US Patent 7385716 Authoring tool for bayesian network troubleshooters

An authoring tool assists an author in building an automated troubleshooter for a product. The authoring tool includes a cause editor interface, an action editor interface and a question editor interface. The cause editor interface allows an author to place, in a cause data structure, information pertaining to causes of malfunction of the product. The action editor interface allows an author to place, in an action data structure, information pertaining to actions that can be taken to correct malfunction of the product. The question editor interface allows an author to place, in a question data structure, information pertaining to questions that can be asked a user of the product to help identify causes of malfunction of the product.