System and method for integrating runtime usage statistics with developing environment

• US 9,172,803 B2
• Filed: 08/20/2010
• Issued: 10/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alvaria Cayman
• Original Assignee: Aspect Software Incorporated
• Inventors: Bachran, Michael, Wiegard, Hanno, Besling, Stefan, Mauelshagen, Martin
• Primary Examiner(s): VU, TUAN A
• Application Number:
  US12/860,736
• Publication Number:
  US 20110044435A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,894 Days
• Field of Search: 717/100, 379/88.01, 379/88.17, 379/88.18, 704/9, 704/270.1, 704/275, 704/257, 704/274, 715/234, 715/700, 715/810, 709/217, 709/227, 705/34, 705/26.81, 705/74, 705/1, 718/100, 726/22
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/228 of application context
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1063 Application servers providing network services systems providing special services to telephonic subscribers H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition speech recognition per se G10L15/00
• 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 3/4938 comprising a voice browser which renders and interprets, e.g. VoiceXML

Abstract

A self-help application such as in an interactive voice response (IVR) platform serving users is enabled for providing an integrated development (IDE) and monitoring environment. This provides real-time reporting and analysis on user behavior, application performance and transaction success. The application is coded in software objects (VoiceObjects) specific to the context of the application. These are pre-built objects that include dialog components, resource management, logic, actions, layer and business tasks. This object-oriented approach uncouples the underlying technology from the application and allows designers to build user-friendly applications. In one embodiment, Java or VoiceXML codes are generated dynamically from these objects and executed by a browser in the IVR. A set of core metrics is defined for each object type as well as configurable levels for these metrics. Data associated with individual objects are collected, aggregated, analyzed and displayed in context by the IDE.

Claims

1. A method of operating a self-help application platform, comprising:

providing an integrated development and analysis module with a library of prebuilt software voice objects for coding an application script to implement the self-help application;

generating runtime codes dynamically from the software voice objects coded in the application script by, dragging and dropping the software voice objects, including generating personalized dialogs for calls at call time;

executing the runtime codes with a browser to implement the self-help application;

collecting usage and performance data associated with individual software voice objects during runtime and aggregating the data at a level of the individual software objects; and

providing reports based on the collected usage and performance data associated with individual software voice objects using an integrated development and analysis module and using the aggregated data to automatically determine adjustment of object displays based upon defined core metrics and configurable levels of the metrics;

displaying the reports in context of the individual software voice objects as represented in the integrated development and analysis module;

wherein the reports include statistics of usage of a menu object in the application and provide information on dominant paths taken by callers including indicating percentages of menu object choices;

wherein the reports include a tree view of aggregated software objects in a dialog flow and associated statistics of activity; and

wherein the reports include time-dependent view of aggregate software objects and associated statistics of activity including tracking a caller'"'"'s success in achieving specific tasks.

2. The method as in claim 1, wherein:

each software object has a metric defined; and

the collected usage and performance data includes values for metrics of the individual software objects.

3. The method as in claim 1, wherein the software objects are in object-oriented codes that model live context of the application.

4. The method as in claim 1, wherein the runtime codes are in Java.

5. The method as in claim 1, wherein the browser executes Java.

6. The method as in claim 1, wherein the runtime codes are in VoiceXML including Voice XML tags.

7. The method as in claim 1, wherein the browser executes VoiceXML.

8. A self-help application system, comprising:

a pre-built software voice object server for executing an application script defined through software objects and having a dialog manager that drives user dialog interactions in the application script and collects and aggregates usage and performance data about the interactions during runtime aggregated to a level of the software objects;

a service analysis environment module interacting with the software object server for generating reports from the collected usage and performance data;

an integrated development environment (IDE) module interacting with the software object server, the IDE module having a graphical, integrated management console for developing the application script by enabling dragging and dropping the software voice objects and for deploying, managing and monitoring of servers and services in the system and for displaying the reports in context of the software objects as represented in the IDE and the IDE using the aggregated data to determine adjustment of object displays within the IDE based upon defined core metrics and configurable levels of the metrics;

wherein the reports include statistics of usage of a menu object in the application and provide information on dominant paths taken by callers including indicating percentages of menu object choices;

wherein the reports include a tree view of aggregated software objects in a dialog flow and associated statistics of activity; and

wherein the reports include time-dependent view of aggregate software objects and associated statistics of activity including tracking a caller'"'"'s success in achieving specific tasks.

9. The self-help application system as in claim 8, wherein:

the software object server includes a dialog manager for collecting information on interaction of a user with the application and the collected usage and performance data includes user behavior and recognition success.

10. The self-help application system as in claim 9, wherein:

the software object server includes a statistics manager for managing aggregated information from the dialog manager.

11. The self-help application system as in claim 8, wherein:

each software object has a metric defined; and

the usage and performance data collected includes values for the metrics of individual software objects.

12. The self-help application system as in claim 8, wherein the software objects are in object-oriented codes that models live context of the application.

13. The self-help application system as in claim 8, wherein the runtime codes are in Java.

14. The self-help application system as in claim 8, wherein the browser executes Java.

15. The self-help application system as in claim 8, wherein the runtime codes are in VoiceXML.

16. The self-help application system as in claim 8, wherein a browser executes VoiceXML.