Avaya Speech Applications Builder User Manual

Avaya Speech Applications Builder Configurator User Guide

May 15, 2004

Speech Applications Builder Configurator User Guide • May 15, 2004 • page 2 of 116

Notice

While reasonable efforts were made to ensure that the information in this document was complete and accurate at the time of printing, Avaya Inc. can assume no liability for any errors. Changes and corrections to the information in this document may be incorporated in future releases.

Preventing toll fraud

"Toll fraud" is the unauthorized use of your telecommunications system by an unauthorized party (for example, anyone who is not a corporate employee, agent, subcontractor, or person working on your company's behalf). Be aware that there may be a risk of toll fraud associated with your system and that, if toll fraud occurs, it can result in substantial additional charges for your telecommunications services.

Avaya fraud intervention

If you suspect that you are being victimized by toll fraud and you need technical assistance or support, call Technical Service Center Toll Fraud Intervention Hotline at +1-800-643-2353 for the United States and Canada. For additional support telephone numbers, see the Avaya Web site:

http://www.avaya.com

Select Support, then select Escalation Lists. This Web site includes telephone numbers for escalation within the United States. For escalation telephone numbers outside the United States, select Global Escalation List.

Providing telecommunications security

Telecommunications security (of voice, data, and video communications) is the prevention of any type of intrusion to (that is, either unauthorized or malicious access to or use of) your company's telecommunications equipment by some party.

Your company's "telecommunications equipment" includes both this Avaya product and any other voice/data/video equipment that could be accessed via this Avaya product (that is, "networked equipment").

An "outside party" is anyone who is not a corporate employee, agent, subcontractor, or person working on your company's behalf. Whereas, a "malicious party" is anyone (including someone who may be otherwise authorized) who accesses your telecommunications equipment with either malicious or mischievous intent.

Such intrusions may be either to/through synchronous (timemultiplexed and/or circuit-based) or asynchronous (character-, message-, or packet-based) equipment or interfaces for reasons of:

• Use (of capabilities special to the accessed equipment)

• Theft (such as, of intellectual property, financial assets, or toll-facility access)

• Eavesdropping (privacy invasions to humans)

• Mischief (troubling, but apparently innocuous,

tampering)

• Harm (such as harmful tampering, data loss or alteration, regardless of motive or intent)

Be aware that there may be a risk of unauthorized intrusions associated with your system and/or its networked equipment. Also realize that, if such an intrusion should occur, it could result in a variety of losses to your company (including, but not limited to, human and data privacy, intellectual property, material assets, financial resources, labor costs, and legal costs).

Your responsibility for your company's telecommunications security

The final responsibility for securing both this system and its networked equipment rests with you, an Avaya customer's system administrator, your telecommunications peers, and your managers. Base the fulfillment of your responsibility on acquired knowledge and resources from a variety of sources, including, but not limited to:

• Installation documents

• System administration documents

• Security documents

• Hardware-/software-based security tools

• Shared information between you and your peers

• Telecommunications security experts

To prevent intrusions to your telecommunications equipment, you and your peers should carefully program and configure:

• Your Avaya-provided telecommunications systems and their interfaces

• Your Avaya-provided software applications, as well as their underlying hardware/software platforms and interfaces

• Any other equipment networked to your Avaya products.

Part 15: Class A Statement

For the MCC1, SCC1, G600, and CMC1 Media Gateways:

Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference, in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his own expense.

Part 15: Class B Statement

For the G700 Media Gateway:

Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio-frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

• Reorient the receiving television or radio antenna where this may be done safely.

• To the extent possible, relocate the receiver with respect to the telephone equipment.

• Where the telephone equipment requires AC power, plug the telephone into a different AC outlet so that the telephone equipment and receiver are on different branch circuits.

• Consult the Dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

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Canadian Department of Communications (DOC) Interference Information

For MCC1, SCC1, G600, and CMC1 Media Gateways:

This Class A digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-

003.

Cet appareil numérique de la classe A est conforme à la norme NMB-003 du Canada.

For the G700 Media Gateway:

This Class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-

003.

Cet appareil numérique de la classe B est conforme à la norme NMB-003 du Canada.

This equipment meets the applicable Industry Canada Terminal

Equipment Technical Specifications. This is confirmed by the registration number. The abbreviation, IC, before the registration number signifies that registration was performed based on a Declaration of Conformity indicating that Industry Canada technical specifications were met. It does not imply that Industry Canada approved the equipment.

Japan

For the MCC1, SCC1, G600, and CMC1 Media Gateways:

This is a Class A product based on the standard of the Voluntary Control Council for Interference by Information Technology Equipment (VCCI). If this equipment is used in a domestic environment, radio disturbance may occur, in which case, the user may be required to take corrective actions.

For the G700 Media Gateway:

This is a Class B product based on the standard of the Voluntary Control Council for Interference by Information Technology Equipment (VCCI). If this equipment is used in a domestic environment, radio disturbance may occur, in which case, the user may be required to take corrective actions.

Part 15: Personal Computer Statement

This equipment has been certified to comply with the limits for a Class B computing device, pursuant to Subpart J of Part 15 of FCC Rules. Only peripherals (computing input/output devices, terminals, printers, etc.) certified to comply with the Class B limits may be attached to this computer. Operation with noncertified peripherals is likely to result in interference to radio and television reception.

Part 68: Answer-Supervision Signaling

Allowing this equipment to be operated in a manner that does not provide proper answer-supervision signaling is in violation of Part 68 rules. This equipment returns answer-supervision signals to the public switched network when:

• answered by the called station,

• answered by the attendant, or

• routed to a recorded announcement that can be

administered by the CPE user.

This equipment returns answer-supervision signals on all direct inward dialed (DID) calls forwarded back to the public switched telephone network. Permissible exceptions are:

• A call is unanswered.

• A busy tone is received.

• A reorder tone is received.

DECLARATIONS OF CONFORMITY

US FCC Part 68 Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity (SDoC)

Avaya Inc. in the United States of America hereby certifies that the Avaya switch equipment described in this document and bearing a TIA TSB-168 label identification number complies with the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Rules and Regulations 47 CFR Part 68, and the Administrative Council on Terminal Attachments (ACTA) adopted technical criteria.

Avaya further asserts that Avaya handset equipped terminal equipment described in this document complies with Paragraph

68.316 of the FCC Rules and Regulations defining Hearing Aid Compatibility and is deemed compatible with hearing aids. Copies of SDoCs signed by the Responsible Party in the US can be obtained by contacting your local sales representative and are available on the following Web site:

http://www.avaya.com/support

All Avaya switch products are compliant with Part 68 of the FCC rules, but many have been registered with the FCC before the SDoC process was available. A list of all Avaya registered products may be found at:

http://www.part68.org/

by conducting a search using "Avaya" as manufacturer.

European Union Declarations of Conformity

Avaya Inc. declares that the equipment specified in this document bearing the "CE" (Conformité Europeénne) mark conforms to the European Union Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment Directive (1999/5/EC), including the Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive (89/336/EEC) and Low Voltage Directive (73/23/EEC). This equipment has been certified to meet CTR3 Basic Rate Interface (BRI) and CTR4 Primary Rate Interface (PRI) and subsets thereof in CTR12 and CTR13, as applicable. Copies of these Declarations of Conformity (DoCs) signed by the Vice President of R&D, Avaya Inc., can be obtained by contacting your local sales representative and are available on the following Web site:

http://www.avaya.com/support

TCP/IP facilities

Customers may experience differences in product performance, reliability, and security, depending upon network configurations/design and topologies, even when the product performs as warranted.

Warranty

Avaya Inc. provides a limited warranty on this product. Refer to your sales agreement to establish the terms of the limited warranty. In addition, Avaya’s standard warranty language, as well as information regarding support for this product, while under warranty, is available through the following Web site:

http://www.avaya.com/support

Link disclaimer

Avaya Inc. is not responsible for the contents or reliability of any linked Web sites and does not necessarily endorse the products, services, or information described or offered within them. We cannot guarantee that these links will work all of the time and we have no control over the availability of the linked pages.

Speech Applications Builder Configurator User Guide • May 15, 2004 • page 4 of 116

Trademarks

Avaya is a trademark of Avaya Inc.

Insert all other Avaya Trademarks here, then delete this paragraph. DO NOT include other company’s trademarks.

All trademarks identified by the ® or ™ are registered trademarks or trademarks, respectively, of Avaya Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Ordering information: Avaya Publications Center

Voice: +1-207-866-6701

1-800-457-1764 (Toll-free, U.S. and Canada only)

Fax: +1-207-626-7269

1-800-457-1764 (Toll-free, U.S. and Canada only)

Write: Globalware Solutions

200 Ward Hill Avenue

Haverhill, MA 01835 USA

Attention: Avaya Account Manager

Web: http://www.avayadocs.com

E-mail: totalware@gwsmail.com

Order:

Avaya support

Avaya provides a telephone number for you to use to report problems or to ask questions about your contact center. The support telephone number is1-800-242-2121 in the United States. For additional support telephone numbers, see the Avaya Web site:

http://www.avaya.com

Comments

To comment on this document, send e-mail to

crminfodev@avaya.com.

Acknowledgment

This document was written by the CRM Information Development group.

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Contents

Contents ............................................................................................................................................. 5

About this document ......................................................................................................................... 7

Audience 7

Related documents include:

• Speech Applications Builder Release Notes

• Speech Applications Builder Installation Guide

• Configuring Speech Applications Builder for Deployment

• JBOSS Configuration and Deployment Guide

• Speech Applications Builder Component List

• Speech Applications Builder Component Developer’s Guide

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System requirements

The minimum system requirements for running Speech Applications Builder are as follows:

Hardware requirements

Minimum speed required for platform 500MHz

Minimum memory required for platform 512MB RAM

Software requirements

Speech Applications Builder Voice Applications Configurator Tool

Operating System

Speech Applications Builder has been verified to run under Windows 2000.

However, it should also be capable of running under any operating system that supports Java™ 1.4.1.

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Introduction to Speech Applications Builder

Some terminology

The Speech Applications Builder (SAB) Configurator is a tool for building, testing, deploying and updating voice-driven automated telephone services, such as Telephone Banking or Catalogue Ordering.

An automated telephone service consists of one or more applications.

An application includes one or more interactions with the caller. These interactions are called dialogs. The software that performs a dialog is called a dialog flow (or a dialog model).

The main dialog flow may contain one or more sub-dialog flows (and a sub-dialog flow may have sub flows of its own).

SAB dialog flows are built using pre-defined SAB components, and are created as a type of flow diagram, drawn using the SAB GUI. For a description of the SAB GUI, see page 19.

There are several types of SAB component:

• dialogs - which handle interactions with the caller and may include speech recognition

• processes - which retrieve data and perform data manipulation

• rules - which allow branching or decision making

• interrupt - which is used to provide an alternative dialog flow in response to a particular

recognition result, such as the caller saying “Help” or “Main Menu”

For an overview of how the components are used, see page 10.

For a List of Components, see page 108.

The SAB GUI

SAB dialogs are developed using the SAB GUI. This provides:

• Development facilities - which allow you to create a dialog by selecting and configuring

components and connecting them together in a call flow. The GUI also provides debugging tools.

• Search facilities - which allow you to search for components and prompt files, by name or

partial name.

• A file directory - which provides easy access to dialog flows and prompt files.

• A version control mechanism - which allows you to label and store earlier versions of a

dialog flow. Speech Applications Builder also provides a formal mechanism for migrating a dialog from the development phase (the tool environment) to the deployment phase (the

production environment) and then to the decommissioned phase (the decommission environment).

• Administrative functions.

For a description of the SAB GUI, see page 19.

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The structure of a dialog flow

A dialog flow is built by selecting and configuring pre-defined components and connecting them together in a call flow. There are three main types of component: dialogs, processes and rules. An instance of a component is called a step.

Figure 1. The different step icons (left to right): dialog, process, rule and Begin Dialog step

When you create a new dialog flow (see page 34), SAB automatically creates a Begin Dialog step and an End Dialog step.

Figure 2. The Dialog Modeler window showing the Begin Dialog step (orange) and the three

types of component: dialogs (blue), processes (yellow), and rules (black diamonds)

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Dialog steps

Generally speaking, dialog steps handle interactions with the caller. Figure 2 shows a series of dialog steps that

• receive the call, setting up variables to store the CLI, DDI, Port, call time and other information

• play a welcome message (such as Welcome to Acme loan center customer service)

• offer the caller a menu (To inquire about the status of your loan, please say “Status”. For all

other enquiries please say “Operator”’) and recognize his or her response

• ask the caller to say his or her loan number (What is your loan number?) and recognize the response

• ask for a “password” (For verification purposes, what are the last four digits of your Social Security Number?) and recognize the response

• deal with an invalid loan number (I’m sorry the loan number you provided is not a valid number. Please say your loan number now.)

... and so on.

All dialog components that perform speech recognition also handle

• confirmation (Was that 1234?), if required

• no input or silence (I’m sorry I did not hear anything. Please say it again)

• no match (I’m sorry I did not understand that. Please say it again)

• misrecognition

Process steps

Process steps handle data. Figure 2 shows a process step that accesses a database to retrieve the customer record associated with a particular loan number. Other SAB processes include:

• addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, total, exponentiation

• check lookup table

• capitalize, change case

• set variable, copy variable, insert new variable

• report call end, report call information

• send event code

and so on. The data being manipulated may be static, or derived from a recognition result, or retrieved from a database.

Connections and Rules

The flow of the dialog is created by drawing connections between the steps.

By default, each connection includes a decision point (these are the grey diamonds on some of the connections in Figure 2). If the dialog needs to branch, a rule can be defined on the decision point (these are the black diamonds in the Figure) and a second connection added.

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SAB rules are boolean. They include

• less than, more than, equal to

• text handling rules

• list handling rules

• looping

More complex boolean rules can be built using multiple rule components.

For example

If id = 10 AND name = "Jones”

can be built as shown in the Figure below, where the first operator is defined as id = 10 and the second as name = “Jones”.

Figure 3. A complex rule

For more information about defining rules, see page 64.

Triggers

Certain types of event - including loggable events and Java exceptions - can be handled using triggers. These are (typically short) alternative dialog flows that are run when the triggering event occurs.

There are five types of trigger:

• Exception - evaluated only when an exception occurs in the underlying code

• Before step validated - legacy feature. DO NOT USE

• Before step runs - evaluated before the step

• After step runs - evaluated after the step

• Unhandled control - evaluated if the path required is not defined in the dialog flow

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Triggers may be configured

• as part of a flow, in the Trigger Modeler window (see page 62). These triggers are used by default when any triggering event occurs in that flow, if the step in which the event occurs does

not specifically handle triggers.

• as part of a step, in the Edit Step dialog box (see page 63). Step-based triggers are specific to the particular instance of the component and take priority over any global triggers.

Prompts

The recorded or synthesized words played out to the caller are called prompts. Prompts are the automated system’s contribution to the “conversation”.

Some prompts ask the caller for information and require a reply before the dialog can continue. Some prompts give the caller information and do not require a reply. A prompt that does not require a reply is often called a message.

Part of the process of configuring a dialog component is defining the prompts it will use. These are typed into the dialog boxes provided by the component, which also provides a simple method for including variable data and for turning on Barge-in. (Barge-in allows the caller to interrupt the prompt before it has finished playing. The speech recognizer listens for speech during the prompt, stops the prompt playout when it detects a response, and performs the recognition.)

For example,

Typed

Variable dragged and dropped from

a list of previously defined variables

Typed

Command dragged

and dropped

Typed

Did you

say

<caller_data>

<BARGE-IN_ON>

Please say

yes or no.

Figure 4. The construction of a typical confirmation prompt

When the dialog flow is run, SAB sends the text of the prompt to the Text-To-Speech (TTS) synthesizer, which synthesizes a speech equivalent of the text and returns it to SAB to be played out

to the caller.

Synthesized speech is particularly useful during the development of an application, but for a deployed system many service providers prefer to use a recorded voice.

Recorded prompts are managed in the Prompts resource (see below and page 82), which allows you to them either by recording and editing them yourself or by specifying .wav files (which may be professionally recorded).

SAB also provides support for handling

• multiple languages

The list of languages handled is specified by the user in the Administration resource (see below, and page 93). This, in effect, sets up a separate directory structure for each language. When you define a prompt, you specify its language by selecting from a drop-down list, and SAB labels the file accordingly. This mechanism allows you to define multiple sets of prompts (each set in a different language) that use the same prompt names but are automatically stored in different directories. This, in turn, allows you to create a single application that uses multiple languages.

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Note that some languages have multiple variants or 'locales' (for example, US English, UK English) which are pronounced differently. When you specify a language with multiple locales, ensure that you use the complete language ID, including the correct locale, for example, “enUS” (for US English), or “en-GB” (for GB English).

• multiple personae

The list of personae handled is specified by the user in the Administration resource (see below, and page 93). This, in effect, sets up a separate directory structure for each persona. When you define a prompt, you specify its persona by selecting from a drop-down list, and SAB labels the file accordingly. This mechanism allows you to define multiple sets of prompts (each set using a different persona) that use the same prompt names but are automatically stored in different directories. This, in turn, allows you to create a single application that uses multiple personae. Persona is discussed on page 90.

The SAB database

SAB stores all components, all dialog flows, and all prompts in a database called the SAB database. A default database is created when the SAB Configurator is installed. New or updated components can be imported into the SAB Configurator via the Component Workbench, at any time, and SAB provides mechanisms for updating existing dialog flows in the Tools environment.

For more information about the Component Workbench, see page 92.

When the SAB Configurator is updated, both the Configurator and the SAB database are uninstalled. It is therefore essential to export all dialog flows to file (see page 77) before uninstalling SAB. The dialog flows can be re-imported after the Configurator has been upgraded.

Debugging facilities

The Speech Applications Builder provides facilities for analyzing and debugging a dialog flow. Dialog Analysis lists and describes every path through the selected dialog flow. The data it provides can be

used to build test cases.

Run/Debug allows you to “run” a dialog, telephone it, and watch the call flow as it happens. You can open an individual dialog step and check its configuration as you hear it being executed.

Version control

The SAB Configurator provides the following version control mechanisms:

• SAB automatically adds a version number (1.0) to a new dialog flow and provides both a copy with same version number facility (see page 74) and a copy with an incremented version number facility (see page 74). All versions of a dialog flow are stored in the SAB database,

and are displayed in the Dialogs tree, in the Dialog version index and following a search.

• SAB is a multi-user development environment. To prevent more than one developer simultaneously editing a dialog flow, SAB automatically opens it in a read-only version. The developer cannot edit the dialog flow until he or she checks it out (see page 37). Whilst a dialog flow is checked out, no other developer can edit it (though he or she may open another read only version). The dialog flow should be checked in when the developer has finished editing.

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• SAB is both a development environment and a runtime environment, and provides a formal mechanism for migrating a dialog from the development phase (the tool environment) to the deployment phase (the production environment) and then to the decommissioned phase (the decommission environment).

o When a dialog flow is in the tool environment, it can be edited.

o When the dialog flow has been migrated to the production environment it can be

viewed and executed but cannot be edited.

o When a dialog flow has been migrated to the decommission environment it cannot

executed. However, the decommissioned version can be copied (with an incremented version number), back into the tool environment and edited, and then re-deployed.

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Starting SAB

The Installation procedure is described in the Speech Applications Builder Installation Guide.

To launch SAB:

1. Either double-click on the SAB icon, or select

Start > Programs > Avaya Speech Applications Builder

Logging in

If this is the first time you have opened the Configurator, SAB will ask you to enter a License Key (see page 17).

Otherwise, SAB displays the User Authentication dialog box, which asks you to enter a UserID and Password.

For details of how to change your Password, see page 17.

The SAB Configurator is installed with the following defaults:

UserID: administrator Password: password

To log in:

1. Enter your User ID and Password.

2. Click OK.

Figure 5. User Authentication dialog box

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Entering the License Key

If this is the first time you have opened the Configurator, SAB asks you to enter a License Key.

To enter the License Key:

1 Enter or copy it into the dialog box.

Figure 6. License Key dialog box

2 Click OK.

Changing your password

To change your password:

1 Open the SAB Configurator.

2 Either click Change Password on the User Authentication dialog box (see page 16) or, from the

Configurator Menu bar, select File > Edit System Preferences.

3 Select User Preferences.

4 Click on Change Password. SAB displays the following dialog box.

Figure 7. Change Password

5 Enter your old password.

6 Enter your new password twice.

7 Click OK.

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Exiting SAB

To exit SAB, select File > Exit.

If you have made unsaved changes to a dialog flow, SAB will ask you if you want to save the dialog flow.

Figure 8. Save warning message

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The SAB GUI

This chapter provides a brief description of the SAB Graphical User Interface (GUI). The features discussed here are described in more detail at the appropriate places in the remainder of the manual.

The SAB GUI consists of

• a Menu bar and Tool bar, running along the top, which display both generic and context- sensitive options

• a Browser, on the left, which is a tool used to display, search for and manage dialogs and their related resources, and to perform system administration

• an area, on the right, that is primarily used to display the Dialog Modeler, which is used to create and manage dialog flows. This area is also used to:

o create and edit recorded prompts

o import and manage components

o perform system administration.

Figure 9. The SAB GUI

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The Menu bar

The Menu bar provides the following generic functions:

Dialog modeler

Used to configure the Dialog Modeler display.

User preferences

Used to change password..

Edit System Preferences

See page 105.

General preferences

Used to configure general features of the Configurator.

File >

Exit

Closes SAB.

Window

Used to toggle between instances of the Dialog modeler.

The Menu bar also provides a Dialog Model menu and a Prompt menu, when appropriate:

When the Dialogs tree is selected in the Browser

Add Dialog Model

Opens a new dialog flow window (or dialog model) that can then be checked out and used to develop a new dialog flow. See page 34.

Imports a Dialog Model from a File

Used to import an SAB file stored outside the SAB database. See page 79.

Dialog Model >

Exports the Dialog Model to a File

Used to save an SAB dialog flow file to a location outside the SAB database. See page 77.

When a dialog flow is selected in the Browser

Save

Saves the currently selected dialog flow in the SAB database. See page 77.

Note that dialog flows can also be exported to file.

Copy Dialog Model and a selected version

Creates a copy of the selected dialog flow file, labeled “Copy of”. See page 74.

Deletes the Selected Dialog Model Version

Deletes the selected dialog flow. See page 72.

Rename

Renames the selected dialog flow. See page 75.

Dialog Model >

Increments the Version of the Selected Dialog Version

Creates a copy of the selected dialog flow file with a new version number. See page 74.

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Add Prompt

Used to create a new recorded prompt. See page 82.

Import Wave Zip

Used to import a zip archive containing recorded prompts. See page 89.

Prompt >

Create Wave Extract

Used to create a zip file that contains prompts. See page

89.

The Tool bar

The Toolbar, which runs along the top of the SAB Configurator, provides short cuts to some of the options available from the Menu bar.

Generic buttons

Add Organization

Add ...

Opens a drop down menu of “create new item” options:

Organization Node

Environment

For example, a QA environment. This would be similar the Production environment, in that dialog flows could not be edited.

Permission Type

Add Dialog

Opens an Add New Dialog dialog box. See page 34.

Add Prompt

Opens an Add New Prompt dialog box. See page 82.

Edit System Preferences

Used to configure certain features of the SAB GUI. See page 105.

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Dialogs buttons

The following buttons are provided when the Dialogs tree is in use. The selection of buttons displayed is relevant to the task being performed.

Add a Dialog Model

Opens a new dialog flow window complete with Begin Dialog and End Dialog steps.

Imports a Dialog Model from a File

Exports a Dialog Model to a File

Saves the current Dialog Model (all versions)

The Dialog flow is saved to the SAB database.

Check out a Dialog Model

Opens an editable version of the dialog flow and locks out other users. Since SAB is a multi-user environment, checking in and checking out ensures that only one user can work on a dialog at any time.

Check in a Dialog Model

Closes the editable version of the dialog flow and makes it accessible to other users

Copy Dialog Model and selected version

Copies the selected version of a dialog flow, creating an exact copy labeled “copy”.

Increments the Version of the Selected Dialog Version

Copies the dialog and places copy in the Tool environment, incrementing the version number (for example 1.0 becomes 2.0)

Generate War File for Deployment

Deletes the Selected Dialog Model

Migrate Package

Migrates a dialog from one environment to another.

Decommission

Takes a dialog out of Production

Some of these options are also available from the pop-up Context menu displayed by right clicking on the dialog flow name in the Dialogs tree.

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Prompt buttons

The following buttons are provided when the Prompts resource is in use. The selection of buttons displayed is relevant to the task being performed.

Add (create) a prompt

Import a zipped prompt directory. See page 89.

Export a zipped prompt directory. See page 89.

Delete

Context menus

Many of the options provided on the Menu bar and Tool bar are also presented on pop-up Context menus, which can be displayed by

• right-clicking on an icon in the Browser

• right-clicking in the Dialog Modeler window.

The options presented in a pop-up menu are relevant to the task being performed.

Refresh Tree From Here

Refresh Tree From Here is available from the Browser pop-up menus at strategic points in the Dialogs and Prompt trees. Selecting the option refreshes all the child nodes of the selected node, performing any updates that have not occurred automatically.

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The Browser

The Browser is a tool used to display, search for and manage dialog flows and prompts, import components, and perform system administration. The Browser provides access to four sets of resources, called Dialogs, Prompts, Component Workbench and Administration.

Figure 10. The Browser, showing the Dialogs, Prompts, Component Workbench and

Administration resources

• Dialogs is used to manage dialog flows. See page 33.

• Prompts is used to manage prompts. See page 82.

• The Components Workbench is used to import new components and manage existing

components. See page 92.

• Administration is used to manage SAB. See page 93.

In some respects, the tree displayed in the Browser acts like a typical directory structure. For example, all Dialog flow files are displayed beneath the Dialogs node.

Figure 11. The Dialogs directory structure, expanded to show the stored dialog flows

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By default, the dialog flows are displayed in alphabetical order, but you can group and nest them as required by specifying a Classification (see page 34) when you create the dialog flow file.

Figure 12. The Dialogs directory structure, showing a dialog flow “Main Dialog” classified under

“Direct Debit”, which is itself classified under “Banking”.

If you click on a dialog flow icon, (for example, Main Dialog in the Figure above, which is, in effect, a leaf node), SAB displays the Dialog Model Version Index, shown in the Figure below, which lists all the versions of the dialog flow available, and you can open the version you require by clicking on the entry.

Figure 13. Part of the Dialog Model Index

Alternatively, you can expand the dialog flow in the tree, and open a particular version of the dialog flow by clicking on the version number.

All the trees work in a similar way. The Prompts tree displays a list of prompt folders, which can be expanded to display individual prompt files. These can be opened for editing by clicking in the file icon to display the prompt version index and then clicking on the version number required.

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Figure 14. The Prompts directory structure, expanded

Expanding the Component Workbench opens the Repository Maintenance window, which can be used to import new components. Expanding Administration displays the Configuration, Organization and Permissions options.

Search engine

In addition to its file directory and feature directory function, the tree also provides a Search engine that can be used to search for

• a dialog flow (see page 73)

• a prompt (see page 87)

To search for any entity:

1 Click on the appropriate node; for example, to search for a dialog flow, click on one of the Dialogs

nodes. (Note, however, that the Search engine is not available from a leaf node). Voice Runner displays its Search engine in the Dialog Modeler window.

2 Type the name, or partial name, of the entity you want to find into the Name field. If you have used

a partial name, ensure that the Partial Match box is also checked.

3 In the case of a dialog flow or a prompt, you can select the environment you want to search:

• Any environment - searches all environments; this is the default

• Tool - searches the Tool environment. This contains dialog flows that are under construction

(and related prompts)

• Production - searches the Production environment. This contains dialog flows that are deployed (and related prompts)

• Decommission - searches the Decommission environment. This consists of dialog flows that have been taken out of deployment (and related prompts).

4 Click Search. SAB displays a list of all matching entities in the Dialog Modeler window.

5 Click Show Details to display further details.

6 Click on the entity name to open it in the Dialog Modeler window.

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Thumbnail and zoom facilities

When a dialog flow is open in the Dialog Modeler window, the Browser also provides

• a thumbnail view of the entire dialog flow, outlining the area that is also displayed in the Dialog Modeler window with a red border

Figure 15. The Browser thumbnail view

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• a “zoomed” view of the dialog flow, which can be scrolled by moving the cursor around the Dialog Modeler window.

Figure 16. The Browser “zoomed” view

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The Dialog Modeler window

The Dialog Modeler window (on the right of the Configurator) is a workspace where you can build new dialogs and view or amend existing dialogs. It allows you to build, test, analyze and deploy dialog flows.

Figure 17. The Dialog Modeler window (at right hand side)

The Dialog Modeler window contains the following tabbed worksheets:

Worksheet

Function

Dialog Modeler

The default worksheet, which is used to create and edit dialog flows by “drawing”.

Trigger Modeler

Used to create alternative dialog flows to handle specified events occurring in this dialog flow.

Note that triggers can also be set up within the individual component steps and, if these exist, take precedence over the dialog-wide triggers.

See page 62.

Required Data

Used to set up the variables and arrays that are required by this sub-dialog flow. See page 68.

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Worksheet

Function

Output Data

Used to set up the variables and arrays used to pass data out of this sub-dialog flow. See page 68.

Global Settings

Used to configure certain global recognition parameters, including

• barge-in (see Glossary, page 114)

• default minimum confidence (see Glossary, page 114)

• no input timeout - defines the length of silence that must elapse before SAB

classifies the response as no input

• maximum errors allowed - defines the maximum number of times SAB attempts to obtain a valid response.

Dialog Analysis

Used to analyze paths through the dialog and check for unreachable Steps (steps that cannot be executed). See page 100.

Run/Debug

Used to test the dialog in the debugger test environment. See page 102.

Event Log

Logs “development events”, such as Save and Export.

Drawing facilities

The Dialog Modeler window provides a “canvas”, on which the dialog flow is drawn, and a set of drawing tools, accessed in either of the following ways:

• by clicking on the buttons in the Dialog Modeler toolbar, running down the left hand margin of the Dialog Modeler window

• from the pop-up context menu, which is displayed by right clicking anywhere in the Dialog Modeler window.

The drawing tools include

Before the dialog is checked out

Zoom in

By a pre-defined factor.

Zoom out

By a pre-defined factor.

Fit to screen

Refresh dialog flow

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