JPH10283169A - Telephone response system developing device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the telephone response system developing device and method which improve working efficiency in the development of a telephone response system. SOLUTION: A developer successively inputs system operations by selecting icons according to the specification of a system he wants to develop in a working picture shown on a display part 13. A service flow controlling part 15 responds to the input, reads operation data that show the operation of a system that corresponds to a selected icon, shows it and also checks whether operation data that show a user's operation which is associated with the operation data exist. When associated operation data exist, the part 15 displays the operation data as what corresponds to operation data that is previously selected. When the input of system operations is completed, the developer inputs an instruction of program creation. A program generating part 17 reads a part program corresponding to each operation data and combines them.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a telephone answering system development apparatus and method capable of improving work efficiency in the development of a telephone answering system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a telephone answering system is developed, for example, first, a procedure exchanged with a user is documented as a specification, and a program language is used based on the specification. There is a way to do the coding.

[0003]

Therefore, when a system is newly developed or customized, development is performed according to the above procedure each time, so that the work efficiency is not improved and it is difficult to reduce the number of work steps. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a telephone answering system development apparatus and method capable of improving work efficiency in the development of a telephone answering system.

[0005]

To achieve the above object, a telephone answering system development apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention provides a telephone answering system for developing a telephone answering system for answering a telephone call from a user. A system development device,
Operation data storage means for storing a plurality of operation data indicating the operation of the user, operation storage means for storing a plurality of operation data indicating the operation of the telephone answering system, associating means for associating the operation data with the operation data, A symbol display unit for displaying each of the plurality of pieces of operation data stored in the operation storage unit as a symbol, among the symbols displayed by the symbol display unit,
Selecting means for sequentially selecting any of the symbols, and operation display means for reading and displaying the operation data corresponding to the selected symbol from the operation data storage means in accordance with the order selected by the selection means; A means for determining whether or not the operation data associated with the displayed operation data is present following the display by the operation display means, and reading and displaying the operation data from the operation data storage means if present, , Is provided.

According to such a configuration, when a developer selects an operation of the system in the case of developing the telephone answering system development device, an operation performed by the user with respect to the operation of the system is displayed. This allows the developer to proceed with the work while confirming that the system being created satisfies the specifications of the system to be developed.

[0007] The telephone answering system development device comprises: program storage means for storing programs respectively corresponding to the operation data; flow information storage means for storing, as flow information, the order in which the symbols are selected by the selection means; A connection unit that reads and combines a program corresponding to the operation data indicated by the selected symbol in accordance with the flow information. As a result, the setting of the system operation (system design) and the coding process can be performed almost simultaneously.

[0008] The telephone answering system development apparatus may further comprise means for inputting the content of the sound to be reproduced when the operation data corresponding to the symbol selected by the selection means indicates sound reproduction. . This allows the developer to more clearly grasp the specifications of the system being created.

[0009] The telephone answering system development device may further include input means for inputting information on the operation data in accordance with the type of the operation data indicated by the symbol selected by the selection means. In this case, the type of the data is identified by, for example, the type of the icon, a flag added to the operation data, and the like. Further, the information on the operation data includes, for example, the content of the sound to be reproduced,
Includes conditions for branching.

[0010] The telephone answering system development device may further include program execution means for executing the program combined by the combination means. This makes it possible to simulate the combined program and confirm that the program operates correctly.

[0011] The telephone answering system development device may further include a sound reproducing means for reproducing a sound, wherein the program executing means executes a sound of at least one of the user and the system in executing the program. The apparatus may further include means for instructing the sound reproducing means when an input is required. This allows the developer to more accurately grasp the processing flow of the system being created.

[0012] A telephone answering system development method according to a second aspect of the present invention is a telephone answering system development method for developing a telephone answering system for answering a telephone call from a user. An operation data storage step of storing operation data indicating, an operation storage step of storing operation data indicating an operation of the telephone answering system in association with the operation data, and a symbol display step of displaying a symbol of the operation data, A selecting step of sequentially selecting any of the displayed symbols, and reading and displaying the operation data corresponding to the selected symbol in accordance with the order selected in the selecting step; Displaying the operation data associated with the data.

According to such a configuration, when a developer selects an operation of the system in a situation where the telephone answering system development apparatus is developed, an operation performed by the user with respect to the operation of the system is displayed. This allows the developer to proceed with the work while confirming that the system being created satisfies the specifications of the system to be developed.

The method for developing a telephone answering system may include a program storing step of storing one or a plurality of programs corresponding to the symbols or the operation data, an order in which the symbols are selected, and an order in which the operation data is displayed. A flow information storing step of storing at least one of them as flow information; and a combining step of reading and combining the program according to the flow information. As a result, the setting of the system operation (system design) and the coding process can be performed almost simultaneously.

In the telephone answering system development method, an execution step of executing the program combined by the combining means; and, in the execution of the program by the execution step, a voice of at least one of the user and the system. And reproducing the sound when input is required. This makes it possible to simulate the combined program and confirm that the program operates correctly.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A telephone answering system development apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the telephone answering system development device includes an input unit 11, a display unit 13, a service flow control unit 15, a program generation unit 17, and a storage unit 19.

The input unit 11 is composed of a keyboard, a mouse, and the like, and an instruction for developing a telephone answering system is input by a developer. The display unit 13 is, for example,
It is composed of a CRT, an LCD, and the like, and displays a work screen for developing a telephone answering system.

The service flow control unit 15 controls a work screen (service flow screen) for developing a telephone answering system as shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the service flow screen is a tool box 2 that displays system-side operations of the telephone answering system as selectable icons.
1 and system operation area 2 for displaying system operation
3 and a user operation area 25 for displaying a user operation
And a program generation button 27.

When an icon in the tool box 21 is selected on the service flow screen, the service flow control unit 15 displays the operation of the system corresponding to the selected icon in the system operation area 23. Further, the service flow control unit 15 displays a user operation associated with the operation of the system displayed in the system operation area 23 in the user operation area 25. Details of the operation of the service flow control unit 15 will be described later. Also,
The service flow control unit 15 uses the program generation button 2
In response to the selection of (7), a program generation instruction for instructing to generate a program based on the information input by the developer on the service flow screen is transmitted to the program generation unit 17.

The program generator 17 receives a program generation instruction from the service flow controller 15 and generates a system program for the telephone answering system.

The storage unit 19 includes a component management file 31, an icon file 33, a flow information file 35, a component source file 37, and a program source file 39, as shown in FIG. Among them, the data in the component management file 31, the icon file 33, and the component source file 37 are stored in advance.

As shown in FIG. 3, the component management file 31 stores system operation information and user operation information.
The system operation information includes operation data indicating an operation of the telephone answering system, an identification code for identifying each operation data, related data indicating an identification code of user operation information associated with the operation data, and development. And an input flag indicating whether or not an input from a user is necessary. The user operation information includes operation data indicating a user operation and an identification code for identifying each operation data. For example, in the system operation information and the user operation information shown in FIG. 3, the operation data of the identification number B1 is associated with the operation data of the identification number B1 and the operation data of the identification number A1.

The icon file 33 stores icon data (icon data) corresponding to the system operation information of the component management file 31. The flow information file 35 stores information (service flow information) of the overall processing flow (service flow) of the telephone answering system set by the developer on the service flow screen.

The component source file 37 stores a plurality of componentized programs (component programs) corresponding to the system operation information of the component management file 31.
The program source file 39 contains the program generation unit 1
7 generated system (system program)
Is stored.

The telephone answering system development apparatus of the present invention stores system operation information and user operation information in association with each other in advance, and when the developer inputs the system operation on the service flow screen, the information is displayed. Displays the operation of the user corresponding to the operation. Thereby, the developer can easily confirm the system specifications on the service flow screen. The operation of the service flow control unit 15 for controlling the service flow screen will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

First, the developer selects (clicks) a desired icon from the tool box 21 on the service flow screen. The service flow control unit 15 reads out the system operation information corresponding to the selected icon from the component management file 31 and displays it in the system operation area 23. For example, each icon is associated with system operation information by an identification code, and when an icon is selected, the service flow control unit 15 reads out the corresponding system operation information using the identification code of the icon as a key. At this time, the service flow control unit 15 refers to the relevant data of the system operation information to be read, and displays the operation data in the user operation area 25 when the relevant user information exists.

For example, when the parts management file 31 stores the information shown in FIG.
When 1) is clicked, the service flow control unit 15
The component management file 31 is searched for the system operation information having the identification code “A1” corresponding to the icon C1. When the system operation information with the identification code “A1” is detected, the operation data “waiting for incoming call” is displayed in the system operation area 23 (D1), and the related data is referred to. In this case, since the related data “B1” is described, the service flow control unit 15 determines that the identification code is “B1”.
The user operation information which is 1 ”is searched, and the operation data“
System call "is read out and the user operation area 25 is read out.
(E1). In this display, it is preferable that the operation data "system call" be displayed side by side so that it is clear to the developer that the operation data corresponds to the operation data "waiting for incoming call".

When reading the system operation information,
The service flow control unit 15 refers to the input flag and
If “ON” is set, an input field for inputting data by the developer is displayed.For example, the icon “C2” of “sound reproduction” (for example, the identification code is A5) is clicked from the tool box 21. In this case, the service flow control unit 15 reads out and displays (D2) the operation data “sound reproduction” corresponding to the icon C2, and refers to the input flag, in which case the input flag is set to “ON”. Therefore, the service flow control unit 15 displays an input field for inputting a message for reproduction (F
2). "Waiting for input" indicating waiting for input from the user
When the icon C3 is clicked, the service flow control unit 15 displays the operation data “waiting for input” and the operation data “code input” associated therewith, for example (D3, E3). The service flow control unit 15
Refers to the input flag and displays an input field (F3) for inputting an instruction to the user (for example, input a user number).

In this way, the developer sees the operation of the system selected by the user and the display of the user's operation corresponding to the operation, grasps the service flow (processing flow) of the system being created, and Work can be performed while confirming that the system meets the specifications of the system to be developed. In addition, when the operation of the system that reproduces audio is selected on the service flow screen, an input field for inputting a phrase to be reproduced is provided, so that the developer can more accurately grasp the service flow of the system being created. can do.

In the service flow screen, the developer
When the input of the service flow is completed, the program generation button 27 is selected. The service flow control unit 15
In response to this selection, the service flow information (service flow information) input by the user is stored in the flow information file 35, and a program generation instruction is transmitted to the program generation unit 17.

The program generation unit 17 reads out the service flow information stored in the flow information file 35 in response to a program generation instruction from the service flow control unit 15. The program generation unit 17 reads out and combines the corresponding component programs from the component source file 37 based on the service flow information, generates a system program, and stores the system program in the program source file 39. Thus, a system program can be generated based on the service flow information set on the service flow screen. This combining method is optional. For example, a statement for calling each component program may be described in the main program in which initial settings for executing the program are described in advance according to the service flow information. . For example, if the service flow information is
In the case where the execution of the component programs OP1, OP3, and OP2 is to be sequentially performed, the program generation unit 17 sends, to the main program, a statement S1 instructing the execution of the component program OP1 and a A statement S2 instructing execution and a statement S3 instructing execution of the component program OP3 are described in order.

Next, this telephone answering system development device is
A specific description will be given with reference to FIG. 6 as an example of a case where a tennis court reservation system in which “reservation of tennis court” and “reservation confirmation” can be selected is developed. In this case, the component management file 31 stores the information shown in FIG.

First, the developer sends “
In response to this, the service flow control unit 15 refers to the system operation information in the component management file 31, displays the corresponding operation data “waiting for incoming call” in the system operation area 23, and responds to this. Then, the operation data "system call" of the identification code "B1" associated with the operation data is displayed in the user operation area 25 (P1). Then, the service flow control unit 15
Displays the corresponding operation data "sound reproduction" in the system operation area 23. As shown in FIG.
Since the input flag of "audio reproduction" is set to "ON", the service flow control unit 15 further displays an input field F4 for inputting a word to be reproduced (P2). Thank you very much. This is AB
C Sports Center. ".

Next, when the "waiting for input" icon is clicked, the service flow control unit 15 responds thereto.
Displays the corresponding operation data "waiting for input" in the system operation area 23 (P3). As shown in FIG. 3, since the operation data with the identification code “B2” is associated with the operation data “waiting for input”, the operation data “code input”
Is displayed in the user operation area 25 (P4). Further, since the input flag of the operation data “waiting for input” is set to “ON”, the service flow control unit 15 displays an input field F5 for inputting a word for instructing the user to input (P5). ). For example, the developer should enter “1” for tennis court reservation and “2” for reservation confirmation. "
Enter

Next, the developer identifies the input code and selects a "branch icon" for branching the processing. In response, the service flow control unit 15 displays the corresponding operation data “branch” and a condition input field for inputting a branch condition in the system operation area 23 (P
6). The developer inputs, for example, a condition “when the input code is“ 1 ””.

Next, the developer inputs the system operation when the input code is "1", that is, when the tennis court is reserved. For example, an "input wait" icon for inputting a date and time to be reserved and an "input wait" icon for inputting a reserving person identification code for identifying a reserving person are selected. In response to these inputs, the service flow control unit 15 displays the corresponding operation data and input fields in the system operation area 23 and displays the corresponding user's operation in the user operation area 25.

When the selection of the branch process when the input code is "1" is completed, the developer next inputs the branch process when the input code is "2".
The branch icon "is selected. In response to this, the service flow control unit 15 displays a condition input column (P
7). The developer inputs, for example, a condition “when the input code is“ 2. ”Subsequently, the developer selects the case where the input code is“ 2 ”, that is, confirmation of the reservation. Enter the system operation in case. For example, an "input waiting" icon for inputting a reservation person identification code or the like for identifying the reservation person, and a "voice" for reproducing the date and time reserved by the reservation person having the inputted reservation person identification code The "Play" icon is selected. In response to these inputs, the service flow control unit 15 displays the corresponding operation data and input fields in the system operation area 23, and performs the corresponding user operation in the user operation area 25.
To be displayed.

When the input of the branch processing is completed, the developer proceeds to "
Click on the "voice playback" icon. The service flow control unit 15 displays an input field with the operation data "voice playback" (P8). "In the input field. Next, the developer
Select the "hang up" icon to disconnect the line. In response to this, the service flow control unit 15 displays the operation data "hang up" in the system operation area 23 (P9).

The developer visually checks the service flow displayed on the service flow screen and, when confirming that the specifications of the system to be developed are satisfied, selects the program generation button 27. In response to this selection, the service flow control unit 15 stores the service flow information in the flow information file 35 and sends a program generation instruction to the program generation unit 17.

In response to a program generation instruction from the service flow control unit 15, the program generation unit 17 reads out and combines the relevant component programs from the component source file 37, generates a system program, and generates a system program. Store. In this manner, a system program for the tennis court reservation system can be generated.

As shown in FIG. 7, the telephone answering system development device of the present invention may further include an operation check unit 20 for checking the operation (simulation) of the generated system program. In this case, the operation check unit 20
Allows the developer to check the operation of the program by causing the system program generated by the program generating unit 17 to be executed in a pseudo execution environment. Further, for example, the operation check unit 20 includes an audio playback device, and the system performs “audio playback” in the simulation.
Alternatively, when the operation of "waiting for input" is performed, the voice reproducing device utters a phrase input in the input field of the service flow screen, so that the developer can confirm the operation of the program more accurately.

In the above description, the system operation information and the user operation information are stored as separate tables as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. However, as shown in FIG. The operation information may be included in the system operation information.

In the above description, the instruction to generate a program is given on the service flow screen.
Alternatively, a menu screen having selection menus such as “1. service flow generation” and “2. program generation” may be displayed. In this case, "Service flow generation"
And "program generation" can be executed independently.

The types of the icons in the tool box 21 and the contents of the system operation information and the user operation information in the component management file 31 are not limited to the above description, and are arbitrary.

The means for associating the icon with the operation data is not limited to the identification code in the above description, but is arbitrary.

It should be noted that the telephone answering system development apparatus of the present invention can be realized using an ordinary computer system without using a dedicated system. For example, a telephone answering system development device that executes the above-described processing may be configured by installing the program from a medium (a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, or the like) storing the program for performing the above-described operation in a computer. Can be.

The medium for supplying the program to the computer may be a communication medium (a medium that temporarily and fluidly stores the program, such as a communication line, a communication network, or a communication system). For example, the program may be posted on a bulletin board (BBS) of a communication network and distributed via the network. Then, by starting this program and executing it in the same manner as other application programs under the control of the OS, the above-described processing can be executed.

[0048]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When a developer selects an operation of the system in the development of the telephone answering system development device, an operation performed by the user with respect to the operation of the system is displayed. As a result, the developer can clearly grasp the processing flow of the system being created.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a telephone answering system development device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a service flow screen.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a data structure of data stored in a component management file.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an operation of a service flow control unit.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method in which a program generation unit combines component programs.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining processing when a tennis court reservation system is developed by the telephone answering system development device.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a telephone answering system development device including an operation check unit.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of a table when user operation information is included in system operation information.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 11 input unit 13 display unit 15 service flow control unit 17 program generation unit 19 storage unit 20 operation check unit 21 tool box 23 system operation area 25 user operation area 27 program generation button 31 parts management file 33 icon file 35 flow information file 37 Component source file 39 Program source file

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Noriyasu Goda 3-3-3 Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo NTT Data Communications Corporation

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A telephone answering system development device for developing a telephone answering system responding to a telephone call from a user, comprising: operation data storage means for storing a plurality of operation data indicating user operations; Operation storage means for storing a plurality of operation data indicating the operation of the response system; association means for associating the operation data with the operation data; and a symbol for displaying each of the plurality of operation data stored in the operation storage means as a symbol. Display means; selecting means for sequentially selecting any of the symbols displayed by the symbol display means; and the operation corresponding to the selected symbol in accordance with the order selected by the selecting means. Operation display means for reading and displaying data from the operation data storage means; and the operation display Means for judging whether or not the operation data associated with the displayed operation data exists, and reading and displaying the operation data from the operation data storage means, following the display by the means, Telephone answering system development equipment. 2. The telephone answering system development device, wherein: a program storage means for storing programs respectively corresponding to the operation data; and a flow information storage means for storing, as flow information, an order in which the symbols are selected by the selection means. The telephone response system development device according to claim 1, further comprising: a coupling unit that reads and combines a program corresponding to the operation data indicated by the selected symbol according to the flow information. 3. The telephone answering system development device further comprises means for inputting the content of the sound to be reproduced when the operation data corresponding to the symbol selected by the selection means indicates sound reproduction. The telephone answering system development device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: 4. The telephone answering system development device further comprises an input unit for inputting information about the operation data in accordance with a type of the operation data indicated by the symbol selected by the selection unit. The telephone answering system development device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein 5. The telephone answering system development apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said telephone answering system development apparatus further comprises a program executing means for executing the program combined by said combining means. 6. The telephone answering system development apparatus further comprises a sound reproducing means for reproducing sound, wherein the program executing means receives a sound from at least one of the user and the system in executing the program. 6. The telephone answering system development device according to claim 5, further comprising: a unit for instructing the voice reproducing unit when is required. 7. A telephone answering system development method for developing a telephone answering system for answering a telephone call from a user, comprising: an operation data storing step of storing operation data indicating an operation of the user; An operation storage step of storing operation data indicating an operation of the system in association with the operation data; a symbol display step of displaying a symbol of the operation data; and selecting any of the symbols from the displayed symbols in order. Reading the operation data corresponding to the selected symbol in accordance with the order selected in the selection step, displaying the operation data, and displaying the operation data associated with the operation data. A method for developing a telephone answering system. 8. A telephone answering system development method, comprising: a program storage step of storing one or a plurality of programs corresponding to the symbols or the operation data; an order in which the symbols are selected; and the operation data being displayed. The telephone answering system according to claim 7, further comprising: a flow information storing step of storing at least one of the order as flow information; and a combining step of reading and combining the program according to the flow information. Development method. 9. The telephone answering system development method, comprising: an execution step of executing the program combined by the combining means; and an execution of the program by the execution step, wherein at least one of the user and the system performs 9. The telephone answering system development method according to claim 8, further comprising: when voice input is required, reproducing the voice.