Requirements for successful operations

Interactions between the IR system and other systems and applications can become complex. Understanding the requirements for successful operations helps you to prevent problems and identify them more quickly when they occur.

MultiVantage systems

IR systems may be linked to MultiVantage (DEFINITY) systems that route calls to and from the IR system and perform call handling functions. For successful operations, the MultiVantage system must be free of hardware problems and administered correctly. Additionally, connections between the MultiVantage system and the IR system must be operating properly and free from overload.

The public switched telephone network (PSTN)

Calls come into the IR system from the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Telephony connections may go first to a MultiVantage (DEFINITY) system, or directly to the IR system. For successful voice response operations, these lines, and the telephony network that supports them--including central offices--must be working and free from errors.

Voice response applications

Voice response applications manage the interactions between callers and play the information that callers hear. For successful operations, voice response applications must perform a variety of tasks, such as:

• Interpreting caller input and taking appropriate action
• Communicating with hosts, databases, and proxy speech servers
• Transferring values entered by callers to other applications
• Providing information to callers in the form of recorded speech or speech generated through the Proxy Text-to-Speech feature

As you can see, voice response applications are central to the successful operation of an IR system.

Speech

The IR system provides information to callers through recorded or generated speech. For successful operations:

• Recorded speech must exist, be of acceptable quality, and be accessible to voice response applications.
• Generated speech must be constructed properly by the Proxy Text-to-Speech (PTTS) feature and the voice response application.
• Recorded speech must be transferred from a server, so that the application can play it for the caller.

Communcations between the IR system and the server or host must be adequate to deliver speech in a timely manner.

Connections and communications

Connections to other systems, and the communications that take place across them, are critical to smooth voice operations. Major connections and communications are as follows:

• Lines, PBXs, and other connections that bring calls in from and send calls out to the public switched telephone network (PSTN)
• Connections between any MultiVantage systems and the IR system
• Connections from the back of the IR system to other devices, and to the LAN
• LAN connections between the IR system and servers that provide speech functions, database information, or both

A breakdown in any of these connections can affect voice response operations.

System and LAN capacity

Like any computer, the IR system has a certain amount of memory, drive space, and CPU capacity to support system operations. Additionally, the IR system requires LAN capacity to communicate with servers that provide critical functions. For successful operations, both IR system capacity and LAN capacity must be adequate. Managing IR system performance explains how to check system and LAN resources.

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