IVR system features and attributes

Comparing one IVR system to another can be difficult since features and capabilities overlap considerably. Here are a few of the central areas to evaluate.

Speech recognition
The ability to translate callers' spoken words into responses that a computer can understand and act on is one of the main advances in IVR technology.

Removing multiple layers of "Press 3 for accounts with outstanding balances" and the like turns an IVR system into a tool your customers appreciate, instead of one they want to avoid.

Unlike speech recognition for dictation, IVR speech recognition systems don't have to capture every word — they have to be good at finding the right information in a string of words. Quality speech recognition systems can handle many types of voices, accents, and grammar, pulling out names, addresses, account numbers, and more. They should also tolerate interruptions if callers start speaking before a prompt.

Text to speech
The other significant advantage that today's IVR systems have over their predecessors is the ability to pull information from a database and read it aloud. Text-to-speech technology enables callers to get account balances, shipping details, and other information from backend databases, without requiring any pre-recording.

The primary challenge in implementing text-to-speech technology is creating the connection between the IVR and relevant data repository. More on this in Implementing an IVR system.

Listen carefully to the cadence and inflection of the speech. Modern text-to-speech engines should sound fairly natural, not flat…and…ro-bo-tic.

Standards support
Legacy IVR systems all used different proprietary languages for programming and control. These days, more and more IVR manufacturers are switching to support industry standards such as VoiceXML, CCXML, SIP, and MRCP. This alphabet soup may not mean much to you, but using industry standard protocols can have a big impact on your total costs.

There are a couple of reasons for this. First, applications created using industry standards can be updated or maintained by anyone familiar with those standards — even if they aren't an expert in the particular brand. This can save you money when it comes time for upgrades.

Furthermore, applications written using these standards are more flexible and portable than proprietary systems. If you already have a web application to do order lookups, for example, using these industry standards may let you leverage it for use through your phone system. And, if you later switch to a new telecommunications platform, you'll be able to take the business logic and programming behind your IVR application with you — provided the new system supports the same standards.