User's Guide To Outbound Telenotification
Overview
This chapter discusses the functions of the System Editor that you use to build and maintain your Outbound Telenotification program. You will become familiar with the various objects used as the building blocks of your own system. For each type of object, we explain how it works and how you use the editor to create, configure and manipulate that object. Specifically, this chapter explains to you:
Terms
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Chain To |
To ‘Chain To’ another program is to use a feature that allows you to move respondents around your system, from one phone application into another. |
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Children |
In the context of any ECS phone program, ‘Children’ are objects that Branch from another parent object. Respondents cannot get to a child without going through the parent object. |
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Clipboard |
A special storage area in Windows that temporarily stores cut or copied information, such as text or speech files. |
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Default |
Any preset or preselected item, control, or field. Most commonly, the default setting of a control is the normal or recommended setting. |
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Menu Bar |
This contains a list of menu headings. Clicking on a menu heading displays the menu corresponding to the selected menu heading. The menu options relate to the menu heading they fall under. |
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Object ID Number |
A number used to identify tree objects in the tree. The ID number of an object is the combination of all touch tones a respondent would press to get to that object from the Initial Prompt. |
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Parent |
In the context of any ECS phone program, a ‘Parent’ object is one that has branches that descend from it. This means that a respondent will always go through a parent, whether there is a speech to hear or not, before they reach the child object. |
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Question |
This tree object contains the speech and asks the questions. It prompts the caller for a verbal response. It appears on the tree as a yellow rectangle with a "Q" on it. |
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Question Header |
This tree object manages the question set. It moves the caller through the Questions, stores all the responses, and then plays a "Thank You/Good-bye" speech. It also allows you to import pre-recorded messages and export messages that you want to save to disk. It appears on the tree as a small blue folder with an "H" on it. |
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Tool Button Ribbon |
This is a vertical display of buttons that allow you to edit and modify the tree. These buttons correspond to menu commands located under the menu headings on the tool bar. |
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Tree Objects |
These are the components you use to customize your system. There are four types of tree objects you can use: Question Headers, Questions, Prompts, and Control points. These objects allow you to modify the structure of your Outbound Telenotification system. |
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Work Area |
This portion of the program window displays the existing tree structure for your Outbound Telenotification system. |
When we say ‘Tree,’ we’re referring to the structure of your Outbound Telenotification program as it appears in the work area. Don’t forget, the tree on your system is the real thing, containing all the programs you purchased. ECS created the sample in this manual to be similar to yours, but it probably won’t be the same.
Think of your system tree as a family tree--a family tree has branches, and so does the system tree of your Outbound Telenotification program. Keeping with this visualization, you can see that this matriarchal family tree has great grandmothers, grandmothers, mothers, daughters, grand-daughters, nieces, and so on. The picture below illustrates this comparison of the family tree to the system tree:
Figure 24--The Family tree and the system tree
As with any family tree, all of the children spring from their ancestors. These children have children, and the tree begins to branch and grow.
To carry the family tree analogy a step further, a family tree has a main ancestor from which branches of relatives grow. From those branches, other branches grow, and branches grow from those branches, and so on. The Outbound Telenotification system works the same way. Knowing this, let’s look at the Outbound Telenotification tree again:
Figure 25--The Outbound Telenotification system tree
You can see why the structure is called a tree. All ECS Phone programs share this structure. This tree structure then is a representation of how a respondent would move around the system. Consider an example to illustrate how the various tree objects function:
Suppose a respondent receives a call from your Outbound Telenotification system, which you have set to run in the simplest set up, Standard Unattended mode, single question format. The first thing your respondent hears is the welcome speech on the System Greeting object.
Figure 26--The respondent’s progress in the tree
In single branch format, the System Greeting moves the respondent straight to the Question Header of a message. In the example case, let’s say you have set it up to go to Children’s Books. The Question Header acts as a control for Questions and storage for messages. So at this point, the respondent goes right to the first Question of the set. The Question plays its advertising speech for the respondent. The next picture shows the respondent’s progress thus far:
Figure 27--The respondent moves to the "Children’s Books" Question Header and the first Question
When the Question finishes playing, it waits for a response, then goes on to the next Question. The respondent moves automatically through the set of questions, as shown:
Figure 28--The respondent moving through the questions
After the respondent has responded to all the questions, the program goes back to the Question Header.
Figure 29--The respondent going back to the Header
The Question Header has a "Thank you and Good-bye" speech, that bids the respondent a polite farewell. The call is finished and the system hangs up.
If your application does not reach a respondent, it will get one of four results. Your system might get an answering machine, a busy signal, or a Special Information Tone, or there might be no answer at all. This section discusses what happens when your application runs into one of these conditions.
Answering Machines--Your program cannot tell whether it is a person answering the phone or a machine. Since sound triggers Outbound Telenotification’s responses, as soon as it hears a voice and after the voice stops, it starts running your message without regard for whether the voice is live or recorded.
If you are using an Unattended mode, this means that the machines talk to each other for a little while, and when your application finally encounters a long enough silence, it will hang up. You and the owner of the answering machine may both end up with some bizarre messages.
If you are using Attended mode, hopefully your attendant will be able to tell when he or she gets an answering machine. The attendant can then either hang up and go on to the next number, or wait until the answering machine gives its tone and then play your message. You will not get a message this way, but the owner of the answering machine will hear your message.
Your program will designate the call "Completed" no matter what mode you use, because the answering machine did answer the phone.
Busy Signal--If your application encounters a busy signal, it immediately hangs up and goes on to the next number. The application leaves the number designated B, and comes back and dials it again after it has dialed all the other numbers.
Special Information Tone--The Special Information Tone (SIT) is the tone that precedes a recording that tells you that the number is out of service, or disconnected, or nonexistent. The application hangs up, designates that number SIT, and goes on to the next number.
No Answer--If there is no answer, your application will let the phone ring as many times as you have set it to in the "Ring Count before Answer" field, in the System Greeting box. The default setting for this field is four, so using the default, the application will let the phone ring four times, then hang up, leaving the number designated N, and go on to the next number. Just like with the busy signal, after the system has finished calling all the other numbers, it will come back and re-try all the ones where no one answered.
There are two permanent tree objects that act as originating ancestors for the system tree, and four objects that you can use to create ‘branches’ in the Outbound Telenotification system tree. We’ll discuss the purpose of each of these elements, and how they work in the system tree.
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System Greeting--This object appears in the tree in the upper left corner of the work area (it’s that small blue rectangle with an "S" on it). This is generally the first object in the tree that respondents hear when the system calls them. The System Greeting contains a speech that welcomes the respondent to the system. (For more information on the system greeting and compliance with legal requirements, see "Chapter 4--Components" in your Sales and Marketing manual.) This is a permanent object in the tree. |
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Initial Prompt--This tree object appears as a small red open folder, located directly under the System Greeting. In a multiple branch format, you can use the Initial Prompt to instruct respondents in using the system and to run an auto-menu of options that respondents may choose from. In Polite Unattended mode, you can use the Initial Prompt to ask the respondent for an indication that they want to hear your message. This tree object is also a permanent object in the tree. |
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Question Header--This tree object’s basic purpose is to manage the set of Questions that are its children. It moves the respondent through the question set, stores all the response messages, and then plays a "Thank you/Good-bye" speech and hangs up. It also allows you to import pre-recorded messages, and export messages that you want to save on disk. A Question Header appears as a small blue open folder with an "H" on it. |
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Question--This object appears as a yellow rectangle with a "Q" on it. It contains the main message and/or asks questions. It asks the respondent for a verbal response. |
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Prompt--You can use Prompts a couple of ways in this program. One way is to use them in Polite Unattended mode, where a Prompt will ask the respondent to press a touch tone to indicate that they want to hear your message. Using a Prompt this way, rather than using the Initial Prompt, allows you to designate a single-digit number for the message. A respondent therefore only presses one touch tone to access the message, rather then three. You may also potentially want to use Prompts to advertise groups of things that you want to split up. For instance, you might advertise "Trucks" at the prompt, which then provides the respondent with a menu that allows the respondent to choose between a message for Chevy trucks or one for Fords. The Prompt essentially ‘prompts’ the respondent to make a choice. A Prompt appears as a small green open folder. |
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Control Point--A Control Point appears as a small pink rectangle with a "C" on it. Control Points allow you to perform special functions. Its primary function is to ‘chain’ to another ECS Phone program. This means that you can access part of another program through the Outbound Telenotification system tree. For example, you may route respondents to other programs you are contacting for other reasons, such as to schedule a change notification. You might want to connect them to a specific voice mailbox, or have them listen to an announcement on Voice Messaging. More often, though, you would use a Control Point in this program as an exit point, for use in Polite mode. You can tell respondents to press one number to hear the message and another to have the system hang up right away. In addition, the Control Point allows the system to disconnect within legal time limits when the respondent hangs up. |
Now that we’ve introduced you to the tree objects, you know their purpose. This section now builds upon the previous discussions by stating the rules and details of each object and its controls. This section also relates each of these objects to the basic system tree we shipped to you.
The System Greeting
As stated previously, the System Greeting generally is the first thing the respondent hears when they receive a call from your system. Think of it as a sort of welcome mat at the front door of your system.
The Details
The picture below shows how the System Greeting box appears:
Figure 30--The System Greeting box
The parts and purpose of the System Greeting box are as follows:
Ring Count before Answer--This field sets the number of times your system will let a phone ring before it hangs up and dials the next number. This field is ‘number specific,’ which means that you can only enter numbers into this field.
Next Prompt--This field shows you the ‘address’ of the next tree object that will activate. ECS sets this to the Initial Prompt (01). This means that ECS set the system up for Standard Unattended mode, multiple branch format, and after the System Greeting finishes its task (which includes playing a recorded speech), the respondent hears a set of instructions and an auto-menu.
Max Record Time--The number in this field designates in seconds how long the application will record any speech that a respondent leaves for you in response to a question.
Max Retries--The number in this field designates the number of times you want to retry calls in an effort to complete the call.
Min Retry Time--The number in this field designates in minutes the minimum number of minutes the application will wait before a call is retried.
List to Dial--This field allows you to select from the lists of phone numbers that you have set up, and indicate which one you want the application to start dialing from.
On Completion Run--This field allows you to select from the lists of telephone applications that you have set up, and indicate which one you want to start running once you’ve completed your current numbers list. This is in case you complete your Outbound calls early and would like to start another telephone application before the time for which you have it scheduled in Business Manager. For more information on how to use this function, see "Chapter 12: Advanced Functions and Features" of this manual or "Chapter 4 Components" of your Outbound Telenotification Sales and Marketing manual.
System Greeting Script--This field is a script of the speech that ECS recorded for this object. You can read what respondents will hear. If you wish to change the message, then you can use this space to re-write the speech and as a ‘script’ for the speech when you record. This eliminates the need for a bunch of hand-written speech notes cluttering your desk. We’ll talk more about recording speech later.
Enable Speech--The "X" in this box means that the speech is ‘enabled,’ and it plays to a respondent. You can ‘disable’ the speech by clicking on the box. The "X" will disappear and no message will play to a respondent. When you disable a speech, the "Play" and "Record" buttons turn a sort of gray color. This signifies that you cannot use these commands. You disabled the speech, therefore you may not play it or record a new one.
"Play" button--Clicking on this button allows you to listen on your phone to the speech associated with this object. This is also useful if you change the speech and want to hear how the new speech sounds.
"Record" button--If you want to create a new greeting speech, this button will allow you to begin recording for this tree object. We’ll talk more about recording speech later.
"OK" button--This button confirms the settings on the object. If you made any changes, the changes save and you return to the tree view.
"Cancel" button--This button allows you to avoid saving any changes you’ve made and return to the tree view. This means that if you want to experiment with changing numbers and even speeches, you do not have to worry about losing the original information. Simply cancel the changes rather than pressing "OK" and the tree object will return to its original format.
Status line--This is the area at the bottom of the box that displays notes pertaining to the parts of the box. You can move the mouse to a part of the box and receive information pertaining to the function or purpose of that part.
In The Example System Tree
Looking at the "System Greeting" box in the example system tree, we can see that the current setup allows the phone to ring four times before it hangs up, plays the greeting speech, then leads to the Initial Prompt. It also allows 60 seconds of recording time for messages.
Initial Prompt
Our discussion of the example system tree now takes us to the "Initial Prompt" object. This object, like the "System Greeting," is a permanent tree object. Let’s take a closer look:
Figure 31--The "Initial Prompt" box
The Details
Enable--The "X" in this box indicates that the Initial Prompt is ‘enabled’ and will work normally. To ‘disable’ the prompt, click on the box. The "X" disappears and the system acts as if the object no longer exists. Respondents will not be able to reach the object. If you disable the Initial Prompt, though, you disable the entire system, because it is a parent to the entire system.
Description--This field contains the information that describes the function of the object (i.e., the object’s name). This text also appears in the system tree, to the right of the object.
Enable Auto-Menu--The "X" in this box indicates that the Initial Prompt will present a list of options. The recorded descriptions, or ID speeches, of the children of the initial Prompt make up this list of choices. When the "X" appears in the box, then you have enabled the auto-menu and it works normally. If the check box is empty, then you have disabled the auto-menu (and thus, it doesn’t play the list of choices). The Auto Menu function saves you the trouble of recording a menu as a speech. Also, the auto-menu changes automatically to reflect changes in the tree structure.
No TT Jump--This field handles respondents who answer your Outbound Telenotification system using a non-touch tone (rotary) phone. They may not use the system to its full extent, so this option allows them to get at least something out of your system. It also handles those calls with respondents who hang up without choosing a touch tone.
Prompt Script--This field is a script of the speech that ECS recorded for this object. You can read what respondents will hear. If you wish to change the message, then you can use this space to re-write the speech and as a ‘script’ for the speech when you record. This eliminates the need for a bunch of hand-written speech notes cluttering your desk. We’ll talk more about recording speech later.
Enable Speech--The "X" in this box means that the speech is ‘enabled,’ and it plays to a respondent. You can ‘disable’ the speech by clicking on the box. The "X" will disappear and no message will play to a respondent. When you disable a speech, the "Play" and "Record" buttons turn a sort of gray color. This signifies that you have disabled the speech, and therefore you may not play it or record a new one until you enable the speech again.
"Play" button--Clicking on this button allows you to listen on your phone to the speech associated with this object. This is also useful if you change the speech and want to hear how the new speech sounds.
"Record" button--If you want to create a new Initial Prompt speech, this button will allow you to begin recording for this tree object. We’ll talk more about recording speech later.
"OK" button--This button confirms the settings on the object. If you made any changes, the changes save and you return to the tree view.
"Cancel" button--This button allows you to avoid saving any changes you’ve made and return to the tree view. This means that if you want to experiment with changing numbers and even speeches, you do not have to worry about losing the original information. Simply cancel the changes rather than pressing "OK" and the tree object will return to its original format.
Status line--This is the area at the bottom of the box that displays notes pertaining to the parts of the box. For instance, you can move the mouse to a part of the box and receive information pertaining to the function or purpose of that part.
In the Example System Tree
In the example tree as shown in Figure 29, looking at the "Initial Prompt" information, you may deduce the purpose of this tree object: When the respondent reaches this tree object, they hear the instructional speech recorded for this object (the script for this speech appears in the "Prompt Script field"). They then hear the auto-menu, which plays a menu of the messages they may listen to. The auto-menu also tells respondents which numbers to press on their phones to access these messages.
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The ID number of an object is the combination of all of the touch tones you would press to get to the object from the Initial prompt. |
Currently the "No TT Jump" field contains a "103." This is the ID number for the "Bi-Weekly Mortgage" message. Since responding to the questions and moving through the question fields does not require pressing any touch-tone buttons, a non-touch tone respondent can at least hear and respond to the message for Bi-Weekly Mortgage. Your respondent can always indicate in their message if there is another service that they are more interested in. |
At this point, the touch-tone respondent could branch to one of five places. (Thin black lines represent the branches by connecting the tree objects.) The auto-menu on the Initial Prompt will give the respondent the following choices:
"Bi-Weekly Mortgage, 103; Computer Monitor Service, 104; Children’s Books, 106; U-Select diet, 114; Hang up and leave the system, 999."
Since we’re looking at how the system and the tree objects work, let’s look at the remaining tree objects according to type.
Question Headers
Let’s view the details of a Question Header box:
Figure 32--The Question Header box
The main purpose of the Question Header tree object is to manage the question set, store recorded messages, and close the call.
Five groups of buttons and fields make up the Question Header box. These groups of controls are as follows:
Question Header Info--The description of the question set.
Upon Completion--This controls what happens when the object finishes its tasks.
Left Messages--This is the storage space. It shows you if you have messages and allows you to retrieve them.
Import/Export Questions--This section allows you to save messages to disk or import pre-recorded messages from disk.
Thank You/Good-bye Speech--This section contains a speech that says a simple thank you and good-bye that plays after the respondent answers the last question.
Let’s look at the details of these groups.
The Details
Enable--The "X" in this box indicates that the Question Header is ‘enabled’ and will work normally. To ‘disable’ the header, click on the box. The "X" disappears and the system acts as if the object no longer exists. Respondents will not be able to reach the object. If you disable a Question Header, though, you disable the entire message.
Description--This field contains the information that describes the function of the object (i.e., the object’s name). This text also appears in the system tree, to the right of the object.
"Record ID" button--If you want to change the recorded ID speech for the Question Header, this button will allow you to do so. The system uses this speech so that a respondent can identify this object on a parent’s auto-menu. The section entitled "The Record Box" discusses recording fully.
"Play ID" button--This button allows you to play the ID speech for the Question Header on your local phone. The section entitled "The Play Box" discusses playing IDs.
Left Messages--This box lets you know how many messages you have, and whether they are "Old," meaning you have already listened to them and saved them, or "New," meaning you haven’t listened to them yet.
"Play" button--This button allows you to play the messages that respondents have left for you.
"Delete" Button--This button allows you to delete messages that you have already listened to and taken note of.
"Import" Button--This button allows you to import pre-recorded messages from floppy disks.
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"Export" Button--This button allows you to save, or ‘Export,’ messages to floppy disks. | |
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You can select either the "Drive A" option or the "Drive B" option, but never both. |
Drive A--Select this to tell the computer that the floppy disk that you are saving to or importing from is in Drive A. Drive B--Select this to tell the computer that the floppy disk that you are saving to or importing from is in Drive B. |
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You can select either the "Goto" option or the "Hangup Phone" option, but never both. |
Goto--The "Goto" option allows you to go to another part of the tree. By activating the "Goto" option and entering a tree object’s ID number (which is like its ‘address’ in the tree), the respondent then goes to that object when this object finishes. Hangup Phone--This is the option selected on your system. It tells the application to hang up the phone after the good-bye speech plays. |
Thank You, Good-bye Speech--This field is a script of the speech that ECS recorded for this object. You can read what respondents will hear. If you wish to change the message, then you can use this space to re-write the speech and as a ‘script’ for the speech when you record. This eliminates the need for a bunch of hand-written speech notes cluttering your desk. We’ll talk more about recording speech later.
Enable Speech--The "X" in this box means that the speech is ‘enabled,’ and it plays to a respondent. You can ‘disable’ the speech by clicking on the box. The "X" will disappear and no message will play to a respondent. When you disable a speech, the "Play" and "Record" buttons turn a sort of gray color. This signifies that you have disabled the speech, and therefore may not play it or record a new one.
"Play" button--Clicking on this button allows you to listen on your phone to the speech associated with this object. This is also useful if you change the speech and want to hear how the new speech sounds.
"Record" button--If you want to create a new Thank you, Good-bye speech, this button will allow you to begin recording for this tree object. We’ll talk more about recording speech later.
"OK" button--This button confirms the settings on the object. If you made any changes, the changes save and you return to the tree view.
"Cancel" button--This button allows you to avoid saving any changes you’ve made and return to the tree view. This means that if you want to experiment with changing numbers and even speeches, you do not have to worry about losing the original information. Simply cancel the changes rather than pressing "OK" and the tree object will return to its original format.
Status line--This is the area at the bottom of the box that displays notes pertaining to the parts of the box. You can move the mouse to a part of the box and receive information pertaining to the function or purpose of that part.
Questions
Figure 33 shows the Questions that branch from the parent Question Header, "Bi-Weekly Mortgage":
Figure 33--The "Bi-Weekly Mortgage" Question set
Since all Questions are very similar (only the Descriptions, Scripts, and speeches are different), the picture below shows a representative one, the "Speech and Name" Question.
Figure 34--The "Speech and Name" Question
Since this is the first Question in the set, its speech contains the actual sales pitch. Other Questions have shorter speeches, like, "What is your area code and phone number?" All of the other Questions are configured identically to this one. Only their speeches, names, and ID numbers are different.
The Details
Enable--The "X" in this box indicates that the Question is ‘enabled’ and will work normally. To ‘disable’ the Question, click on the box. The "X" disappears and the system acts as if the object no longer exists. Respondents will not be able to hear the question or respond to it.
Description--This field contains the information that describes the function of the object (i.e., the object’s name). This text also appears in the system tree, to the right of the object.
Question Script--This field is a script of the speech that ECS recorded for this object. You can read what respondents will hear. If you wish to change the message, then you can use this space to re-write the speech and as a ‘script’ for the speech when you record. This eliminates the need for a bunch of hand-written speech notes cluttering your desk. We’ll talk more about recording speech later.
"Play" button--Clicking on this button allows you to listen on your phone to the speech associated with this object. This is also useful if you change the speech and want to hear how the new speech sounds.
"Record" button--If you want to create a new question speech, this button will allow you to begin recording for this tree object. We’ll talk more about recording speech later.
"OK" button--This button confirms the settings on the object. If you made any changes, the changes save and you return to the tree view.
"Cancel" button--This button allows you to avoid saving any changes you’ve made and return to the tree view. This means that if you want to experiment with changing numbers and even speeches, you do not have to worry about losing the original information. Simply cancel the changes rather than pressing "OK" and the tree object will return to its original format.
Status line--This is the area at the bottom of the box that displays notes pertaining to the parts of the box. You can move the mouse to a part of the box and receive information pertaining to the function or purpose of that part.
In the Example Tree
In the example tree, any message asks the same three questions--name, address, and phone number. The first question of each message is described as the Speech and Name question, because before it asks for the respondent’s name, it plays the actual message speech.
Prompts
A Prompt’s primary job is to wait for a touch-tone, then go to the object that corresponds to that touch-tone. The picture shows how the Prompt box appears:
The Details
Enable--The "X" in this box indicates that the Prompt is ‘enabled’ and will work normally. To ‘disable’ the Prompt, click on the box. The "X" disappears and the system acts as if the object no longer exists. Respondents will not be able to access any children that the prompt has either.
Description--This field contains the information that describes the function of the object (i.e., the object’s name). This text also appears in the system tree, to the right of the object.
Enable Auto-Menu--The "X" in this box indicates that the Prompt will present a list of options. The recorded descriptions, or ID speeches, for each object on this branch of the tree (i.e., a direct child of the parent Prompt) compose this list of choices. When the "X" appears in the box, then you have enabled the auto-menu and it works normally. If the check box is empty, then you have disabled the auto-menu (and thus, it doesn’t play the list of choices). The Auto Menu function saves you the trouble of recording a menu as a speech. Also, the auto-menu changes automatically to reflect changes in the tree structure.
"Record ID" button--If you want to change the recorded ID speech for the Prompt, this button will allow you to do so. The system uses this speech so that a respondent can identify this object on a parent’s auto-menu. The section entitled "The Record Box" discusses recording procedures.
"Play ID" button--This button allows you to play the ID speech for the Prompt on your own phone. The section entitled "The Play Box" discusses playing procedures.
Prompt Script--This field is a script of the speech that may be recorded for this object. You can read what respondents will hear. If you wish to change the message, then you can use this space to re-write the speech and as a ‘script’ for the speech when you record. This eliminates the need for a bunch of hand-written speech notes cluttering your desk. We’ll talk more about recording speech later.
Enable Speech--The "X" in this box means that the speech is ‘enabled,’ and it plays to a respondent. You can ‘disable’ the speech by clicking on the box. The "X" will disappear and no message will play to a respondent. When you disable a speech, the "Play" and "Record" buttons turn a sort of gray color. This signifies that you have disabled the speech, and therefore may not play it or record a new one. If you disable a Prompt, though, you also disable all its children.
"Play" button--Clicking on this button allows you to listen on your phone to the speech associated with this object. This is also useful if you change the speech and want to hear how the new speech sounds.
"Record" button--If you want to create a new prompt speech, this button will allow you to begin recording for this tree object. We’ll talk more about recording speech later.
"OK" button--This button confirms the settings on the object. If you made any changes, the changes save and you return to the tree view.
"Cancel" button--This button allows you to avoid saving any changes you’ve made and return to the tree view. This means that if you want to experiment with changing numbers and even speeches, you do not have to worry about losing the original information. Simply cancel the changes rather than pressing "OK" and the tree object will return to its original format.
Status line--This is the area at the bottom of the box that displays notes pertaining to the parts of the box. You can move the mouse to a part of the box and receive information pertaining to the function or purpose of that part.
In the Example Tree
There is no Prompt in the example system tree. In Outbound Telenotification, there are only a few reasons you might use prompts. One is if you want to run your system in Polite Unattended mode. You can use a Prompt in this case to set up the message with a one digit number. Then have the Prompt ask respondents if they want to hear your message, and tell them that to hear it, all they have to do is press one touch tone. It is a little easier on the respondent to press 1 rather than 347 or something.
You may also use prompts to set up surveys as discussed in your Sales and Marketing manual.
Another time you might use a Prompt is if you want to advertise something as a group that you are also splitting up and advertising in sections. For instance, your Prompt might advertise a kennel, and then the question sets would advertise different breeds of dogs that you could buy from that kennel. This is an uncommon arrangement, though, and requires a lot of cooperation from your respondents.
Control Points
A Control Point allows you to move your respondent to another part of the tree. It also allows you to chain to, or move into, another ECS phone program. The picture shows the Control Point box:
Figure 36- The Control Point box
The Details
Enable--The "X" in this box indicates that the Control Point is ‘enabled’ and will work normally. To ‘disable’ the Control Point, click on the box. The "X" disappears and the system acts as if the object no longer exists. Respondents will not be able to reach the object at all.
Description--This field contains the information that describes the function of the object (i.e., the object’s name). This text also appears in the system tree, to the right of the object.
"Record ID" button--If you want to change the recorded ID speech for the Control Point, this button will allow you to do so. The system uses this speech so that a respondent can identify this object on a parent’s auto-menu. The section entitled "The Record Box" discusses recording procedures.
"Play ID" button--This button allows you to play the ID speech for the Control Point on your own phone. The section entitled "The Play Box" discusses playing procedures.
Chain To--This control allows you to ‘chain’ the Outbound Telenotification program to another ECS phone program. ‘Chaining’ is simply linking one ECS phone program to another, to utilize the special properties of another program. This comes in handy when you want to include a function in Outbound Telenotification that appears in another ECS phone program. Chaining is an advanced feature of the ECS phone programs, and is discussed in the "Advanced Functions And Features" section in the manual.
Goto (For Chaining)--This field relates to the "Chain To" field. This field allows you to enter the ID number of an object in the program you chain to, so that the respondent goes right to this object.
No Control Function--This option allows you to avoid selecting the "Chain To" control function, so that respondents who enter the Control Point go straight to the "Control Action" section.
Control Action--This section indicates what the Control Point does after it completes its task. For example, if you set your Control Point to "Chain To," then your program will take the respondent to another program. When the respondent reaches a hang up command in that other program, they come back to this Control Point and do whichever command you have set up in the Control Action section.
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You can select either the "Goto" option or the "Hangup Phone" option, but never both. |
Goto--The "Goto" option takes the respondent to another part of the tree. If you activate the "Goto" option and enter a tree object’s ID number (which is like its ‘address’ in the tree), the respondent then goes to that object when this object finishes. Hangup Phone--This option tells the program to hang up the phone after completing this Control Point’s tasks. |
"OK" button--This button confirms the settings on the object. If you made any changes, the changes save and you return to the tree view.
"Cancel" button--This button allows you to avoid saving any changes you’ve made and return to the tree view. This means that if you want to experiment with changing numbers and even speeches, you do not have to worry about losing the original information. Simply cancel the changes rather than pressing "OK" and the tree object will return to its original format.
Status line--This is the area at the bottom of the box that displays notes pertaining to the parts of the box. You can move the mouse to a part of the box and receive information pertaining to the function or purpose of that part.
In the Example Tree
The respondent accesses the "Exit System" Control Point by pressing the 999 on their phone. Take a closer look at the "Exit System" Control Point:
Figure 37--The "Exit System" Control Point
You’ll notice that this Control Point has "999" as its ID number. The reason for this is so the respondent won’t accidentally exit the system by pressing a single touch tone.
The only activated control on this object is the "Hangup Phone" control. When the respondent reaches this tree object, the system hangs up the phone.
The primary reason for including a hang up Control Point in Outbound Telenotification is for using the Polite Unattended mode. This hang up point allows you to tell respondents that the computer will hang up immediately if they press a touch tone. In addition, it allows you to stay within the legal hang up/disconnect time limit.
A tree object’s ID number allows you to know where an object is in the system tree. If you look at your system tree, you’ll notice that each object in the tree has a picture, number, and description associated with it. The number is the relative location of the object. That means that it is the ID number relative to the objects parent.
If you double click a tree object to view the detailed information box, you’ll notice that in some cases the ID number for that tree object is different from the number beside it on the tree. This is because the ID Number is an absolute reference number for that object.
To illustrate this idea of relative and absolute ID’s, let’s look at the example tree:
Figure 38--ID for Bi-Weekly Mortgage "Address" Question
Looking at the "Address" Question in the Bi-Weekly Mortgage message, we see that its relative number is "1." This means that it has this ID relative to its Question Header.
Looking at the Detail box for this Question, you see:
As you can see, the Question ID is "1031." This is the absolute Reference Number for this tree object. It is a combination of "103," the ID number of the Question Header, and "1," the ID number of the Question. No other tree object may use this number (the program simply won’t allow it). Due to the ID’s uniqueness, it is this number that you use as a Reference Number when using Goto commands.
For every object except Questions, the maximum length of the object’s ID is ten digits. Questions can only have one digit relative IDs. Also, consider that there is no rule that says any object other than Questions must have a relative ID of only a single digit. If this were the case, then you could only have ten objects at any level (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9). This would limit you to ten messages under any Prompt. In any case, this is a good thing; it is not easy to keep track of lists longer than four items and long lists of items might annoy respondents.
The Script Editor is a large field that appears at the bottom of Question Header, Question and Prompt boxes, as well as the Initial Prompt box. It contains the script for the speech that respondents will hear when they reach that object. If you want to change the speech, you would use this field as part of the speech recording procedure. This field, when activated, allows you to enter as much text as you wish. This text acts as a ‘script’ for the speech when you record. This eliminates the need for a bunch of hand-written speech notes cluttering your desk. The picture shows an example of the Script Editor:
Figure 39--The Script Editor
The white area of the box accepts text. In Questions, there is no "Enable Speech" control; the program permanently enables Question speech. But in Question Headers and Prompts, you must activate the "Enable Speech" option (i.e., the check box must contain an "X") in order to play or record the script, and in order for your respondents to hear it. The scroll bar along the right side of the text field allows you to move up and down through the text.
When you move the mouse pointer into the Script Editor field, the pointer changes from an arrow to a script editing cursor. The picture shows this change:
Figure 40--Mouse pointer change in the Script Editor
When you click anywhere in this field, a cursor appears. You can use the mouse to place the cursor where you want in a body of text.
The following is a list of keys you can use to perform certain movement and editing functions in the Script Editor:
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Key or Key Combination |
Effect or Function |
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Arrow |
Moves the cursor up through the text, one line at a time. |
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Arrow |
Moves the cursor down through the text, one line at a time. |
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Arrow |
Moves the cursor to the right, one character at a time. |
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Arrow |
Moves the cursor to the left, one character at a time. |
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PgUp |
Moves the cursor up one page (screen section). |
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PgDn |
Moves the cursor down one page (screen section). |
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Home |
Moves the cursor to the beginning of the current line. |
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End |
Moves the cursor to the end of the line. |
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Delete |
Deletes the characters to the right of the cursor, one character at a time. |
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Backspace |
Deletes the characters to the left of the cursor, one character at a time. |
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Ctrl+ Home |
Moves the cursor to the absolute beginning of the text. |
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Ctrl+ End |
Moves the cursor to the absolute end of the text. |
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Ctrl+ C |
Copies the selected (highlighted) text to the Clipboard. |
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Ctrl+ X |
Cuts the selected (highlighted) text from the Script Editor to the Clipboard. |
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Ctrl+ V |
Pastes the text in the Clipboard to the cursor’s current location in the text. |
You use the Script Editor any time that you can record a speech other than the ID speech.
The Play box is the box that appears when you click the "Play" button or the "Play ID" button on any object that contains speech. You use this box to play the descriptions and speeches recorded for your tree objects. You can not record any speech in the Play box. The picture shows how the Play box appears in the program:
Figure 41--The Play Box
The fields and controls on the Play box are as follows:
Speech Position--This display indicates how much of the speech time has elapsed out of the total length of the recording. The display shows the position minutes and seconds. You will use this function primarily during playback to locate a certain section of the speech.
Length of Recording--This is a display of the total time the speech takes to play to a respondent. The display shows the speech length in minutes and seconds.
Speech Scroll Bar--This is a graphical representation of the Speech Position display. The left of the scroll bar is the beginning of the speech, and the right is the end of the speech. You can move the scroll box by dragging it to the desired location on the scroll bar. You will use this function primarily during playback to locate a certain section of the speech.
"Play" button--This button allows you to play the recorded speech.
"Replay" button--This button allows you to replay a speech from the beginning.
"Stop" button--This button allows you to stop the playback of the speech.
"Transfer" button--This button allows you to copy a current speech to another object in the current phone application or another phone application. For more information on this advanced recording feature, refer to the "Advanced Functions and Features" section.
."WAV Copy" button--This button allows you to save a speech to a file, so that you can use a sound editing program, if you have one, to edit the speech. For more information on this advanced recording feature, refer to the "Advanced Functions and Features" section.
"Close" button--This button allows you to close the Play box after playing the desired speech. Once you close the Play box, you return to the detailed view of the current tree object.
The Record box is the box that appears when you click the "Record" button or the "Record ID" button on any box that contains a speech. If you decide to change the speeches in your application, you use this box to record the descriptions and speeches for your tree objects. The picture below shows how the Record box appears in the program:
Figure 42--The Record box
The fields and controls on the Record box are as follows:
Script Prompter--This is where the text you entered into the Script Editor or the "Description" field appears. As you record, the text scrolls up and the center box magnifies it so you can read it. The scroll bar on the right of the script prompter allows you to scroll the text so that you can read it while recording.
Auto Prompting--Enabling this feature allows the text to automatically scroll up through the Script Prompter.
Lines/Sec (for Auto Prompting)--This option allows you to adjust how fast in lines of text per second the Auto Prompting scrolls through the text in the Script Prompter. The default setting for this field is "0.40" lines per second.
Speech Position--This display indicates how much of the speech time has elapsed out of the total length of the recording. The display shows the position minutes and seconds. You will use this function primarily during playback to locate a certain section of the speech.
Length of Recording--This is a display of the total time the speech takes to play to a respondent. The display shows the speech length in minutes and seconds.
Speech Scroll Bar--This is a graphical representation of the Speech Position display. The left of the scroll bar is the beginning of the speech, and the right is the end of the speech. You can move the scroll box by dragging it to the desired location on the scroll bar. You will use this function primarily during playback to locate a certain section of the speech.
"Play" button--This button allows you to play the recorded speech.
"Replay" button--This button allows you to replay a speech from the beginning.
"Stop" button--This button allows you to stop the recording or playback of a speech.
"Record" button--This button allows you to begin recording a speech.
"Transfer" button--This button allows you to move a speech out to the Paste Buffer. This allows you to then move the speech to another tree object in the system tree. For more information on this advanced recording feature, refer to the "Advanced Functions and Features" section.
"Replace" button--This button allows you to move a speech from the Paste Buffer to a tree object in the Outbound Telenotification program. For more information on this advanced recording feature, refer to the "Advanced Functions and Features" section.
."WAV Copy" button--This button allows you to save a speech to a file, so that you can use a sound editing program, if you have one, to edit the speech. For more information on this advanced recording feature, refer to the "Advanced Functions and Features" section.
."WAV Paste" button--This button allows you to copy a speech to a file back into your Outbound Telenotification application (or even another ECS phone program). For more information on this advanced recording feature, refer to the "Advanced Functions and Features" section.
"OK" button--This button confirms the settings on the Record box. If you made any changes, the changes save and you return to the detailed view of the current tree object.
"Cancel" button--This button allows you to avoid saving any changes and return to the detailed view of the current tree object. This means that if you want to experiment with recording and playing speeches, you do not have to worry about losing the original recording. Simply cancel the changes rather than pressing "OK" and you will restore the original speech.
Status line--This is the area at the bottom of the box that displays notes pertaining to the parts of the box. You can move the mouse to a part of the box and receive information pertaining to the function or purpose of that part.
The Insert Tree Object box appears whenever you add or paste a tree object to your system tree, or move an object to another part of the tree. The picture below shows how the Insert Tree Object box appears on the screen:
Figure 43--The Insert Tree Object box
The parts of the Insert Tree Object box are as follows:
Insertion Position--This tells you where you chose to add the object. It is the name or ID number of the inserted item’s parent Prompt.
Reference Number--This tells you what the absolute ID number of the inserted object is in relation to the tree. Remember that an object’s ID is like its address in the system tree.
Touch Tone Number--The number that appears in this field is the number you would press from the appropriate menu to get to this object. The number that currently appears in this field is the default setting for this object (based on the other object ID’s in this group). If you decide to change this number, make sure not to use a number that is the same as another object on the same auto-menu. If you do, the program displays a message telling you the number is in use.
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The computer will not allow you to choose an object that you cannot insert in the space. Object names will appear grey if you cannot add them at this point. |
Item Types--This control group determines which type of tree object to insert at the chosen location. A black dot appears in the circle to the left of the currently selected option. This indicates that this type of tree object is the object to add. You can click on another option if you wish to add a different tree object than the one currently selected. "OK" button--This button confirms the settings on the Insert Tree Object box. The object you chose then appears in the system tree. |
"Cancel" button--This button allows you to avoid adding the tree object to the system tree. The Insert Tree Object box closes, and you add nothing to the system tree. This means that you can experiment with adding objects without fear of changing the system.
Status line--This is the area at the bottom of the box that displays notes pertaining to the parts of the box. You can move the mouse to a part of the box and receive information pertaining to the function or purpose of that part.
In this chapter, we’ve introduced you to Outbound Telenotification system editor. In the next chapter, you will learn about modifying the system tree.
