IP Library Granted Patent US 8,117,030
Granted Patent B2
US 8,117,030 · App. 11/531,509 · Granted Feb 14, 2012

System and method for analysis and adjustment of speech-enabled systems

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 8,117,030
App. No.
11/531,509
Granted
Feb 14, 2012
Kind
B2
Abstract

A method for analyzing and adjusting the performance of a speech-enabled application includes selecting a number of user utterances that were previously received by the speech-enabled application. The speech-enabled application receives such user utterances and associates each user utterance with an action-object based on one or more salient terms in the user utterance that are associated with the action-object. The method further includes associating one of a number of action-objects with each of the selected user utterances. Furthermore, for each action-object, the percentage of the utterances associated with the action-object that include at least one of the salient terms associated with the action-object is determined. If the percentage does not exceed a selected threshold, the method also includes adjusting the one or more salient terms associated with the action-object.

Claims (27)

1. A computer implemented method for adjusting a call center application operable to associate user utterances with action-objects based on existing sets of salient terms, the method for adjusting comprising:

automatically adding, by the computer, a new salient term to an existing set of salient terms associated with an action-object when a percentage of user utterances failing to associate with the action-object, based upon the existing set of salient terms, exceeds a specified threshold; and

automatically removing, by the computer, a current association of a salient term with the action-object from the existing set of salient terms when a percentage of user utterances associating with the action-object, based upon the existing set of salient terms, exceeds a specified threshold,

wherein a size of the existing set of salient terms is maintained near an optimum value with regard to a match rate and a performance rate of the call center application.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein adding the new salient term includes selecting the new salient term based on a count indicative of terms used in a selected set of user utterances.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein adding the new salient term further includes removing an existing salient term.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein removing the current association of the salient term is based on the count.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein removing the current association of the salient term includes selecting the salient term based on a count indicative of terms used in a selected set of user utterances.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein removing the current association of the salient term further includes adding a new salient term.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein adding the new salient term is based on the count.

8. A non-transitory computer readable memory medium, including computer executable instructions for adjusting a call center application operable to associate a user utterance with an action-object based on a salient term in the user utterance, the instructions including instructions executable to:

determine that at least one of a match rate for associating user utterances with the action-object and a performance rate for the associating user utterances with the action-object is below a corresponding threshold; and

responsive to executing the instructions to determine, modify salient terms associated with the action-object;

wherein the instructions executable to modify comprise instructions executable to remove an association of the salient term with the action-object based on a frequency with which the salient term occurs in a selected set of user utterances, and

wherein a size of a set of salient terms matching the action-object is maintained near an optimum value with regard to the match rate and the performance rate.

9. The memory medium of claim 8 , wherein the instructions executable to modify include instructions executable to add a new salient term associated with the action-object.

10. The memory medium of claim 9 , wherein the instructions executable to add comprise instructions executable to select the new salient term based on a word count indicative of a frequency with which terms occur in a selected set of user utterances.

11. The memory medium of claim 8 , wherein the instructions executable to remove comprise instructions executable to remove the association of the salient term based on a word count indicative of the frequency.

12. The memory medium of claim 11 , wherein a word count corresponding to the new salient term is greater than a word count corresponding to the salient term.

13. A service center system comprising a computing apparatus, including a processor having access to a computer readable storage medium storing processor executable instructions, the computing apparatus being enabled to execute the instructions to:

associate a user utterance with an action-object based on a salient term in the user utterance; and

adjust at least one of a set of salient action terms and salient object terms associated with the action-object when a specified percentage of user utterances including the salient term associate with the action-object, and wherein the instructions to adjust include instructions to remove an association of the salient term with the action-object,

wherein a size of a set of salient terms associated with the action-object is maintained near an optimum value with regard to a match rate and a performance rate of the service center system.

14. The service center system of claim 13 , wherein the instructions to adjust include instructions to add a new salient term associated with the action-object, wherein the new salient term includes at least one of a new salient action term and a new salient object term.

15. The service center system of claim 14 , wherein the instructions to add include instructions to select the new salient term based on a word count indicative of a frequency with which terms occur in a selected set of user utterances.

16. The service center system of claim 15 , wherein the instructions to remove include instructions to remove the association of the salient term based on the word count.

17. The service center system of claim 16 , wherein a word count corresponding to the new salient term is greater than a word count corresponding to the salient term.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 26, 2017
From: AT&T INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY I, L.P.
To: NUANCE COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
Reel/Frame 041504/0952 →