User's Guide To Parent-Teacher Hotline

Chapter 6: Performing Specific Tree Operations

Introduction

Now that you've experimented with the system tree and you know your way around it a little better, you may feel that the existing system tree does not suit your purposes. You may want a more complex system tree that allows callers to choose from any number of different Announcements and Mailboxes. Then again, the schools that you sell the system to might want to change the system to meet their own specific needs.

Whichever way you want to go, this is the place to start really designing and building your system tree, or modifying the existing system tree. At this point you should have a pretty firm grasp of the basic purpose and functionality of the tree objects, as well as how they work in the system tree.

The chapter shows you how to:

Customize the Existing System Tree
Creating a General Announcement
Add a System Instructions Announcement
Design and build your own system tree
Test and manage your system tree

Terms

Tree Depth

This is simply the number of options under a Prompt. The deeper a list of options is, the better the chances are that the caller will not remember the listed options.

Tree Level

This is a measure of branch complexity in the system tree. The more levels a system tree has, the better the chances are that the caller becomes lost.

Trial-and-error Method

This is a method of learning in which you experiment with the thing you are learning. If you make a mistake, you correct it and learn from it.

Customizing the Existing System Tree

This section contains procedures that you may use to modify and customize the system tree that we shipped to you. These procedures allow you to configure the existing system tree so that you may get it up and running. You may wish to go through these procedures for practice purposes, and you may exit (without committing the changes) when you finish practicing. You might also decide to combine some of these customizing features to make a diverse system for callers.

One thing to keep in mind is that this section is intended to show you just a few ways in which you can customize a system for a client. The thought behind this section is that you are going to be using the customized system tree to demonstrate to prospective clients the service that you are offering to them.

Creating a General Announcement

A General Announcement is an Announcement that plays before anything else except the System Greeting. This includes the Initial Prompt. Think of this as being like the morning announcements at school (which might be an idea for what to put in the General Announcement). The students listen to the morning announcements before doing anything else. Likewise, the caller listens to the General Announce-ment before they can do anything else in the system.

The easiest manner in which to add a General Announcement, which is to say an Announcement that all the callers will hear, is to:

First, locate the tree object tools in the upper left corner of the application window. Drag the Announcement tool to the Initial Prompt in the tree, then drop it. The Insert Tree Object box appears as shown in Figure 64:

Figure 64 - The Insert Tree Object box

In the Touch Tone Number field, type: 8

Click the OK button, and the New Announcement appears in the tree as shown in Figure 65:

Figure 65 - The new Announcement in the system tree

Now double click the new Announcement in the tree, so that the Announcement control box appears. When the box appears, click the Enable check box to activate this Announcement.

Click in the Description field, and use the c key to remove the existing description. Type the new description: General Announcement

Record this description by clicking the Record Id button. When the Record box appears, click the Record button and pick up your local phone. Begin recording the description, and click the Stop button when you finish. Click the OK button when you finish, to save this speech.

Click on the Enable Speech box. This allows you to record a Main speech for the Announcement, and to type your Announcement Script.

Move the mouse pointer to the Script Editor box and click. When the cursor appears, type the general announcements.

Record these announcements by clicking the Record button. When the Record box appears, click the Record button and pick up your local phone. Begin recording the speech, and click the Stop button when you finish. Click the OK button when you finish, to save this speech.

Replace the "*" in the Goto field with: 01 (the number of the Initial Prompt)

Click the OK button when you finish, to save this Announcement.

Now the Announcement is complete, and the System Tree should appear similar to the one shown in Figure 66:

Figure 66 - The General Announcement in the Tree

Double click on the System Greeting Prompt

Change the Next Prompt field to read: 8 or whatever you decided to number the General Announcement

Click on the OK button

This procedure adds a new Announcement that plays right after the System Greeting and Before the Initial Prompt. Even though the General Announcement seems to follow the Lunch Menus Prompt, it is actually played before the Initial Prompt. This is because of the changes in the Next Prompt field of the System Greeting and the Goto field in the General Announcement.

Of course, there are quite a few other ways in which to do the same thing, but the one described is by far the easiest. Granted the only way in which someone could change the General Announcement is as the System Administrator or to have access to the computer. If you want a Branch Administrator to be able to access the General Announcement, you would need to place it under a Branch Prompt.

Adding a System Instructions Announcement

This can be a very useful Announcement if you have a complex system, or if you feel that your callers need explicit instructions. This acts as sort of a 'system help' for the caller.

In this section, you will add a new Announcement with an ID of "5" to the existing tree, and configure it to give the caller instructions for the use of your system. Use the following procedure to do so:

Figure 67 - The Insert Tree Object box

In the Touch Tone Number field, type: 5

Click the OK button, and the appears in the tree as shown in Figure 68:

Figure 68 - The new Announcement in the system tree

Now double click the new Announcement in the tree, so that the Announcement control box appears. When the box appears, click the Enable check box to activate this Announcement.

Click in the Description field, and use the c key to remove the existing description. Type the new description: System Instructions

Move the mouse pointer to the Script Editor box and click. When the cursor appears, type the system instructions.

Record these system instructions by clicking the Record button. When the Record box appears, click the Record button and pick up your local phone. Begin recording the speech, and click the Stop button when you finish. Click the OK button when you finish, to save this speech.

Now the Announcement is complete, and the Announcement control box should appear similar to the one shown in Figure 69:

Figure 69 - The completed System Instructions Announcement

Click the OK button, and the control box closes. The System Instructions Announcement now appears in the tree as shown in Figure 70:

Figure 70 - The System Instructions Announcement

If you are only practicing at this point, do not commit these changes.

To save these changes to the system tree, click the File menu heading on the menu bar. Click the Commit Changes option. The application then saves your changes.

When a caller calls in, they will hear the System Greeting, followed by the auto-menu on the Initial Prompt (with option 5 being System Instructions). If they choose this option, they hear the system instructions, then they return to the Initial Prompt (via the Goto *).

Using Advertisements

Please note that all the Advertisements have been disabled in the System Tree as you received it. If you wish to demonstrate the Advertisement portion to a prospective Advertiser, you need to enable Advertisements. For the procedure to add Advertisements, please refer to Chapter 8: Advertising in Parent Teacher Hotline on page 139.

Your system comes with three Public Service Announcements as Advertisements until you arrange for Advertisers. These Public Service Announcements can be used in conjunction with regular Advertisements if you wish. What might be even better is if you get Advertisers to record their own Public Service Announcements as part of their Advertisement.

Your Own System Tree

As stated at the beginning of this chapter, it is quite possible for you to use some of these customizing procedures together. The other customizing options work together quite well, and give you a very informative system to present to your callers.

As you are no doubt beginning to see, the system tree is a very dynamic structure. It allows you to perform a vast number of tasks, in any number of combinations. As you master the system tree, you will most likely begin to design your own system trees, based on the tasks you wish to have your system perform.

When you begin to build your system tree, you should map the structure out a bit. This allows you to see how everything goes together, and you can design a better system.

For instance, if you wanted to make your system concentrate on Teacher Mailboxes, you could set the Grade Prompts directly under the Initial Prompt. This way, the caller doesn't need to navigate through extra Prompts to get to the Teacher Mailbox they want. On the other hand, you may wish to make a system more Announcement intensive. Toward this purpose, you could eliminate the Teacher Mailboxes all together.

Designing Your Tree

When designing your system tree, you should give some consideration to the tree's 'levels' and 'depth'. By 'level', we mean level of branch complexity. How many buttons does the caller press to get somewhere? The more levels a system tree has, the better the chances are that the caller becomes lost. Figure 71 illustrates the idea of depth and levels:

Figure 71 - The system tree, showing depth and levels

As a general guideline, your Parent Teacher Hotline system tree should not need to exceed four levels. As you can see, the example tree has three levels (not counting the System Greeting and Initial Prompt, as you don't have to press buttons to get to them). This allows the caller to move around easily, and keeps them close to the originating level.

'Depth' is simply the number of options under one Prompt. Normally, a caller can handle a menu that is four or five items deep. Anything past that, and the caller begins to forget the options.

Sometimes you may find that adding a level can simplify a deep (lengthy) Announcement group. If you had an Announcement group of ten or more Announcements and you could find a logical way to divide them, it may simplify things for the caller.

Building Your Tree

When you finish planning you system tree, it is time to build it. There are many ways that you may go about building your system tree. We've found that following these steps makes the building and configuring process simple and efficient:

Step 1: Drag and drop all of the necessary tree objects into place. This means that you complete the looks of the system tree before configuring any of the tree objects. This allows you to concentrate on the system structure.

Step 2: Once you complete the system tree, you now edit and configure each of the tree objects. As you configure each one, make sure that you know the function and purpose of the object and that the object fulfills its purpose.

Step 3: Record the speeches and ID speeches for each of the objects. Make sure to use the scripts you created during the configuration and editing process. The script ensures that you'll know what to record and where.

Step 4: Commit the changes to the system tree. This means saving the system you made so that callers may call into your system.

These four easy steps allow you to deal with the four biggest chunks of system design separately and in a logical order. Also, you can design your system using the 'trial-and-error' method, allowing you to experiment with the tree objects so that you can better understand how they relate. When you're experimenting with system design, keep in mind that you don't have to commit these changes. This familiarity through experimentation allows you to become comfortable with the system tree and how it works.

Testing Your Tree

Once your system tree is ready to go, you should be the first person to call your system. This allows you to test the flow of the system, and ensure that everything is working properly. Testing also eliminates the chance of a caller calling in and having problems with your system. Not only should you make sure that everything is working correctly, you should also make sure it runs smoothly. If the system is too complex or there is not enough information to lead the caller where they want to go, you should consider restructuring your tree to accommodate your users.

The Monitor application is a portion of the Business Manager application that allows you to perform a 'Local Launch'. This means that you click the Local Launch button on the Monitor box, then the system uses the local phone as if a caller were calling into the system. You play the part of the caller, listening to messages and pressing buttons on your phone. This is a very valuable testing tool. For more information on local testing, refer to your Business Manager manual.

Managing Your Tree

After you design, build, test, and run your system tree, you need to start thinking about system tree maintenance. This involves updating speeches for Announcements and Advertisements, as well as adding and deleting tree objects and Advertisements.

You should also periodically ask yourself "Does my system tree structure suit its tasks?" If it doesn't, it may be time to change the structure. Being a dynamic structure, the system tree lends itself well to changes and modifications.

*Tree Depth*	This is simply the number of options under a Prompt. The deeper a list of options is, the better the chances are that the caller will not remember the listed options.
*Tree Level*	This is a measure of branch complexity in the system tree. The more levels a system tree has, the better the chances are that the caller becomes lost.
*Trial-and-error Method*	This is a method of learning in which you experiment with the thing you are learning. If you make a mistake, you correct it and learn from it.