Avaya Dialog Designer Dialog Designer Developer s Guide

Transcription

1 Avaya Dialog Designer Dialog Designer Developer s Guide August 2005 Issue 1

2 2005 Avaya Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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. Documentation disclaimer Avaya Inc. is not responsible for any modifications, additions, or deletions to the original published version of this documentation unless such modifications, additions, or deletions were performed by Avaya. Customer and/or End User agree to indemnify and hold harmless Avaya, Avaya's agents, servants and employees against all claims, lawsuits, demands and judgments arising out of, or in connection with, subsequent modifications, additions or deletions to this documentation to the extent made by the Customer or End User. Link disclaimer Avaya Inc. is not responsible for the contents or reliability of any linked Web sites referenced elsewhere within this documentation, and Avaya 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. 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: License USE OR INSTALLATION OF THE PRODUCT INDICATES THE END USER'S ACCEPTANCE OF THE TERMS SET FORTH HEREIN AND THE GENERAL LICENSE TERMS AVAILABLE ON THE AVAYA WEB SITE AT ("GENERAL LICENSE TERMS"). IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS, YOU MUST RETURN THE PRODUCT(S) TO THE POINT OF PURCHASE WITHIN TEN (10) DAYS OF DELIVERY FOR A REFUND OR CREDIT. Avaya grants End User a license within the scope of the license types described below. The applicable number of licenses and units of capacity for which the license is granted will be one (1), unless a different number of licenses or units of capacity is specified in the Documentation or other materials available to End User. "Designated Processor" means a single stand-alone computing device. "Server" means a Designated Processor that hosts a software application to be accessed by multiple users. "Software" means the computer programs in object code, originally licensed by Avaya and ultimately utilized by End User, whether as stand-alone Products or pre-installed on Hardware. "Hardware" means the standard hardware Products, originally sold by Avaya and ultimately utilized by End User. License Type(s) Copyright Except where expressly stated otherwise, the Product is protected by copyright and other laws respecting proprietary rights. Unauthorized reproduction, transfer, and or use can be a criminal, as well as a civil, offense under the applicable law. Third-party Components Certain software programs or portions thereof included in the Product may contain software distributed under third party agreements ("Third Party Components"), which may contain terms that expand or limit rights to use certain portions of the Product ("Third Party Terms"). Information identifying Third Party Components and the Third Party Terms that apply to them is available on Avaya's web site at: is in the United States. For additional support telephone numbers, see the Avaya Web site: 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 for the United States and Canada. For additional support telephone numbers, see the Avaya Web site: Trademarks Avaya is a trademark of Avaya Inc. All non-avaya trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Avaya support Avaya provides a telephone number for you to use to report problems or to ask questions about your product. The support telephone number

3 Contents About the Avaya Dialog Designer Documentation Purpose Intended audience Related resources Availability Chapter 1: About Avaya Dialog Designer Chapter 2: Creating Speech Applications with Dialog Designer Planning before you build Envision the user experience Try to foresee potential problems and issues Map the flow Make it modular Advantages of modular design Process to create modules Identify and list application resources Using the Speech Project Wizard Starting the Speech Project Wizard The New Speech Project page (required) The Project Options page (optional) The Languages page (optional) Naming Java components Building applications Using application resources Testing applications Deploying applications Checklist for developing applications with Dialog Designer Chapter 3: Working with the Call Flow Editor Overview of the Call Flow Editor Starting the Call Flow Editor Setting global application properties: the AppRoot node AppRoot node Application Items AppRoot node Event Handlers The Call Flow Editor palette Actions Nodes Composite nodes (Templates) Basic nodes (Application Items) Getting Started with Dialog Designer August

4 Module nodes Node (subflow) editors Chapter 4: Working with Phrases About phrases in Dialog Designer How phrases are used Where phrases are used Types of phrases in Dialog Designer Creating custom phrase files Page one: Phrase file creation options (required) Page two: Audio settings (optional) Using the Phrase File Editor Starting the Phrase File Editor The Phrase tab The Audio tab Exporting and importing phrase files Exporting phrase files The Export wizard - Select page The Export wizard - Phrases page Importing phrase files The Import wizard - Select page The Import wizard - Phrases page Chapter 5: Working with Prompts About prompts in Dialog Designer Prompt segment types Prompt controls Prompt levels Creating prompt files Using the Prompt File Editor Starting the Prompt File Editor Level tabs Building prompts Using conditions in prompts Using SSML controls in prompts The Prompt Main tab About Play Order for prompt levels About transitional audio prompts Creating transitional audio prompts Significant differences in transitional audio prompts Getting Started with Dialog Designer August 2005

5 Using transitional audio prompts Exporting and importing prompt files Exporting prompt files The Export wizard - Select page The Export wizard - Prompts page Importing prompt files The Import wizard - Select page The Import wizard - Prompts page Chapter 6: Working with Variables About variables in Dialog Designer Basic types of variables in Dialog Designer Use of variables in Dialog Designer About passing variable values Using the Variable Editor Opening the Variable Editor Creating variables Deleting variables Employing variables in applications Using node items to employ variables Using the Prompt File Editor to employ variables Variables generated by Dialog Designer Chapter 7: Working with Grammars About grammars in Dialog Designer Using grammars Compatibility and compliance Creating grammars Creating grammar files Opening the grammar file wizard Using the grammar file wizard Defining and modifying grammars opening the Grammar File Editor Using the Grammar File Editor Chapter 8: Language and Localization Considerations Language implementation in Dialog Designer Administering languages Adding a project language Editing a project language Getting Started with Dialog Designer August

6 Deleting a project language Changing the project default language Changing the default language within an application About automated speech recognition (ASR) languages Adding an ASR language Editing a project language to use a different ASR language Deleting an ASR language About Text-to-Speech (TTS) languages Adding a TTS language Editing a project language to use a different TTS language Deleting a TTS language About localization bundles Adding a localization bundle Deleting a localization bundle Installing a localization bundle Uninstalling a localization bundle About standard phrases Installing standard phrases Chapter 9: Working with Database Operations Configuring data sources Using the Database Operation wizard The Database Operation wizard, page The Database Operation wizard, page For Add, Query, and Update operations For Execute operations The Database Operation wizard, page Using the Database Operation File Editor Opening the Database Operation File Editor The Database Operation tab Viewing basic information Remapping variables to columns Determining order for return results The Predicate tab Setting conditions for a simple database operation Setting conditions for a compound database operation The SQL Query tab Employing database operations in call flows Getting Started with Dialog Designer August 2005

7 Chapter 10: Working with Web Services Using the Web Service Operation wizard The Web Service Operation wizard, page The Web Service Operation wizard, page The Web Service Operation wizard, page Using the Web Service Operation File Editor Opening the Web Service Operation File Editor Viewing and modifying settings in the Web Service Operation File Editor Viewing information about the Web service operation file Remapping variables Assigning parameters to use Java objects Employing Web services in Dialog Designer applications Chapter 11: Working with Event Types About events Event handlers and scope Types of event handlers Built-in event handlers Custom events Using the Event Type Editor Events in applications Using built-in event handlers for default events Using and handling custom events Chapter 12: Application Testing by Simulation About testing applications by simulation What can be tested by simulation Limitations when testing by simulation Debugging features Using the Avaya Voice Browser to simulate applications Simulating run-time scenarios Caller inputs and telephony system reponses Responses from scripts Other inputs Simulating events Chapter 13: Application Deployment Deploying the application Exporting the speech application project The Export wizard - Select page Getting Started with Dialog Designer August

8 The Export wizard - Export Dialog Designer project page The Export wizard - Platform Details page The Export wizard - Options page The Export wizard - Configure web application descriptor page Installing project files on the application server Requirements for the application server Installing project files on Tomcat servers (WAR files) Installing project files on WebSphere servers Alternate procedure to install project files on WebSphere servers Preparing the application server to run Dialog Designer applications Configuring the IVR system to use the speech application Deploying projects as Dialog Designer modules About the application execution environment Appendix A: Nodes and Palette Options Detailed node descriptions Announce node Blind Transfer node Bridged Transfer node Data node Disconnect node Form node Menu node Prompt and Collect node Record node Return node Servlet node Symbolic node Tracking node VXML Servlet node Detailed palette option descriptions Alarm Audio Variable Blind Transfer Break Bridged Transfer Call Info Cancel Catch Choice Complex Variable Getting Started with Dialog Designer August 2005

9 Condition Condition item in the Data node Condition item in the Prompt File Editor Conference Database Dial Disconnect Else Emphasis Error External Property Field Goto Grammar Help Hold If Input Input Parameter Invoke Workflow Link Module Input Module Output Next No Input No Match Object Object Input Object Output On Disconnect Operation Output Parameter Phrase Prompt Property Prosody Record Report Retrieve Say As Simple Variable Getting Started with Dialog Designer August

10 Text Variable Throw Trace Transfer Transfer Call TTS Voice WebService (Operation) Appendix B: Project Properties Setting project properties The General tab Importing an icon file The Speech tab The Languages tab The Datasources tab The Database tab The CTI tab The IC tab The Web Descriptor tab The Application tab The Servlets tab Appendix C: Setting Preferences Dialog Designer settings Avaya Voice Browser settings Database settings Language settings Phrase settings Prompt settings Tomcat settings Appendix D: System Variables System variable fields and properties Variable formats in localization bundles Audio field properties Appendix E: Creating Scripts for Testing Using scripts to simulate caller responses Creating a response script Getting Started with Dialog Designer August 2005

11 Sample response script Using scripts to simulate IC and CTI connectors Creating a connector script Connector script guidelines Additional configuration options in connector scripts Sample connector scripts Summary of connector commands Appendix F: Conditional Operators Appendix G: CTI and IC Connectors About CTI connectors CTI connectors in Dialog Designer Using CTI connectors in applications Constructing a call and data transfer using CTI connectors Configuring Dialog Designer CTI applications to work with Avaya IR systems387 About the IC connector The vdu variable The IC connector at run time Glossary Index Getting Started with Dialog Designer August

12 12 Getting Started with Dialog Designer August 2005

13 About the Avaya Dialog Designer Documentation To help you get the most out of the documentation for Avaya Dialog Designer, take a few moments to review the following topics: Purpose on page 13 Intended audience on page 14 Related resources on page 16 Availability on page 17 Purpose The purpose of this documentation is to provide detailed information about Avaya Dialog Designer. Included in this book is information about: The Dialog Designer software product offer For more information, see Chapter 1: About Avaya Dialog Designer on page 19. Intended audience The Dialog Designer documentation is for those who need to: Install and configure Dialog Designer for their own use or the use of others Use Dialog Designer to design and create speech applications for: - Avaya Interactive Response (IR), Release 1.3 (or later) - Avaya Voice Portal 3 (or later) These users include, among others: Customers who want to create their own speech applications Avaya business partners and independent service vendors who create speech applications for Avaya customers Getting Started with Dialog Designer August

14 About the Avaya Dialog Designer Documentation The primary users of Dialog Designer are likely to be highly knowledgeable and skilled in telecommunications and Internet technologies. Therefore, this documentation does not cover many topics related to those areas. Instead, Avaya assumes that those using Dialog Designer are already proficient and knowledgeable in the following areas: The operating systems in which they will be developing and deploying Dialog Designer applications Computer networking concepts and technologies Telecommunications concepts and technologies, including switches and gateways Basic programming logic and practice Although not required to develop applications in Dialog Designer, knowledge of and experience with Java programming is helpful. Dialog Designer is built on several existing technologies and tools. Because of this, Avaya recommends that Dialog Designer users familiarize themselves with the following technologies, if they are not already familiar with the technologies: Eclipse open-source software Java servlet technology Servlet engine technologies Speech recognition and synthesis technologies Database administration Web service technologies For more information about and additional resources for these technologies, see Related resources on page 16. Related resources Avaya Dialog Designer depends on the use of several closely related software products and technologies. When you are using Dialog Designer, Avaya recommends also the use of the documentation for these related products and technologies. Avaya does not reproduce or package the documentation for these related products and technologies. However, to help you locate the appropriate documentation more easily, Avaya recommends the following resources: 14 Getting Started with Dialog Designer August 2005

15 Related resources All effort was made to ensure that the URLs quoted in this topic were valid at the time this documentation was published. However, Avaya assumes no responsibility for changed URLs. If you need updated and current URLs, Avaya recommends that you employ a search engine online. If you do so, use the name of the product for which you want to locate the documentation as your search term. For Eclipse: To view the Eclipse online Help in Dialog Designer, click Help > For additional documentation about Eclipse, see For the Java SDK (Software Developer s Kit): For Jakarta Tomcat: For IBM WebSphere: docview.wss?rs=180&context=sseqtp&uid=swg Help Contents. For the Microsoft Speech SDK: For your operating system: See the operating system online Help or other documentation that came with your operating system. For databases and JDBC implementation: sql.html For Web services: For the W3C VoiceXML Recommendation: For the Speech Recognition Grammar Specification, Version 1.0: Getting Started with Dialog Designer August

16 About the Avaya Dialog Designer Documentation Availability The Avaya Dialog Designer documentation consists of four outputs: Getting Started with Avaya Dialog Designer : This PDF file contains information needed to: Install and configure the software considered prerequisite for Dialog Designer Install Dialog Designer software Configure Dialog Designer for initial use Understand the basics of the Dialog Designer GUI Avaya designed this PDF document to be used while installing and configuring Dialog Designer. You can either view it online using Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader, or print it out. This document is designed so that all the cross-references and hyperlinks work if you use it online. Getting Started with Avaya Dialog Designer. The online Help system: All the information needed to use Dialog Designer effectively is included in the online (HTML) Help system. This information is available both as: Context-sensitive Help: - Position the mouse pointer over the element for which you want help. - Press the F1 key. General documentation: Click Help (menu) > Help Contents > Dialog Designer documentation > Dialog Designer Developer s Guide. In addition to the information contained in Getting Started with Avaya Dialog Designer, the online Help provides: "Best practices" information to help you create the most effective speech applications possible Detailed information about all Dialog Designer features and options, including the purposes of each and tips for using them most effectively Procedures for using Dialog Designer features and options in speech applications Answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) Once you install and configure Dialog Designer, the online Help is your most immediate and easily accessible form of information when using Dialog Designer. When you install the Dialog Designer software, the online Help is installed as an additional Eclipse plug-in. 16 Getting Started with Dialog Designer August 2005

17 Availability The Avaya Dialog Designer Developer s Guide: With the exception of the information included in Getting Started with Avaya Dialog Designer, this PDF document contains the same information as in the online Help system. This guide is delivered in the form of a PDF file, so that you can easily print out whatever sections or parts you want. However, the PDF file is also designed so that all the cross-references and hyperlinks work when you view it on a computer using Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader. View the PDF version of the Avaya Dialog Designer Developer s Guide. The Programmer Reference guide: This online documentation is designed for programmers who need more detailed information about the underpinnings of Dialog Designer. This guide includes: A Constants quick reference guide A Class Hierarchy reference guide An API Reference guide This information is available by clicking Help (menu) > Help Contents > Dialog Designer documentation > Programmer Reference. Where and how to view this documentation Copies of this documentation are available from several locations. You can: Locate and open it directly from CD-ROM on which you received the Dialog Designer software. The two PDF guides are located at the root level of the CD-ROM. Download or view copies from the Avaya online support Web site: View it from within the running Dialog Designer software. To do so, click Help (menu) > Help Contents > Dialog Designer documentation. Getting Started with Dialog Designer August

18 About the Avaya Dialog Designer Documentation 18 Getting Started with Dialog Designer August 2005

19 Chapter 1: About Avaya Dialog Designer The Avaya Avaya Dialog Designer is a Java-based tool for creating speech applications that comply with VoiceXML Version 2.0. Designed as an Eclipse plug-in, Dialog Designer provides an integrated GUI for the design and implementation of speech applications that can operate with Avaya IR and Avaya Voice Portal systems. Getting Started with Dialog Designer August

20 About Avaya Dialog Designer 20 Getting Started with Dialog Designer August 2005

21 Chapter 2: Creating Speech Applications with Dialog Designer Avaya Dialog Designer greatly simplifies the process of creating VoiceXML v2.0-compliant speech applications for use on Avaya Interactive Response and Voice Portal systems. Even so, the process of creating speech applications can be challenging. This chapter is designed to help you better understand the process and to give you practical "best practices" ideas for creating your own speech applications. It also provides a checklist you can print out and use to help you during the application design and development process. This chapter includes the following topics: Planning before you build on page 21 Using the Speech Project Wizard on page 25 Using application resources on page 30 Building applications on page 29 Testing applications on page 32 Deploying applications on page 32 Checklist for developing applications with Dialog Designer on page 34 Planning before you build The importance of careful planning and design before starting to actually build a speech application cannot be too strongly emphasized. Investing the time at the start of the process to plan the speech application can greatly reduce development time. This investment can also help you avoid the need to fix problems later on. There are five important aspects to consider when planning your application: Envision the user experience Try to foresee potential problems and issues Map the flow Make it modular Identify and list application resources Getting Started with Dialog Designer August

22 Creating Speech Applications with Dialog Designer Envision the user experience The best first step in planning an application is to envision exactly what you want the caller to experience when calling in to your system. Without being concerned with how to set it up, simply ask and try to answer as many questions as you can, questions like: What options do you want to offer callers? Do you want to offer callers the opportunity to interact in more than one language? What means do you want to offer callers to respond to options? By voice? By using touchtone keys on the telephone? By recording their answers or other short messages? What voice gender do you want to use in presenting your prompts? Do you need to use Text-to-Speech (TTS) technology to provide the caller a way to hear text-based information? What about hearing- or speech-impaired callers? How do you want to provide for their special needs? Again, the idea is to ask as many questions as you possibly can. Create sample scenarios for the various situations you think callers might require help with. Try to be as comprehensive as possible. Try to foresee potential problems and issues One of the most important steps in planning a good speech application is to plan for any potential problem and error condition you can think of. How is the system to respond when one of these problem situations arises? Technical or hardware limitations: What if the caller does not have a touchtone telephone? How does your system respond to TTY or TDD requests? Accessibility for callers with physical limitations: Have you allowed for the extra time it might take for callers with physical handicaps or other limitations? Language limitations: Is it likely that some of your callers will need to interact using a different language than the primary language? Do you have the necessary ASR and TTS servers and software to accommodate them? Personal preferences: Have you allowed for the personal preferences of your callers? Some people would rather interact with the system verbally, while others might prefer to use DTMF (touchtone) responses. And some people prefer to interact with a live attendant no matter how good your interactive voice response (IVR) speech application is. 22 Getting Started with Dialog Designer August 2005

23 Planning before you build Such preferences are among the reasons that Avaya recommends that you always provide callers the option to speak with a live attendant. Beyond personal preference, it is likely that your system cannot deal with all eventualities and situations a caller might need help with. There are times when only a live attendant can take care of the need. Map the flow You have envisioned the experience you want your callers to have. You have tried to foresee and plan for any problem contingency that might arise. Now you are ready to start actually mapping the flow of your speech application. Any number of methods can serve you well in this effort, but here are a couple of the more common approaches: Describe the flow verbally. Talk through each of your scenarios verbally. Make sure you take note of where the prompts occur and what you want callers to say or do. Record these verbal "walkthroughs." Use a flow diagram. As you work through your scenarios, you can create a flow diagram to show the major points in the call flow. Use this diagram to show: Where you want to offer options to callers Where you want them to listen to the entire prompt and where they can interrupt, or "barge in," and cut the prompt off Where you require a response from callers and what the valid responses will be Where you want or need to gain access to databases to retrieve or record customer data How and where you want to gain access to a Web service to respond to a customer request And so on... Again, the idea is to be as complete and comprehensive as possible. Try and foresee every eventuality, and plan how the system will respond. Make it modular When you are planning your speech application, be alert to places where you can reuse parts of the application in two or more places. Then, when designing and building the application, you can create these parts as speech project modules that you can reuse wherever you need that functionality. If you plan for these modules ahead of time, you can also develop them before developing your main application project file. That way, they are already available when you create your main application. Getting Started with Dialog Designer August

24 Creating Speech Applications with Dialog Designer For example, you might want to collect bank account or credit card numbers from callers at several points in the call flow. You have figured out that it is the same basic process each time you need to collect such numbers. Therefore, you might want to create a speech project module that you can reuse in your master application wherever you need to collect this type of information from callers. Advantages of modular design Using this modular approach to application design has several advantages: You can "develop once, use many times." This can be a tremendous advantage, especially if you have certain actions or options you want to offer in several places to your callers. It is easier to maintain the application, even if you are not reusing much of the code. When you use a modular approach, you can change one part of the application without necessarily needing to rebuild the entire application. It can make it easier to debug your applications, by making it possible to isolate the trouble spots where errors are occurring. A team of developers can work on separate pieces of an application separately and then merge their efforts. Process to create modules The process of creating modules for reuse is a three step process: 1. Use Dialog Designer to create a speech project that contains the functionality for the module. 2. Export the speech project to the correct directory for reusable dialogs. 3. Import the speech project module into another speech project. For more information and the procedure to do this, see Deploying projects as Dialog Designer modules on page 179. Identify and list application resources As a final step in planning your speech application, Avaya recommends that you attempt to identify and list all the application resources you will need to develop the application. For a list and description of the types of application resources available in Dialog Designer, see Using application resources on page 30. If you have planned the flow completely, keeping in mind all the resources you will need, you can list those application resources before you actually start to develop the application. Then you can create or import those resources before creating the call flow. 24 Getting Started with Dialog Designer August 2005

25 Using the Speech Project Wizard In the case of phrases, for example, if you know exactly what phrases you want to use, and if you plan to have those phrases recorded by a professional talent, you can list all the phrases and have them recorded as *.wav files before you start to develop the actual application. Then, when you get to the points in the application where you need the phrases, you can import the prerecorded files. Using the Speech Project Wizard Once you have planned your application (see Planning before you build on page 21), you are ready to use Dialog Designer to create the actual application. Use the Speech Project Wizard to create the basic framework for your speech application project. The following topics explain how to use the Speech Project Wizard: Starting the Speech Project Wizard The New Speech Project page (required) The Project Options page (optional) The Languages page (optional) Starting the Speech Project Wizard To gain access to the Speech Project Wizard, perform any of the following actions: From the File menu, select New > Speech Project. On the main toolbar, click the Speech Project icon. Right-click in the Navigator view, and then select New > Speech Project. After performing any of these actions, Dialog Designer displays the New Speech Project page. The New Speech Project page (required) Use the New Speech Project page to name the project and set the location where Dialog Designer is to save the project. Project Name: field - Type in the name to assign to the project. Getting Started with Dialog Designer August

26 Creating Speech Applications with Dialog Designer CAUTION:! CAUTION: Do not use double-byte or extended ASCII characters when you name your project. The system uses this name when generating URLs for the VoiceXML pages. Using double-byte and extended ASCII characters results in the generation of invalid URLs, which in turn causes run-time errors. Project names must follow Java naming conventions. For more information, see Naming Java components on page 28. Project contents options: - To use the default project location for generating and saving files (recommended), select the Use default check box. - To use a different location, clear the Use default check box and perform one of the following actions: In the Directory field, type the full path of the directory in which you want to build and save project files. Click Browse to locate the directory in which you want to build and save project files. After setting the project name and directory location: To set other project options, click Next. For more information about other project options, see: - The Project Options page (optional) - The Languages page (optional) To create the basic project without setting other options, click Finish. Clicking Finish opens the Call Flow Editor, where you design and build your project call flow. For more information, see Chapter 3: Working with the Call Flow Editor on page 35. The Project Options page (optional) Use the Project Options page to record "meta information" and a description for your project. Dialog Designer does not use this information in the application itself, nor does it appear anywhere in the output. You can consider this information to be primarily internal information. Dialog Designer saves and displays this information only as part of the project properties. However, it can still be helpful to use these fields. For example, if you are developing similar applications or slight variations of an application for several different clients, you might use these fields to indicate who the clients are and what the variations consist of. The fields on this page include: 26 Getting Started with Dialog Designer August 2005

27 Using the Speech Project Wizard Project options (Mode and Type) - Unavailable in the current release of Dialog Designer Meta Information options - Vendor: - Type in your name or the name of your company. - Category: - Type in a short descriptor that tells what type of application or project module this is. For example, if you are building a banking application and this module is being developed to handle savings account queries, you might type in something like: Savings query module. Tip: Tip: If you are planning to use this project as a reusable module, what you enter in this field, if anything, determines where in the Call Flow Editor palette this module will appear. If you leave this field blank, by default, the module will appear in a group labeled "Modules." If you enter anything in this field, the module will only be grouped with other modules that have the same category label. This fact can be particularly useful if you are building a very large and complex application that uses several modules: You can group all the modules for that application together in the Call Flow Editor palette by giving them all the same category label. Description option - Type in a brief description of what you are designing this project to do. Avaya recommends that you include information like the variable values that are accepted and returned from this module and other similar information. To view or modify this information later, you can gain access to it through the project properties dialog box. For more information, see Setting project properties on page 329. After setting options on this page: To set the primary language options for the project (optional), click Next. For more information about setting language options, see The Languages page (optional) on page 27. To create the basic project without setting other options, click Finish. Clicking Finish opens the Call Flow Editor, where you design and build your project call flow. For more information, see Chapter 3: Working with the Call Flow Editor on page 35. The Languages page (optional) Use the Languages page to set the options for the primary language to be used in your project. Note that you can only select one (primary) language for each language option here. If you need to add more languages, you can do so later. For more information, see Chapter 8: Language and Localization Considerations on page 111. Getting Started with Dialog Designer August

28 Creating Speech Applications with Dialog Designer Language Package Name: - Type in the name you want to assign to the primary language for your project. This name is the name that Dialog Designer uses for the language directory in the Navigator view. Tip: Tip: Avaya recommends that you use a descriptive name, such as US_Eng for U.S. English or Can_Fr for Canadian French. For file-naming conventions and restrictions, see Naming Java components on page 28. Speech Recognition (ASR) Language: - Click the arrow, then click the name of the ASR package to use for speech recognition. This field is populated with the list of ASR languages supported in Dialog Designer. Text-to-Speech (TTS) Language: - Click the arrow, then click the name of the TTS package to use for speech synthesis. This field is populated with the list of TTS languages supported in Dialog Designer. Localization Bundle Language: - Click the arrow, then click the name of the localization bundle to use. Localization bundles are packages of classes in a *.jar file that the servlet engine uses to convert run-time application data to the form of audio variables. The VoiceXML interpreter, Avaya Voice Browser, translates this run-time data to standard phrases and plays the phrases back in the form of prerecorded audio files. Dialog Designer populates this field with the list of localization bundles supported in Dialog Designer. Naming Java components When naming Java components such as projects, folders, and files, the following conventions and restrictions apply. Java component names: Cannot contain spaces Are case-sensitive Can use, for the initial character: - An alphabetic character, either lowercase or uppercase - An underscore character ( _ ) Can use, for subsequent characters: - Alphabetic characters, either lowercase or uppercase - Underscore characters ( _ ) - Numbers 28 Getting Started with Dialog Designer August 2005

29 Building applications CAUTION:! CAUTION: Do not use double-byte or extended ASCII characters when you name Java components. The system uses these names when generating URLs for the VoiceXML pages. Using double-byte and extended ASCII characters results in the generation of invalid URLs, which in turn causes run-time errors. Building applications The basic process of building speech application projects in Dialog Designer involves: Placing nodes in the workspace area Connecting them to create a call flow This call flow represents the possible paths a caller can follow while interacting with your interactive voice response (IVR) system. For more information about creating call flows, see Chapter 3: Working with the Call Flow Editor on page 35. About nodes: Each node is represented by an icon and label on the options palette. When placed in the workspace, the node represents a functional piece of code that performs some action, such as: An announcement that is played to callers when they first call in to the system. A menu that offers callers options from which they can select, responding either by speaking or by pressing touchtone keys on their telephones. A data transaction that sends data collected from a caller to a customer database. The data transaction then retrieves information from that database to present to the caller. For more information on the types of nodes available in Dialog Designer, see Nodes on page 45. Placing nodes and other items: Dialog Designer requires a click-and-drop technique to place nodes and other items in the Editor view workspace. Usually, to place a node or item in the workspace: 1. Click the desired node or item on the options palette. 2. Click again in the workspace at the location you want to place the node or item. Specific details for placing nodes or items in the workspace are provided, if applicable, where those nodes or items are discussed. Connecting nodes: Once you have placed two or more nodes in the workspace, you can connect them according to your call flow design. For the procedure to connect nodes, see Chapter 3: Working with the Call Flow Editor on page 35. Getting Started with Dialog Designer August

30 Creating Speech Applications with Dialog Designer Defining nodes and other items: Once the system displays the node or item in the workspace, you can further define, or modify, the node. Do this by clicking the node icon and then filling in or selecting properties in the Properties view. You can also edit some properties directly in the node editor for that node. You can edit almost any node or item in the Editor view workspace. In fact, to make most of them work the way they are intended to work, you must edit them. For more information about editing nodes and other flow items, see The Call Flow Editor palette on page 42 and Appendix A: Nodes and Palette Options. Many nodes also require that you populate them with one or more application resources, such as phrases, prompts, and grammars. For more information about using these resources in nodes, see Using application resources. Using application resources Many nodes and other flow items in Dialog Designer make use of various application resources, such as phrases, prompts, and grammars. These application resources are often created using their own wizards, and they are defined or modified in their own editors. For example, before the Announce node is fully functional, Dialog Designer requires that you: Populate the Announce node with a prompt. Define where the call flow is to go after completing the Announce node. If you do not already have any prompts in your project, you must create one using the Prompt File wizard. Define or modify the prompt, with the Prompt File Editor. Assign the prompt to the Announce node. Tip: Tip: If you have carefully planned your application, and you know ahead of time what application resources you will need, Avaya recommends that you go ahead and create or import those application resources before you actually start building your call flow. That way, they are ready and available when you need them. The following list is a list of the application resources available in Dialog Designer: Phrases are speech elements that are played to callers, either to inform them or to prompt them for responses. They might consist of prerecorded audio files that are called and played back to callers or text strings that are synthesized into audible form using Text-to-Speech (TTS) technology. For more information about phrases, see Chapter 4: Working with Phrases on page Getting Started with Dialog Designer August 2005

31 Using application resources Prompts are speech elements used to announce information to a caller or prompt the caller for some type of response. They are composed of one or more segments. These segments can consist of phrases, audio variables, text variables, or TTS text. You can also use conditional statements to determine which prompt segments are used in certain circumstances. For more information about prompts, see Chapter 5: Working with Prompts on page 67. Variables in Dialog Designer can take any of several different specialized forms. Some of the specialized forms include audio variables and text variables used for TTS, and the standard programming variable types. For more information about variables in Dialog Designer, see Chapter 6: Working with Variables on page 87. Grammars are speech elements used in conjunction with automated speech recognition (ASR) technology. Grammars are lists of possible responses that callers might make when they respond to prompts using spoken replies. Grammars define which words or phrases the ASR engine can recognize and respond to. For more information about grammars, see Chapter 7: Working with Grammars on page 97. Languages - In Dialog Designer applications, you can assign more than one language to a speech project. You can create applications that offer callers the option to select languages, as long as those languages are available on your system. For more information about languages and localization considerations, see Chapter 8: Language and Localization Considerations on page 111. Database operations - Use database operations to connect and interact with SQL databases. Using database operations, you can take information collected from a caller and write that information to the database. You can also retrieve information from the database to present the information to the caller. For more information about database operations, see Chapter 9: Working with Database Operations on page 129. Web service operations - Web services are Internet-based applications that you can use to perform a wide variety of functions. In Dialog Designer, you can invoke Web services with a Web service operation file. For example, you can use a Web service to enable callers to get stock quotes or weather forecasts for their area. Or you can use Web services to enable callers to find out about the availability of airline flights or hotel reservations. Nearly any Web service in which the information can be presented using audio files or Text-to-Speech can be used in a Dialog Designer application. For more information about Web service operations, see Chapter 10: Working with Web Services on page 143. Getting Started with Dialog Designer August

32 Creating Speech Applications with Dialog Designer Event types - Dialog Designer includes most of the common types of event handlers as part of the options available from the palette. In addition, you can use the Event Handler Editor to create your own custom event types. For example, you can create a custom event handler to throw an exception whenever the amount of a transaction request exceeds the currently available limit on a credit card account belonging to the caller. Then, you can place this event type in the application so that, when the application throws this event, the application goes to a node that informs the caller that the credit limit does not allow this transaction to complete. For more information about event types, see Chapter 11: Working with Event Types on page 153. Testing applications Before you deploy your application, and often during the application development process, Avaya recommends that you test your application. Dialog Designer offers an application simulation and debugging environment in which you can exhaustively test your application before "going live" with the application. Using the simulation and debugging tools, you can verify that the application works the way you want. You can also eliminate most, if not all, problems with your application before you ever deploy the application to a live system. While testing an application by simulation, you can: Specify input parameters Simulate a variety of error conditions Test for DTMF and spoken responses Interact with databases, in actuality or by simulation Invoke Web services For more information and the procedures for testing applications, see Chapter 12: Application Testing by Simulation on page 159. Deploying applications The final step in developing a speech application project is to deploy the application, so that the application can be used as intended. How you deploy the project depends on what you intend the project to do. 32 Getting Started with Dialog Designer August 2005

33 Deploying applications Before deploying the project, you must build the project and generate the code. Depending on what application execution environment you are creating the application for, the deployment process then creates a Web archive (WAR) file or enterprise archive (EAR) file. If you designed the project to be a subdialog or reusable module for a larger application, you must select an option that deploys the project to a directory for reusable modules. You can then import that module into another speech project and use the project as a module node. For more information, see Module nodes on page 48. If you designed the project to be the primary application or a stand-alone project, you can transport the WAR or EAR files to the server on which you designed the application to execute. For more information and the procedures for deploying applications, see Chapter 13: Application Deployment on page 167. Getting Started with Dialog Designer August

34 Creating Speech Applications with Dialog Designer Checklist for developing applications with Dialog Designer The following checklist reflects the recommended approach to designing and building speech application projects with Dialog Designer. Avaya designed this checklist so that you can print it out. You can then use the checklist to help guide you through the speech application development process. Process step: For more information, see: 1. Plan the application: a. Envision the user experience. b. Foresee potential problems. c. Plan the flow. d. Plan for any modules to be reused. e. List any application resources that must be created or imported. 2. Use the Speech Project Wizard to create the speech application project. 3. Create or import the required application resources. 4. Build the application: a. Place applicable nodes in the Call Flow Editor workspace. b. Connect the nodes as required. c. Edit the nodes as required. 5. Test the application at least once before deploying it. 6. Deploy the application to its run-time location. Planning before you build on page 21 Using application resources on page 30 Using the Speech Project Wizard on page 25 Using application resources on page 30 Building applications on page 29 The Call Flow Editor palette on page 42 Testing applications on page 32 Deploying applications on page Getting Started with Dialog Designer August 2005

35 Chapter 3: Working with the Call Flow Editor The Call Flow Editor provides the primary workspace and options for creating call flows in your speech application projects. It also provides the means for setting global application properties and editing application subflows. This chapter can help you understand the Call Flow Editor and how to use the Call Flow Editor to create call flows, set global properties, and edit nodes. This chapter includes the following topics: Overview of the Call Flow Editor on page 35 Starting the Call Flow Editor on page 38 Setting global application properties: the AppRoot node on page 38 - AppRoot node Application Items on page 39 - AppRoot node Event Handlers on page 40 The Call Flow Editor palette on page 42 - Actions on page 42 - Nodes on page 45 Node (subflow) editors on page 49 Overview of the Call Flow Editor This section assumes you are already familiar with Eclipse concepts and terminology. If you are not, Avaya recommends that you review them now. For the procedure to view that information, see Viewing the Eclipse Workbench User Guide, "Concepts" section on page 21. The Call Flow Editor is the primary editor and work place for Dialog Designer. It occupies the largest space in the Dialog Designer perspective and is where most of the basic work of creating a speech application takes place. The Call Flow Editor contains the workspace where you place the nodes that make up the call flow, modify those nodes, and connect them. It also provides a palette of nodes and options you can use to build call flows. Getting Started with Dialog Designer August

36 Working with the Call Flow Editor Description: In the default perspective layout for Dialog Designer, the Call Flow Editor occupies the Editor view space. For more information about the Editor view space, see The Editor view on page 24. Within that view, the Call Flow Editor incorporates the following elements: The applicationname [main.flow] tab - Located at the top left corner of the view, use this tab to bring the main call flow into focus when multiple editors are open. For an example, see Figure 1. A sizing button - Located at the top right corner of the view, use this button to maximize the Call Flow Editor view. When maximized, use this button to restore the Call Flow Editor to its normal size in the Editor view. The options palette - Located along the left side of the view, use this palette to select the nodes you want to place in the workspace. You can also use: - The Select option, to select one or more items in the workspace - The Connection option, to connect the nodes and create the flow - The Label option, to add notes and comments to the workspace - The Bookmark option, to create markers to make it easier to locate specific places in larger, more complex applications Figure 2 is an example of what the main options palette for the Call Flow Editor looks like. For more information about this palette, see The Call Flow Editor palette on page 42. When a node editor is active, the options palette changes to reflect the options available for that node. For more information, see Node (subflow) editors on page 49. The workspace - Occupying the largest area of the Call Flow Editor view, this is the blank area in the center and right of the view. This area is where you place the nodes and connect them. Node editor tabs - Located along the bottom of the view, these tabs show which node editors are open. You can use these tabs to switch quickly and easily between node editors and the main flow. Figure 3 shows an example of these tabs. When you click the Application Flow tab, the workspace displays the main call flow workspace. The second and third tabs of this example display, respectively, a menu node (OptionsMenu) and a prompt node (HelloWorld). For more information about the node editors, see Node (subflow) editors on page 49. Figure 1: applicationname [main.flow] tab 36 Getting Started with Dialog Designer August 2005

37 Overview of the Call Flow Editor Figure 2: Call Flow Editor main options palette Figure 3: Example of node editor tabs Getting Started with Dialog Designer August