SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ANALYSIS AND ADJUSTMENT OF SPEECH-ENABLED SYSTEMS

• US 20070027694A1
• Filed: 09/13/2006
• Published: 02/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Martin, John, Bushey, Robert, Knott, Benjamin
• Granted Patent: US 8,117,030 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/275
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/063 Training
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/0636 Threshold criteria for the updating
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/223 Execution procedure of a spoken command
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2011 Service processing based on information specified by a party before or during a call, e.g. information, tone or routing selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5166 in combination with interactive voice response systems or voice portals, e.g. as front-ends

Abstract

A method for analyzing and adjusting the performance of a speech-enabled application includes selecting a number of user utterances that were previously received by the speech-enabled application. The speech-enabled application receives such user utterances and associates each user utterance with an action-object based on one or more salient terms in the user utterance that are associated with the action-object. The method further includes associating one of a number of action-objects with each of the selected user utterances. Furthermore, for each action-object, the percentage of the utterances associated with the action-object that include at least one of the salient terms associated with the action-object is determined. If the percentage does not exceed a selected threshold, the method also includes adjusting the one or more salient terms associated with the action-object.

Claims

1-28. -28. (canceled)

29. A method for adjusting a call center application operable to associate a user utterance with an action-object based on a salient term in the user utterance, the method for adjusting comprising:

automatically adding a new salient term associated with an action-object when a specified percentage of user utterances fail to associate with an intended action object; and

automatically removing a current salient term associated with the action-object when a specified percentage of user utterances associate with an unintended action object.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein adding the new salient term includes selecting the new salient term based on a count indicative of terms used in a selected set of user utterances.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein adding the new salient term further includes removing an existing salient term.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein removing the existing salient term is based on the word count.

33. The method of claim 29, wherein removing a current salient term includes selecting the current salient term based on a count indicative of terms used in a selected set of user utterances.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein removing the current salient term further includes adding a new salient term.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein adding the new salient term is based on the word count.

36. A computer program product comprising computer executable instructions stored on a computer readable medium for adjusting a call center application operable to associate a user utterance with an action-object based on a salient term in the user utterance, the program product comprising:

instructions for determining that at least one of a match rate for associating user utterances with a desired action-object and a performance rate for the associating user utterances with the desired action-object is below a corresponding threshold; and

instructions for modifying salient terms associated with the desired action-object after said determining.

37. The program product of claim 36, wherein said instructions for modifying includes instructions for adding a new salient term associated with the action object.

38. The program product of claim 37, wherein said instructions for adding comprises instructions for selecting the new salient term based on a word count indicative of a frequency with which terms occur in a selected set of user utterances.

39. The program product of claim 38, wherein instructions for adding includes instructions for removing an existing term associated with the action object.

40. The program product of claim 39, wherein said instructions for removing comprises instructions for removing the existing term based on the word count.

41. The program product of claim 40, wherein the word count corresponding to the new salient term is greater than the word count corresponding to the existing salient term.

42. A service center system enabled to associate a user utterance with an action-object based on a salient term in the user utterance and further enabled to adjust at least one of a set of salient action terms and salient object terms associated with the action-object when a specified percentage of user utterances are not associated with an intended action-object.

43. The service center system of claim 42, wherein said adjusting includes adding a new salient action term or salient object term associated with the action object.

44. The service center system of claim 43, wherein said adding comprises selecting the new salient action term or salient object term based on a word count indicative of a frequency with which terms occur in a selected set of user utterances.

45. The service center system of claim 44, wherein said adding includes removing an existing term associated with the action object.

46. The service center system of claim 45, wherein said removing comprises removing the existing term based on the word count.

47. The service center system of claim 46, wherein the word count corresponding to the new salient term is greater than the word count corresponding to the existing salient term.