Larson Technical Services: Voice Technology Consulting

Books

Yes, this is the most suitable book that I know of as a college textbook on this topic. If I were teaching a class on this topic, I would definitely select it as my textbook.
-Deborah A. Dahl, Speech Solutions, Unisys Corporation

VoiceXML excels at introducing the process of developing speech-enabled applications. With advice including how to phrase a prompt, how to specify grammar or recognizing the caller’s response to a prompt, and what to do if the caller does not respond appropriately, this text answers fundamental speech user-interface questions. Jim Larson’s book is well suited as a college textbook for students and a trade book for professionals developing speech applications.

For one/two semester courses in Introduction to VoiceXML, undergraduate courses in Building Speech Applications in computer science courses.

Benefits
Table of Contents
Features
Resources
Instructor’s Page
Example Code
Errata

Technology Trends

I’ve written several articles about speech and multimodal applications. The articles are partitioned into four categories:

• Languages for developing speech applications
• Multimodal user interfaces
• Multiple user interfaces with a single source for data
• Speech application design and development

• SISR: The Standard Semantic Interpretation Language
• Toward Natural Language Processing
• Microsoft Joins the VoiceXML Express
• Metalanguages and AJAX
• VoiceXML on Steroids
• SCXML—A New Language for Controlling Processes
• Voice User Interface Design for Novice and Experienced Users
• Technology Trends: VoiceXML 2.0 — A Real Standard for a Real World
• Speech Application Language Tags (SALT)
• State-of-the-art Speech Application Development
• Technology Trends: MRCP Enables New Speech Applications
• Technology Trends: What’s New with VoiceXML 2.0?
• Technology Trends: Beyond VoiceXML
• VoiceXML lets you talk to computers
• Technology Trends: the W3C Speech Interface Framework
• Technology Trends: EMMA–W3C’s Extended MultiModal Annotation Language
• State of Speech Standards
• Technology Trends: Speech Wars–Round 2
• VoiceXML and SALT: Approaches for Developing Telephony Applications
• Technology Trends: Telephony Enable Your Web Site
• VoiceXML and SALT: How are they different, and why
• VoiceXML Update: VoiceXML2.0

• Developing Unimodal and Multimodal User Interfaces
• Multimodal Applications’ Architectures
• Technology Trends: Consistent User Input Options and Instructions Across Multiple User Interfaces
• Balancing Customer Support Options
• Technology Trends: Developing Verbal, Visual, and Multimodel User Interfaces for the Same Application
• Should You Build a Multimodal Interface for Your Web Site?
• Technology Trends: New User Devices

• Multimodal Mobile Apps Will Thrive
• Speaking and Listening to the World Wide Web
• Standards Languages for Developing Multimodal Interaction
• How to Converse with a Virtual Agent by Speaking and Listening Using Standard W3C Languages
• Technology Trends: New Devices
• Technology Trends Ink and VoiceXML
• Conversational Agents Let Users Treat Computers as People
• Designing the User Interface for Multimodal Speech and Pen-based Gesture Applications: State-of-the-Art Systems and Future Research Directions
• Magic Words and Computers that See

• Policies and Technologies for Improving the Customer Experience
• Mom and Pop Shops Gain a Voice
• Improve the User Experience
• Bail Your Customers out of Voice Application Jail
• Ten Criteria for Measuring Effective Voice User Interfaces
• Technology Trends: Synthetic Interviews – Beyond History Calls
• Ten Guidelines for Designing a Successful Voice User Interface
• Technology Trends: Profiles for Speech Application Users
• Technology Trends: Help Users Speak
• Technology Trends: Controlled Languages and Speech Prompts
• Technology Trends: Uniform Basic Function Commands
• Technology Trends: The What, Why, and How of Usability Testing
• Consistency and Symmetry—and Other Guiding Principles for Designing Speech Applications
• Entering Data by Speaking on the Telephone: Three Problems and What to Do about Them
• Should You Speech-enable Your Web Site?
• Technology Trends: Students Develop Innovative Prototype Speech Applications
• More Prototype Speech Applications developed by Students
• Move Over ‘Look and Feel:’ Make Room for ‘Persona’
• Playing 20 Questions with VoiceXML
• A Single Interactive Help Session Is Worth a Thousand Words of Tutorial
• The Internet’s Information Highway Runs Right Through Voice Portals
• Speech-enabled Appliances
• Internet Appliances Are Inexpensive, Intuitive, and Conversational
• Parts of Speech: Building Dialogs