METHOD AND AN APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING CROSS PRODUCT AUTOMATED USER ASSISTANCE IN THE PLANNING, CONFIGURATION, AND MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS

User Assistants are software programs that prompt the customer for information about user's current system by examining system files and other sources of data; store information about the user in a repository for later retrieval or for access by other assistants; present customized instructions to the user on actions to take to complete planning, configuration, and management tasks; perform actions on behalf of the user (e.g., run programs, send e-mail requests, ship order forms) and track the user's progress through planning, configuration, and management tasks. The present invention provides customized output to support the implementation of a User Assistant. This output may be documentation, instructional steps, programs, or parameter files. This output is produced by combining product data, user input, and product rules. The current invention allows for cross-product dependencies to be included in the product rules and, thus, embodied in the customized procedures.