System and method for displaying key performance indicators in an application design tool

• US 8,762,939 B1
• Filed: 07/02/2010
• Issued: 06/24/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nuance Communications, Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Ulug, Amy E., Springer, Stephen R., Smith, William Bridges Jr., Raman, Vijay R., Panganamala, Suresh K., Ramadas, Rakesh, Pathak, Deepali
• Primary Examiner(s): Do, Chat C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dinh, Lynda
• Application Number:
  US12/803,742
• Time in Patent Office: 1,453 Days
• Field of Search: 717/100, 717/109, 717/105, 717/113, 717/125
• US Class Current: 717/109
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/20 Software design
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/34 Graphical or visual programming
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44 Arrangements for executing specific programs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/445 Program loading or initiating bootstrapping G06F9/4401; security arrangements for program loading or initiating G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/02 Topology update or discovery

Abstract

A system and method enable a designer to design an application using a design tool, deploy the application for execution, and subsequently view statistics related to the execution within the design tool. The designer uses the design tool to create an application flow for the application, and the design tool then generates software code for such application. In generating software code, the design tool inserts markers in the application code that demarks the boundaries between nodes in the application flow. When the application is executed, a log is created in accordance with the markers such that data is logged for nodes traversed during the execution of the application. Using the logged data, statistics are calculated for one or more of the nodes. These statistics are provided to the design tool and, in the preferred embodiment, displayed in conjunction with the application flow in the user interface of the design tool.

Claims

1. A method for displaying key statistics for a designed application in a user interface for an application design tool, the method comprising:

providing a graphical user interface for a design tool via which a designer can design an application, wherein the design tool enables a designer to graphically create an application flow using a sequence of nodes that represent functions in the application;

receiving an application design from a designer that is designed using the design tool;

generating application code for the designed application, wherein generating the application code includes inserting a set of markers in the application code that demarks boundaries between nodes in the designed application;

executing the application, wherein, for each instance of the application executed, a log is created in accordance with the markers such that data is logged for nodes traversed during the execution of the application;

calculating statistics, based on the logged data, for one or more of the nodes;

displaying the nodes in the graphical user interface to display the application flow;

prompting the designer to enter threshold values for one or more statistics;

identifying the nodes associated with statistics that satisfy the threshold requirements; and

displaying statistical information, based on the calculated statistics, for only nodes associated with statistics that satisfy one or more threshold requirements, wherein the statistical information comprises at least one of (i) traffic at the node being greater than or equal to a specified amount or percentage of total traffic, (ii) disconnects at the node being greater than or equal to a specified amount or percentage of executions of the node, (iii) errors at the node being greater than or equal to a specified amount or percentage of executions of the node, and (iv) agent requests at the node being greater than or equal to a specified amount or percentage of executions of the node, and wherein nodes associated with statistics that do not satisfy the one or more threshold requirements are displayed without statistical information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the statistical information for an identified node is displayed adjacent the identified node in the user interface of the design tool.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the statistical information for a node is displayed adjacent the node within a display of the application flow.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the statistical information is displayed as a color-coded meter.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, when the designer mouses over a meter for a node, additional information related to the node is displayed.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the designed application is a voice application for an interactive voice response system.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the designed application is a web application.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the designed application is an application for a mobile phone.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the designed application is an application for a multi-modal communication application.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein inserting the markers includes mapping each of the nodes illustrated in the graphical user interface of the design tool to one or more lines of application code.

11. A system for displaying statistics for an application within an application design tool, the system comprising:

a design software tool running on a computer that (i) enables a designer to graphically create an application flow using a sequence of nodes that represent functions in the application, and (ii) in response to the designer inputting a design, generates application code based on the design, including inserting markers in the application code that demark boundaries between nodes in the designed application;

an execution server that executes the application code, wherein, for each instance of the application executed, the execution server creates a log in accordance with the markers such that data is logged for nodes traversed during the execution of such instance of the application;

a database operatively coupled to the execution server for storing the logged data; and

an analytics server that (i) obtains the logged data from the database, (ii) calculates statistics for one or more of the nodes using the logged data and (iii) provides such values to the design software tool,

wherein the design software tool subsequently displays the nodes in a graphical user interface to display the application flow, prompts the designer to enter threshold values for one or more statistics, identifies the nodes associated with statistics that satisfy the threshold requirements, and displays statistical information, based on the calculated statistics, for only nodes associated with statistics that satisfy one or more threshold requirements, wherein the statistical information comprises at least one of (i) traffic at the node being greater than or equal to a specified amount or percentage of total traffic, (ii) disconnects at the node being greater than or equal to a specified amount or percentage of executions of the node, (iii) errors at the node being greater than or equal to a specified amount or percentage of executions of the node, and (iv) agent requests at the node being greater than or equal to a specified amount or percentage of executions of the node, and wherein nodes associated with statistics that do not satisfy the one or more threshold requirements are displayed without statistical information.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the analytic server calculates the statistics in response to a request from the design software tool.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the request includes definitions for the requested statistic, and the analytics server calculates the values of the statistics in accordance with such definitions.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein each node in the designed application is associated with a unique ID and the request also includes node IDs.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the analytics server provides the calculated statistics to the design software tool in a structured XML document form.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the statistical information for an identified node is displayed adjacent the identified node.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the statistical information is displayed as a color-coded meter.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein the designed application is a voice application for an interactive voice response system.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein the designed application is a web application.

20. The system of claim 11, wherein the designed application is an application for a mobile phone.

21. The system of claim 11, wherein the designed application is an application for a multi-modal communication application.

22. A computer program embodied on one or more non-transitory computer-readable media and comprising code that when executed by a computer system, enables the computer system to perform the following method for displaying key statistics for a designed application in a user interface for an application design tool, the method comprising:

providing a graphical user interface for a design tool via which a designer can design an application, wherein the design tool enables a designer to graphically create an application flow using a sequence of nodes that represent functions in the application;

receiving an application design from a designer that is designed using the design tool;

generating application code for the designed application, wherein generating the application code includes inserting a set of markers in the application code that demarks boundaries between nodes in the designed application;

for each instance of the application executed, creating a log in accordance with the markers such that data is logged for nodes traversed during the execution of the application;

calculating statistics, based on the logged data, for one or more of the nodes;

displaying the nodes in the graphical user interface to display the application flow;

prompting the designer to enter threshold values for one or more statistics;

identifying the nodes associated with statistics that satisfy the threshold requirements; and

displaying statistical information, based on the calculated statistics, for only nodes associated with statistics that satisfy one or more threshold requirements, wherein the statistical information comprises at least one of (i) traffic at the node being greater than or equal to a specified amount or percentage of total traffic, (ii) disconnects at the node being greater than or equal to a specified amount or percentage of executions of the node, (iii) errors at the node being greater than or equal to a specified amount or percentage of executions of the node, and (iv) agent requests at the node being greater than or equal to a specified amount or percentage of executions of the node, and wherein nodes associated with statistics that do not satisfy the one or more threshold requirements are displayed without statistical information.