System and method for developing interactive speech applications

• US 6,173,266 B1
• Filed: 05/06/1998
• Issued: 01/09/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: SpeechWorks International, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Carter, Jerry K., Holthouse, Mark A., Elizondo-Cecenas, Jose L., Seabury, Stephen D., Phaneuf, Brett D., Phillips, Michael S., Marx, Matthew T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dorvil, Richemond
• Application Number:
  US09/081,719
• Time in Patent Office: 979 Days
• Field of Search: 704/270, 704/272, 704/275, 704/231, 704/200, 704/276, 704/255, 704/256, 704/257
• US Class Current: 704/270
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/228 of application context
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/42 Graphical user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/355 Interactive dialogue design tools, features or methods
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/493 Interactive information services, e.g. directory enquiries ; Arrangements therefor, e.g. interactive voice response [IVR] systems or voice portals
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4936 Speech interaction details speech recognition per se G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/527 Centralised call answering arrangements not requiring operator intervention

Abstract

Dialogue modules are provided, with each dialogue module includes computer readable instructions for accomplishing a predefined interactive dialogue task in an interactive speech application. In response to user input, a subset of the plurality of dialogue modules are selected to accomplish their respective interactive dialogue tasks in the interactive speech application and are interconnected in an order defining the call flow of the application, and the application is generated. A graphical user interface represents the stored plurality of dialogue modules as icons in a graphical display in which icons for the subset of dialogue modules are selected in the graphical display in response to user input, the icons for the subset of dialogue modules are graphically interconnected into a graphical representation of the call flow of the interactive speech application, and the interactive speech application is generated based upon the graphical representation. Using the graphical display, the method further includes associating configuration parameters with specific dialogue modules. Each configuration parameter causes a change in operation of the dialogue module when the interactive speech program executes. A window is displayed for setting the value of the configuration parameter in response to user input, when an icon for a dialogue module having an associated configuration parameter is selected.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of constructing, by a developer, an interactive speech application for use by an application user, the method comprising:

providing a plurality of dialogue modules, wherein each dialogue module includes computer readable instructions for accomplishing a predefined interactive dialogue task;

selecting, in response to developer input, at least one of the plurality of dialogue modules to accomplish at least one respective interactive dialogue task; and

establishing, in response to developer input, at least one relationship between the at least one dialogue module and a dialogue-processing unit other than the at least one dialogue module to define a flow of dialogue between the application user and the interactive speech application.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

setting, in response to developer input, at least one configuration parameter associated with at least one of the dialogue modules, wherein each configuration parameter affects how an associated dialogue module operates when the interactive speech application executes.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein an interactive dialogue task associated with a dialogue module includes outputting a prompt to the application user and receiving a response from the application user, and at least one of the at least one configuration parameters is a timeout parameter defining a period of time for the application user to respond after a prompt is output.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein an interactive dialogue task associated with a dialogue module includes outputting a prompt to the application user and receiving a response from the application user, and at least one of the at least one configuration parameter is a prompt parameter defining a prompt to be output.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein an interactive dialogue task associated with a dialogue module includes outputting a prompt to the application user and receiving a response from the application user, and at least one of the at least one configuration parameters is an apology prompt parameter for defining an apology prompt to be output if the application user'"'"'s response is not recognized.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein an interactive dialogue task associated with a dialogue module includes outputting a prompt to the application user and receiving a response from the application user, and at least one of the at least one configuration parameters is a parameter for designating recognizable responses from the application user.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the selected at least one dialogue module and an indication of the at least one relationship.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein an interactive dialogue task associated with a dialogue module includes:

instructions for outputting a prompt to the application user;

instructions for receiving a response from the application user; and

instructions for interacting with a speech recognition engine for recognizing the received response using recognition models.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein an interactive dialogue task associated with a dialogue module further includes instructions for updating the recognition models used by the speech recognition engine based on recognized responses during execution of the interactive speech application.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

graphically representing the plurality of dialogue modules as icons in a graphical display, wherein;

the selecting includes receiving an indication of the at least one dialogue module; and

the establishing includes graphically interconnecting the icon representing the at least one dialogue module with a graphical indication representing the other dialogue-processing unit according to the at least one relationship.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

displaying a window in the graphical display for setting a value of a configuration parameter when an icon for a dialogue module having an associated configuration parameter is selected in response to developer input; and

setting the value of the configuration parameter in response to developer input;

wherein the configuration parameter affects how a dialogue module operates when the interactive speech application executes.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the selecting includes selecting at least two dialogue modules.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the another dialogue-processing unit is a selected dialogue module.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the selecting includes selecting at least two different dialogue modules and the another dialogue-processing unit is different from the selected dialogue module with which the another dialogue-processing unit has a relationship established.

15. A memory device storing computer-readable instructions for enabling a developer to construct an interactive speech application in a speech processing system, the instructions being for causing a computer to:

perform a plurality of predefined interactive dialogue tasks, at least the instructions associated with the tasks forming a respective plurality of dialogue module templates;

produce, in response to developer input, a plurality of dialogue module instances for use in an interactive speech application, wherein each dialogue module instance is based on, and is a customized version of, one of the dialogue module templates, the dialogue module templates and the dialogue module instances being forms of dialogue modules; and

establish, in response to developer input, at least one relationship between at least two dialogue modules to define a dialogue flow.

16. The memory device of claim 15, further comprising instructions for causing a computer to:

set, in response to developer input, a value of at least one configuration parameter associated with at least one of the dialogue modules, wherein each configuration parameter affects how an associated dialogue module operates when the interactive speech application executes.

17. The memory device of claim 16, wherein an interactive dialogue task associated with a dialogue module includes outputting a prompt to the application user and receiving a response from the application user, and at least one of the at least one configuration parameter is a parameter for designating recognizable responses from the application user.

18. The memory device of claim 15, further comprising instructions for causing a computer to store the at least two dialogue modules and an indication of the relationship between the at least two dialogue modules.

19. The memory device of claim 15, wherein an interactive dialogue task associated with a dialogue module includes instructions for causing a computer to:

output a prompt to the application user;

receive a response from the application user; and

interact with a speech recognition engine for recognizing the received response using recognition modules.

20. The memory device of claim 19, wherein an interactive dialogue task associated with a dialogue module further includes instructions for causing a computer to update the recognition models used by the speech recognition engine based on recognized responses during execution of the interactive speech application.

21. The memory device of claim 15, further comprising:

instructions for causing a computer to graphically represent the plurality of dialogue modules as icons in a graphical display,

wherein;

the instructions for causing a computer to produce the dialogue module instances include instructions for causing a computer to select the plurality of dialogue modules templates in response to developer input and instructions for causing a computer to graphically represent the dialogue module instances as icons in the graphical display; and

the instructions for causing a computer to establish at least one relationship between at least two dialogue modules include instructions for causing a computer to graphically interconnect the icons representing the dialogue modules into a graphical representation of the dialogue flow of the interactive speech application in accordance with the at least one relationship.

22. A computer program product, residing on a computer-readable medium, for enabling a speech-application developer to construct an interactive speech application for use by an application user, the computer program product comprising instructions for causing a computer to:

provide a plurality of dialogue modules, each dialogue module including computer-readable instructions for causing a computer to accomplish a predefined interactive dialogue task;

select, in response to developer input, at least one of the plurality of dialogue modules to accomplish at least one respective interactive dialogue task; and

establish, in response to developer input, at least one relationship between the at least one dialogue module and a dialogue-processing unit other than the at least one dialogue module to define a flow of dialogue between the application user and the interactive speech application.

23. The computer program product of claim 22 wherein the instructions for causing a computer to select include instructions for causing a computer to select, in response to developer input, at least two dialogue modules.

24. The computer program product of claim 23 wherein the another dialogue-processing unit is a selected dialogue module.

25. The computer program product of claim 22 further comprising instructions for causing a computer to store the selected at least one dialogue module and an indication of the at least one relationship.