U.S. patent application number 11/482876 was filed with the patent office on 2007-01-11 for methods and apparatus for audio data monitoring and evaluation using speech recognition.
Invention is credited to Lawrence Mark, Robert Scarano.
Application Number | 20070011008 11/482876 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32512555 |
Filed Date | 2007-01-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070011008 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Scarano; Robert ; et
al. |
January 11, 2007 |
Methods and apparatus for audio data monitoring and evaluation
using speech recognition
Abstract
The present invention relates to audio data monitoring using
speech recognition technology. In particular, the present invention
uses business rules combined with unrestricted, natural speech
recognition to monitor conversations in a customer interaction
environment, literally transforming the spoken word to a
retrievable data form. Implemented using the VorTecs Integration
Platform (VIP), a flexible Computer Telephony Integration base, the
present invention enhances quality monitoring by effectively
evaluating conversations and initiating actionable events while
observing for script adherence, compliance and/or order
validation.
Inventors: |
Scarano; Robert; (Monroe,
CT) ; Mark; Lawrence; (Trumbull, CT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FULBRIGHT & JAWORSKI;MARKET SQUARE
801 PENNSLYVANIA, N.W.
WASHINGTON
DC
200042604
US
|
Family ID: |
32512555 |
Appl. No.: |
11/482876 |
Filed: |
July 10, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10687702 |
Oct 20, 2003 |
7076427 |
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11482876 |
Jul 10, 2006 |
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10687703 |
Oct 20, 2003 |
7133828 |
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11482876 |
Jul 10, 2006 |
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60419737 |
Oct 18, 2002 |
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60496916 |
Aug 22, 2003 |
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60419738 |
Oct 18, 2002 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
704/254 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 3/5183 20130101;
G10L 2015/088 20130101; H04M 3/2281 20130101; H04M 2201/40
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
704/254 |
International
Class: |
G10L 15/04 20060101
G10L015/04 |
Claims
1-59. (canceled)
60. A method of analyzing audio data, comprising the steps of:
determining, in response to data associated with an audio segment,
an appropriate set of business rules to apply to said audio segment
including creating a dynamic rule from a template and said data
associated with said audio segment; and searching said audio
segment in accordance with said appropriate set of business
rules.
61. The method according to claim 60 further comprising a step of
processing said audio segment into a format suitable for rapid
searching.
62. The method according to claim 61 wherein said step of
processing said audio segment includes processing said audio
segment into a format suitable for rapid phonetic searching.
63. The method according to claim 61 wherein said step of
processing includes a step of identifying symbols corresponding to
discrete portions of said audio segment.
64. The method according to claim 63 wherein said symbols represent
respective phonemes of a set of phonemes characteristic of
speech.
65. The method according to claim 60 wherein said step of searching
includes the steps of: attempting to find a match within said audio
segment of a target phrase; and in response, determining whether
said target phrase is present within said audio segment at or above
a specified confidence level.
66. The method according to claim 60 wherein said step of searching
includes a step of searching said audio segment for a combination
of a plurality of phrases occurring in a specified order within
said audio segment.
67. The method according to claim 60 wherein said step of searching
includes searching said audio segment for a combination of phrases
in a specified temporal relationship within said audio segment.
68. The method according to claim 67 wherein said temporal
relationship comprises an occurrence of said phrases within a
specified time period within said audio segment.
69. The method according to claim 60 wherein said step of searching
includes a step of searching said audio segment for a target phrase
occurrence within a specified time period within said audio
segment.
70. The method according to claim 60 further comprising the steps
of: analyzing Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) data associated
with said audio segment; and providing an indication of
satisfaction of a criteria in response to said steps of searching
and analyzing.
71. The method according to claim 70 wherein said step of analyzing
said CTI data includes a step of analyzing CTI data selected from
the set consisting of (i) called number (dialed number
identification service or "DNIS") and (ii) calling number
(Automatic Number Identification or "ANI").
72. The method according to claim 60 further comprising a step of
performing order validation.
73. The method according to claim 72 wherein said step of
performing order validation includes the step of comparing a
parameter of an order associated with said audio segment with a
content of said audio segment resulting from said searching
step.
74. A method of processing audio data, comprising the steps of:
selectively, responsive to call data, analyzing an audio segment
associated with said call data, including processing said audio
segment into a format suitable for rapid searching; determining, in
response to said call data, an appropriate set of dynamic business
rules to apply to said audio segment, said dynamic business rules
created using a template and said call data; and searching said
audio segment in accordance with said appropriate set of dynamic
business rules.
75. The method according to claim 74 wherein said call data
includes Computer Telephony Integration data selected from the
group consisting of (i) called number (dialed number identification
service or "DNIS") and (ii) calling number (Automatic Number
Identification or "ANI").
76. A system for analyzing audio data comprising: logic responsive
to data associated with an audio segment to determine an
appropriate set of dynamic business rules to apply to said audio
segment, said dynamic business rules created from a template and
said associated data; and a search engine operable to search said
audio segment in accordance with said appropriate set of dynamic
business rules.
77. The system according to claim 76 further comprising an audio
processor operable to process said audio segment into a format
suitable for rapid searching and said search engine is operable to
search said audio segment
78. The system according to claim 76 wherein said audio processor
is operable to process said audio segment into a format suitable
for rapid phonetic searching and said search engine is operable to
search said audio segment for phonetic information.
79. The system according to claim 76 further comprising an
electronic media having stored therein said audio segment and
circuitry for retrieving said audio segment from said memory and
providing said audio segment to an audio processor operable to
process said audio segment into a format suitable for rapid
searching.
80. The system according to claim 79 wherein said audio processor
is operable to process said audio segment into a format suitable
for rapid phonetic searching and said search engine is operable to
search said audio segment for phonetic information.
81. The system according to claim 76 wherein said search engine is
further operable to: attempt to find a match within said audio
segment of a target phrase; and in response, determine whether said
target phrase is present within said audio segment at or above a
specified confidence level.
82. The system according to claim 76 wherein said search engine is
further operable to search said audio segment for a combination of
a plurality of phrases in a specified order in said audion
segment.
83. The system according to claim 76 further comprising logic
operable to analyze Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) data
associated with said audio segment and provide an indication of
satisfaction of a criteria in response to said CTI data and an
output from said search engine.
84. The system according to claim 76 further comprising logic
operable to perform order validation.
85. A system of processing audio data comprising: telephone
equipment connected to receive call data; an audio processor
responsive to said call data for selectively analyzing an audio
segment associated with said call data, said audio processor
operable to process said audio segment into a format suitable for
rapid searching; creating a set of dynamic business rules from a
template and said call data; search said audio segment in
accordance with said appropriate set of dynamic business rules.
86. The system according to claim 85 wherein said call data
includes Computer Telephony Integration data selected from the
group consisting of (i) called number (dialed number identification
service or "DNIS") and (ii) calling number (Automatic Number
Identification or "ANI").
87. A method for monitoring audio data, comprising: recording an
audio segment; setting dynamic business rules, in response to
metadata associated with said audio segment and a template
associated with said metadata, for searching for spoken words or
phrases in said audio segment using speech recognition technology;
and searching said audio segment in accordance with said dynamic
business rules.
88. The method according to claim 87 further comprising the steps
of: receiving call related event data associated with a telephone
call, said call related event data related to said audio segment;
extracting said audio segment from said telephone call; and
correlating said data related to said audio segment to said audio
segment.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S.
Provisional Patent Application 60/419,737 filed Oct. 18, 2002 and
is related to U.S. Provisional Patent Application 60/496,916
entitled System For And Method Of Automated Quality Monitoring
filed Aug. 22, 2003 and 60/419,738 entitled Methods and Apparatus
for Audio Data Analysis and Data Mining Using Speech Recognition
filed Oct. 18, 2002, and the Continuation-in-Part application Ser.
No. ______ of the latter by the same title and filed
contemporaneously herewith, all of which are incorporated herein by
reference in their entireties.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to the field of audio data
monitoring, such as the monitoring of telephone calls and, more
specifically, to leveraging voice recognition technology to provide
new and improved features and functionality for use in audio data
monitoring. Such new and improved features and functionality
include user programmable rules-based quality monitoring of
telephone calls, speech and data SQL integration for fast and
efficient searches of audio data for spoken words, phrases, or
sequences of words, the provision of speech cursors indicating the
location of words or phrases in audio data, automated quality
monitoring, as well as other features and functions described
herein.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] Prior art telephone call monitoring typically consisted of
recording telephone calls and the manual monitoring of only a
select few (e.g., 5%) of the recorded calls by a call center
employee or supervisor. Searching for particular words or phrases
must be performed manually by listening to segments of audio
recordings. Such manual call monitoring is tedious, time consuming,
laborious, and costly.
[0006] Call monitoring is often included as part of modern call or
contact center supported by modern Computer Telephony Integration
(CTI) systems. CTI is an indispensable component of doing business
over the telephone, CTI middleware providing a software bridge
between computers and telephone systems in contact centers. CTI
functions to bringing together computer systems and telephone
systems so that their functions can be coordinated. Functionality
made possible by core CTI technology include: Interactive Voice
Response (IVR) integration, which transfers caller-entered IVR
information to Customer Support Representative (CSR) desktop PCs,
Screen Pop and coordinated call-data transfer between CSRs. By
integrating computers and telephone systems, contact centers can
realize significant advances in both CSR productivity and the
quality of customer service.
[0007] CTI applies computer-based intelligence to
telecommunications devices, blending the functionality of computers
and computer networks with the features and capabilities of
sophisticated telephone systems over an intelligent data link to
gain increases in CSR productivity, customer satisfaction and
enterprise cost savings. CTI combines the functionality of
programmable computing devices with the telephony network through
the exchange of signaling and messaging data between the switching
systems and a computer. CTI's principal undertaking is to integrate
various call center systems and platforms, including PBXs, LANs,
IVR/VRU systems, predictive dialers, the desktop PC and
Internet-based applications.
[0008] Three functions--IVR integration, screen pop and coordinated
call-data-transfer lie at the core of most CTI implementations. A
common CTI function is the "screen pop" or "smart call handling".
The screen pop uses telephony-supplied data typically ANI
(automatic number identification), DNIS (dialed number
identification service) and/or IVR-entered data to automatically
populate a CSR's desktop application screen with information
related to the transaction, such as a customer's profile or account
information, scripts or product information. When the CSR answers
the phone, he or she knows who is calling and is better positioned
to provide effective customer service. Closely related to the
screen pop application is an application often referred to as
"coordinated call-data transfer." A typical scenario for this
application might proceed as follows. A Tier 1 CSR receives a
customer call. The Tier 1 CSR realizes that the customer will have
to be transferred to a Tier 2 CSR to satisfy the customer inquiry.
With a few clicks of the mouse, coordinated call-data transfer
functionality allows the transferring CSR to send both the call and
the updated screen data to the receiving CSR. With all of the
information relating to the first transaction, the receiving CSR
has more data and is able to more efficiently and effectively
conduct the next customer interaction.
[0009] IVR integration typically rounds out most basic CTI
implementations. With IVR integration, information a customer
enters into an IVR system is automatically displayed on a CSR's
desktop PC when the customer elects to speak directly to a CSR. At
the same time, information collected by the IVR system can be used
to trigger a screen pop. With this functionality, customers are
relieved from having to repeat basic information when transferring
to a live CSR. The customer is able to carry on with the live CSR
where he or she left off with the IVR system.
[0010] CTI functionality has four principal benefits including (i)
increased CSR productivity; (ii) more competent customer service;
(iii) faster access to customer information; and (iv) long distance
cost savings. With CTI, CSR productivity increases significantly.
CSRs are relieved from having to ask customers for routine
information or for information the customer has already provided,
either to another CSR or to another call center device. Time spent
keying in database access information and waiting for resulting
information is eliminated. With these process improvements, the
overall call processing time is reduced, allowing CSRs to process
more calls more efficiently in the course of a typical day. With
screen pop functionality alone, the typical call center should be
able to realize a 10 to 15 second reduction in average call
processing times. The screen pop functionality offers a significant
savings to a contact center when implementing "core" CTI
functionality. When there are frequent transfers of customer's
calls, either from an IVR system or between CSRs, the reduction in
average call processing times can be even greater.
[0011] Another benefit of CTI is the ability to deliver more
competent customer service. With core CTI functionality, customers
are recognized by name as soon as they reach a live CSR. In
addition, customers are relieved from having to repeat routine
information every time they are transferred to a different call
center location. To the customer, CTI is transparent, as it
provides the customer with a seamless interaction, and giving the
customer a favorable impression of the organization as a competent,
customer-focused operation.
[0012] CTI further supports upselling and cross-selling existing
customers. Having fast access to customer information is a critical
requirement to being able to upsell and cross-sell effectively. By
allowing CSRs to access customer information as they make voice
contact with the customer, CSRs are better able to plan up-sale and
cross-sale proposals.
[0013] An additional benefit of CTI is reduced long distance
charges per call. CTI allows the call center to process calls
faster, the technology can result in considerable reductions of
long distance charges.
[0014] With reference to FIG. 1, a typical call or Contact Center
100 may include a switch 102 such as an Automatic Call Distributor
(ACD) and/or Private Branch Exchange (PBX) connected to a
communications network, such as the Public Switched Telephone
Network (PSTN) for receiving calls from and making calls to
customer telephones 101. Switch 102 is connected to and cooperates
with Interactive Voice Response system 103 for automatically
handling calls (e.g., playing messages to and obtaining information
from callers, etc.) and with CTI Server 104 for routing calls to
CSRs. CTI Server 104 is also connected to Switch 102 for receiving
call information such as DNIS and ANI, and to CSR Workstation 105
for providing information to a CSR. CSR Workstation 105 may connect
to Database 106 directly and/or receive information form Database
106 through CTI Server 104 when an appropriate connection (not
shown) is available. A CSR has access both to CSR Workstation 105
and to CSR Telephone 107 for conversing with customers and
retrieving data from and inputting data into Database 106 and
performing other call handling actions using CTI Server 104, IVR
103 and Switch 102.
[0015] Referring to FIG. 1, a typical call processing session may
proceed as follows.
[0016] 1.) A customer call from telephone 101 comes into ACD/PBX
switch 102.
[0017] 2.) The call gets routed to IVR 103.
[0018] 2a). Switch 102 sends ANI, DNIS to CTI Server 104.
[0019] 3.) IVR 103 requests call data from CTI Server 104.
[0020] 3a.) The call data is sent to IVR 103 from CTI Server
104.
[0021] 4.) IVR 103 and Caller exchange information.
[0022] 5.) IVR 103 sends call data to the CTI Server 104.
[0023] 5a.) IVR 103 transfers the call back to Switch 102.
[0024] 6.) CSR Workstation 105 requests data and the CTI Server 104
sends it.
[0025] 7.) Data sent to CSR Workstation 105 triggers a call to
Customer Database 106.
[0026] 8.) The data from the caller data triggers a call to the
Customer Database 106 to populate the CSR Screen 105 with the
customer data as the voice arrives.
[0027] One of the tasks in running a call or Contact Center is to
ensure that the system is properly operating and that each CSR is
trained and efficiently handles interactions with customers. Such
quality assurance tasks are often supported by call monitoring
systems and methods. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,535,256 entitled
Method And System For Automatically Monitoring The Performance
Quality Of Call Center Service Representatives issued Jul. 9, 1996
to Maloney et al. describing a method and system for monitoring the
performance of a CSR in servicing calls in a call center by
determining an interval within which to monitor the service
representative's performance in responding to calls, as well as by
determining a number of calls or length of time for monitoring the
representative within the interval. U.S. Pat. No. 6,263,049
entitled Non-Random Call Center Supervisory Method and Apparatus
issued Jul. 17, 2001 to Kuhn describing a computer-implemented
method and apparatus for monitoring of CSR calls in a non-random
fashion in order to provide a supervisor with flexible control over
monitoring schedules. U.S. Pat. No. 6,408,064 entitled Method and
Apparatus for Enabling Full Interactive Monitoring of Calls To and
From a Call-In Center issued Jun. 18, 2002 to Fedorov et al.,
describing a CSR station at a telephone call center with a
telephone speaker line connected to a microphone input at the sound
card. These CSR stations are interconnected on a LAN such that a
supervisor at one station may monitor telephone conversations at
another station. U.S. Pat. No. 6,542,602 entitled Telephone Call
Monitoring System issued Apr. 1, 2003 to Elazar describing a method
of monitoring CSR telephonic interactions with customers including
a) receiving a CTI datum associated with a telephone call between a
CSR and a party, b) determining whether the telephone call is to be
recorded by determining whether the CTI datum meets at least one
predefined monitoring condition, and, if so, c) recording at least
a portion of the telephone call.
[0028] While these prior art systems provide some degree of CSR
monitoring and system quality assurance, improved methods and
systems are needed to enhance monitoring functions, collect
information, and support review and analysis of quality assurance
and monitoring data.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0029] According to one aspect of the invention, a method of
analyzing audio data includes steps of processing an audio segment
into a format suitable for rapid searching; determining an
appropriate set of rules to apply to the audio segment; and
searching the audio segment in accordance with the rules.
[0030] According to a feature of the invention, the method may
include a step of referencing the audio segment wherein the audio
segment has been previously stored in an electronic media or a step
of recording the audio segment.
[0031] According to another feature of the invention, the step of
processing may include processing the audio segment into a format
suitable for rapid phonetic searching.
[0032] According to another feature of the invention, the step of
processing may include a step of identifying symbols corresponding
to discrete portions of the audio segment, which symbols may
represent respective phonemes of a set of phonemes characteristic
of speech.
[0033] According to another feature of the invention, the step of
searching may include the steps of: attempting to find a match
within the audio segment of a target phrase; and in response,
determining whether the target phrase is present within the audio
segment at or above a specified confidence level. A step of
triggering an event may occur in response to the step of
determining.
[0034] According to another feature of the invention, a step of
triggering an event as a result of the searching step resulting in
matching a given phrase at or above a specified confidence level
and/or in not finding a match for a given phrase at or above a
specified confidence level. Alternatively or in addition to
triggering an event, detection of either condition may result in
incrementing a statistical parameter.
[0035] According to another feature of the invention, searching may
include a combination present (or absent) in a specified order
and/or temporal relationship (with respect to each other and/or
within the audio segment) within the audio segment.
[0036] According to another feature of the invention, a method may
further include analyzing CTI data associated with the audio
segment; and providing an indication of satisfaction of a criteria
in response to the steps of searching and analyzing. The CTI data
may include (i) called number (DNIS), (ii) calling number (ANI)
and/or (iii) Agent Id (a unique identifier of the agent that
handled the call) According to another feature of the invention,
the method may further include a step of performing order
validation. Order validation may include comparing a parameter of
an order associated with the audio segment with a content of the
audio segment resulting from the searching step.
[0037] According to another feature of the invention, the step of
searching may include a step of searching for a target phrase, the
method further comprising a step of performing order validation
including determining whether an order associated with the audio
segment is consistent with a result of the step of searching for
the target phrase. A step of entering data for the order may also
be included wherein the step of performing order validation
includes validating whether the data is reflected within the audio
segment.
[0038] According to another aspect of the invention, a method of
processing audio data may include the steps of importing call data;
selectively, responsive to the call data, analyzing an audio
segment associated with the call data, the step of analyzing
including processing the audio segment into a format suitable for
rapid searching; determining an appropriate set of rules to apply
to the audio segment; and searching the audio segment in accordance
with the rules.
[0039] According to another aspect of the invention, a system for
analyzing audio data may include an audio processor operable to
process an audio segment into a format suitable for rapid
searching; logic operable to determine an appropriate set of rules
to apply to the audio segment; and a search engine operable to
search the audio segment in accordance with the rules. The system
may further include an electronic media having stored therein the
audio segment and circuitry for retrieving the audio segment from
the memory and providing the audio segment to the audio
processor.
[0040] According to a feature of the invention, the system may
further include an audio recorder operable to store the audio
segment.
[0041] According to another feature of the invention, the audio
processor may be operable to process the audio segment into a
format suitable for rapid phonetic searching and the search engine
is operable to search the audio segment for phonetic
information.
[0042] According to another feature of the invention, the search
engine may be operable to identify symbols corresponding to
discrete portions of the audio segment. The symbols may represent
respective phonemes of a set of phonemes characteristic of
speech.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0043] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a Contact Center;
[0044] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of system for processing, storing
and searching speech;
[0045] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a computer integrated telephony
(CTI) system incorporating audio processing according to an
embodiment of the invention;
[0046] FIG. 4 is a dataflow diagram of the embodiment depicted in
FIG. 3;
[0047] FIG. 5 is a screen shot of a workstation display depicting
an application manager used to access CTI system components
including systems and functionalities according to embodiments of
the invention;
[0048] FIG. 6 is a screen shot of a workstation display depicting a
speech browser main display used to browse and filter calls,
playback audio, search for and retrieve audio associated with
calls, and implement speech-processing of audio;
[0049] FIG. 7 is a screen shot of a workstation display depicting a
system control or commander feature used to start and stop system
operations and to provide system status information;
[0050] FIG. 8 is a screen shot of a workstation display depicting a
speech resources feature used to display system utilization
information;
[0051] FIG. 9 is a screen shot of a workstation display depicting a
speech mining browser used to implement simplified searching of
audio segments;
[0052] FIG. 10 is a screen shot of a workstation display depicting
a speech mining browser used to implement advanced searching of
audio segments;
[0053] FIG. 11 is a screen shot of a workstation display depicting
a rules implemented by a rules engine defining action to be taken
upon receipt of a call;
[0054] FIG. 12 is a screen shot of a workstation display depicting
speech processor functions used for the batch processing of audio
files;
[0055] FIG. 13 is a screen shot of a workstation display depicting
a progress indicator showing batch processing of audio files;
[0056] FIG. 14 is a screen shot of a workstation display depicting
a speech statistics setup feature used to configure real-time
graphic display of system statistics including statistics
indicating the occurrence and/or non-occurrence of particular
target phrases in associated audio segments and/or associated with
selected categories of calls;
[0057] FIG. 15 is a screen shot of a workstation display depicting
a sample graph of system statistics including the counts of
specified target phrases identified at or associated with
particular agent workstations;
[0058] FIG. 16 is a screen shot of a workstation display depicting
a speech reporting feature used to create selected reports;
[0059] FIG. 17 is a screen shot of a workstation display depicting
a sample report generated by the system including speech-related
statistics;
[0060] FIG. 18 is a block diagram of a contact center according to
an embodiment of the invention; and
[0061] FIG. 19 is a flow diagram depicting a method of collecting,
processing, organizing, and searching speech segments according to
an embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0062] The ensuing description provides exemplary embodiments only,
and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or
configuration of the invention. Rather, the ensuing description of
the exemplary embodiments will provide those skilled in the art
with an enabling description for implementing an example embodiment
of the invention. It should be understood that various changes may
be made in the function and arrangement of elements without
departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
[0063] To address the shortcomings of prior art systems, it would
be advantageous to provide an automated call monitoring system
capable of automatically analyzing all telephone calls as they are
recorded, which is also capable of reviewing and monitoring
previously recorded calls. It would be further advantageous to be
able to easily search for spoken words, phrases or word sequences
in the recorded audio using speech recognition technology.
[0064] In a modern contact center, there is more to voice logging
than just recording audio. There are many reasons why a contact
center has a voice, or call, logger: liability, training, and
quality are some examples. To be useful, logged conversations must
be located by some reasonable criteria in a timely manner.
[0065] In a typical situation, a contact center manager may receive
a call from a caller who may be dissatisfied with service provided
by a CSR during a recent call. To investigate the issue, the
contact center manager may ask for the caller's name, time and date
of the call, and the name of the agent they spoke to. Using prior
technology, the task of locating the call recording in any voice
logger if formidable. Although it may be approximately known when
the caller called (or at least when they think they called, given
time zone differences), it may be difficult to identify the CSR
handling the call. Thus, the manager must search for the recording,
knowing that it will take hours to locate the right one, and that
the correct recording may never be found. This search problem is
exacerbated in many situations in which there is a free seating
environment for the CSRs such that, even knowing who the agent was
and which campaign the call came in on, it will be of little help,
because there is no way to link the voice data with the caller's
record. Thus, it is desirable to reduce the number of records to be
searched to a manageable subset. Ideally, the desired record(s) can
be located in seconds with a simple, single search command. These
goals and objectives are satisfied according to the various
embodiments of the invention.
[0066] A voice logger according to one embodiment of the invention
is more than a simple tape recorder, with sufficient data
recordings that can be quickly located and played back. To obtain
the necessary data, the voice logger may be integrated into a
contact center's infrastructure, preferably to the ACD/PBX switch.
For more complex searching, the voice logger may be integrated with
the IVR and CSR workstation software.
[0067] One arrangement to integrate a call logger is to merge data
from the billing output of the switch (SMDR) into the logged call
records. Generally, the SMDR (The term SMDR is used generically to
encompass all billing outputs) output of a switch contains the
time/day of the call, the phone number of the party in the PSTN,
the extension of the party on the switch, and the involved trunk
ID. An advantage to SMDR integration is its relative ease of
implementation and low cost. Many commercially available switches
include a SMDR port by default. The SMDR port is usually an RS232
port that outputs billing records at the completion of calls. There
may be a number of disadvantages to the use of SMDR. For example,
the SMDR port may already be in use by the billing system such
that, to share the data, an RS232 splitter device may be
employed.
[0068] The amount of data available in the SMDR record, though
sufficient for billing, may not be sufficient for narrowing
searches. For example, CSR ID may not be included as an output
field such that, in a free seating environment, it may be difficult
to directly identify and locate calls for a particular CSR.
Further, recorded call segments that span conferences and transfers
may be difficult to accurately be accounted for. Another problem
sometimes encountered is caused by systems using some form of
proprietary fixed data format. In such cases, it may be difficult
to obtain assistance from the switch manufacturers to update its
SMDR format to accommodate advanced voice logging features. Note
also that the call logger and the switch must agree, to the second,
on the current time; clock drift will interfere with the logger's
ability to merge data and that data from other sources, such as an
agent's desktop or from an IVR may be difficult or impossible to
integrate.
[0069] Some advanced features of an embodiemnt of the present
invention rely on a Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) approach.
CTI is used here as a generic term to describe a computer system
that operates as an adjunct to the ACD/PBX. The adjunct system
receives a stream of call related event messages for processing.
Additionally, CTI can include the use of CTI middleware.
Commercially available ACD/PBX switches typically include such CTI
capability. An advantage to the use of CTI is that almost any
available data can be collected and stored with the recording. In
its simplest form DNIS, ANI/CLID, collected digits, and agent ID
can be obtained and stored. Additionally, more complicated
integrations can be performed. CSR entered data, data from a CRM
system, and data from an IVR can be collected and attached to
recordings. Contacts that span multiple agents can be retrieved
together. PBX/ACD features such as free seating are easily
accommodated. As new sources of data become available, they can be
integrated into the CTI solution.
[0070] A CTI based system according to embodiments of the invention
is not dependent on the clock settings of the switch. The CTI
system receives the event messages in real-time and records the
data in the call logger as the data becomes available. If there is
no current CTI solution in a center, many of the other benefits of
CTI (such as screen pop and cradle to grave reporting) can be
realized at the same time. That is, the installed system becomes a
base upon which other advanced contact center features can be built
and provide for more efficient operations. To retrieve call related
data, a supervisor simply asks the caller for their account number
(or for any other data used to uniquely identify callers) and
executes a search in the call logging system. The supervisor is
quickly given access to the call recording and can evaluate and
handle the situation. There typically is no need to call the
customer back, nor is there a need to spend countless hours
searching for the necessary recording. In addition to CTI data,
which is optional, audio segments always have intrinsic data such
as the start and end time of the call and the recording channel
which captured the call.
[0071] Thus, embodiments of the present invention include audio
data monitoring using speech recognition technology and business
rules combined with unrestricted, natural speech recognition to
monitor conversations in a customer interaction environment,
literally transforming the spoken word to a retrievable data form.
Implemented using, for example, the VorTecs Integration Platform
(VIP), a flexible Computer Telephony Integration base, embodiments
of the present invention enhance quality monitoring by effectively
evaluating conversations and initiating actionable events while
observing for script adherence, compliance and/or order validation.
(SER Solutions, Inc. is the successor in interest to VorTecs, Inc.,
and provided improved systems, Sertify providing a feature rich
embodiment of the SpotIt! system by VorTecs, and Sertify-Mining
providing enhanced features to the MineIt! product.)
[0072] Embodiments of the present invention use programming
language to instruct a computer to search audio data, such as a
recorded telephone conversation, and take certain actions as a
result of detecting or not detecting desired spoken words, phrases,
or sequences of words. A command set may be used to enable the
search that includes, but is not limited to Said, SaidNext,
SaidPrev, and Search. A set of objects may be used for manipulating
search results, including but not limited to SpeechResults (an
enumerator), and SpeechResult (physical results of search).
[0073] Using such commands, the embodiments of the present
invention can enable searches for sequences of spoken words, rather
than just words or phrases. In other words, the present invention
can either locate a particular word (e.g., Said
<supervisor>), a phrase (e.g., Said<talk to your
supervisor>), or a sequence (e.g., Said<talk>;
SaidNext<supervisor>; SaidNext<complaint>), where the
words in the sequence are not necessarily adjacent.
[0074] A virtual index may also be provided that points to time
offsets within a voice communication. For example, when searching
for a sequence of words, a speech cursor may be automatically
advanced to the time offset when a word or phrase in the sequence
is searched for and located. Subsequent searches for subsequent
words within the sequence can then continue, leaving off from the
location of the previous search as indicated by the speech cursor.
Speech cursors may also be used to place a constraint on the
portion of the audio data that is to be searched. For example, a
speech cursor may be advanced to 15 seconds before the end of a
call to monitor whether the agent says "thank you" at the end of
the call.
[0075] Embodiments of the present invention significantly decrease
the amount of manual involvement that is required for monitoring
agent activity. It provides a facility to actively monitor for
script adherence by scoring key performance indicators, ensures
compliance by identifying required statements are made in the
context of the conversation and through order validation by lifting
entered data from an order, creating a variable rule and comparing
the entered data to a structured confirmation. Of equal importance
is the ability to identify required words or phrases that were
omitted in an interaction with a customer.
[0076] Flexible rule implementation provides the ability to define,
create, track, act on, and report monitored results. The need for
an actionable event can be determined, and based on what is
detected, pre-defined procedures can be automatically launched,
such as raising alerts and queuing interactive processes such as
outbound calls, follow-ups or the gathering and presentation of
statistical feedback and reports. Embodiments of the present
invention examine both sides of every call, and using
customer-defined business rules, reduces speech to data in a
fraction of the time it takes the actual conversation to occur and
combines it with traditional data forms to administer monitoring
sessions by scoring agents, determining compliance and identifying
the most important calls for further examination. Performance
statistics may be delivered to the agent desktop, which provides
near real time self evaluation and motivation. By correlating agent
dialogues with existing Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) and
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems data, call center
managers can electronically assess agent script adherence,
determine regulatory compliance, perform order validation and
potentially eliminate third party verification costs. In addition,
marketing information can be gathered by mining the audio data to
test the effectiveness of campaigns, and evaluate product, price
and promotion strategies.
[0077] Embodiments of the present invention provide the following
features and functions: [0078] Automates the quality monitoring
process; [0079] Reduces overhead costs and capital expenditures;
[0080] Uses speech technology to access data that was not
accessible until now; [0081] Offers a holistic view of contact
center and agent activity from the supervisor console; [0082]
Provides a faster method of spotting trends in the contact center;
[0083] Includes the Quality Monitoring tool of the VorTecs Quality
Performance Suite; [0084] Provides customer database integration;
[0085] Generates statistics and graphical reports; [0086] Enables
audio content mining; [0087] Trigger alerts based on user-defined
key words and phrases; [0088] Provides flexible rules editing;
[0089] Includes voice logger integration.
[0090] Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented
using the following standards and technology: [0091] XML [0092]
Microsoft.TM. VBA [0093] ActiveX/COM [0094] CTI [0095] TCP/IP
[0096] Client-Server Architecture [0097] Voice Over Internet
Protocol (VOIP)
[0098] Embodiments of the present invention may integrate speech
recognition software with audio recording equipment and CTI links.
When CTI or recording events signal the end of a recording, the
system executes business rules to determine if the contact should
be monitored. The system sends the audio into a queue to be
processed by call center employees. After the audio has been
processed, the system executes business rules that analyze the
recorded speech. The business rules enable searches for words or
phrases, and take actions upon locating (or not locating) the words
or phrases, such as collecting statistics, displaying alerts, and
generating reports. The business rules are flexible and
customizable, and support if/then/else handling, such as
Microsoft's.TM. VBA.
[0099] Embodiments of the present invention are particularly
applicable to financial services markets, outsourcers, insurance
carriers, health services, correctional facilities, and any other
market segments where telephone call monitoring is applicable. For
example, the embodiments of the present invention may be modified
to provide the following applications: compliance assurance (e.g.,
with a script or rules), order validation (e.g., to assure that a
telephone order was properly entered into a computer system),
marketing (e.g., gathering of customer data and opinions), quality
control, security, evaluation, service level guarantees (e.g., to
check whether an agent/operator says "thank you", "have a nice
day", etc.), training, rewards and incentives, as well as other
applications.
[0100] Embodiments of the present invention may be incorporated
into and invoked as part of a CTI system. An embodiment of the
present invention for the retrieval of audio data is exemplified by
a product of VorTecs, Inc. known as "Spot It!" Spot It! may be used
in connection with VorTecs, Inc.'s Mine It! Product, that latter
incorporating features of embodiments of the invention which is the
subject of the above-referenced concurrently filed application. SER
Solutions, Inc., the successor in interest to VorTecs, Inc.
provides improved systems including Sertify, a feature rich
embodiment of SpotIt! and Sertify-Mining providing enhanced
features to that of the MineIt! product. A block diagram of MineIt!
Is present in FIG. 2.
[0101] Sertify is a rules based call monitoring application
embodying aspects and features of the present invention, being
designed to be compatible with customer interaction infrastructures
that listens to calls and automatically executes actionable events
based on the result. Sertify augments existing recording systems to
provide a greater level of automation, enhanced operational
flexibility, and a comprehensive electronic analysis of customer
contacts including spoken word. A system configuration is shown in
FIG. 3 including a Server 301 connected to and receiving data from
Data Sources 302, Voice Information Processor (VIP) 305, and Audio
Source 307. PBX 304 is connected to VIP 305 which, in turn, is
connected to TagIT! 306 which, supplies its output to Audio Source
307. Server 301 includes both Core and Application Services, The
Core Services include Configuration Manager 308, Node Manager 309
and State Manager 310. The Application Services include Voice
Server 311, Speech Queue 312, Speech Worker 313, Rules Engine 314,
Xml Database 315, and Report Server 316.
[0102] A dataflow for processing audio data is depicted in FIG. 4.
As shown therein, audio from Audio Source 401 and VIP 402 are
supplied to Voice Server 403. The combined audio files from Voice
Server 403 are made available to Rules Engine 404 which applies one
or more Rules 405 to selectively provide appropriate audio segments
to Xml Database 406 and Speech Queue 407. Xml Database 406
associates the audio segments with Call Data, CTI Data and Customer
410. Speech Queue 407 makes the audio segments available to Speech
Worker(s) 408 which processes the audio segments to provide
Searchable Audio Format 409. The searchable format may convert the
audio into a series of symbols, such as phonemes, that represent
the speech and can be searched and otherwise handled as discrete
data. Examples of word spotting and phonetic searching are
described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,408,270 entitled Phonetic Sorting And
Searching issued Jun. 18, 2002 to Garber; U.S. Pat. No. 6,061,652.
entitled Speech Recognition Apparatus issued May 9, 2000 to
Tsuboka, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,259 entitled Method And
Apparatus For A Time-Synchronous Tree-Based Search Strategy issued
Mar. 16, 1999 to Bahl, et al.; U.S. Patent Publication No.
20020147592 entitled Method And System For Searching Recorded
Speech And Retrieving Relevant Segments of Wilmot et al. published
Oct. 10, 2002; and No. 20010049601 entitled Phonetic Data
Processing System And Method of Kroeker et al. published Dec. 6,
2001.
[0103] FIGS. 5-17 depict screen shots of a speech processing
interface according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 5, an initial screen of an application manager
provides a single, integrated interface for accessing all
components of a suite of programs including those providing for the
capture of audio and data and mining of the captured data. FIG. 6
depicts a speech browser providing an interface for (i) browsing
calls, (ii) filtering calls, (iii) audio playback and queuing to
exact moments when phrases are detected, (iv) speech mining, and
(v) speech-processor (batch processing). By selecting an item from
any one viewport, all other may be configured to automatically
filter their results to match the selection. For instance, if the
user selects the station "4121" from the tree, Alerts, Call
History, and Speech Results viewports will be constrained only to
calls that were recorded for the selected station "4121".
Furthermore, if the user then selects a specific call from the
CallHistory viewport, then the Speech Results viewport may be
configured to be constrained only to speech-results associated with
the currently selected call. Toolbar buttons in the Speech Browser
provide access to the Speech Mining and Speech-Processor functions
(shown by themselves). All of the windows may be resizable to
provide a familiar interface format.
[0104] FIG. 7 depicts a system control or system commander screen
used to start and stop the systems, as well as provide system
status information. Since the system may accommodate multiple
servers, the system commander provides a single interface for
starting, stopping, and viewing status across all servers. A speech
resources component depicts in FIG. 8 displays current system
utilization. It may be used to observe the rate of requests and how
fast the system is keeping up with the requests, together with
other system information.
[0105] The speech mining interface depicted in FIG. 9 can be
invoked from the Speech Browser toolbar. The speech mining
interface includes a Simple (FIG. 9) and Advanced (FIG. 10) dialog
for selecting the records of phrases that are to be located. A
speech-query and database-query can be performed together and the
unified result presented to a user in the main Alerts, Call
History, and Speech viewports. The audio can then be navigated in
the same way that regular historical data can be navigated. FIG. 10
depicts the advance tab of the speech mining interface allowing
users to build more complex queries against their data. The
advanced tab allow users to create SQL and speech-queries that are
integrated into a single query.
[0106] Definition of rules is supported by the interface depicts in
FIG. 11. The rules that the rules engine maintains determine what
actions are to be taken when a call is presented to the system. In
the example depicted in FIG. 11, two important functions have been
implemented: StartCall( ) and Speech( ). The StartCall( ) rule
determines if a call should be monitored by the system. The Speech(
) rules determined what actions to take when a piece of audio has
been processed by the system and is ready to be searched. In this
case, the rule displays a warning each time the user mentions the
phrase "application", "manager", "engineer", or "tabby cat".
[0107] A dialog displayed upon start of the speech processor is
depicted in FIG. 12. The speech processor is a feature of the
speech browser that is used for monitoring calls that have not yet
been processed by the system. Normally, calls are automatically
processed by the system as they take place. This feature allows
users to process call that were purposely not processed
automatically or to process old call that existed prior to system
availability. The speech processor will process the set of calls
that are currently being displayed in the speech browser. A typical
use of the system is to first use the speech mining feature to
constrain the calls to the one that have been selected for
processing, and the invoke the speech processor for the calls that
have been selected. Speech processor progress may be displayed by
an appropriate progress indicator as depicted in FIG. 13, showing
calls as processed by the system. Once processed, the calls can be
searched at high-speed. Processing may include conversion of the
audio into a series of symbols representing the speech, e.g.,
phonetic information.
[0108] FIG. 14 depicts a speech statistics setup display. The
speech statistics component is used for displaying real-time
graphics of statistics that are maintained by the business-rules of
the system. For instance, a statistic can be created to count the
number of times that a specific phrase is heard, is missing, or to
calculate statistics based on any other measures. Once the speech
statistics are setup, a graph such as depicts in FIG. 15 may
displayed and updated in real-time. A user can watch as the graph
dynamically changes over time to observe trends, not only with
speech-related statistics, but with statistics than can be
calculated by speech, CTI, system, and user-data.
[0109] Reports may be defined using, for example, the speech
reports setup screen depicted in FIG. 16. The speech reports
component is used to report on statistics that are maintained by
the business-rules of the system. For instance, a statistics can be
created to count the number of time that specific phrase is heard,
found to be missing, or to calculate statistics based on any other
measure. An example of a resulting report is shown in FIG. 17. Once
the speech reports are setup, such a report will be displayed. A
user can examine the report to observe performance trends, not only
with speech-related statistics, but with statistics that can be
calculated by speech, CTI, systems and user-data.
[0110] As described above, a speech mining interface according to
an embodiment of the invention is invoked from a speech browser
tool bar within an application such as Sertify The interface offers
a simple and advanced dialog box for implementing search criteria.
The tool allows for analysis of words, phrases and the ability to
combine audio searches with other available data collections (such
as CTI data or call-related data). In other words the interface
accesses a database query tool that includes speech as data, as
well as traditional data forms. The unified content is presented as
an inventory of audio files that are indexed and point to the exact
location in the dialogue where the target utterance resides.
[0111] Embodiment of the present invention provide the following
features and functions: [0112] Treats voice as data; [0113] Reduces
overhead costs and capital expenditures; [0114] Identifies trends
by including spoken word searches; [0115] Offers a holistic view of
contact center and agent activity from the supervisor [0116]
Console; [0117] Intuitive use with little training required; [0118]
Provides simple and advanced user interfaces; [0119] Enables SQL
like functionality; [0120] Provides database integration
capability; [0121] Enables audio content mining; [0122] Provides
statistical and graphical reporting; [0123] Includes multiple
search modes; and [0124] Provides voice logger integration.
[0125] Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented
using the following standards and technology: [0126] Microsoft.TM.
VBA [0127] Microsoft.TM. SQL Server [0128] CTI [0129] XML [0130]
Client-Server Architecture [0131] Voice Over Internet Protocol
(VOIP)
[0132] Although embodiments of the present invention are applicable
to a broad range of environments and applications, the examples
provided above within the CTI environment are particularly well
suited applications of the features and functionalities provided.
Such a CTI system is shown in FIG. 18. A contact center 1800
includes: [0133] Audio data monitoring (this component may be
incorporated into various ones of the platforms depicted as
appropriate)--A system that uses speech processing and automated
rules to analyze calls for quality monitoring purposes and order
validation. [0134] Public Switched Network 1801--This is the public
switched telephone network that provides a high quality voice
connection between a customer and a call center. [0135] Workforce
scheduling 1802--This is a system that uses historical call data to
create a staffing forecast in order to meet a specified service
level for how long it will take before a call is answered. [0136]
ACD 1803--Automatic Call Distributor is a voice switching platform
that connects to PSTN 1801 and to local extensions. Call center
agents log in to ACD 1803 which associates a set of skills with
each agent. When calls come in for a given skill, normally
determined by the dialed number, ACD 1803 will distribute the calls
to the set of agents that have the appropriate skill, normally in a
round robin fashion. [0137] ACD reporting 1804--An add on package
to the ACD 1803 providing reports about ACD 1803 activity. Skill
reports normally contain items such as calls handled, calls
abandoned, and wait times.
[0138] Agent reports contain agent specific information such as
time on the system, calls handled, avg talk time, longest talk
time, etc. [0139] Dialer 1805--A system for predictive dialing. In
predictive dialing calls are launched on behalf of a group of
agents. Because not all calls may result in a live connect, the
number of calls dialed is normally higher than the number of
available agents. This system enhances productivity because the
system only connects live answers and agents do not have to dial
calls or listen to call progress such as ringing or busy signals.
[0140] IP 1806--This is an IP gateway so that VoIP calls can be
handled by ACD 1803 in the same fashion as calls that arrive over
PSTN 1801 [0141] IVR 1807-Interactive Voice Response (aka VRU or
voice response unit)--a system that allows automated call handling.
The system can accept touch tone input, access data, and using text
to speech, speak the data to the caller. A common example is a bank
application where you can call and get your balance. [0142] SR
1808--Speech Recognition is an add on to IVR 1807 that allows IVR
1807 to accept voice input in addition to touch tone input. [0143]
CTI 1809--A computer telephony interface middleware server that
interfaces to the proprietary CTI interface of ACD 1803 and allows
CTI clients to receive events and exert control over contacts.
[0144] Router 1810--An add on application to the CTI middleware for
intelligent call routing. When a call arrives, CTI data from the
call is used to access information and route the call
appropriately, for example putting a high value customer at the
head of the queue. [0145] Call Recording 1811--A system that makes
digital recordings of calls within the contact center. [0146] Agent
Groups 1812--The human employees of the contact center that handle
voice calls. [0147] Agent Desktop 1813--A computer interface that
runs programs which support the agent interactions with callers.
[0148] Legacy Apps and Data 1814--Computer systems that contain
data about the callers and the business. Used for routing decisions
and to provide information to the callers. [0149] Email 1815--A
server for processing email messages. Properly skilled agents can
handle email interactions as well as voice interactions. [0150] WWW
1816--A web server that can host self service applications. Self
service web applications can be used to off load work from contact
center agents by providing information. [0151] Audio Processor
1817--An audio server according to an embodiment of the invention,
providing for the processing of audio from Call Recording 1811,
generation of searchable audio segments, and supporting data
mining.
[0152] A method for capturing and searching audio associated with
respective calls is depicted in the flow chart of FIG. 19. As shown
therein, a telephone conversation occurs at step 1901. This
conversation may be carried over the public switched telephone
network, or it may be over a data network using Voice over IP
technology, or it may be a hybrid where some of the voice
transmission is over the PSTN and some uses VoIP.
[0153] At step 1902, audio is captured from the conversation of
step 1901 and a digital representation is made and stored within a
computer system. If the recording is done through a digital PBX or
a VoIP switch, then the capture may be accomplished through a
direct data stream. Another option is an analog tap of a phone, in
which case the voice is digitized as part of the process of making
the recording. It is common for devices which record audio to
compress the digital representation to conserve computer
storage.
[0154] Step 1903 includes functionality provided by a CTI
middleware product that can connect to a digital PBX or ACD and
receive information associated with a call from the digital PBX or
ACD. Although not a required component, it provides additional
functionality. Examples of information that can be associated with
a call are the callers number (CLID/ANI) the number dialed (DNIS)
the local extension that received the call, and in the case of an
ACD, the agent id of the person that handled the call.
[0155] When a new audio segment is available a decision is made at
step 1904 whether that audio should be processed. If there is no
CTI data some information may be provided by the recording device
at 1902 such as which phone extension or trunk provided the audio.
If the optional CTI interface is included, there is additional data
as noted in connection with 1903. Using all available data logic is
executed at 1904 and a decision is made about the audio segment. If
the decision is to process the audio, then a reference to the audio
and it's associated data is put in a queue for speech
processing.
[0156] Speech processing 1905 is alerted when a reference to an
audio segment is added to the queue, it invokes the speech engine
to pre process the audio into an intermediate format. The
intermediate format is a representation of the audio that is
optimized for rapid searching. Some representations that are
suitable for rapid searches are a statistical model of the phonemes
or a text representation of the contents of the audio. Once the
intermediate format is created, then rules determination is
executed at 1906.
[0157] Data entry occurs at 1909. In a call center environment
agents often enter data about a call into a computer system during
the call. An example could be the length of a subscription. This is
also not a required element. However, if data is collected in
association with a call, then this data is also associated with an
audio file and can be used to create dynamic rules at 1906.
[0158] A process for offline rules creation is provided at 1910.
Such rules can be static or dynamic. Static rules are fully defined
at rule creation time and do not involve any data elements that are
only known at run time. An example of a static rule would be
"generate an alert if at any time on the call there is at least a
70% confidence that the audio contains Take your business
elsewhere". Dynamic rules contain some template information and the
rule can only be fully formed when the audio and it's associated
data is known. An example of a dynamic rule would be "Generate an
alert if the audio does not contain "Thank you for calling my name
is {agentid} how may I help you" where the name of the agent that
is handling the call is substituted for {agentid}. A set of
individual rules are then gathered into a rule set, and further
logic is defined for a rule set to control when that set is
applied. This logic can use any information that is known about an
audio segment. According to a preferred embodiment, rules may
contain some phrase that is to be used to search the audio, and
this phrase is entered by typing into an interface. It should be
noted that other methods of entering phrases, such as speaking them
into the system may be employed in the future.
[0159] The logic processing according to 1906 is executed when an
intermediate file is created. Rules determination considers the
information known about the audio and determines which rules sets
to apply to the audio. More than one rule set may be applied to a
single instance of audio. If any of the applicable rules sets
contain dynamic rules, then, at 1906, the data substitutions are
made to create a rule applicable to the audio segment. There is a
loop between steps 1906, 1907 and 1908. Since rules execution
contains branching logic, the rules are executed in step 1906, but
as part of that execution searches may be performed and
corresponding actions may be initiated (step 1908).). A speech
queue is used to allow search requests (step 1907) to be performed
by any available speech worker
[0160] At step 1907 any searches required to support the rules
execution are performed. Searches are performed against the
intermediate file created at step 1905. If the intermediate format
is a statistical model of the phonemes, then the search string must
be represented as a set of probable phonemic representations of
each word in the search string. If the search string was entered as
text, a mapping of the text to a plurality of possible phoneme
strings is performed in this step. (Note that a single text phrase
may map to more than one symbolic representation.) If the
intermediate file is text, then no format conversion is required.
Once the intermediate file and search string are in a common
format, a pattern match is performed, and a confidence is returned
that the search pattern exists within the processed audio.
[0161] When a search is performed for a specific phrase by a speech
process, a list of result hypotheses are returned from the speech
recognition engine. Each result in the list is given an associated
"confidence score" that indicates the probability that the result
is, in fact, a correct result. The distribution of confidence
scores is typically not uniform across all search phrases and
therefore a "confidence threshold" value is determined for each
search phrase that indicates what the lowest acceptable confidence
threshold for a search result may be in order to be considered by
the system to be a correct result.
[0162] The process of threshold determination is performed by first
determining a set of calls that represent a test or training set. A
specific phrase is selected, a search is performed, and the
resulting list of result hypotheses will be returned. A human
listener is then used to listen to the list of result hypotheses
and to determine at what point in the result distribution that the
confidence scores fail to be accurate. As the listener inspects
search results, they are queued to the exact point in each call
that the candidate result was located and allows the listener to
only listen to a small portion of each call in order to determine
the appropriate threshold.
[0163] As part of the rules processing actions can be initiated,
such as creating an alert or incrementing a statistic. According to
one embodiment, alerts and statistics may be stored in a relational
database.
[0164] It should now be appreciated that the present invention
provides advantageous methods and apparatus for audio data analysis
and data mining using speech recognition.
[0165] In this disclosure there is shown and described only the
preferred embodiments of the invention and but a few examples of
its versatility. It is to be understood that the invention is
capable of use in various other combinations and environments and
is capable of changes or modifications within the scope of the
inventive concept as expressed herein. For example, while
embodiments of the invention have been described in connection with
contact centers, CTI and other telephony based application,
embodiments of the invention are equally applicable to other
environments wherein speech, audio, and other real-time information
may be collected, stored and processed for rapid searching. Thus,
although the invention has been described in connection with
various illustrated embodiments, numerous modifications and
adaptations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit
and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims. Furthermore,
it should be noted and understood that all publications, patents
and patent applications mentioned in this specification are
indicative of the level of skill in the art to which the invention
pertains. All publications, patents and patent applications are
herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each
individual publication, patent or patent application was
specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by
reference in its entirety.
* * * * *