Testing and quality assurance of interactive voice response (IVR) applications

#Interactive voice response (IVR) refers to a computerized system that allows a user, typically a telephone caller, to select an option from a voice menu or otherwise interface with a computer system. Generally, the system plays pre-recorded voice prompts to which the user responds by either pressing a number on a telephone keypad or speaking to the system.

#Voice extensible markup language (“VoiceXML” or “VXML”) is an open standard developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) for IVR applications. An IVR application user interface may be documented in a portion (e.g., a dialog design portion) of a design document (e.g., a Service Design Document or “SDD”). A SDD may include an application summary, application call flows, application specification requirements, and a dialog design for an IVR application. The dialog design portion of the SDD may be used to show what the IVR application will do and how it will behave. The dialog design portion may be used to build the IVR application in the form of VXML documents. The VXML documents may include VXML elements that conform to the specifications recommended by W3C.

#The success of an IVR application may depend on how rigorously a speech application has been tested and quality assured. Typically, IVR applications are tested by humans (e.g., quality assurance (QA) testers). The testers may follow the specifications recommended by the W3C for a particular version of VXML (e.g., VoiceXML 2.0 and/or 2.1) when testing IVR applications. Such testers generally create a matrix of VXML elements for each dialog state in order to test an IVR application, and test the integrity of the IVR application with the VXML elements. For example, most of the dialog states may be manually tested for noinput, nomatch, and help events. However, such manual testing and quality assurance is time consuming, tedious, and expensive.

#FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary network in which systems and methods described herein may be implemented;

#FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary device, client or server, configured to communicate via the exemplary network of FIG. 1;

#FIG. 3 is a diagram of a portion of an exemplary computer-readable medium that may be used by the device of FIG. 2;

#The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements. Also, the following detailed description does not limit the invention.

#Implementations described herein may provide systems and methods for automatic testing and/or quality assurance of an IVR application. For example, in one implementation, a telephone (or phone) number to be called for accessing the IVR application, and a date and/or time to start performance of testing and/or QA of the IVR application may be provided (e.g., by a user) into a system for automatic testing and/or QA of an IVR application. Conditions for testing and/or QA of the IVR application may also be provided into the system and stored as, e.g., documents. The conditions may be provided by using a call flow diagram, and/or by providing the name of each dialog state. VXML elements to be tested for each dialog state of the IVR application may be pre-defined and provided into the system. The system may call the provided phone number and may automatically perform testing and/or QA (e.g., may automatically test the dialog states for events, hang-ups, routine maintenance, etc.). The system may generate a log of any issues encountered during testing/QA of the IVR application, and may notify (e.g., the user) of the testing/QA results of the IVR application. Automatic testing/QA of IVR applications may help reduce the time and cost required to perform testing and/or QA of IVR applications.

#A “VXML element,” as the term is used herein, is to be broadly interpreted to include any VXML element (e.g., command) capable of being used in a VXML document. For example, the following VXML elements may be used in VoiceXML 2.0 and/or 2.1: <assign>, <audio>, <block>, <break>, <catch>, <choice>, <clear>, <data>, <disconnect>, <else>, <elseif>, <emphasis>, <enumerate>, <error>, <example>, <exit>, <field>, <filled>, <foreach>, <form>, <goto>, <grammar>, <help>, <if>, <initial>, <item>, <link>, <log>, <mark>, <menu>, <meta>, <noinput>, <nomatch>, <object>, <one-of >, <option>, <paragraph>, <param>, <phoneme>, <prompt>, <property>, <prosody>, <record>, <reprompt>, <return>, <rule>, <ruleref>, <say-as>, <script>, <send>, <sentence>, <sub>, <subdialog>, <submit>, <tag>, <throw>, <token>, <transfer>, <value>, <var>, and <vxml>.