configuration. Related technology is proposed in Patent Document 3. The technology in Patent Document 3 simplifies the assignment of keys to various functions and the registration of macros, and also makes it possible to display indicators such as shortcut keys corresponding to the registered functions at the desired timing.

As an example of a technology that utilizes the results of analysis of operation logs, Patent Document 4 discloses a system that transmits the operation history of a web application to a server, making it possible to analyze the contents of the history.

Incidentally, there are various types of operation history in the operation unit, such as history of direct operation of hardware such as a touch panel, history of operation of software buttons displayed on the screen, and history of semantic operations that result from operating various buttons, etc. The extent to which these operation histories are used in the analysis depends on the content of the analysis. Furthermore, the content of the analysis changes depending on the time and environment. In order to be able to respond to such changes in the content of the analysis, it is conceivable to record all types of operation history and send all recorded types of operation history to a server.

JP 2015-64686 A Patent No. 6447091 JP 2006-260544 A JP 2019-38142 A

However, the technology of Patent Document 1 cannot analyze operation logs taking into account information about user operations performed before an icon is pressed. When a user operates various functions using a touch panel or the like, the user's behavior may be affected by factors that occurred before the operation of the various functions. For example, when preset settings are displayed on an icon for calling up a function, this may affect the behavior of a user who views the displayed contents. Therefore, it is preferable to analyze operation logs taking into account information about user operations performed before a function is used. This point is not taken into account in the technology of Patent Document 2 either.

On the other hand, the technology of Patent Document 3 has room for improvement in terms of improving operability. For example, when the screen configuration of a touch panel is dynamically changed, it may lead to erroneous operation when the user operates the screen, which may actually reduce the operability of the touch panel. For this reason, when analyzing past operation logs, it is preferable to properly analyze or evaluate the process of dynamic changes to the screen configuration and the results of the changes. For example, with the technology of Patent Document 3, when a shortcut key is generated, it is difficult to determine whether the shortcut key is a shortcut key generated as a result of a user operation or a shortcut key generated automatically.

In addition, if the technology of Patent Document 4 is used to record all types of operation history and transmit all the recorded types of operation history to a server, the amount of data to be processed will be enormous, resulting in problems such as increased power consumption of the device, shortened device lifespan, and strain on the network communication bandwidth. In order to prevent such problems from occurring, there is a strong demand for a mechanism that can appropriately collect desired operation history.

In addition, detailed analysis of user behavior may not be possible with just the operation log of the series of user operations performed after pressing an icon until the execution of a job. For example, if a double-sided printing setting is preset for an icon for calling up a copy function, a user who selects this icon may change the setting from double-sided printing to single-sided printing before deciding to execute a process. However, the technology in Patent Document 1 does not allow for analysis of which setting the setting was changed to single-sided printing from. From the perspective of providing users with better operability, it is preferable to analyze the operation log while also taking into account the settings that were preset when the function was first used. This point is not taken into account in the technology in Patent Document 3 either.

The first object of the present invention is to provide an information processing device, a control method, and a program that can associate and manage information about operations performed before the use of a function starts with information about operations performed from the start to the end of the use of the function.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned first object, an information processing device of a first aspect of the present invention comprises an operation panel having a display function and capable of accepting operations from a user, a display control means for controlling the display of an operation object for executing a specified function on the screen of the operation panel, and a storage means for storing event information relating to operations performed from the start to the end of the specified function and event information before the start of the specified function in association with each other, wherein the same identification information is added to the event information relating to operations performed from the start to the end of the specified function and the event information before the start of the specified function, and the same identification information is added to event information relating to a series of operations from when an operation is performed to return the information processing device from a power saving state to when an operation is performed to transition to the power saving state.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, information on operations from when the use of a function begins to when it ends can be managed in association with information on operations before the use of the function begins.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an entire system including an MFP as an information processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 2 is an external view of an operation unit included in the MFP of FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of a scanner included in the MFP of FIG. 1 . 3 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen displayed on a touch panel of the operation unit in FIG. 2; FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the MFP shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing a process flow in a basic system that is a premise of the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing a processing flow in the system of the first embodiment. 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating examples of events transmitted from the MFP to the server according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an event log in a basic system that is a premise of the first embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an event log in the system of the first embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of an event notification setting process executed by the MFP shown in FIG. 1 . 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of an internal event notification process executed by the MFP shown in FIG. 1 . 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of the identification information addition process according to the first embodiment, which is executed in step S8108 of FIG. 9B. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a first example of a screen transition in the first embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of trigger event processing according to the first embodiment, which is executed in step S8104 of FIG. 9B. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a second example of a screen transition in the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing some of the setting values acquired for each screen. 9C is a flowchart showing the flow of a per-screen setting value acquisition process according to the first embodiment, which is executed in step S8106 of FIG. 9B. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a third example of a screen transition in the first embodiment. 4A to 4C are diagrams illustrating screen transitions associated with user operations in the first embodiment, and generation and destruction of each piece of information when the screen transitions. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an event log in the system of the second embodiment. 13 is a flowchart showing a flow of an identification information adding process according to the second embodiment. 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating screen transitions associated with user operations and generation and destruction of information when the screens transition in the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an event log in the system of the third embodiment. 13 is a flowchart showing a flow of an identification information adding process according to the third embodiment. 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating screen transitions in response to user operations and generation and destruction of information when the screens transition in the third embodiment. 13 is a flowchart showing a flow of a screen-by-screen setting value acquisition process in the fourth embodiment. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of a screen-specific setting value acquisition process in the fifth embodiment. 24 is a flowchart showing the process of calculating a difference in a setting value executed in step S1601C of FIG. 23. 23A and 23B are diagrams illustrating examples of events that an MFP notifies a server of in the sixth embodiment. FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example of an event log in the system of the sixth embodiment. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of detailed information of a screen change in the sixth embodiment. 23 is a flowchart showing a flow of a trigger event process according to the sixth embodiment. FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a static home screen. FIG. 23 is a functional block diagram of an MFP according to a seventh embodiment. 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating examples of events that an MFP notifies a server of in the eighth embodiment. FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example of an event log in the system of the eighth embodiment. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of an identification information adding process executed by an MFP according to an eighth embodiment. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a screen transition in the ninth embodiment. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a screen transition in the tenth embodiment. 23 is a flowchart of a screen-specific setting value acquisition process executed by the MFP in step S8106 of FIG. 9B according to the tenth embodiment.

Each embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, the configurations described in each of the following embodiments are merely examples, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the configurations described in each of the embodiments.

First Embodiment
Hereinafter, the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of an entire system. In the example of FIG. 1, the system includes an MFP 1100 and a server 1120. The MFP 1100 as an information processing apparatus has a copy function, a print function, and the like. The information processing apparatus may be any apparatus other than an image forming apparatus such as an MFP. The MFP 1100 is connected to the server 1120 via a network such as a LAN 1130. In the MFP 1100, a scanner 112, a printer 113, an operation unit 111, and a LAN 1130 are connected to a controller unit 100.

The controller unit 100 has a CPU 101 that executes various control programs. The CPU 101 starts up the MFP 1100 based on a boot program stored in the ROM 103. The CPU 101 also reads out a control program stored in the HDD 104 and executes a predetermined process using the RAM 102 as a work area. The HDD 104 stores various control programs including a copy function, a print function, etc., and stores scan data read from the scanner 112. The operation unit I/F 105 controls data input/output with the operation unit 111. The CPU 101 executes the control program to realize the processing of each embodiment. The CPU 101 corresponds to a display control means.

The network I/F (interface) 106 is connected to the LAN 1130 and controls the communication of information via the LAN 1130. The scanner I/F 107 receives image data from the scanner 112 and inputs and outputs control data for controlling the scanner 112. The printer I/F 108 outputs image data to the printer 113 and inputs and outputs control data for controlling the printer 113. The FAX unit 109 transmits and receives fax data via a telephone line 1131.

The operation unit 111 has an input function (input device) such as a touch panel or hard keys, and also has a display function (display device) such as an LCD or LED. The touch panel of the operation unit 111 displays a user interface (UI) that accepts operations from the user and presents information to the user. The hard keys are provided with a start button, etc., for instructing the start of scanning a paper document. The input function and display function of the operation unit 111 may be provided separately.

The scanner 112 has an optical reading device such as a CCD, and has the function of optically scanning paper media and reading them as electronic image data. In addition, an automatic document feeder (ADF) can be installed in the scanner 112. In this case, the paper documents of a stack of paper documents placed on the document tray are automatically fed one by one to the reading section, and the paper documents that have been read are discharged to a paper output tray or the like. A sensor or the like detects whether a paper document has been placed on the document tray of the ADF. The printer 113 has the function of forming an image from the electronic image data onto a recording medium such as a paper document or paper.

When the MFP 1100 executes a process such as copying or printing, the MFP 1100 saves information such as the execution results as a log in the HDD 104. The HDD 104 saves operations performed by the user on the operation unit 111 and information displayed by the operation unit 111 as a log. The MFP 1100 can transmit the log saved in the HDD 104 to an external device of the MFP 1100 via the network I/F 107. In the example of FIG. 1, the external device is the server 1120, but it may be a device other than the server 1120. The MFP 1100 can transmit the saved log to the external device at any timing. The saved log may be sent immediately after a specified process is executed, or may be sent at regular time intervals, etc.

The MFP 1100 displays a login screen on the operation unit 111 for inputting user information such as a user ID and password, and performs authentication of the user management functions of the MFP 1100 itself and the user management functions of the external device based on the input user information. If valid user information is input, the MFP 1100 determines that authentication is successful and makes the MFP 1100 operable. In addition, when the MFP 1100 receives a logout operation to end operation, it transitions the display on the operation unit 111 back to the login screen.

The server 1120 is connected to the MFP 1100 via a network such as the LAN 1130, and instructs the MFP 1100 to transmit the above-mentioned log. The server 1120 also receives information such as the log transmitted by the MFP 1100. The server 1120 has a control unit 120 that can be connected to the LAN 1130. The control unit 120 has a CPU 121 that executes various control programs, and the overall operation of the server 1120 is controlled by the CPU 121 executing the various control programs. The CPU 121 reads out the control programs stored in the ROM 123 and the HDD 124, and executes a predetermined process using the RAM 122 as a work area. The HDD 124 stores various control programs such as a program that instructs the MFP 1100 to transmit a log. The HDD 124 also stores information such as the type of log to be transmitted to the MFP 1100. Information such as logs received from the MFP 1100 is stored, for example, in the HDD 124. The control unit 120 can analyze the log information stored in the HDD 124.

The network I/F 126 controls the communication of information via the LAN 1130. The operation unit I/F 125 controls the output of data to the operation display unit 128, and controls the input and output of data between the operation display unit 128 and the operation input unit 129. The operation display unit 128 has a display function such as an LCD or LED. The operation display unit 128 displays specified information. The operation input unit 129 has input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse. The operation input unit 129 accepts operations from the user.

FIG. 2 is an external view of the operation unit 111 of the MFP 1100. The LCD display panel 202 is a liquid crystal display device with a touch panel 201 on its surface, and displays an operation screen for performing various settings and input setting information. The touch panel 201 corresponds to the operation panel. The user can perform input operations (input instructions) for various settings by touching an operation object displayed on the display panel 202 via the touch panel 201. The CPU 101 determines which operation object has been specified based on the position on the touch panel 201 touched by the user and the positional relationship between the operation object, such as a software key, currently displayed on the LCD 202. The operation object corresponds to an operation object. At this time, the CPU 101 records the position coordinates of the operation performed by the user on the touch panel 201 as an operation log.

The start key 203 is a hard key for instructing the scanner 112 to start reading a paper medium. The stop key 204 is a hard key for stopping the processing of a job. The reset key 205 is a hard key for clearing the currently set setting value on the setting screen displayed on the LCD 202 and returning it to the standard setting value. The numeric keypad 206 is a hard key for inputting a numerical value such as the number of copies. The ID key 207 is a hard key for instructing a logout process when the user is logged in to the MFP 1100. The clear key 208 is a hard key for clearing the input contents. The home key 209 is a hard key for displaying a screen for selecting each application, called a home screen. The sleep button 210 is a hard key for executing a process of transitioning the MFP 1100 to a sleep state (power saving state) and a process of returning from the sleep state. The power saving state is a state in which power consumption is saved, for example, a non-display state in which the display contents of the touch panel 201 are cleared . When the user operates each of the above hard keys, the CPU 101 records the operation of each hard key as an operation log.

Now, the scanner 112 of the MFP 1100 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the scanner 112. The scanner 112 has an image reading unit 1801, and an ADF 1802 installed above the image reading unit 1801. The ADF 1802 includes an original tray 1803, regulating plates 1804 that are arranged at both ends of the original on the original tray 1803 and are moved so as to come into contact with both ends of the original, and an ejection tray 1805 onto which the original fed from the original tray 1803 is ejected.

The image reading unit 1801 optically reads the document transported by the ADF 1802. The ADF 1802 is supported by a hinge so as to be rotatable relative to the image reading unit 1801 so that the document table glass 1806 can be opened. The ADF 1802 has a pickup roller 1807 for feeding the document on the document tray 1803, a separation drive roller 1808, and a separation driven roller 1809. The ADF 1802 further has a conveying roller pair 1810, a lead roller pair 1811, 1813, a platen guide roller 1812, and a discharge roller pair 1814. The ADF 1802 also has a document detection sensor 1815 that detects the document D on the document tray 1803, and a post-separation sensor 1816 that is disposed downstream of the separation drive roller 1808 in the sheet feeding direction and detects the document D. When a user places a document on the document tray 1803, the document detection sensor 1815 detects the document.

The image reading unit 1801 has a platen glass 1817, a jump table 1818, a reference white board 1819, a document table glass 1806, a first mirror table 1820, a second mirror table 1821, a lens 1822, and a CCD unit 1823. A lamp 1824 and a mirror 1825 are arranged inside the first mirror table 1820, and mirrors 1826 and 1827 are arranged inside the second mirror table 1821. The first mirror table 1820 and the second mirror table 1821 can be moved in the sub-scanning direction by a wire and a drive motor. The scanner 112 reads image information from the document D in either a flow reading mode in which the document image is scanned while the document D loaded on the document tray 1803 is fed by the ADF 1801, or a fixed reading mode in which the document placed on the document table glass 1806 is scanned. Image information is read by driving the drive rollers and movable parts of the scanner 112.

Next, a display screen displayed on the touch panel 201 of the operation unit 111 will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the display screen. FIG. 4 shows an example of a home screen that is displayed as an initial screen after a user logs in to the MFP 1100. In this embodiment, the initial screen is a smart home screen in which the buttons displayed are dynamically changed by user operations. As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of smart buttons 302, 303, and 304 are displayed on the smart home screen. Each smart button is a shortcut button that involves screen transitions. The smart buttons are operation objects whose arrangement is dynamically changed in response to the occurrence of an event. The smart buttons 302 and 303 are application buttons for transitioning to various function application screens. The operation objects may be buttons other than smart buttons.

When the screen in FIG. 4 is displayed, if the user operates (selects) smart button 302, the screen transitions to a screen of an application that executes printing. Also, when the screen in FIG. 4 is displayed, if the user operates (selects) smart button 303, the screen transitions to a screen of an application that executes a copy function. Smart button 304 is an execution button that immediately starts execution of a job with a predetermined setting value. Smart button 304 in FIG. 4 is a button that sends scanned data to the user's terminal. When smart button 304 is operated by a user, a scan and send job can be executed with the destination address, resolution, format of the scanned document, etc. set to predetermined setting values. An icon 305 representing a job to be executed immediately is displayed on smart button 304. This allows the user to recognize that selecting smart button 304 is a button that not only transitions to a screen but also executes a job.

Page forward buttons 306 and 307 are buttons for switching the shortcut buttons displayed on the home screen on a page-by-page basis. Page display scale 308 is a scale display consisting of two rectangles, one long and one short, and indicates the proportion of the currently displayed screen to the total number of displayed pages by the ratio of the lengths of the long and short rectangles. In page display scale 308, which part of the scale display is displayed is indicated by the position of the short rectangle in the long rectangle. Menu button 301 is a button for displaying a menu screen for changing settings such as the number of buttons displayed on one page of the home screen. Home screen switching button 309 is a button for switching the screen from the smart home screen to a static home screen (e.g., see FIG. 29) in which the display buttons are fixed.

When the user operates each button on the screen displayed on the touch panel 201 of the operation unit 111, the CPU 101 records an operation log together with identification information that identifies which button was operated. In addition, the display order of the above-mentioned smart buttons on the smart home screen is automatically changed by events other than direct operation of the touch panel 201 by the user, such as placing an ADF document or submitting a print job. This point will be described in detail later.

Next, the software configuration of the MFP 1100 will be described. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the MFP 1100. Each functional block in FIG. 5 is realized by the CPU 101 executing a control program stored in the RAM 102, the ROM 103, or the HDD 104. However, the notification setting storage unit 403 and the message buffer 412 may be realized by the RAM 102, the HDD 104, etc. Also, the network communication unit 401 may be realized by the network I/F 106. Also, in the MFP 1100, software that realizes various functions using scanning, printing, a network, and memory storage runs. The operation unit I/F unit 105A is a software function of the operation unit I/F 105 in FIG. 1, and has a function of displaying a screen operated by the user on the touch panel 201 and a function of transmitting the operation contents when the user operates to another software. The operation unit I/F unit 105A mainly controls the operation and display of the hardware of the operation unit 111.

The function application platform 408 converts the hardware input received by the operation unit I/F unit 105A into button instructions on the operation screen, etc., and notifies the function application 409. The operation screen is controlled by the function application 409. The function application platform 408 also switches the operation screen display from each function application 409, and displays it on the touch panel 201 of the operation unit 111 via the operation unit I/F unit 105A. The function application 409 is a group of software for operating functions such as copying, printing, and email transmission. Therefore, there are multiple function applications 409 for each function. Each function application 409 operates in response to a trigger such as an instruction from the user via the operation unit 111 or data reception via a network such as the LAN 1130.

When the job control unit 406 receives an instruction to execute a job from the function application 409, it controls the execution of the instructed job. For example, when the job control unit 406 is instructed to execute a scan job, it controls the scanner 112 via the scanner I/F 107 to execute the scan. When a print job is executed, the job control unit 406 controls the printer 113 via the printer I/F 108 to execute the print. The error control unit 407 mainly receives notifications of abnormal states that occur in the job control unit 406, the printer 113, the scanner 112, etc., and controls the instruction to stop the entire system or perform a degenerate operation. The history setting storage unit 410 manages non-volatile information such as the operation history and various setting values in the MFP 1100. The history setting storage unit 410 stores settings necessary for control of the MFP 1100 and job execution, and stores the user's operation history, job execution results, error occurrences, etc. The history setting storage unit 410 can also store history settings that include setting values called up when the smart button 304 is pressed, setting values that were set when a job was executed, and job settings executed in the past, which are stored as history. The history setting storage unit 410 can store history settings in a format that allows job settings to be made. The job setting values will be described later. Each piece of stored information is stored, for example, in the HDD 104.

The network communication unit 401 transmits and receives information to and from the server 1120 via a network such as the LAN 1130. The network communication unit 401 receives an event notification instruction from the server 1120. When the network communication unit 401 of the MFP 1100 receives an event notification instruction, the notification setting acquisition unit 402 recognizes the received instruction content and saves the event notification setting included in the instruction in the notification setting storage unit 403. The event notification setting is saved in the notification setting storage unit 403 as a file in the HDD 104. The notification setting storage unit 403 saves content indicating which events, among those that have occurred in the target device and can be turned into events, are to be notified as events.

When the MFP 1100 is started up or when the notification setting acquisition unit 402 receives a notification of a change to the event notification settings in the notification setting storage unit 403, the event setting unit 404 sets each control unit and application to acquire the events for which notification has been instructed. In other words, it sets the operation unit I/F unit 105A and each application from the job control unit 406 to the history setting storage unit 410 to notify them of the events for which notification has been instructed.

The event collection unit 411 receives events from each application that has been set to acquire events, selects and adds event information, formats the data, and stores it in the message buffer 412 as event notification data. The message buffer 412, which serves as a storage means, stores the event notification data as a log in a file in the HDD 104. The storage means may be something other than the HDD 104, such as the RAM 102. In response to detecting that event notification data has been written in the message buffer 412, the event transmission unit 413 reads the event notification data and transmits it to the server 1120 via the network communication unit 401. The event transmission unit 413 may transmit the event notification data each time the event notification data is written in the message buffer 412. The event transmission unit 413 may also transmit the event notification data collectively when the event notification data reaches a certain amount of information.

Next, the process flow of the entire system will be described. FIG. 6A is a sequence diagram showing the process flow in the basic system that is the premise of the first embodiment. The server 1120 transmits a job event notification instruction to the MFP 1100 (S5101). When the network communication unit 401 of the MFP 1100 receives the job event notification instruction, the notification setting acquisition unit 402 recognizes the received instruction content and saves the event notification setting in the notification setting storage unit 403. Thereafter, the event setting unit 404 sets each module in the device to acquire the content of the event for which the job event notification instruction has been issued, in order to acquire the internal event (S5102). Here, it is assumed that the event setting unit 404 mainly sets the event acquisition setting for the job control unit 406.

Next, the MFP 1100 accepts a login operation by the user 5000 (S5103). When the MFP 1100 accepts the login operation, it performs authentication processing to perform the login. In the example of FIG. 6A, it is assumed that the authentication is successful and the user places a document on the ADF 1802 (S5104). Then, when the user operates the screen, the MFP 1100 accepts job-related settings according to the screen operation (S5105). Furthermore, when the user issues an instruction to execute a job, such as pressing the start key 203, the MFP 1100 accepts the instruction to execute the job (S5106).

The MFP 1100 executes a job such as copying or scanning with the specified setting values (S5107). The MFP 1100 receives job-related events such as job start and job execution from the job control unit 406. The event collection unit 411 then formats the job-related events and necessary information into data, and stores the information about the events in the message buffer 412 (S5108). The MFP 1100 then transmits the job event to the server 1120 via the network communication unit 401 (S5109). When the user performs a logout operation on the MFP 1100, the MFP 1100 accepts the logout operation (S5110). When the MFP 1100 accepts the logout operation, it performs logout processing.

Figure 6B is a sequence diagram showing the flow of processing in a system when the first embodiment is applied. User operations are the same as those in Figure 6A, except for some screen operations. The server 1120 transmits a job event notification instruction to the MFP 1100, requesting an event related to a job (S5201). When the network communication unit 401 of the MFP 1100 receives the job event notification instruction, the notification setting acquisition unit 402 recognizes the received instruction and saves the event notification setting in the notification setting storage unit 403. The event setting unit 404 performs settings for each module in the MFP 1100 to acquire the job event for which notification has been instructed (S5202).

The server 1120 transmits an operation event notification instruction to the MFP 1100, requesting an event related to a user operation (S5203). The operation event notification instruction is an instruction to notify an event related to a user operation, and is used to analyze the user operation in the MFP 1100. When the network communication unit 401 of the MFP 1100 receives the event notification instruction, the notification setting acquisition unit 402 recognizes the received instruction and saves the event notification setting in the notification setting storage unit 403. The event setting unit 404 performs settings for each module in the MFP 1100 to acquire the operation event for which notification has been instructed (S5204).

When the user performs a login operation, the MFP 1100 accepts the login operation (S5205). Then, the MFP 1100 performs authentication processing for login. In the example of FIG. 6B, it is assumed that the authentication is successful. The event collection unit 411, which has been notified of a login event from the functional application 409 that controls login-related processing, generates a session ID to be added to an event related to the operation (S5206). The session ID is an ID that can distinguish a series of operations by a user, mainly from login to logout, from operations at the time of another login by the same user. The event collection unit 411 generates an event of the login operation (login event) to be notified to the server 1120, adds a session ID to the generated event, and then saves it in the message buffer 412 (S5207). The event collection unit 411 holds the session ID until a user logout is detected, and adds the same session ID to each event generated up until the logout.

Next, the user places a document on the ADF 1802 (S5208). When the document is placed on the ADF 1802, the document detection sensor 1815 detects the placement of the document. This causes the CPU 101 of the MFP 1100 to dynamically change the arrangement of the smart buttons on the smart home screen shown in FIG. 4. The event collection unit 411 receives the change in the layout of the smart buttons resulting from the placement of the document on the ADF 1802 as an event, generates a screen change trigger event, and saves it in the message buffer 412 (S5209).

When the user performs an operation involving a screen transition, such as pressing a smart button on the touch panel 201 of the operation unit 111, the MFP 1100 accepts the operation (S5210). The event collection unit 411 receives the button operation event, generates a screen operation event, and saves it in the message buffer 412 (S5211). As described above, the MFP 1100 accepts operations involving screen transitions. When the event collection unit 411 accepts a button operation event and determines that the event is a screen operation event involving a screen transition, it generates a job ID to be added to the screen operation event (S5212). The job ID is an ID that identifies an operation each time a job is executed. Furthermore, the event collection unit 411 obtains the job setting value at the time of the screen transition corresponding to the button pressed in S5210 from the history setting storage unit 410, and adds the job setting value and job ID to the screen operation event and saves it in the message buffer 412 (S5213).

When the user presses a button or the like displayed on the job setting screen to change the setting value for the job to be executed, the MFP 1100 accepts the change operation (S5214). The event collection unit 411 receives the button operation event, and generates a screen operation event and saves it in the message buffer 412 as in S5211 (S5215). Next, when the user receives a job execution instruction such as pressing the start key 203 of the operation unit 111, the MFP 1100 accepts the execution instruction (S5216). The event collection unit 411 receives a key operation event, generates a screen operation event and saves it in the message buffer 412 (S5217). The event collection unit 411 also receives a job execution start event, obtains the job setting value at the time of the job execution instruction from the history setting storage unit 410, adds the job setting value to the job execution instruction event, and saves it in the message buffer 412 (S5218). The event collection unit 411 then discards the job ID generated in S5212 (S5219).

The job control unit 406 of the MFP 1100 executes a job such as copying or scanning with the specified setting value (S5220). Then, the event collection unit 411 receives a job-related event such as job start or job execution from the job control unit 406, and stores the job event in the message buffer 412 together with necessary information (S5221). When the user performs a logout operation on the MFP 1100, the MFP 1100 accepts the logout operation (S5222). When the MFP 1100 accepts the logout operation, it performs logout processing. Thereafter, the event collection unit 411 generates an event of the logout operation and stores it in the message buffer 412 (S5223). The event collection unit 411 also discards the session ID generated at the time of login (S5224). Then, the event transmission unit 413 transmits information about each event stored in the message buffer 412 as a log to the server 1120 via the network communication unit 401 (S5225).

Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of a first group of events that the MFP 1100 transmits to the server 1120. Each event includes multiple items. Among the multiple items, the event name 602 is the name of the event to be notified when a specific event occurs in the MFP 1100. For example, the DevicePowerOn event is notified from the MFP 1100 to the server 1120 when an event occurs in which the power of the device is turned ON. Each event is transmitted with information related to the corresponding event added.

Collection 601 is an event unit that specifies the events to be acquired when server 1120 sends an event notification instruction. Collection 601 indicates a group of events with similar meanings, and normally, by specifying collection 601, the events to be acquired are specified collectively. For example, when collection Counter 606 is specified, it is specified that the server 1120 is notified when two events, CounterSnapshotted and PartsCounterSnapshotted, occur. Furthermore, when Power collection 605 is specified, four events, DevicePowerOn, DeviceSleepStarted, DeviceSleepReverted, and DevicePowerOff, are specified. This specifies that the server 1120 is notified when each of the events occurs.

The basic system column 603 shows with a circle the events notified in the basic system. The operation analysis system column 604 shows with a circle the events notified in the system of this embodiment. In the basic system 603, events of four collections, Power 605, Counter 606, Alarm 607, and Job 608, are notified. On the other hand, in the operation analysis system 604, an event of a collection called UserOperation 609 is added. When the UserOperation 609 collection is specified, it is possible to specify that five events related to user operations are collected collectively and notified to the server 1120.

Among UserOperation 609, the UserOperated event is notified when the user issues an instruction to the operation unit 111, such as pressing the smart button on the smart home screen in FIG. 4. The UserOperationInSession event is notified by the same event as the UserOperated event, but session information (session ID) that distinguishes a series of operations by the user is added. The UserOperationInJob event is notified by the same event as the UserOperated event, but job information (job ID) that distinguishes a series of operations by the user on a job basis is added. The DisplayChangeTriggerOccurred event is notified when the arrangement of the smart keys on the smart screen is changed (when a display change occurs on the operation screen) without a direct operation by the user. The DisplayChangeTriggerOccurred event is notified, for example, when a document is placed on the ADF 1802. The SettingSnapshottedAtTransition event is notified with the setting values set when a transition is made to the screen of a specific application, or the job setting values set when a job of that application is executed.

Figure 8A is a diagram showing an example of an event log in the basic system. Note that in Figure 8A, the event log is tabular data with each row showing one event, but it may be in a format such as JSON. Event name 7001 indicates the name of the event to be sent. Occurrence time 7002 indicates the time when the event occurred. User name 7003 indicates the name of the user who caused the event to occur. User name 7003 is an ID that identifies the user. User name 7003 is not added in cases such as events caused by the MFP 1100 itself, such as the occurrence of an alarm, or when the user cannot be identified.

The target 7004 is the target of the event that has occurred, and the contents differ for each event. For example, a JobStarted event is an event that indicates the start of a job, and type information indicating which job has started is registered in the corresponding target 7004. The parameters 7005 are detailed additional information for the target 7004 of the corresponding event. The contents of the information added to the parameters 7005 also differ depending on the event and target. For example, a JobCompleted event is an event that indicates the end of a job, and the type indicating which job has been completed is registered in the target 7004, and information such as a status indicating whether the job has been completed normally is registered in the parameters. In the basic system, after each event is saved, the saved events are sent to the server 1120.

Next, the notification events sent in the sequence diagram of the basic system shown in FIG. 6A will be described. In S5101, the Job 608 collection in FIG. 7 is sent. In response to the sending of the Job 608 collection, in S5108, the JobStarted event, JobExecuting event, and JobCompleted event in FIG. 8A are generated. Each Job event is added with information on the event occurrence time 7002, the user name 7003 who executed the job, and the target 7004 indicating the type of job. In addition, the JobCompleted event is added with status information at the time the job ended as parameter 7005. In S5109, the JobStarted event, JobExecuting event, and JobCompleted event are sent from the MFP 1100 to the server 1120.

Next, an event log in the system (operation analysis system) of the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 8B is a diagram showing an example of an event log in the system of the first embodiment. The event log is table-format data, as in FIG. 8A, with each row showing one event, but may be in a format such as JSON. The event name 7101, occurrence time 7102, and user name 7106 are the same as in FIG. 8A. The session ID 7103 is an ID that identifies the range of a series of operations by the user. The same ID "A001" is assigned to the session ID 7103 for all operation events from when the user logs in to the MFP 1100 until he logs out. The assigned IDs make it easy to analyze what operations the user who logged in to the MFP 1100 performed.

The job ID 7104 is an ID that specifies the range of a series of operations by the user, similar to the session ID 7103, but the range of operations that is specified is different from that of the session ID 7103. Each time a job is executed, the same ID is assigned to the operation performed by the user when the corresponding job was executed. The assigned ID makes it easy to analyze what operations the user performed when the job was executed. The operation content 7105 is type information that indicates the content of the operation by the user, and is set in the case of an event related to an operation by the user. The target 7107 and the parameter 7108 are similar to the target 7004 and the parameter 7005 in FIG. 8A, but the content differs for each event. The event collection unit 411 generates the above information as information for one event. Then, the generated event information is saved in the message buffer 412. The saved event information is sent to the server 1120 as a log.

Next, the notification event sent in the sequence diagram of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 6B will be described. In S5201, the server 1120 sends the collection of Job 608 in FIG. 7 to the MFP 1100. In S5203, the server 1120 sends the collection of User Operation 609 in FIG. 7 to the MFP 1100. As a result, in S5202 and S5204, information on the job and user operation events is collected and set so that the MFP 1100 notifies the server 1120. Then, in S5205, when the login process is executed, the MFP 1100 generates a UserOperated event as the No. 1 event in FIG. 8B. The MFP 1100 sets the identifier of ButtonSelected, which represents the selection of a button on the screen, to the operation content 7105 of the generated event. In addition, the MFP 1100 sets, in the target 7107, the identifier of the LoginButton, which indicates that the login button was operated, and sets, in the parameter 7108, the identifier of the LoginDialog, which indicates the screen on which the operated button was displayed.

After the login process of S5205 is executed, in S5206, the MFP 1100 generates a session ID "A001". Then, the MFP 1100 generates a UserOperatedInSession event as the No. 2 event. The MFP 1100 adds the session ID "A001" to the session ID 7103 of the generated event, and adds the Login identifier indicating that the login process has been executed to the operation content 7105.

When a document is placed on the ADF in S5208, a screen change trigger event is generated and saved in S5209. At this time, the MFP 1100 generates a DisplayChangeTriggerOccurred event as event No. 3. The MFP 1100 sets the ADFPaperSet identifier, indicating that the screen change is due to the placement of a document on the ADF, in the operation content 7105. The MFP 1100 also sets the SmartButtonShift identifier, indicating that the position of the smart button has been changed, in the target 7107, and sets the MainMenu identifier, indicating the screen on which the smart button was displayed, in the parameter 7108.

Next, when the smart button (copy button) is selected by the screen operation in S5210, the MFP 1100 generates a UserOperatedInSession event as event No. 4 in the screen operation event save process in S5211. The MFP 1100 sets the operation content 7105 to a ButtonSelected identifier indicating the selection of a button on the screen. The MFP 1100 also sets the target 7107 to a CopyButton identifier indicating that the copy button was operated. The MFP 1100 then sets the parameter 7108 to a MainMenu identifier indicating the screen on which the operated copy button was displayed. The MFP 1100 also adds "0001", indicating the job ID generated by the job ID generation process in S5212, to the job ID 7104.

When the smart button is selected, the screen transitions to the application settings screen according to the selected smart button. In the process of saving the screen transition setting value in S5213, the MFP 1100 generates a SettingsSnapshottedAtTransition event as the event No. 5. The MFP 1100 sets the identifier of DisplayTransition, which represents the screen transition to the settings screen, to the operation content 7105 of the generated SettingsSnapshottedAtTransition event. The MFP 1100 also sets the identifier of Copy, which indicates that the application to be executed is copy, to the target 7107. Furthermore, the MFP 1100 converts the setting value for executing the job of the application acquired from the history setting storage unit 410 into information that matches the format of the event and adds it to the parameter 7108. For example, in the case of a copy application, the setting values are settings necessary to execute a copy job, such as the number of copies, output paper size, and enlargement/reduction ratio. The contents of the setting values differ depending on the application. In addition to the session ID 7103, the MFP 1100 adds the job ID 7104 generated by the job ID generation process in S5212 to the event No. 5.

When a series of screen operations to change the setting values are performed in S5214, the screen operation events are saved in S5215. As a result, the MFP 1100 generates UserOperationInJob events as events No. 6 to No. 8, and sets the same job ID "0001" to job ID 7104. When a screen operation to instruct job execution is performed in S5216, the MFP 1100 generates a UserOperationInJob event as event No. 9 in the screen operation event saving in S5217. When job execution is instructed by the start key 203, the MFP 1100 adds an identifier of KeySelected, which indicates the selection of a hard key, to the operation content 7105. Furthermore, the MFP 1100 sets the StartKey identifier, indicating that the start key was operated, to the target 7107, and sets the CopySettings identifier, indicating the screen that was displayed when the hard key was selected, to the parameter 7108.

When the job execution setting values are saved in S5217, the MFP 1100 generates a SettingsSnapshottedAtTransition event as event No. 10. The job setting values at the time of job execution acquired from the history setting storage unit 410 are converted into information that matches the format of the event and assigned to the SettingsSnapshottedAtTransition event. The event name of the generated event is the same as the event name of No. 5. The MFP 1100 sets the JobStart identifier, which indicates the time of job execution, to the operation content 7105. Furthermore, in saving the job events in S5221, the MFP 1100 saves No. 11 to No. As events up to No. 13, JobStarted, JobExecuting, and JobCompleted events are generated. No information is set in the session ID 7103 and job ID 7104 corresponding to events No. 11 to No. 13.

When a logout operation is performed in S5222, the MFP 1100 generates a UserOperatedInSession event as event No. 14. Event No. 14 is similar to event No. 2, but is an event indicating a logout operation using the ID key 207. Therefore, the MFP 1100 sets the operation content 7105 to the KeySelected identifier indicating the selection of a hard key, and sets the target 7107 to the LogoutKey identifier indicating the operated hard key.

When the logout operation event is saved in S5223, the MFP 1100 generates a UserOperatedInSession event as event No. 15. Event No. 15 is similar to event No. 2, but the MFP 1100 sets the Logout identifier, which indicates logout processing, to operation content 7105. As described above, the series of sequences in FIG. 6B are performed, and events No. 1 to No. 15 in FIG. 8B are generated. Then, in S5225, the MFP 1100 controls the transmission of information about each event to the server 1120 as a log. As a result, the above logs are transmitted from the MFP 1100 to the server 1120.

The session ID 7103 values for No. 2 to No. 10, No. 14, and No. 15 are the same. This makes it possible to easily extract and analyze the series of processes from when a user logs in to the MFP 1100 until when the user logs out from the session ID 7103 value. Additionally, the job ID 7104 values for No. 5 to No. 10 are the same. This makes it possible to easily extract and analyze what operations the user performed when a specific job was executed from the job ID 7104 value.

Event No. 3 is an event generated by the MFP 1100 when an ADF document is placed, and its operation content 7105 and target 7107 indicate that the operation screen has been changed due to a cause other than a direct operation by the user (ADF document placement). Therefore, it is easy to identify that event No. 3 is an event generated due to a cause other than a direct operation by the user. In addition, based on events No. 5 and No. 10, the setting value when transitioning to the job setting screen and the job setting value when the job is executed are acquired. Since the same value is set in the event name 7101 for both acquired setting values, it is easy to extract both acquired setting values. Then, by comparing the two acquired setting values, it is easy to analyze what settings the user made before the job was executed without analyzing the key or button operations. Events No. 16 and onwards are examples of events generated by processing other than the sequence in FIG. 6B. For example, a screen operation event is generated when entering a password at login.

Next, the event processing executed by the MFP 1100 will be described. FIG. 9A is a flowchart showing the flow of the event notification setting processing. The processing of the flowchart in FIG. 9A is realized by the CPU 101 executing a control program. The network communication unit 401 waits until an event notification instruction is received from the server 1120 (S8001). The network communication unit 401 determines whether an event notification instruction has been received from an external device such as the server 1120 (S8002). If the network communication unit 401 determines NO in S8002, it returns the processing to S8001. On the other hand, if the network communication unit 401 determines YES in S8002, it passes the received event notification instruction to the notification setting acquisition unit 402. The notification setting acquisition unit 402 determines whether the event of the acquired event notification instruction is an event that can be acquired by the MFP 1100 (S8003). If the event for which the event notification instruction was received is included in the list of obtainable events stored in advance, the notification setting acquisition unit 402 determines YES in S8003.

If the notification setting acquisition unit 402 judges NO in S8003, the process ends. On the other hand, if the notification setting acquisition unit 402 judges YES in S8003, it judges whether the event notification setting of the received event notification instruction has been changed from the event notification setting saved in the notification setting saving unit 403 (S8004). The event notification setting specifies the type of event to be acquired, the acquisition timing, the acquisition interval, etc. If the notification setting acquisition unit 402 judges NO in S8004, the process ends. If the notification setting acquisition unit 402 judges YES in S8004, it saves the changed event notification setting in the notification setting saving unit 403 (S8005). Then, the event setting unit 404 registers a notification of the internal event for the internal modules such as each function application 409 based on the saved event notification setting (S8006). Then, the process ends. The process of FIG. 9A is executed repeatedly as necessary.

FIG. 9B is a flowchart showing the internal event notification process executed by the MFP 1100. The event collection unit 411 waits until it receives an internal event from an internal module (S8101). Then, the event collection unit 411 determines whether an event has been received from the internal module (S8102). If the result of the determination in S8102 is NO, the event collection unit 411 returns the process to S8101. If the result of the determination in S8102 is YES, the event collection unit 411 determines whether a notification setting for a trigger event for a change in the operation screen is saved in the notification setting saving unit 403 (S8103). If the setting is set to notify the DisplayChangeTriggerOccurred event in FIG. 7, the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S8103.

If the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S8103, it executes trigger event processing (S8104). Trigger event processing is processing for generating and saving a trigger event, as shown in FIG. 11 described below. On the other hand, if the event collection unit 411 determines NO in S8103, it moves the process to S8105 without executing trigger event processing.

The event collection unit 411 determines whether the setting for acquiring the setting value for each screen is stored in the notification setting storage unit 403 (S8105). If the SettingsSnapshottedAtTransition event in FIG. 7 is set to be notified, the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S8105. If the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S8105, it executes a setting value acquisition process for each screen (S8106). The setting value acquisition process for each screen is a process for acquiring a job setting value each time a job setting screen of a function application is displayed, converting the job setting value into a format for outputting as an event, and generating an event, as shown in FIG. 13 described later. On the other hand, if the event collection unit 411 determines NO in S8105, it moves the process to S8107 without executing the setting value acquisition process for each screen.

The event collection unit 411 determines whether the setting for adding identification information is stored in the notification setting storage unit 403 (S8107). At this time, the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S8107 if any of the events UserOperated, UserOperatedInSession, and UserOperationInJob in FIG. 7 is set to be notified. If the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S8107, it executes an identification information addition process (S8108). The identification information addition process is a process of adding information for identifying a series of user operations, such as from login to logout, as shown in FIG. 9C described later. On the other hand, if the event collection unit 411 determines NO in S8107, it moves the process to S8109 without executing the identification information addition process.

The event collection unit 411 saves (stores) the generated event in the message buffer 412. The event transmission unit 413 transmits each transmission event stored in the message buffer 412 as a log to the server 1120 via the network communication unit 401 (S8109). The transmission events as a log may be transmitted each time an event is generated, or may be transmitted all at once when a certain amount of transmission events has accumulated. Then, the internal event notification process ends. The process of FIG. 9B is executed repeatedly in the MFP 1100 as necessary.

9C is a flowchart showing the flow of the identification information addition process in step S8108 in FIG. 9B. The event collection unit 411 determines whether the received internal event is an operation event to be transmitted (S8201). The event collection unit 411 holds information on the operation event to be transmitted in advance. The operation event to be transmitted, which is the basis for the determination in S8201, is an operation event generated by a direct operation on the touch panel 201 by the user, and does not include a screen change trigger event or a setting value acquisition trigger event. If the event collection unit 411 judges NO in S8201, it moves the process to S8204. On the other hand, if the event collection unit 411 judges YES in S8201, it acquires information necessary to generate a transmission event from the received internal event (S8202). The acquired information is, for example, information to be added to the user name 7106, target 7107, and parameter 7108 in FIG. 8B. This information may be added to the internal event itself, but may also be acquired from the function application 409 or the history setting storage unit 410.

The event collection unit 411 generates an operation event to be sent (S8203). The event collection unit 411 may format the event information of each line in FIG. 8B into a format such as JSON, create a file, and save the file in the message buffer 412. Then, the event collection unit 411 determines whether there is a specification to add information on a per-session basis (session ID) (S8204). If the notification setting for the UserOperatedInSession event in FIG. 7 is saved in the notification setting saving unit 403, the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S8204. If the event collection unit 411 determines NO in S8204, it moves the process from "1" to S8210. If the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S8204, it determines whether the generated event is an operation event for a login operation such as No. 2 in FIG. 8B (S8205).

If the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S8205, it generates a session ID (S8206). The session ID is a unique ID that is generated for each login and is independent of the user or device. For example, the session ID is a universally unique identifier (UUID). The event collection unit 411 holds the generated session ID. Then, the event collection unit 411 adds the held session ID to the generated event (S8207). At this time, if the generated event is an operation event, the event collection unit 411 changes the event name to UserOperatedInSession. If the event collection unit 411 determines NO in S8205, it moves the process to S8207 without generating a session ID.

Next, the event collection unit 411 determines whether the generated event is an operation event representing a logout operation such as No. 15 in FIG. 8B (S8208). If the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S8208, it discards the session ID it is holding (S8209). Then, the process moves from "1" to S8210. On the other hand, if the event collection unit 411 determines NO in S8208, the process of S8209 is not performed and the process moves from "1" to S8210.

Next, the event collection unit 411 determines whether or not a command to add job-level information has been specified (S8210). If the notification settings for the UserOperatedInJob event in FIG. 7 are stored in the notification settings storage unit 403, the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S8210. If the event collection unit 411 determines NO in S8210, the identification information addition process ends. On the other hand, if the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S8210, the event collection unit 411 determines whether the generated event is an operation event for displaying a settings screen (S8211). If the generated event is an operation event representing a transition to a settings screen such as No. 5 in FIG. 8B, the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S8211.

If the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S8211, it generates a job ID (S8212). The job ID is a unique ID (e.g., UUID) generated for each unit from job setting to job execution. The event collection unit 411 holds the generated job ID. The event collection unit 411 then adds the held job ID to the generated event (S8213). On the other hand, if the event collection unit 411 determines NO in S8211, the process proceeds to S8213 without generating a job ID. If the generated event is an operation event, the event collection unit 411 changes the event name to UserOperatedInJob.

The event collection unit 411 also determines whether the generated event is a transition event (exit event) from the setting screen (S8214). If the generated event is an operation event representing a transition from the setting screen due to execution of a job such as No. 10 in FIG. 8B, the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S8214. The operation events representing the transition described above include not only the execution of a job, but also an event in the case of transitioning to a smart home screen without executing a job. If the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S8215, it discards the job ID it is holding (S8215). Then, the identification information addition process ends. If the event collection unit 411 determines NO in S8214, the identification information addition process also ends.

In this way, operation events are generated, and the same session ID is assigned to a series of operation events from login to logout. Also, the same job ID is assigned to a series of operation events from when job setting begins to when the job is executed. Therefore, it is possible to easily extract the series of operations performed from login to logout and each operation from when a job is set to when it is executed. This can improve the efficiency of analysis of a user's operation behavior on the MFP 1100 and analysis of screen operability.

Next, dynamic change of the screen displayed on the touch panel 201 of the operation unit 111 will be described. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a first example of screen transition in the first embodiment. Screens 901 to 904 in FIG. 10 are the smart home screens described above. Here, dynamic change of the layout of smart buttons on the smart home screen due to events other than a direct operation on the touch panel 201 by the user will be described. Screen 901 is an initial screen that is displayed after a login operation by the user. Screen 902 is a screen (the next screen after screen 901) that is displayed when the next page button 911 is operated on screen 901. Three smart buttons different from those on screen 901 are displayed on screen 902. Furthermore, when the previous page button 912 is operated on screen 902, screen 901 is displayed.

Screen 903 is a screen that is displayed when a document is placed on ADF 1802 while screen 901 or screen 902 is displayed on touch panel 201. Screen 904 is a screen (the next page screen of screen 903) that is displayed when next page button 911 is operated on screen 903. When previous page button 912 is operated on screen 904, screen 903 is displayed. Also, when screen 903 or screen 904 is displayed on touch panel 201 and a document is removed from ADF 1802, screen 901 is displayed.

10, the displayed smart buttons and the arrangement of the smart buttons are different between screens 901 to 904. That is, the arrangement of the smart buttons is dynamically changed. When an original is placed on the ADF 1802, the CPU 101 recognizes that the user is going to execute a job involving scanning the original, and moves the smart button for transitioning to an application for executing a job involving scanning to the screen of the first page. In the example of FIG. 10, the CPU 101 displays on screen 903 a copy button 906, which is a button for an application for executing scanning, a send button 907 for sending to the user's terminal, and a send button 908 for sending to another terminal. The send button 908 is a smart button that was displayed on screen 902, and the send button 908 has been moved to the first page on screen 903. Also, the print button 905 that was displayed on screen 901 is displayed on screen 904, which is the next page of screen 903.

As described above, the CPU 101 predicts what the user will do in response to the occurrence of an event other than the user's direct operation, and dynamically changes the layout of the smart buttons so that a smart button that matches the prediction result is displayed on the first page. This allows the user to execute a job efficiently with fewer steps. The event other than the user's direct operation is not limited to the event of placing a document on the ADF 1802 described above. For example, the event other than the user's direct operation may be an event in which the MFP 1100 receives a fax. In this case, the CPU 101 displays a smart button for printing the received document on the first page. Also, when a print job is submitted by a user who is logged in to the MFP 1100, the CPU 101 displays a smart button for executing printing on the first page.

The above-mentioned screen change trigger event is an event indicating that such a screen change has occurred. For example, the server 1120 can easily analyze whether the screen change was beneficial to the user based on the screen change trigger event. The analysis may be performed by a device other than the server 1120. The server 1120 searches the log shown in FIG. 8B for a DisplayChangeTriggerOccurred event, which is a screen change trigger event. Events No. 3 and No. 26 are DisplayChangeTriggerOccurred events. Furthermore, from events No. 3 and No. 26, it is recognized that the screen change has been made by placing an ADF document. In other words, it is recognized that the screen change has been made by an event other than the user's direct operation. Here, by verifying the operation events immediately after each of events No. 3 and No. 26, it is possible to determine whether the screen change was beneficial to the user.

In the example of FIG. 8B, it can be seen that the smart button was selected from the content of event No. 4 immediately after event No. 3. This shows that the smart button displayed on the first page screen was selected immediately after the layout of that screen was changed, so it can be analyzed that the layout change was beneficial to the user. On the other hand, operation event No. 27 immediately after event No. 26 is a button operation event for transitioning to the next page. And operation event No. 28 following operation event No. 27 is a button operation event for transitioning to the previous page. In this case, it can be inferred that the user performed an operation to transition to the next page that is normally displayed, but since the desired smart button was not on the next page, an operation to return to the previous page was performed. Therefore, it can be analyzed that the layout change of the above screen was not beneficial to the user. *Regarding the explanation in the latter half of this paragraph, since No. 27 is to go to the next page, No. 28 is to go back to the previous page and the first page in No. 29 is to operate the send button on the first page, No. 27 and 28 are operational errors by the user and cannot be used to judge the usefulness to the user.

As described above, the information of each event in FIG. 8B includes information on the events involving screen transitions such as No. 3 and No. 26, as well as information on subsequent operation events. This makes it possible to easily analyze whether the layout change of the smart button was beneficial by extracting the screen change trigger event from each event and checking the subsequent operation event. In other words, in the first embodiment, since the screen change trigger event is used, it is possible to easily analyze whether the layout change of the smart button was beneficial. If there is no screen change trigger event, analysis using the screen change trigger event cannot be performed. Therefore, when a smart button is operated, it is difficult to determine whether the layout of the operated smart button has been changed. This makes it difficult to perform the above analysis.

Next, the trigger event processing executed in S8104 of FIG. 9B will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of the trigger event processing. The event collection unit 411 determines whether the received internal event is an event of changing the operation screen (S1001). When the event collection unit 411 is notified of an event that the position of the smart button has been changed from the function application 409 on the smart home screen, the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S1001. When the event collection unit 411 determines NO in S1001, the trigger event processing ends.

If the result of S1001 is YES, the event collection unit 411 acquires information necessary to generate a transmission event (S1002). The necessary information is information to be added to the operation content 7105, user name 7106, target 7107, and parameters 7108 in FIG. 8B. For example, for the operation content 7105, information is acquired as to whether the action that triggered the change of the operation screen was placing a document on the ADF 1802 or submitting a print job. Then, the event collection unit 411 generates and saves a screen change trigger event to be sent (S1003). The event collection unit 411 formats event information such as No. 5 in FIG. 8B in a format such as JSON, files it, and saves it in the message buffer 412. The trigger event processing then ends.

As described above, when a change in the operation screen display, such as a change in the layout of a smart button, occurs due to an event other than a direct user operation, an operation screen change event is generated along with information about the content that triggered the change. Therefore, by analyzing the operation events following the operation screen change event, it is possible to verify whether the change in the operation screen display was beneficial, as described above.

Next, the acquisition of the setting value when the setting screen of the application transitions will be described. FIG. 12A is a diagram showing a second example of the screen transition in the first embodiment. Screen 1101 is a smart home screen. Screen 1102 is a setting screen of the copy function that is displayed when the smart button 1104 of the copy function is operated on screen 1101. In order to register (preset) a part of the settings in the copy function, information that corresponds to the setting value 1501C shown in FIG. 12B described later is registered in the smart button 1104. When the smart button 1104 is operated, the corresponding setting value 1501C is read. Then, the read information is notified to the copy function as setting information, so that the registered setting content is applied to the copy function, and the screen transitions to screen 1102. A setting value that corresponds to a function button does not exist for a function button that does not have a part of the setting preset. Therefore, when such a function button is pressed, the setting value registered as the default setting of the function is read and notified to the function application. Then, the screen transitions to a screen that reflects the setting value.

Screen 1103 is a screen for executing a copy job that is displayed when the start key 203 is operated while screen 1102 is displayed and execution of the job is instructed. A dialog is displayed on screen 1103, overlapping screen 1102. When the job cancel key 1105 or the key 1106 for closing the dialog during job execution is operated on screen 1103, CPU 101 transitions the screen displayed on touch panel 201 to screen 1102. Also, when the above-mentioned home key 209 is operated while screen 1102 or screen 1103 is displayed, CPU 101 transitions the screen displayed on touch panel 201 to screen 1101. When transitioning from screen 1101 to screen 1102, CPU 101 generates a SettingsSnapshottedAtTransition event. The CPU 1010 reads the job setting values set for the copy function when the event was generated, converts them into a format that can be written in the event, and adds them. These setting values become the initial setting values when setting of the copy function is started. In this way, in the first embodiment, when the smart button is pressed, a preset specific setting value is added to the event, and when the copy button is pressed, a default specific setting value is added to the event. The same applies when transitioning from screen 1103 to screen 1102.

Screen 1102 allows the user to configure various settings related to copying, such as the number of copies, output paper settings, and layout settings for printing. When various setting buttons (e.g., a button for operating sort settings) are operated while screen 1102 is displayed, CPU 101 generates a UserOperated event. By sequentially analyzing the generated UserOperated events, it is possible to recognize what functions the user has set and in what order.

When the user performs an operation to instruct execution of a job on screen 1102, such as pressing start key 203 outside the screen, the screen transitions to screen 1103, and the job is executed according to setting value 1502C, which is the final determined content. At this time, CPU 101 saves the content of setting value 1502C, which is the setting of the executed job, as a setting history. Then, CPU 101 generates a SettingsSnapshottedAtTransition event, reads the setting history of the copy function setting value saved when the event was generated, specifically, setting value 1502C shown in FIG. 12B, converts it to a format to be written in the event, and adds it. This setting value becomes the final setting value when the setting of the copy function is completed and the job is actually executed. By comparing the initial setting value notified when the copy function transition described above with the final setting value when the job is executed, it is possible to easily understand what settings were made on screen 1102.

In the example of FIG. 8B, by comparing the setting values added to the SettingsSnapshottedAtTransition events of No. 5 and No. 10, it is easy to analyze what settings the user made on the application's settings screen. The same is true for the SettingsSnapshottedAtTransition events of No. 30 and No. 34. For example, it is particularly useful when analyzing what settings the user made or did not make, without needing to analyze the order of settings. The above describes an example of the copy function, but the same applies to other functions such as send and print.

FIG. 12B is a diagram showing some of the setting values acquired for each screen in this embodiment. The setting values in FIG. 12B are recorded in a format in which the setting values are associated with the setting items of the copy function, other transmission functions, and the print function. The setting values are stored in the history setting storage unit 410 as one structure that compiles multiple setting items to be notified as settings for one job. The setting value 1501C is the setting content of the setting value associated with the smart button 1104. When the smart button 1104 is pressed, the corresponding setting value 1501C is read out and notified to the copy function, so that the setting content of the setting value 1501C is applied. The setting value 1501C includes the setting value associated with the smart button 1104 and setting values related to the copy function other than the setting value. The setting value 1502C is a part of the setting value stored in the history setting storage unit 410 as the setting history when the user instructs execution of a job on the screen 1102 and transitions to the screen 1103.

Next, the process of acquiring setting values for each screen executed in S8106 of FIG. 9B will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of the process of acquiring setting values for each screen. The event collection unit 411 determines whether the received internal event is a transition event to a setting screen (S1201). The event collection unit 411 sets the function application platform 408, which controls the screen switching, to notify the user of a change in transition to the setting screen of each application as an event. Then, if the notified event is a transition event to a setting screen, the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S1201.

If the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S1201, the process proceeds to S1203. If the event collection unit 411 determines NO in S1201, the process determines whether the received internal event is a job start instruction event (S1202). The event collection unit 411 sets the job control unit 406 to receive a job acceptance event notification, or sets the function application 409 to receive a job execution instruction as an event notification. Then, if the notified event is the job start instruction event, the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S1202.

If the event collection unit 411 judges NO in S1202, the setting value acquisition process for each screen ends. On the other hand, if the event collection unit 411 judges YES in S1202, it acquires the setting values necessary to generate a transmission event (S1203). The setting values are values to be added to the user name 7106, operation content 7105, target 7107, and parameter 7108 in FIG. 8B, and are mainly values for job execution to be added to the parameter 7108. The setting values to be set in the job among the information are determined according to the internal event received by the event collection unit 411. When the internal event is a setting screen transition event, if there is a preset setting for that event, the setting value of the corresponding job is acquired, and if there is no preset setting, the default job setting value of the transition destination function is acquired. If the internal event is a job start instruction event, the history setting of the job recorded along with the job start instruction is acquired. The event collection unit 411 converts the acquired job setting values into the format of an event to be sent (setting value acquisition event), generates it, and saves it (S1204). Then, the per-screen setting value acquisition process ends.

Here, the event collection unit 411 reads out the job setting values that can be used as presets for the job acquired in S1203, and converts and holds combinations of each setting item and the set value in order to convert them into a format that can be output as an event. For example, since the job setting values have a structure in XML format with functions, setting item hierarchies, and setting item values as shown in FIG. 12B, the function and setting item hierarchies are combined and converted into an item corresponding to the target 7107. The job setting value is then recorded so that it becomes the value of an item corresponding to the parameter 7108. When converting the setting value 1501C, the target 7107 of the item that specifies the job function is converted to "FUNCTIONTYPE" and the parameter 7108 is converted to "Copy". The job setting items for each function thereafter are converted so that for each set value, a combination of the target 7107 that links the setting item hierarchies and the parameter 7108 of the setting value is created.

For example, for the setting value 1501C, the target 7107 is converted to "COLOR_MODE.COLOR_MODE" and the parameter 7108 is converted to "BLACK_AND_WHITE". The setting value acquisition event is output in a single format, along with the information collected to be recorded in the event as an event such as No. 5 or No. 10 in FIG. 8B, and the information converted from the job setting value in S1203. The event may be filed here and saved in the message buffer 412. This completes the setting value acquisition process for each screen. Note that the conversion of the setting value and setting item in step S1204 may retain a hierarchical structure as the converted format. For example, the hierarchical structure of the target 7107 and the parameter 7108 may be expressed in the format of "COLOR_MODE: {COLOR_MODE:"BLACK_AND_WHITE"}".

As described above, the setting values when the setting screen of each application changes and when a job is executed are associated with the setting value and setting item and saved in a single format. By comparing the values of the same setting items for each saved event, the contents set by the user on the setting screen can be easily identified without analyzing the operation event. In addition, by recording the setting values of jobs in the same format as other events, analysis of data including events becomes easier, and as a result, the efficiency of analysis of recommended settings for users is improved.

Next, the addition of an ID will be described. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a third example of screen transitions in the first embodiment. Screen 1301 is a screen for logging in to MFP 1100. Screen 1301 allows input of authentication information such as a user ID and password. After the authentication information is input, authentication is performed when login button 1305 is operated. If authentication is successful, the displayed screen transitions to screen 1302. If authentication is unsuccessful, screen 1301 is displayed again, and the user is prompted to re-enter authentication information such as a user ID and password.

Screen 1302 is a screen in which a logout button 1309 is added to screen 1101 (smart home screen) in FIG. 12A. Screen 1303 is equivalent to screen 1102 (copy setting screen) in FIG. 12A. Screen 1304 is a screen in which a logout button 1309 is added to screen 1103 (job execution screen) in FIG. 12A. The transition conditions of each screen are the same as those of each screen in FIG. 12A. In addition, when logout is executed by pressing the ID key 207 or the logout button 1309 on any of screens 1302, 1303, and 1304, the displayed screen transitions to screen 1301. When login is executed on screen 1301, a session ID is generated until logout is executed, and the same ID is added to all subsequent operation events. In addition, the generated session ID is added to all operation events generated until the logout process is executed and the session ID is discarded. This allows the series of operations from when a user logs in to when they log out to be identified by the session ID.

A different value is assigned to the session ID for each login. For example, in the example of FIG. 8B, the session ID "A001" is assigned to events No. 2 to No. 15. On the other hand, a different session ID of C003 is assigned to events No. 26 to No. 40, even if the same user logs in. This allows the session ID to identify the period from login to logout as one unit. When screen 1302 or screen 1304 transitions to screen 1303, a job ID is generated. The same job ID is assigned to all operation events on screen 1303. In addition, the job ID is discarded when a job is executed on screen 1303 and transitions to screen 1304, or when transitions to screen 1301 or screen 1302. Furthermore, a new job ID is generated each time a transition is made to screen 1303. This makes it easy to identify what operation the user performed to execute a job on the application setting screen for each executed job.

Next, the transition of the screen displayed on the touch panel 201 of the operation unit 111 and the generation and destruction of each piece of information when the screen transition occurs will be described. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the screen transition accompanying the user's operation in the first embodiment and the generation and destruction of each piece of information when the screen transition occurs. In FIG. 15, the event name stored in the message buffer 412, and the session ID and job ID held by the event collection unit 411 are shown as each piece of information. FIG. 15 shows an example in which events No. 1 to No. 10 and events No. 14 and No. 15 in FIG. 8B are stored in the message buffer 412.

When a user ID and password are entered on the login screen 1401 and the login button 1411 is operated, authentication is performed. Here, it is assumed that the authentication is successful. At this time, the event collection unit 411 is notified of the login event. The event collection unit 411 generates a session ID "A001". The event collection unit 411 also generates a UserOperated event No. 1 and a UserOperatedInSession event No. 2 in FIG. 8B. The event collection unit 411 then adds the session ID "A001" to the information of each generated event and stores it in the message buffer 412. If the authentication is successful, a screen 1402 (smart home screen) is displayed on the touch panel 201.

When it is detected that a document has been placed on the ADF 1802 while the screen 1402 is displayed, a screen change trigger event is notified to the event collection unit 411. The event collection unit 411 generates a DisplayChangeTriggerOccurred event No. 3, adds a session ID "A001" to the event, and saves the event in the message buffer 412. In response to the notification of the screen change trigger event, the screen 1403 in which the layout of the smart button has been changed is displayed. When the copy button 1413 is operated while the screen 1403 is displayed, a button operation event is notified to the event collection unit 411. The event collection unit 411 generates a UserOperatedInSession event No. 4, adds a session ID "A001" to the event, and saves the event in the message buffer 412. The event collection unit 411 generates a job ID "0001".

Next, the event collection unit 411 generates a SettingSnapshottedAtTransition event No. 5, adds the session ID "A001" and the job ID "0001", and stores the event in the message buffer 412. Then, the touch panel 201 displays a screen 1404 for setting the copy function.

When the double-sided setting button, double-sided button, and OK button are operated while the screen 1404 is displayed, the event collection unit 411 generates UserOperatedInJob events No. 6 to No. 8. The event collection unit 411 then adds the session ID "A001" and the job ID "0001" to the information of each event and saves it in the message buffer 412. When the start key 203 is then operated, the event of the job execution instruction is notified to the event collection unit 411. The event collection unit 411 generates the UserOperatedInJob event No. 9 and the SettingSnapshottedAtTransition event No. 10. The event collection unit 411 adds the session ID "A001" and the job ID "0001" to the information of each event and saves it in the message buffer 412. Then, the event collection unit 411 discards the job ID "0001" that it has stored. At this time, a screen 1405 for executing a copy job is displayed on the touch panel 201.

When the logout button 1415 is operated while the screen 1405 is displayed, the logout event is notified to the event collection unit 411. The event collection unit 411 generates a UserOperatedInSession event No. 14 and a UserOperatedInSession event No. 15. The event collection unit 411 then adds the session ID "A001" to the information of each generated event and saves it in the message buffer 412. The event collection unit 411 then discards the session ID "A001". A screen 1406 for logging in is displayed on the touch panel 201. The screen 1406 is the same as the screen 1401. As described above, the screen of the touch panel 201 transitions in conjunction with the operation of the user on the touch panel 201, and the event information is saved to the message buffer 412, and the session ID and job ID are generated and discarded.

In the example of FIG. 8B, events No. 5 to No. 10 and events No. 30 to No. 34 are a series of operation events performed for each job execution. These are identified from the job ID. Therefore, it is easy to identify what operations and in what order the user performed between logging in to the MFP 1100 and logging out, or what operations were performed for each job. This improves the efficiency of analyzing what settings the user performed and how.

As described above, the smart button is an operation object, and a specific function corresponding to the smart button is started when the user operates the smart button. As described above, each of the events No. 5 to No. 10 is a series of operation events, and is information regarding operations performed from the start to the end of the specific function. On the other hand, each of the events No. 2 to No. 4 is information before the specific function is started. The same session ID "A001" is added to the information of each of the events No. 2 to No. 10 and stored. In other words, the information regarding operations performed from the start to the end of the specific function and the information before the specific function is started are stored in association with each other.

In the first embodiment, the MFP 1100 manages information about events in which the screen was changed and events related to the events as history information about operations (a log like that in FIG. 8B). In the example of FIG. 8B, the same session ID is added to events related to a series of operations from when a login operation is performed until when a logout operation is performed. The history information about each event is then managed as a log. In other words, the MFP 1100 stores information about operations performed from when a specified function is started until when it is ended, in association with information before the specified function is started. This makes it possible to manage information about operations performed from when the use of a function is started until it is ended in association with information about operations performed before the use of the function is started. Therefore, even if a factor before the operation of a specified function affects user behavior, it is possible to analyze the effect of that factor as well.

As described above, the history information of each event is managed as a log. The specified setting value preset in the smart button pressed by the user is added to the event in the same format as the other information. In other words, information about operations performed from the start to the end of a specified function and information about settings preset when the specified function is started are associated and stored in a single unified format. This makes it possible to associate and manage information about settings preset when the function is started with information from the start to the end of use of the function. Therefore, it is easy to analyze logs that take into account the settings preset when each function is started and the settings at the time of execution.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, the timing of generating and discarding a session ID set in an event is different from that in the first embodiment. Other parts are common to the first embodiment, so a description of the overlapping parts will be omitted. In the second embodiment, when a user who uses the MFP 1100 logs in, executes a job, and then executes another job without logging out, an event is saved according to the user's operation and the execution of the job. When a user executes multiple different jobs while remaining logged in to the MFP 1100, the operations from when the user logs in to when the execution of the first job starts are a series of operations. Then, the operations from when the execution of the first job is completed to when the execution of the second job starts are the next series of operations.

In the second embodiment, the event collection unit 411 generates a session ID that uniquely identifies a series of operations when a login operation event occurs, and retains the generated session ID until the job is executed. The event collection unit 411 also adds the retained session ID to event information related to all operations from when the login operation event occurs until the job is executed. Then, when the job is executed, the event collection unit 411 discards the saved session ID and generates a new session ID. The newly generated session ID is an unused ID, unlike the discarded session ID. Then, every time a job is executed, the event collection unit 411 discards the retained session ID and generates a new unused session ID. When a logout operation is performed, the event collection unit 411 discards the retained session ID and generates a new unused session ID.

Figure 16 is a diagram showing an example of an event log in the system of the second embodiment. The example of the event log in Figure 16 shows that after a login operation is performed, two jobs are submitted, and then a logout operation is performed. Each item in the log in Figure 16 (from event name 7101A to parameter 7108A) is the same as each item in Figure 8B (from event name 7101 to parameter 7108), but the information in each item is different. A log such as that shown in Figure 16 is saved in the message buffer 412 and then sent to the server 1120.

Figure 17 is a flowchart showing the flow of the identification information addition process of the second embodiment. The identification information addition process of Figure 17 is the process executed in S8108 of Figure 9B in the second embodiment. Each process from S8201A to S8215A of Figure 17 is the same as each process from S8201 to S8215 of Figure 9C, so the description will be omitted. Here, the event collection unit 411 judges YES in S8214A when the generated event is an operation event representing a transition from a setting screen due to the execution of a job such as No. 7 in Figure 16. In other words, the event collection unit 411 judges NO in S8214A when the generated event does not involve the execution of a job. In this case, the identification information addition process ends.

After discarding the job ID in S8215A, if the session ID is retained, the event collection unit 411 discards the retained session ID (S8216A). Then, the event collection unit 411 generates a new session ID for managing the next operation (S8217A). The newly generated session ID is an ID used to manage a series of operations related to the second job after the submission of the first job is completed, and is a unique ID that is independent of the user, device, etc. The newly generated session ID may be an ID in the same system as the UUID. Therefore, the newly generated session ID is an unused ID. The event collection unit 411 retains the generated session ID. Then, the identification information addition process ends.

Figure 18 is a diagram showing screen transitions in the second embodiment and the generation and destruction of each piece of information when the screen transitions. Each event shown in Figure 18 corresponds to events No. 1 to No. 11 in Figure 16. The screen transitions from screen 1401A for logging in to screen 1404A for setting the copy function and the generation and destruction of each piece of information are the same as screens 1401 to 1404 in Figure 15 of the first embodiment. When start key 203 is operated (selected) while screen 1404A is displayed, a job execution instruction event is notified to event collection unit 411. Event collection unit 411 generates UserOperatedInJob event No. 6 and SettingSnapshottedAtTransition event No. 7, and saves information of each generated event in message buffer 412.

After the SettingSnapshottedAtTransition event No. 7 is generated, job execution begins. Then, the event collection unit 411 discards the job ID "0001" and session ID "A001" that it has retained. In addition, a screen 1405A for executing a copy job is displayed on the touch panel 201. Note that screens 1402A to 1405A include a logout button 1415A for performing a logout operation.

When the home key 209 is operated while screen 1405A is displayed, a screen transition event is notified to the event collection unit 411. The event collection unit 411 generates a new session ID "A002". The event collection unit 411 also generates a UserOperatedInSession event No. 11, and stores information about the generated event in the message buffer 412. From this point on, when the event collection unit 411 generates an event involving an operation, it adds the session ID "A002" that it holds to the generated event. Then, screen 1406A (smart home screen) is displayed on the touch panel 201.

In the second embodiment, when a user submits multiple jobs while logged in, the MFP 1100 treats the preparatory operations for each job to the submission of the job as a series of operation events, and adds the same session ID to the information on each operation event. The MFP 1100 also adds the same job ID to the information on a series of operation events from the start of job setting to the start of job execution. Therefore, even if multiple jobs are submitted during a single login by a user, information on the operations performed by the user for each job, and information on the operations performed by the user from the start of job setting to the start of job execution, can be easily extracted. This makes it easy to analyze the operation history for each user and the operation history for each job when analyzing the operation history of the MFP 1100 by users. This makes it possible to efficiently analyze screen operability.

Here, as shown in FIG. 16, the event collection unit 411 does not add a session ID to the information of each of the events No. 8 to No. 10 and the information of each of the events No. 18 to No. 20. Events No. 8 and No. 18 are events indicating that a job has been submitted, events No. 9 and No. 19 are events indicating that execution of a job has started, and events No. 10 and No. 20 are events indicating that a job has ended. Therefore, events No. 8 to No. 10 and No. 18 to No. 20 are not events related to operations. The event collection unit 411 does not add a session ID to information of events that are not events related to operations. This is the same for the first and third embodiments.

Third Embodiment
Next, a third embodiment will be described. The third embodiment differs from the first and second embodiments in that the MFP 1100 does not perform authentication using a user management function. Since other parts are common to the first embodiment, a description of the overlapping parts will be omitted. In the third embodiment, a user can operate the MFP 1100 without a login screen for inputting a user ID, password, etc. being displayed on the touch panel 201. In addition, since authentication using the user management function is not performed in the third embodiment, the MFP 1100 recognizes a series of operations by a user as operations from when the user starts an operation on the operation unit 111 to when the user ends the operation. A session ID that uniquely identifies a series of operations is generated when the user starts an operation and is discarded when the operation ends.

In the third embodiment, the MFP 1100 recognizes the start of a user operation when returning from a sleep state. The MFP 1100 may recognize the start of a user operation when the operation unit 111 accepts an operation after the screen is cleared and no operation is accepted for a certain period of time. The MFP 1100 may also recognize the end of a user operation when transitioning to a sleep state. The MFP 1100 may recognize the end of a user operation when the screen is cleared and no operation is accepted for a certain period of time.

Figure 19 is a diagram showing an example of an event log in a system of the third embodiment. The example of the event log in Figure 19 shows that after a login operation is performed, two jobs are submitted and a logout operation is performed. Each item in the log in Figure 19 (from event name 7101B to parameter 7108B) is the same as each item in Figure 8B (from event name 7101 to parameter 7108), but the information in each item is different. In the third embodiment, since user authentication is not performed, the user name is not specified. Therefore, information is not set for the user name 7106B of each event in the log in Figure 19. The log as shown in Figure 19 is stored in the message buffer 412 and then sent to the server 1120.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the flow of the identification information addition process of the third embodiment. The identification information addition process of FIG. 20 is a process executed in S8108 of FIG. 9B in the third embodiment. Each process from S8201B to S8204B is the same as S8201 to S8204 of FIG. 9C in the first embodiment. If the event collection unit 411 judges YES in S8204B, it judges whether the generated event is an event of the start of an operation by the user (S8205B). If the generated event is an event of a return operation from a sleep state, such as the event No. 3 in FIG. 19, the event collection unit 411 judges YES in S8205B. If the event collection unit 411 judges YES in S8205B, it advances the process to S8206B. On the other hand, if the event collection unit 411 judges NO in S8205B, it advances the process to S8207B. The processes of S8206B and S8207B are similar to the processes of S8206 and S8207 in FIG. 9C in the first embodiment.

After the process of S8207B is performed, the event collection unit 411 determines whether the generated event is an event of the end of the user's operation (S8208B). If the generated event is an event of transitioning to a sleep state, such as event No. 13 in FIG. 19, the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S8208B. If the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S8208B, the process proceeds to S8209B. On the other hand, if the event collection unit 411 determines NO in S8208B, the process proceeds from process "1" to S8210B. The processes from S8209B to S8215B are the same as the processes from S8209 to S8215 in FIG. 8C in the first embodiment. Then, the identification information addition process ends.

21 is a diagram showing screen transitions in the third embodiment and the generation and discarding of each piece of information when the screen transitions. The events shown in FIG. 21 correspond to events No. 1 to No. 8, No. 12, and No. 13 in FIG. 19. Screen 1401B shows a sleep screen displayed on touch panel 201 in sleep mode. When the sleep screen is displayed, the sleep button 210 is operated to perform a return process from sleep mode, and a return event from sleep is notified to event collection unit 411. Event collection unit 411 generates session ID "G001" and holds the generated session ID. Event collection unit 411 generates UserOperated event No. 1 and DeviceSleepReverted event No. 2 in FIG. 19, and saves the information of the generated events in message buffer 412. Then, event collection unit 411 stores No. 3, generates a UserOperatedInSession event, adds a session ID "G001" to the generated event, and saves it in the message buffer 412. When returning from the sleep state, screen 1402B (smart home screen) is displayed on the touch panel 201. The transition of screens and information from screen 1402B to screen 1405B for setting the copy function is the same as in the first embodiment. The event collection unit 411 holds the session ID "G001", and adds the held session ID "G001" to the information on the event related to the operation.

When the sleep button 210 is operated while screen 1405B is displayed, a sleep transition event is notified to the event collection unit 411. The event collection unit 411 generates a UserOperated event related to the sleep button operation, No. 12 in FIG. 19. The event collection unit 411 also generates a UserOperatedInSession event, No. 13 in FIG. 19, adds a session ID "G001" to the event, and stores the event in the message buffer 412. The event collection unit 411 then discards the session ID "G001" that it has retained. Screen 1406B (sleep screen) is displayed on the touch panel 201. Like screen 1401B, screen 1406B is also a screen that is displayed in the sleep state.

In the third embodiment, the same session ID is assigned to a series of operation events from when an operation is performed on the MFP 1100 to return it from a sleep state to when an operation is performed to transition it to a sleep state. This makes it possible to easily extract all operations performed by a user, and all operations performed from job setting to job execution, even in cases where the user is not authenticated. When an operation is performed to return it from a sleep state, it is assumed that the user operating the MFP 1100 has changed. In this case, since the session ID is changed, the operation history for each user is stored. This makes it easy to analyze the operation behavior of each user on the MFP 1100, and allows efficient analysis of screen operability.

Fourth Embodiment
Next, the fourth embodiment will be described. In the fourth embodiment, the contents of the screen-by-screen setting value acquisition process executed in S8106 of FIG. 9B are different from those of the first to third embodiments. Since the other parts are common to the first embodiment, the description of the overlapping parts will be omitted. In the fourth embodiment, when a screen 1101, which is a smart home screen shown in FIG. 12A, is transitioned to a setting screen of each application, for example, screen 1102, an event is not generated, and information indicating the setting value of the job to be set in screen 1102 is temporarily stored in the RAM 102 or the like. In addition, the same process is performed when a screen during job execution, for example, screen 1103 is transitioned to screen 1102. Next, when the user changes the setting value set in screen 1102 and instructs execution of the job, and the screen displayed on the operation unit 111 transitions to screen 1103, a SettingsSnapshottedAtTransition event is generated. At this time, both the setting value (pre-change setting value) set for the job from the information indicating the temporarily stored setting value, and the setting value and the job setting value (post-change setting value) saved as the job history are added to the event. As a result, the server 1120 transmits the job setting value only when the job is executed. Therefore, since the application setting screen is not checked and information is not sent when the job is canceled, the settings of the executed job can be easily analyzed.

Figure 22 is a flowchart of the screen-specific setting value acquisition process in step S8106 in Figure 9B executed by the MFP 1100 in the fourth embodiment. The process of the flowchart in Figure 22 is realized by the CPU 101 executing a control program stored in the HDD 104.

In FIG. 22, the event collection unit 411 determines whether the received internal event is a transition event to a setting screen (S1401C). The event collection unit 411 sets the function application platform 408, which controls the screen switching, to notify the change of the transition to the setting screen of each application as an event. Then, the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S1401C if the notified event is a transition event to a setting screen. If the event collection unit 411 determines NO in S1401C, it moves the process to S1404C. On the other hand, if the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S1401C, it acquires the setting value of the job to be set in the setting screen of the transitioned application (S1402C). Note that the setting value acquired in step S1402C is a setting value corresponding to the internal event. For example, in the case of an event of a setting screen transition, if there is a preset job setting for that event, the setting value of the corresponding job is acquired. On the other hand, if there is no preset setting, the default job setting value of the transition destination function is acquired. Next, the event collection unit 411 temporarily stores information indicating the acquired setting values in the RAM 102 (S1403C), and the per-screen setting value acquisition process ends. Note that the information indicating the acquired setting values may be the name of a file in which the job setting values are written, or the like. The acquired information may also be stored in, for example, the HDD 104, instead of the RAM 102.

If NO is determined in S1401C, the event collection unit 411 determines whether the received internal event is a job start instruction event (S1404C). The event collection unit 411 sets the job control unit 406 to receive a job acceptance event notification, or sets the function application 409 to receive a job execution instruction as an event notification. Then, if the notified event is the job start instruction event, the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S1404C.

If the event collection unit 411 judges NO in S1404C, the setting value acquisition process for each screen ends. On the other hand, if the event collection unit 411 judges YES in S1404C, it acquires the setting value required to generate a transmission event and records information indicating the setting value (S1405C). The setting value is a value to be added to the user name 7106, operation content 7105, target 7107, and parameter 7108 in FIG. 8B, and is a value for job execution to be added mainly to the parameter 7108. The setting value acquired in step S1405C is a setting value set in the setting screen of the application at the time when the user instructs execution of the job. The setting value is acquired from the job history setting recorded along with the event of the job start instruction received by the event collection unit 411. For example, the setting value is a setting value (changed setting value) that the user has changed to a value different from the setting value acquired in S1402C. The information indicating the acquired setting value may be the name of a file in which the setting value of the job is described. The acquired information may also be stored, for example, in HDD 104 rather than in RAM 102.

The event collection unit 411 converts the job setting values into the format of an event (setting value acquisition event) that transmits the job setting values based on the information indicating the job setting values at the time of transition to the recorded application setting screen and the information indicating the job settings at the time of job execution (S1406C). The event collection unit 411 reads the job setting values from the information indicating the job settings acquired in S1402C and S1405C, and converts and holds them into combinations of each setting item and the set value in order to convert them into a format that can be output as an event. Each setting value is given information indicating the job's default setting value and the setting value at execution time.

For example, since the job setting value has a structure in XML format with functions, setting item hierarchies, and setting item values as shown in FIG. 12B, the function and setting item hierarchies are combined and converted into an item corresponding to target 7107, and recorded as the value of the item corresponding to parameter 7108. When setting value 1501C is converted, events such as No. 5 and No. 10 in FIG. 8B convert target 7107, an item that specifies a job function, to "FUNCTIONTYPE" and parameter 7108 to "Copy". The job setting items for each function thereafter are converted so that for each set value, a pair of target 7107 with the setting item hierarchies linked and parameter 7108 of the setting value is created. For example, for setting value 1501C, target 7107 is converted to "COLOR_MODE.COLOR_MODE" and parameter 7108 is converted to "BLACK_AND_WHITE".

Next, the event collection unit 411 generates and saves an event (setting value acquisition event) to be sent based on the difference between the setting value stored in RAM 102 and the setting value acquired in S1405 (S1407C). At this time, the event to be output is shaped into a single format, including the information collected to be recorded in the event as an event such as No. 10 in FIG. 8B, and the information converted from the job setting value in S1406C. Here, the event may be made into a file and saved in the message buffer 412. Then, the per-screen setting value acquisition process ends.

In the fourth embodiment, the setting value (pre-change setting value) preset in the smart button selected by the user on screen 1101 when the job is executed and the setting value (post-change setting value) used in the job executed in accordance with the selection of the smart button are output. This makes it easy to analyze which setting has been changed when the job is actually executed.

Fifth Embodiment
Next, the fifth embodiment will be described. In the fifth embodiment, the contents of the screen-by-screen setting value acquisition process executed in S8106 of FIG. 9B are different from those of the first to fourth embodiments. Since the other parts are common to the first embodiment, the description of the overlapping parts will be omitted. In the fifth embodiment, when a screen 1101, which is a smart home screen, is transitioned to a setting screen of each application, for example, screen 1102, an event is not generated, and information indicating the setting value of the job to be set in screen 1102 is temporarily stored in the RAM 102 or the like. In addition, when a screen in which a job is being executed, for example, screen 1103 is transitioned to screen 1102, the same process is performed. Next, when a user changes the setting value set in screen 1102 and instructs execution of the job, and the screen displayed on the operation unit 111 transitions to screen 1103, a SettingsSnapshottedAtTransition event is generated. At this time, information indicating the difference between the setting value (pre-change setting value) set for the job from the information indicating the temporarily stored setting value and the setting value (post-change setting value) saved as the job history is added to the event. This allows the server 1120 to easily analyze which setting has been changed on the application setting screen based on the information indicating the difference.

Figure 23 is a flowchart of the screen-specific setting value acquisition process in step S8106 in Figure 9B executed by the MFP 1100 in the fifth embodiment. The process of the flowchart in Figure 23 is realized by the CPU 101 executing a control program stored in the HDD 104.

In FIG. 23, each process from S1401C to S1405C is the same as each process in FIG. 22 of the fourth embodiment, so the description will be omitted. After the process of S1405C, the event collection unit 411 executes a setting value difference calculation process based on the information indicating the job setting value at the time of transition recorded in S1402C and the information indicating the job setting at the time of job execution recorded in S1405C (S1601C). Then, the event collection unit 411 generates and saves an event (setting value acquisition event) to be sent based on the difference calculated in S1601 (S1602C). The event to be output at this time is an event such as No. 10 in FIG. 8B, and information indicating the difference in the job setting value calculated in S1601C is added together with the collected information to be written in the event, and the event is output after being shaped into a single format. Here, the event may be converted into a file and saved in the message buffer 412. Then, the setting value acquisition process for each screen ends.

Next, the setting value difference calculation process executed in S1601C in FIG. 23 will be described. FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing the flow of the setting value difference calculation process. The event collection unit 411 selects an unselected setting item from the setting values of the job at the time of the setting screen transition, and retains the setting item and the value (S1701C). The event collection unit 411 refers to the setting values of the job read from the information indicating the setting values of the job from the top, selects one unselected setting item, and retains the selected setting item and value. For example, when the event collection unit 411 reads the setting value 1501C in FIG. 12B, it retains "DOCUMENT_SIZE.DOCUMENT_SIZE" as the setting item and "AUTO" as the value. The event collection unit 411 searches for the setting item selected in step S1701C from the setting values of the job at the time of job execution, and obtains the set value as the execution value (S1702C). For example, when the event collection unit 411 selects "DOCUMENT_SIZE.DOCUMENT_SIZE" as the setting item and targets the setting value 1502C, the value is set to "A4", so this value is retained as the value at the time of execution.

The event collection unit 411 determines whether the job setting value at the time of transition acquired in step S1701C is different from the job setting value at the time of job execution acquired in step S1702C (S1703C). If the event collection unit 411 determines NO in S1703C, the process proceeds to S1705. If the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S1703C, it records the selected setting item and the difference between the job setting value at the time of transition and the job setting value at the time of job execution as difference information (S1704C). For example, if "DOCUMENT_SIZE.DOCUMENT_SIZE" is selected as the setting item, the event collection unit 411 records the change from "AUTO" as the value before the change to "A4" as the value after the change as difference information.

Then, the event collection unit 411 determines whether there are any unselected setting items on the setting screen based on the setting values of the job at the time of the transition (S1705C). If the event collection unit 411 determines NO in S1705C, the setting value difference calculation process ends. On the other hand, if the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S1705C, the process returns to step S1701C, and processing continues for the unselected selection items.

By the process of FIG. 24 described above, setting values of a job consisting of multiple setting items and setting items whose setting values at the time of transition and the setting values at the time of job execution are extracted, and the extracted setting items and their setting values before and after the change can be obtained. In the fifth embodiment, information indicating the difference between the setting value preset in the smart button selected by the user on screen 1101 (the setting value before the change) and the setting value used in the job executed in accordance with the selection of the smart button (the setting value after the change) is stored. This makes it easy to analyze which settings have been changed on the application setting screen based on the information indicating the difference.

Sixth Embodiment
Next, a sixth embodiment will be described. In the sixth embodiment, more detailed information on the screen change is added to the trigger event of the dynamic operation screen change of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 7. In addition, the contents of the trigger event process are different from those of the first embodiment. This allows the usefulness of the screen change to be analyzed with better efficiency. Since other parts are common to the first embodiment, the description of the overlapping parts will be omitted. FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of an event transmitted by the MFP 1100 and the server 1120 in the sixth embodiment. In the example of FIG. 25, a collection of UserOperationDisplayChangeDetail1410D is added to the example of FIG. 7. The collection of UserOperationDisplayChangeDetail1410D is a collection specified when obtaining more detailed information in the screen display change trigger. The events notified by the UserOperationDisplayChangeDetail 1410D collection are almost the same as those of the UserOperation collection 1409D. However, the difference from the first embodiment is that a DisplayChangeTriggerOccurredDetail event is notified instead of a DisplayChangeTriggerOccurred event. The DisplayChangeTriggerOccurredDetail event is an event that is sent when a trigger event for a display screen change occurs, with information added about what kind of screen change has occurred before and after the change.

Figure 26 is a diagram showing an example of an event log in a system of the sixth embodiment. As with Figure 8B in the first embodiment, each event in Figure 26 is shown in a table format, but the notification event notified to the server 1120 may be data sent in a format such as JSON. A second parameter 1509 is added to the event log in Figure 26. The second parameter 1509 is a different type of parameter from the first parameter 1508. The first parameter 1508 is parameter 7108 in Figure 8B.

The following describes the flow of the sequence diagram in FIG. 6B when the UserOperationDisplayChangeDetail 1410D collection is specified. In the sixth embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the UserOperation collection 1409D is specified. The only difference between the sixth embodiment and the first embodiment is the DisplayChangeTriggerOccurredDetail event No. 3. Detailed information about the screen change is added to the second parameter 1509 of the DisplayChangeTriggerOccurredDetail event No. 3.

Figure 27 is a diagram showing an example of detailed information of a screen change in the sixth embodiment. Detailed information of the screen change is added to the DisplayChangeTriggerOccurredDetail event. Here, as an example of a dynamic screen change, a change in the display order of smart buttons on the smart home screen shown in Figure 10 will be described. Page 1601 indicates the page of the screen on which the buttons are displayed. Order 1602 indicates the display order of the smart buttons displayed on that page. Previous 1603 indicates the ID of the smart button before the screen change occurs. After 1604 indicates the ID of the smart button after the screen change occurs. The ID of the smart button may be any information that can uniquely identify the contents of the smart button displayed on the screen. As shown in Figure 27, Previous 1603 and After 1604 are stored in association with each other. Additionally, Previous 1603 and After 1604 are stored in association with Order 1602.

The Previous 1603 column in FIG. 27 shows the order of buttons from the left before the screen change occurred. The first page shows the order of buttons from the left on screen 901 in FIG. 10. The second page shows the order of buttons from the left on screen 902. The After 1604 column shows the order of buttons after the screen change occurred. The first page shows the order of buttons from the left on screen 903 in FIG. 10. The second page shows the order of buttons from the left on screen 904. With detailed information on the screen change such as the above, it is easy to analyze how the order of buttons has changed due to the screen change.

28 is a flowchart showing the flow of trigger event processing in the sixth embodiment. Each process in the flowchart in FIG. 28 is realized by the CPU 101 executing a control program. As in S1001 in FIG. 11, the event collection unit 411 determines whether the received internal event is an operation screen change event (trigger event) (S1701). If the event collection unit 411 determines NO in S1701, the trigger event processing ends. On the other hand, if the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S1701, it determines whether the change involves a change in the screen display order (S1702). If the event collection unit 411 receives a notification from the function application 409 of the smart home screen that the display order of the smart buttons has been changed, the event collection unit 411 may determine YES in S1702. The event collection unit 411 may also make the determination in S1702 by inquiring of the function application 409 of the smart home screen.

If the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S1702, it acquires detailed information on the screen display order as additional information (S1703). On the other hand, if the event collection unit 411 determines NO in S1702, the process proceeds to S1704 without executing S1703. The event collection unit 411 performs the process of S1703 by inquiring of the function application 409 of the smart home screen about button information of the display order before and after the change. Then, the event collection unit 411 acquires information necessary to generate an event (S1704). The event collection unit 411 also generates and saves a screen change trigger event to be sent (S1705).

As described above, in the sixth embodiment, even if a change in the display screen occurs that is not due to a user operation, the specific content of the change can be added to the trigger event that caused the change. This makes it possible to easily and quickly identify whether the dynamic change to be analyzed occurred when analyzing whether the dynamic change in the display screen was beneficial. Furthermore, since detailed information before and after the change is added, it becomes possible to easily analyze what kind of dynamic change was the dynamic change to be analyzed. In other words, since the display order of the smart buttons before and after the dynamic display screen change can be identified, the beneficialness of the dynamic display screen change can be analyzed in more detail.

Seventh Embodiment
Next, a seventh embodiment will be described. In the seventh embodiment, the software configuration of the MFP 1100 is different from that of the first embodiment. Since other parts are common to the first embodiment, duplicated explanations will be omitted. Each embodiment is configured to be able to switch between a static home screen in Fig. 29 in which display buttons are statically arranged according to settings, and a smart home screen in Fig. 4 in which display buttons are dynamically changed according to user operations.

As shown in FIG. 29, the static home screen has a button list area 311 in which buttons for transitioning the screen to setting screens for applications available to the user are displayed. By selecting a button in the button list area 311, the screen switches to a function setting screen for configuring settings for various functions such as copy and fax functions. The layout and order of the buttons displayed in the button list area 311 can be changed by the user. Changes to the layout and order of buttons on the static home screen are static and can be made only by changing the settings made by the user. The smart home move button 312 is a button for switching the screen from the static home screen to the smart home screen.

Next, the software configuration of the MFP 1100 according to the seventh embodiment will be described. FIG. 30 is a functional block diagram of the MFP 1100. A smart home application 414 and a static home application 415 have been added to the configuration of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 5.

The smart home application 414 (first UI application) is an application for displaying the smart home screen of FIG. 4. The smart home application 414 controls the display of smart buttons displayed on the smart home screen, layout changes, screen page switching, and other displays. The smart home application 414 notifies (outputs) events corresponding to the collection of UserOperation 609 in FIG. 7 described above. These events are used for display control of the smart home screen. The static home application 415 (second UI application) is an application for displaying the static home screen of FIG. 29. The static home application 415 controls the display of each button on the static home screen, screen page switching, and other displays. In display control of the static home screen, the setting values set by the user as described above are used, and events corresponding to the collection of UserOperation 609 in FIG. 7 are not used. For this reason, the static home application 415 does not notify (output) events corresponding to the collection of UserOperation 609 in FIG. 7.

In the seventh embodiment, when the MFP 1100 receives an event notification instruction from the server 1120 in S5203 of FIG. 6B specifying a collection of UserOperation 609, the event setting unit 404 sets each application to acquire events related to user operation. With this setting, for example, the function application 409 and the smart home application 414 notify events such as button operation as a UserOperated event. In addition, the function application 409 notifies a screen display transition event or a job execution event as a SettingSnapshottedAtTransition event. In addition, the smart home application 414 notifies an event related to a display change of the operation screen as a DisplayChangeTriggerOccurred event. In this way, in the seventh embodiment, each application and various control units that notify an event are switched depending on the contents of the collection. This makes it possible to obtain only the operation events that correspond to the purpose of analysis, depending on the instructions in the collection.

Eighth Embodiment
Next, an eighth embodiment will be described. In the eighth embodiment, events of user operations are classified into direct operations on hardware and indirect operations on a display object by software, and these are associated and acquired. Since the other parts are common to the first embodiment, a description of the overlapping parts will be omitted.

Figure 31 is a diagram showing an example of an event that the MFP 1101 in the eighth embodiment sends to the server 1120. The example in Figure 31 is the same as the example in Figure 7 except that a UserOperationHardware collection 1410X has been added. The UserOperationHardware collection 1410X is a collection that is specified when notifying an operation event different from UserOperation 1409X. When the UserOperationHardware collection 1410X is specified, a UserOperated event and a UserOperatedHardware event are notified.

The UserOperated event is the same as that described in the example of FIG. 7. However, in the eighth embodiment, the information added to the UserOperated event differs from that described in the example of FIG. 7. The UserOperatedHardware event is an event that is sent when a user issues an instruction to the operation unit 111, and is sent in response to an instruction related to direct operation of hardware, such as touching the touch panel that constitutes the operation unit 111 or pressing a hard key.

Figure 32 is a diagram showing an example of an event log in a system of the eighth embodiment. As with Figure 8B of the first embodiment, each event in Figure 32 is shown in a table format, but the notification event notified to the server 1120 may be data sent in a format such as JSON. A second parameter 1509X has been added to the event log in Figure 32. The second parameter 1509X is a different type of parameter from the first parameter 1508X. The first parameter 1508X is parameter 7108 in Figure 8B.

The following describes the flow of the sequence diagram in FIG. 6B when the UserOperationHardware collection 1410X is specified. In the eighth embodiment, for ease of explanation, it is assumed that only the UserOperatedHardware collection 1410X is specified. First, the processes S5201 to S5204 in FIG. 6B are performed.

When the user presses the login button on the login screen displayed on LCD 202 as a login operation, in S5205, MFP 1100 accepts the login operation. In S5205, MFP 1100 determines that the login operation has been accepted when the user touches the image of the login button displayed on LCD 202 with a finger or the like at a corresponding position on touch panel 201. When MFP 1100 determines that the login operation has been accepted, a UserOperatedHardware event, which is an operation event for touch panel 201, and a UserOperated event, which is an operation event for the login button, are generated.

The UserOperatedHardware events No. 1 and No. 2 in FIG. 32 are operation events on the touch panel when the user presses the login button. Event No. 1 is an event that indicates a press on the touch panel 201, and event No. 2 is an event that indicates a lifting of the finger from the touch panel 201.

In event No. 1, the operation content 1505X is set to a TouchDown identifier indicating a press on the touch panel 201. The target 1507X is set to a TouchPanel identifier indicating the touch panel 201 that is the object of operation. The first parameter 1508X is set to coordinate information indicating the position where the touch panel 201 is pressed. The second parameter 1509X is set to an HD0001 identifier that identifies the operation of this hardware itself.

In event No. 2, the operation content 1505X is set to a TouchUp identifier indicating lifting of a finger from the touch panel 201. The target 1507X is set to a TouchPanel identifier indicating the touch panel 201 that is the object of operation. The first parameter 1508X is set to coordinate information indicating the position where the finger was in contact with the touch panel 201 immediately before the finger was lifted from the touch panel 201. The second parameter 1509X is set to an HD0002 identifier that identifies the operation of this hardware itself. The identifier set in the second parameter 1509X is an ID that identifies this operation event itself, such as a UUID such as a session ID in the first embodiment.

The UserOperated event No. 3 is an event indicating an indirect operation of a display object by software, specifically, the selection of an image of a login button displayed on the LCD 202. In the event No. 3, the operation content 1505X and the target 1507X are set to the same identifiers as those in the event No. 1 in FIG. 8B. The identifier in the operation event of the touch panel 201 that caused the selection of the login button is added to the second parameter 1509X. In other words, the identifiers HD0001 and HD0002 included in the second parameters of the UserOperatedHardware events No. 1 and No. 2 described above are added to the second parameter of No. 3. This makes it easy to associate information on the operation of a button or the like by software with information on the direct operation of the hardware to operate it.

For events No. 4 and onwards, just like events No. 1 to No. 3, information on software button operation etc. and information on direct operation of the hardware to operate it are generated, and the generated operation information is associated with an identifier.

Figure 33 is a flowchart showing the flow of the identification information addition process executed by the MFP 1100 in the eighth embodiment in step S8108 in Figure 9B. The process of the flowchart in Figure 33 is realized by the CPU 101 executing a control program. The process of the flowchart in Figure 33 is similar to the process of the flowchart in Figure 9C in the first embodiment. Below, only the differences from the process of the flowchart in Figure 9C will be explained.

First, the event collection unit 411 performs S1601X, which is the same process as S8201 in FIG. 9C. Specifically, the event collection unit 411 determines whether the received internal event is an operation event to be sent. If the event collection unit 411 determines NO in S1601X, it moves the process to S1608X. On the other hand, if the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S1601X, it determines whether the received internal event is an event related to hardware operation (S1602X). In S1602X, the event collection unit 411 determines whether the received internal event is an event received from the operation unit I/F unit 105A or the function application platform 408 and is a hardware operation event equivalent to a UserOperatedHardware event.

If the event collection unit 411 determines NO in S1602X, it transfers the process to S1604X. On the other hand, if the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S1602X, it generates a hardware operation ID (S1603X). This hardware operation ID is an identifier that is added to the second parameter 1509X in FIG. 32 and is an identifier that identifies the hardware operation event. This identifier is temporarily stored by the event collection unit 411 together with the received internal event information.

Next, the event collection unit 411 judges whether the received internal event is an operation event by software processing (S1604X). In S1604X, the event collection unit 411 judges whether the received internal event is an operation event of a button or the like controlled by software, which is an event received from the function application 409. If the event collection unit 411 judges NO in S1604X, it transfers the process to S1606X. On the other hand, if the event collection unit 411 judges YES in S1604X, it acquires the hardware operation ID generated in S1603X (S1605X). Next, the event collection unit 411 performs S1606X, which is the same process as S8202 in FIG. 9C. Specifically, the event collection unit 411 acquires information required to generate a transmission event from the received internal event.

Next, the event collection unit 411 generates an operation event to be sent (S1607X). The processing of S1607X includes, in addition to the processing of S8203 in FIG. 9C, a processing of adding the information acquired in S1605X as a second parameter. Next, the event collection unit 411 performs processing of S1608X to S1619X, which are the same processing as S8204 to S8215 in FIG. 9C.

In the eighth embodiment, information regarding direct operations on hardware in the operation unit 111 and information regarding indirect operations on a display target by software are output to the server 1200. This makes it possible to prevent the above-mentioned problems from occurring while analyzing hardware operation events and related operation events by software processing, thereby helping to improve user operability.

In the eighth embodiment, information regarding a direct physical operation on the hardware in the operation unit 111 is associated with information regarding an indirect operation on a display target by software based on a hardware operation ID. This makes it possible to easily output information including the operation history of the hardware operations in the operation unit 111 and the operation history of the software button operations to the server 1200, which can be useful in improving operability for the user.

Ninth embodiment
Next, the ninth embodiment will be described. FIG. 34 is a diagram showing an example of screen transition in the ninth embodiment. A screen 1101Y is a smart home screen. A screen 1102 is a setting screen for the copy function that is displayed when a smart button 1104Y for the copy function is operated on the screen 1101Y. A part of the settings for the copy function (black and white, double-sided) is registered (preset) in the smart button 1104Y, and the setting contents such as the setting value 1501C in FIG. 12B described above are applied to the copy function, and the screen transitions to the screen 1102. The setting value 1501C includes the setting value displayed on the smart button 1104Y and the setting value related to the copy function other than the setting value. The setting value 1502C is a part of the setting value that was set when the user instructed the execution of a job on the screen 1102 and transitioned to the screen 1103.

Screen 1103 is a screen for executing a copy job that is displayed when the start key 203 is operated while screen 1102 is displayed and execution of the job is instructed. When the job cancel key 1105 or the key 1106 for closing the dialog during job execution is operated on screen 1103, CPU 101 transitions the screen displayed on touch panel 201 to screen 1102. Also, when the above-mentioned home key 209 is operated while screen 1102 or screen 1103 is displayed, CPU 101 transitions the screen displayed on touch panel 201 to screen 1101. When transitioning from screen 1101 to screen 1102, CPU 101 generates a SettingsSnapshottedAtTransition event and adds the copy setting value at the time of generation to the event. The setting value is considered to be the initial setting value when setting of the copy function is started. For example, the setting value is the above-mentioned setting value 1501C preset in smart button 1104Y. In this way, in the ninth embodiment, a specific setting value preset in the smart button is added to the event. The same applies when transitioning from screen 1103 to screen 1102.

Screen 1102 allows the user to configure various settings related to copying, such as the number of copies, output paper settings, and layout settings for printing. When various setting buttons (e.g., a button for operating sort settings) are operated while screen 1102 is displayed, CPU 101 generates a UserOperated event. By sequentially analyzing the generated UserOperated events, it is possible to recognize what functions the user has set and in what order.

When the user performs an operation on screen 1102 to instruct execution of a job, the screen transitions to screen 1103, and the job is executed according to setting value 1502C, which is the final setting content. At this time, CPU 101 generates a SettingsSnapshottedAtTransition event and adds to the event the copy setting value at the time the event was generated, specifically setting value 1502C. This setting value is considered to be the final setting value when the copy function setting is completed and the job is actually executed. By comparing the initial setting value 1501C of the copy function described above with the final setting value 1502C, it is possible to easily understand what settings were made on screen 1102.

As in the first embodiment, in the ninth embodiment, the MFP 1100 manages information on events in which the screen has been changed and events related to the events as history information on operations (a log as shown in FIG. 8B). In the example of FIG. 8B, the same session ID is added to events related to a series of operations from when a login operation is performed until when a logout operation is performed. Then, the history information on each event is managed as a log. A predetermined setting value preset to the smart button pressed by the user is added to the event. In other words, the MFP 1100 associates and stores information on operations performed from the start to the end of a predetermined function with information on settings preset at the start of the predetermined function. This makes it possible to associate and manage information on operations from the start to the end of use of the function with information on settings preset at the start of use of the function. Therefore, it is possible to analyze the log taking into account the settings preset at the start of use of the function.

Tenth Embodiment
Next, a tenth embodiment will be described. Explanation of parts that overlap with the first embodiment will be omitted. In the tenth embodiment, when transitioning from the smart home screen to the setting screen of each application, information on the setting value set in the setting screen and other smart buttons for calling the same function as the selected smart button is acquired. This processing is not performed when transitioning to the job execution screen, but is performed only when transitioning from the smart home screen to the setting screen of the application.

Figure 35 is a diagram showing an example of screen transitions in the tenth embodiment. Screen 1601Y is a smart home screen. Screen 1601Y displays two types of smart buttons related to the copy function. These two smart buttons 1604Y and 1605Y are both buttons for calling up the copy function, but the settings registered are different. Smart button 1604Y has settings for single-sided copying and full color settings registered as the print color setting. Smart button 1605Y has settings for double-sided copying and black and white settings registered as the print color setting.

Screen 1602Y is a copy function setting screen that is displayed when the user selects smart button 1605Y on screen 1601Y. Screen 1602Y is set with the settings registered in smart button 1605Y. Screen 1603Y is a copy job execution screen that is displayed when the user selects start key 203 while screen 1602Y is displayed to instruct execution of a job.

When the screen 1601Y transitions to the screen 1602Y, the MFP 1100 generates a SettingsSnapshottedAtTransition event. The MFP 1100 also adds the setting values set on the screen 1602Y, that is, the setting values preset for the smart button 1605Y selected by the user on the screen 1601Y, to the generated event. The MFP 1100 also adds information about the smart button 1605Y selected to transition the screen to the screen 1602 to the event. The information about the smart button 1605Y includes, for example, information about the display position of the smart button 1605Y on the screen 1601 and a character string displayed on the smart button 1605Y. Note that when multiple different smart buttons for calling up the same function are displayed on the screen 1601, the MFP 1100 adds information about all the corresponding smart buttons to the event. Smart buttons 1604Y and 1605Y for invoking the copy function are displayed on screen 1601, so the MFP 1100 adds information about smart buttons 1604Y and 1605Y to the event. This information is considered to be the setting value that was set on screen 1602Y when the user started setting the copy function and its candidate settings. Note that information about the smart buttons is not added to the event generated when transitioning from screen 1103 to screen 1102.

Figure 36 is a flowchart of the screen-specific setting value acquisition process executed by the MFP 1100 in step S8106 of Figure 9B in the tenth embodiment. The process of the flowchart in Figure 36 is realized by the CPU 101 executing a control program stored in the HDD 104.

In FIG. 36, the event collection unit 411 determines whether the received internal event is a transition event to a setting screen (S1701Y). The event collection unit 411 sets to receive a notification of a change in transition to the setting screen of each application from the function application platform 408 that controls the screen switching as an event. Then, if the notified event is a transition event to the setting screen, the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S1701Y. If the event collection unit 411 determines NO in S1701Y, it transfers the process to S1704Y. On the other hand, if the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S1701Y, it determines whether the transition event to the setting screen is caused by the smart button (S1702Y). Specifically, the event collection unit 411 makes the determination of S1702 based on the notification contents from the function application platform 408 in S1701Y. If the result of S1702Y is NO, the event collection unit 411 shifts the process to S1705Y. On the other hand, if the result of S1702Y is YES, the event collection unit 411 acquires the setting value preset in the selected smart button. In addition, the event collection unit 411 acquires information on all smart buttons that call up the same function as the selected smart button among the smart buttons displayed on the smart home screen (S1703Y). Next, the event collection unit 411 shifts the process to S1705Y.

In S1704Y, the event collection unit 411 determines whether the received internal event is a job start instruction event. The event collection unit 411 sets the job control unit 406 to receive a job acceptance event notification, or sets the function application 409 to receive a job execution instruction as an event notification. If the notified event is the job start instruction event, the event collection unit 411 determines YES in S1704Y.

If the event collection unit 411 judges NO in S1704Y, the setting value acquisition process for each screen is terminated. On the other hand, if the event collection unit 411 judges YES in S1704Y, it acquires the setting value required to generate a transmission event (S1705Y). This setting value is a value to be added to the user name 7106, operation content 7105, target 7107, and parameter 7108 in FIG. 8B, and is a value for job execution to be added mainly to the parameter 7108. Next, the event collection unit 411 generates an event to be transmitted (setting value acquisition event) (S1706Y). For example, information about the smart button acquired in S1703Y and a setting value preset in the selected smart button are added to the setting value acquisition event. The event collection unit 411 may format events such as No. 5 and No. 10 in FIG. 7B in a format such as JSON, file them, and save them in the message buffer 412. Then, the setting value acquisition process for each screen is terminated.

In the tenth embodiment, when transitioning from the smart home screen to the setting screen of each application, information is acquired about the setting values preset in the selected smart button and the smart button that calls up the same function as the selected smart button. That is, not only information about the smart button selected by the user on the smart home screen, but also information about smart buttons that call up the same function as the smart button but have different setting values preset is collected. This makes it possible to analyze the setting values desired by the user for the function selected by the user, and thus to perform a detailed analysis of the usefulness of dynamically changing the display screen.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention. The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-mentioned embodiments to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and having one or more processors of a computer in the system or device read and execute the program. The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., an ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

101 CPU
111 Operation unit 201 Touch panel 302 Smart button 303 Smart button 304 Smart button 411 Event collection unit 412 Message buffer 1100 MFP
1120 Server 1501C, 1502C setting value

Claims (10)

an operation panel having a display function and capable of receiving operations from a user;
a display control means for controlling the display of an operation object for executing a predetermined function on a screen of the operation panel;
a storage means for storing information on an event related to an operation performed from the start to the end of the predetermined function and information on an event performed before the start of the predetermined function in association with each other;
Equipped with
The same identification information is added to event information relating to operations performed from the start to the end of the predetermined function and to information on an event before the start of the predetermined function;
13. An information processing apparatus, comprising: an information processing apparatus including: a first operation for returning from a power saving state to a power saving state; a second operation for transitioning from the power saving state to the power saving state; The information processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the same identification information is added to information about events related to a series of operations from when a login operation is performed until when a logout operation is performed. The information processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that each time execution of a new job is started, the identification information is discarded and new, unused identification information is generated, and the generated new identification information is added to information on events of a series of operations related to the execution of the new job. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the identification information is not added to information about events that are not related to operations. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the operation object is a button that changes the screen. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that an icon indicating that a job is executed along with the change in the screen is added to the operation object. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that information about settings preset when the use of the specified function starts and information about operations performed from the start to the end of the use of the specified function are stored in the same format. The information processing device according to claim 7, characterized in that the difference between the information about the preset settings and the information about the operations performed from the start to the end of the use of the specified function is stored. A method for controlling an information processing device including an operation panel having a display function and capable of receiving an operation from a user, comprising:
a step of controlling displaying an operation object for executing a predetermined function on a screen of the operation panel;
storing information on an event related to an operation performed from the start to the end of the predetermined function and information on an event performed before the start of the predetermined function in association with each other;
Equipped with
The same identification information is added to event information relating to operations performed from the start to the end of the predetermined function and to information on an event before the start of the predetermined function;
A control method comprising the steps of: adding the same identification information to information on an event related to a series of operations from when an operation is performed to return the information processing device from a power saving state to when an operation is performed to transition the information processing device to the power saving state. A program for causing a computer to execute each of the means of the information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 8.