Synchronous and asynchronous brokering of IVR sessions for offline interaction and response

• US 8,155,276 B2
• Filed: 05/01/2009
• Issued: 04/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arlington Technologies, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Inventors: Beauregard, Derek, Bhatnagar, Vivek
• Primary Examiner(s): Anwah, Olisa
• Application Number:
  US12/434,284
• Publication Number:
  US 20100278316A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,075 Days
• Field of Search: 379/10.03, 379/1.02, 379/74, 379/77, 379/201.01, 379/201.02
• US Class Current: 379/74
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42068 where the identifier is used to access a profile
• 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

Abstract

An IVR session brokering service provides as one core mechanism, a pool of intelligent software agents residing on a cluster-able software services platform. These agents could be designed to act as stateful and customized interaction brokers for interacting automatically and semi-automatically with existing IVR systems. Customers and users would use this brokering service as an IVR normalization and aggregation mechanism for centralizing and personalizing their user experience with a full range of IVR systems that are of interest to them. The service could consume, operate on and transform voice and touchtone communication information that is transmitted between IVR systems and the end-user customers that are currently using those IVR systems.

Claims

1. A method of interfacing with one or more interactive voice response systems using an interactive voice response (IVR) agent comprising:

providing a single sign on authentication to the IVR agent, wherein a user authenticates once to a brokering service and is able to proceed with performing multiple IVR interactions with completely independent IVR systems without having to re-authenticate to each IVR system; and

providing one or more IVR sessions, wherein the IVR sessions are customized by one or more of a dynamic user profile, a dynamic IVR profile and rules.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing translation services between one or more of a user, the IVR agent and an interactive voice response system.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving information from an interactive voice response system specifying one or more of contact information, navigation preferences and grammar preferences.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the IVR agent is adapted to respond automatically on a user'"'"'s behalf.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein communication types and protocols used between the IVR agent, the interactive voice response systems and a user can be any combination of speech, web-based communications, telephone-based communications, graphical user interface-based communications, command line, IP protocol, scripting, configuration file and DTMF communications.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein a session can be cached for asynchronous interaction.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more IVR sessions can be managed by the IVR agent in a serial or parallel fashion.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the IVR agent provides one or more of a TUI, GUI and WUI to a user.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising modifying an IVR session in accordance with user preferences.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the brokering service automatically navigates and interacts with all, or portions, of existing IVR menu systems on behalf of the user.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable storage media having stored thereon information that, when executed by a processor, performs the steps of claim 1.

12. A system that interfaces with one or more interactive voice response systems using an IVR agent comprising:

an authentication module that provides a single sign on authentication to the IVR agent, wherein a user authenticates once to a brokering service and is able to proceed with performing multiple IVR interactions with completely independent IVR systems without having to re-authenticate to each IVR system; and

the IVR agent providing one or more IVR sessions to the user, wherein the IVR sessions are customized by one or more of a dynamic user profile, a dynamic IVR profile and rules.

13. The system of claim 12, further comprising a translation module that provides translation services between one or more of the user, the IVR agent and an interactive voice response system.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the dynamic IVR profile receives information from an interactive voice response system specifying one or more of contact information, navigation preferences and grammar preferences.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the IVR agent is adapted to respond automatically on a user'"'"'s behalf in cooperation with an auto response module.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein communication types and protocols used between the IVR agent, the interactive voice response system and the user can be any combination of speech, web-based communications, telephone-based communications, graphical user interface-based communications, command line, IP protocol, scripting, configuration file, pipes and DTMF communications.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein a session can be cached for asynchronous interaction.

18. The system of claim 12, wherein the one or more IVR sessions can be managed by the IVR agent in a serial or parallel fashion.

19. The system of claim 12, wherein the IVR agent provides one or more of a TUI, GUI and WUI to a user.

20. The system of claim 12, further comprising a session state module that records state information associated with the one or more IVR sessions.