Systems and methods for automated phone conversation analysis

A system for providing phone conversation analysis may comprise at least one subsystem that monitors a phone conversation for key words or key phrases as defined by business rules. Conversations containing such words may be tagged with appropriate metadata to identify the conversation for subsequent analysis, and for conducting trending and analysis of the collected data. Also, a system for providing phone conversation analysis may comprise subsystems for monitoring a phone conversation for key words or key phrases, and associating the key words or key phrases with pre-determined offers or services.

BACKGROUND

Customer service call centers must find the best way to identify and satisfy a wide variety of customer demands. Typically, customers call needing information, or to request some action, or some combination of the two. Another task carried out in call center operations is providing customers with helpful and relevant information that is not necessarily related to the particular issue the customer called about, such as information regarding additional products the customer may be interested in.

Phone conversations may be recorded in call centers for a variety of reasons. In a typical setting, phone conversations may be recorded for use in training call center employees. A call that was handled well may be replayed to demonstrate techniques that were used to identify and resolve the customer's issue. Alternatively, conversations that went poorly may be used to illustrate what can go wrong, and to coach employees in techniques that may be used to avoid such situations.

A database with a large number of recorded conversations can be difficult to use effectively. Some conversations may be known to a manager as good examples for a particular training scenario, but it can be difficult to find good examples for other scenarios without listening to each and every conversation in the database. Moreover, even if a conversation is identified, it may be difficult to subsequently identify the particular portion of the recorded conversation that is desired.

Furthermore, recorded phone conversations may contain a wealth of valuable information about the customers who called. For example, a customer may mention or imply circumstances in their life that indicate the customer may benefit from a particular product. Customers from particular geographical areas may be identified as frequently calling about similar issues. A wide variety of valuable data may be obtainable from recorded conversations, however present systems do not allow adequate access to such data in a cost-effective way.

Customer service agents typically interact with Customer Relations Management (CRM) software while they are talking with customers. The CRM may provide information about the customer's account and so forth. Such software is certainly useful in facilitating helping the customer with their specific issue, however, the human customer service agent is relied upon to know of additional products or services that are desirable or beneficial to one in the customer's circumstances. The customer or agent may not be aware of, or may not have time to analyze all the needs or possible circumstances of the customer during the conversation while also addressing the specific issue at hand.

Additionally, it may be desirable to provide customers with assistance based on the circumstances of the customer revealed by the contents of previous phone conversations. However, recordings of previous phone conversations with the customer might not exist, and even if they did, might be too large to listen to and analyze for what additional services or products would be helpful to the customer. Furthermore, emerging trends and patterns that point to the need for additional services or products may not be immediately apparent without analyzing data from a larger database of phone conversations.

Thus, systems, processes and computer readable media are needed to address the shortcomings of the prior art.

SUMMARY

In consideration of the above-identified shortcomings of the art, automated phone conversation analysis is provided. For several embodiments, a system for providing phone conversation analysis comprises at least one subsystem that automatically performs real time voice recognition, recognizes at least one key word or key phrase during a phone conversation between a customer and a human agent, and tags the phone conversation for efficient retrieval. At least one subsystem performs a pre-determined action based on the key words or key phrases recognized.

Also, a system for providing phone conversation analysis may comprise at least one subsystem that monitors a phone conversation for key words or key phrases and at least one subsystem that associates the key words or key phrases with pre-determined offers or services. Other subsystems may receive user inputs specifying business rules which identify life event parameters associated with customer demand for insurance policy products and services. A plurality of recorded conversations may be retrieved and analyzed based upon customer relations management (CRM) data and the business rules to determine lost opportunities for offers or services, and identify trends or patterns that may define new offers or services.

In another aspect, a system for providing phone conversation analysis comprises at least one subsystem that monitors a phone conversation for key words or key phrases and at least one subsystem that tracks, in a customer's record, pre-determined offers or services associated with the key words and key phrases.

Below is a description of other advantages and features of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Certain specific details are set forth in the following description and figures to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of the invention. Certain well-known details often associated with computing and software technology are not set forth in the following disclosure to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the various embodiments of the invention. Further, those of ordinary skill in the relevant art will understand that they can practice other embodiments of the invention without one or more of the details described below. Finally, while various methods are described with reference to steps and sequences in the following disclosure, the description as such is for providing a clear implementation of embodiments of the invention, and the steps and sequences of steps should not be taken as required to practice this invention.

Example Computing Devices

Referring toFIG. 1, shown is a block diagram representing an exemplary computing device suitable for use in conjunction with implementing the processes described above. For example, the computer executable instructions that carry out the processes and methods for automated phone conversation analysis may reside and/or be executed in such a computing environment as shown inFIG. 1. The computing system environment220is only one example of a suitable computing environment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the invention. Neither should the computing environment220be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any one or combination of components illustrated in the exemplary operating environment220.

An exemplary system for implementing aspects of the invention includes a general purpose computing device in the form of a computer241. Components of computer241may include, but are not limited to, a processing unit259, a system memory222, and a system bus221that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit259. The system bus221may be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation, such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus also known as Mezzanine bus, as well as its successor, the PCI-Express standard.

The system memory222includes computer storage media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM)223and random access memory (RAM)260. A basic input/output system224(BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within computer241, such as during start-up, is typically stored in ROM223. RAM260typically contains data and/or program modules that are immediately accessible to and/or presently being operated on by processing unit259. By way of example, and not limitation,FIG. 1illustrates operating system225, application programs226, other program modules227, and program data228.

The computer241may also include other removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media. By way of example only,FIG. 1illustrates a hard disk drive238that reads from or writes to non-removable, nonvolatile magnetic media, a magnetic disk drive239that reads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile magnetic disk254, and an optical disk drive240that reads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile optical disk253such as a CD ROM or other optical media. Other removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media that can be used in the exemplary operating environment include, but are not limited to, magnetic tape cassettes, flash memory cards, digital versatile disks, digital video tape, solid state RAM, solid state ROM, and the like. The hard disk drive238is typically connected to the system bus221through an non-removable memory interface such as interface234, and magnetic disk drive239and optical disk drive240are typically connected to the system bus221by a removable memory interface, such as interface235.

The drives and their associated computer storage media discussed above and illustrated inFIG. 1, provide storage of computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for the computer241. InFIG. 1, for example, hard disk drive238is illustrated as storing operating system258, application programs257, other program modules256, and program data255. Note that these components can either be the same as or different from operating system225, application programs226, other program modules227, and program data228. Operating system258, application programs257, other program modules256, and program data255are given different numbers here to illustrate that, at a minimum, they are different copies. A user may enter commands and information into the computer241through input devices such as a keyboard251and pointing device252, commonly referred to as a mouse, trackball or touch pad. Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit259through a user input interface236that is coupled to the system bus, but may be connected by other interface and bus structures, such as a parallel port, game port or a universal serial bus (USB). A monitor242or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus221via an interface, such as an insecure or secure video interface232. An exemplary secure video standard would be the High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) standard. In addition to the monitor, computers may also include other peripheral output devices such as speakers244and printer243, which may be connected through a output peripheral interface233.

The computer241may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer246. The remote computer246may be a personal computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described above relative to the computer241, although only a memory storage device247has been illustrated inFIG. 1. The logical connections depicted inFIG. 1include a local area network (LAN)245and a wide area network (WAN)249, but may also include other networks. Such networking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets and the Internet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer241is connected to the LAN245through a network interface or adapter237. When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer241typically includes a modem250or other means for establishing communications over the WAN249, such as the Internet. The modem250, which may be internal or external, may be connected to the system bus221via the user input interface236, or other appropriate mechanism. In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer241, or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device. By way of example, and not limitation,FIG. 1illustrates remote application programs248as residing on memory device247. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used.

Although exemplary embodiments may refer to utilizing aspects of the invention in the context of one or more stand-alone computer systems, the invention is not so limited, but rather may be implemented in connection with any computing environment, such as a network or distributed computing environment. Still further, aspects of the invention may be implemented in or across a plurality of processing chips or devices, and storage may similarly be effected across a plurality of devices. Such devices might include personal computers, network servers, handheld devices, supercomputers, or computers integrated into other systems such as automobiles and airplanes.

In light of the diverse computing environments that may be built according to the general framework provided inFIG. 1, the systems and methods provided herein cannot be construed as limited in any way to a particular computing architecture. Instead, the invention should not be limited to any single embodiment, but rather should be construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the appended claims.

Referring next toFIG. 2, shown is an exemplary networked computing environment in which many computerized processes may be implemented to perform the processes described above. For example, parallel computing may be part of such a networked environment with various clients on the network ofFIG. 2using and/or implementing automated phone conversation analysis. One of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that networks can connect any computer or other client or server device, or in a distributed computing environment. In this regard, any computer system or environment having any number of processing, memory, or storage units, and any number of applications and processes occurring simultaneously is considered suitable for use in connection with the systems and methods provided.

Distributed computing provides sharing of computer resources and services by exchange between computing devices and systems. These resources and services include the exchange of information, cache storage and disk storage for files. Distributed computing takes advantage of network connectivity, allowing clients to leverage their collective power to benefit the entire enterprise. In this regard, a variety of devices may have applications, objects or resources that may implicate the processes described herein.

FIG. 2provides a schematic diagram of an exemplary networked or distributed computing environment. The environment comprises computing devices271,272,276, and277as well as objects273,274, and275, and database278. Each of these entities271,272,273,274,275,276,277and278may comprise or make use of programs, methods, data stores, programmable logic, etc. The entities271,272,273,274,275,276,277and278may span portions of the same or different devices such as PDAs, audio/video devices, MP3 players, personal computers, etc. Each entity271,272,273,274,275,276,277and278can communicate with another entity271,272,273,274,275,276,277and278by way of the communications network270. In this regard, any entity may be responsible for the maintenance and updating of a database278or other storage element.

This network270may itself comprise other computing entities that provide services to the system ofFIG. 2, and may itself represent multiple interconnected networks. In accordance with an aspect of the invention, each entity271,272,273,274,275,276,277and278may contain discrete functional program modules that might make use of an API, or other object, software, firmware and/or hardware, to request services of one or more of the other entities271,272,273,274,275,276,277and278.

It can also be appreciated that an object, such as275, may be hosted on another computing device276. Thus, although the physical environment depicted may show the connected devices as computers, such illustration is merely exemplary and the physical environment may alternatively be depicted or described comprising various digital devices such as PDAs, televisions, MP3 players, etc., software objects such as interfaces, COM objects and the like.

There are a variety of systems, components, and network configurations that support distributed computing environments. For example, computing systems may be connected together by wired or wireless systems, by local networks or widely distributed networks. Currently, many networks are coupled to the Internet, which provides an infrastructure for widely distributed computing and encompasses many different networks. Any such infrastructures, whether coupled to the Internet or not, may be used in conjunction with the systems and methods provided.

A network infrastructure may enable a host of network topologies such as client/server, peer-to-peer, or hybrid architectures. The “client” is a member of a class or group that uses the services of another class or group to which it is not related. In computing, a client is a process, i.e., roughly a set of instructions or tasks, that requests a service provided by another program. The client process utilizes the requested service without having to “know” any working details about the other program or the service itself. In a client/server architecture, particularly a networked system, a client is usually a computer that accesses shared network resources provided by another computer, e.g., a server. In the example ofFIG. 2, any entity271,272,273,274,275,276,277and278can be considered a client, a server, or both, depending on the circumstances.

A server is typically, though not necessarily, a remote computer system accessible over a remote or local network, such as the Internet. The client process may be active in a first computer system, and the server process may be active in a second computer system, communicating with one another over a communications medium, thus providing distributed functionality and allowing multiple clients to take advantage of the information-gathering capabilities of the server. Any software objects may be distributed across multiple computing devices or objects.

Client(s) and server(s) communicate with one another utilizing the functionality provided by protocol layer(s). For example, HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is a common protocol that is used in conjunction with the World Wide Web (WWW), or “the Web.” Typically, a computer network address such as an Internet Protocol (IP) address or other reference such as a Universal Resource Locator (URL) can be used to identify the server or client computers to each other. The network address can be referred to as a URL address. Communication can be provided over a communications medium, e.g., client(s) and server(s) may be coupled to one another via TCP/IP connection(s) for high-capacity communication.

In light of the diverse computing environments that may be built according to the general framework provided inFIG. 2and the further diversification that can occur in computing in a network environment such as that ofFIG. 2, the systems and methods provided herein cannot be construed as limited in any way to a particular computing architecture or operating system. Instead, the invention should not be limited to any single embodiment, but rather should be construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the appended claims.

Automated Phone Conversation Analysis

Referring next toFIG. 3, shown is a block diagram illustrating a high level view of an example system for automated phone conversation analysis. Shown is an external telephone network301, a telephone switch303, a customer service agent305, (including their phone307and computer309), a customer relations management system (CRM)311, a speech recognition system313, a persistent storage for recorded conversations315, a persistent storage for business rules317, an analyst320, (including their computer325). The switch303is operatively connected to the external telephone network301, customer service agent305, and speech recognition system313via phone lines or other network connections. Also, the speech recognition system is operatively connected to the CRM system311, agent's computer309, the recorded conversations persistent storage315, and the business rules persistent storage317via computer network or computer bus connections, or via logical connections through interactions between various modules within a computer software program having functionality associated with the various blocks inFIG. 3. A post processing system330is operatively connected to the CRM system311, analyst's computer325, the recorded conversations persistent storage315, and the business rules persistent storage317via computer network or computer bus connections, or via logical connections through interactions between various modules within a computer software program having functionality associated with the various blocks inFIG. 3.

The switch303routes an incoming call from an external telephone network301to the customer service agent's phone307and to the speech recognition system313for analysis of the phone conversation during the call. The phone conversation may also be stored in a persistent storage device315for subsequent analysis. The speech recognition system313takes the digital or analog audio signal from the call and performs speech recognition analysis to recognize one or more words spoken during the phone conversation. Speech recognition (in many contexts also known as automatic speech recognition, computer speech recognition or voice recognition) technology generally represent a set of technologies that allows computers equipped with a source of sound input, such as a microphone, to transform human speech into a sequence of words recorded in a computer data file. This is not to be confused with voice authentication (or speaker authentication), which recognizes only voice patterns as in security identification, or speaker identification which aims at identifying one speaker out of many. Speech recognition technology currently available may be used for recognizing words that are spoken during the phone conversation. Some examples of these technologies are provided below:

Many technical text books emphasize the use of Hidden Markov Model as the underlying technology. Though it should be noted that the use of dynamic algorithm approach, neural network-based approach and knowledge-based approach are also viable. Certain systems can recognize natural human speech which has the property of words “sticking together” (or coarticulated together). This is usually called continuous speech (continuous speech recognition). Some systems also use the terms connected word recognition. These types of systems are, for example, particularly suited for use in conjunction with the automated phone conversation analysis systems described herein. However, other speech recognition systems and technologies may be applicable as well.

Speech recognition technology is available from a variety of sources. For example OpenSpeech® Recognizer (OSR) speech recognition software is available from Nuance Communications, Inc., a computer software technology company headquartered in Burlington, Mass. It uses statistical language models (SLMs) and statistical semantic models (SSMs) that determine what a caller means in addition to the words they said.

These words, phrases or meanings are analyzed individually or to determine whether they trigger particular actions resulting from business rules stored in the business rules storage317. If they do, the particular actions may be taken during or after the phone call as determined by the rules317. The CRM system311, in communication with the speech recognition system313and agent's computer309, executes the particular rules based on the analysis performed within the speech recognition system313. For example, these actions may include, but are not limited to: presenting the caller with certain offers, advice, solutions or products during the phone conversation with the agent305. The CRM system311may notify the agent via the agent's computer309, for example, of which actions to take. These notifications may include, but are not limited to: a pop-up message on the agent's computer309, an icon appearing on the agent's computer309, a text or email message, an audio signal, etc., and may include information for the customer or agent within the notification or further instructions within the notification for the agent or customer. The speech recognition system313may also tag certain locations within the conversation that have been identified by the business rules317as being a searchable parameter. Identification tags or anchors are thus inserted with, for example, the aforementioned words, phrases or meanings, in order to facilitate rapid searching for subsequent analysis. Such an analysis may be initiated by an analyst320utilizing the analyst computer325, utilizing CRM system311, business rules317, and post processing system330.

Referring next toFIG. 4, shown is a block diagram illustrating a lower level view of an example system for automated phone conversation analysis. Shown is an external telephone network301, a telephone switch303, a customer interaction management system405, a customer service agent305, (including their phone307and computer309), a recording application rules module401, a customer relations management system (CRM)311, a speech analytics system403, a persistent storage for recorded conversations315, a persistent storage for business rules317, a persistent storage for the customer interaction management405system, analyst320(including analyst computer325), and post processing system330.

In comparison toFIG. 3, there is an additional component inFIG. 4for customer interaction management405. This is an automated system such as that available from Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc. located in Daly City, Calif. The Genesys® software platform provides functionality to identify callers, route calls, report caller statistics and provides a voice portal system to offer self-service resources over the phone to customers. The speech recognition system ofFIG. 3is broken down into two components shown inFIG. 4: the recording application rules module401and the speech analytics module403. The recording application rules module401is in communication with the customer interaction management system405. The customer interaction management system405may provide information regarding a call or number of calls to the recording application rules module401such that the recording application rules module401may make a determination of which calls to record based on random selection or other particular criteria provided in the recording application rules401. The speech analytics system403provides the speech recognition and analysis as described above based upon the business rules317. The post processing system may consist of a collection of software programs running on a server, which may provide analysis functions such as short and long term trending, with various trending parameters that are selectable by the analyst320. Other programs may process a subset of the recorded and tagged conversations, comparing key words and phrases with the business rules to determine if a product or service should have been offered, but was not.

Referring next toFIG. 5, shown is a time line chart of an example phone conversation in which an example of automated phone conversation analysis occurs. Key word recognition, analysis and associated actions based on the analysis may be happening continuously and/or in parallel during a given phone conversation. Thus, the timeline ofFIG. 5, provides an example sequence of events that may occur during a phone conversation, but the events may occur in a different order or take a longer or shorter amount of time to perform than shown inFIG. 5. The order in which the recognition, analysis and associated actions based on the analysis occur, as well as the amount of time they take to occur depend on a number of factors such as the processing speed of the computing environment, the efficiency of the speech recognition and analytics software, the quality of the audio in the phone call, the complexity of the analysis required, the rate at which the caller is speaking, the type of product or service offered to the customer or member, etc. However, generally, a key word or phrase is first recognized before it is analyzed, and is analyzed before a product or service can be offered, or before the recording can be tagged, based upon the analysis of the key word or phrase. For example, inFIG. 5, after the start501of the phone conversation500at time t0(which may also be recorded), the caller says key word1. This key word is recognized503and analyzed505to determine which product or service should be offered to the customer or member, or determine key search terms with which to tag the recorded conversation. Then the product or service is actually offered507to the customer or member over the phone, or the recorded conversation is tagged at508during the phone conversation500. This process repeats for another key word, say key word2. The caller says key word2. This key word is recognized509and analyzed511to determine which product or service should be offered to the customer or member, or determine key search terms with which to tag the recorded conversation. Then the product or service is actually offered513to the customer or member over the phone during the phone conversation500or the recorded conversation is tagged at514. This process may repeat for other key word(s) or phrases until the phone conversation ends515. At the completion of the above process, the entire conversation, which has been tagged with keywords and phrases to enable subsequent retrieval and analysis, is stored.

Referring next toFIG. 6, shown is a time line chart of an example phone conversation in which a second example of automated phone conversation analysis occurs. The example ofFIG. 6shows what may occur when a first and different second key word is recognized during the conversation before the product or service associated with the first key word has a chance to be offered to the customer, or in rapid succession such that a single point in the conversation can be tagged with more than one searchable term. For example, inFIG. 6, after the start601of the phone conversation600at time t0, the caller says key word1. This key word is recognized603and analyzed605to determine which product or service should be offered to the customer or member, or which search term should be applied to this location in the conversation. However, before the product or service is actually offered609to the customer or the location is tagged, a second key word is spoken and recognized607. Thus, in contrast toFIG. 5, the key word recognition of key word2occurs before the product or service is actually offered or the location is actually tagged610. However, these processes may also be overlapping, occurring simultaneously, or in parallel. For example, the analysis605of key word1may end after key word2is recognized607. There also may be synchronization rules, etc. that govern which processes, if any, may overlap. In the example ofFIG. 6, after the product or service associated with key word1is offered, or the term has been tagged609, key word2is analyzed611, key word3is spoken and then recognized613before the product or service associated with key word3is actually offered or the location is tagged616. This process, or variations on this process, may repeat for other key word(s) or phrases until the phone conversation ends617and the entire tagged conversation is stored.

Referring next toFIG. 7, shown is a time line chart of an example phone conversation in which a third example of automated phone conversation analysis occurs. The timeline ofFIG. 7shows a sequence of events that results from a process of analysis that waits a pre-determined period of time (or pre-determined number of key words) before the product or service associated with previous key words or phrases is actually offered711or the conversation is tagged. This may serve to provide a better or more complete analysis of the phone conversation by waiting to collect more information (e.g., key words or phrases) to make a more intelligent choice of what, if any, product or service to offer the customer, or which search terms to use for the tagging. For example, after the start701of the phone conversation700at time t0, the system waits until time t0+ato determine which product or service should be offered711to the customer or member, or which search terms should be applied based on the previous key words recognized703707and analyzed709. Or perhaps the system was waiting for both particular key words key word1and key word2to be recognized and analyzed before offering (or notifying to agent to offer) the product or service to the customer, or before tagging the recorded conversation712. The customer may speak other key words or phrases such as key word3713and key word4714and this process, or variations on this process, may repeat for the other key word(s) or phrases until the phone conversation ends715. In this way, the phone conversation analysis may be provided in real-time, near real time, or before the phone conversation ends. Furthermore, this process enables the most efficient and effective means of tagging the conversation for later retrieval and analysis. Although the processes described above have been with respect to key words spoken by the customer, the same or similar processes may also be applied to the same or different key words spoken by the agent speaking with the customer.

Referring next toFIG. 8, shown is a flow diagram illustrating one example process for automated phone conversation analysis. For example, after the start of a phone conversation801, the conversation is monitored803using an automated speech recognition system. At the time (or soon after) certain key word(s) or phrase(s) are spoken805, the key word(s) or phrase(s) are analyzed to determine what action to take based upon the particular key word or phrase, and whether to tag that portion of the conversation. For example, a product or service is then offered809(or the agent is notified to provide an offer for the product or service) to the customer during the phone conversation based on the analysis of the key word. At this point the location of the conversation is tagged810with the appropriate search attributes. This process may repeat811, until the phone conversation has ended813, at which point the tagged conversation will be finalized and stored814and the analysis session will end815.

Referring next toFIG. 9, shown is a flow diagram illustrating an example process for analysis of key words or phrases within the automated phone conversation analysis process ofFIG. 8. To perform analysis of the key word spoken, the rule associated with the key word is looked up901in a database containing the key words and their associated rules. The rules may contain specific actions to perform including, but not limited to: presenting the caller with, or providing the agent a notification to present the caller with certain offers, advice, solutions or products during the phone conversation with the agent, require further analysis, require further monitoring pf phone conversation, transfer the call, record the call (if it is not already being recorded), call or alert a manager or notify the agent to contact a manager, etc. An example may be that the customer speaks the key words “college” and “son” or daughter,” and the agent is then notified on their computer to offer the customer a product related to a college investment account for their child. Or perhaps, the customer speaks the words “moving” or “job transfer” or “PCS” (permanent change of station) and the agent is notified to offer the customer real estate and moving services. It is then determined903whether the rule requires further analysis of the conversation phone conversation. If the rule does not require further analysis of the conversation, then the particular rule is provided905for execution at that moment. If the rule does require further analysis of the conversation, then such further analysis is performed907. This further analysis may be, for example, to determine what type of call, who the caller is, what type of accounts the caller has and other data to perform a proper analysis before providing905the associated rule for execution. It is also determined909whether the rule requires further monitoring of the phone conversation before the final rule can be provided905for execution. In this case, the process may repeat and process901other key words in order to complete the analysis.

In another embodiment, referring next toFIG. 10, shown is a flow diagram illustrating an example process for post-call analysis of the recorded conversations. To perform analysis of one or more recorded conversations, an analyst inputs attributes (such as key words), rules, and types of analysis that are to be performed1001. Any number of tagged attributes and desired analyses can be input by the analyst, either manually or using automated means. For example, an analyst may use a workstation using a software program to select various attributes for analysis or trending. The recorded and tagged phone conversations are retrieved by the post processing system1010. If necessary, CRM data is retrieved1020. The rule associated with the attribute or key word is looked up1030in a database containing the associated rules. The rules may contain specific actions that should have been performed including, but not limited to: presenting the caller with, or providing the agent a notification to present the caller with certain offers, advice, solutions or products during the phone conversation with the agent, require further analysis, require further monitoring pf phone conversation, transfer the call, record the call (if it is not already being recorded), call or alert a manager or notify the agent to contact a manager, etc. An example may be that the customer speaks the key words “college” and “son” or daughter,” and the agent is then notified on their computer to offer the customer a product related to a college investment account for their child. Or perhaps, the customer speaks the words “moving” or “job transfer” or “PCS” (permanent change of station) and the agent is notified to offer the customer real estate and moving services. The analysis is performed1040and the results are presented to the analyst1050at the analyst's computer, or in printed form, or any other means selected by the analyst.

The methods and apparatus of the present invention may also be embodied in the form of program code that is transmitted over some transmission medium, such as over electrical wiring or cabling, through fiber optics, or via any other form of transmission, wherein, when the program code is received and loaded into and executed by a machine, such as an EPROM, a gate array, a programmable logic device (PLD), a client computer, a video recorder or the like, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the invention. When implemented on a general-purpose processor, the program code combines with the processor to provide a unique apparatus that operates to perform the functionality of the systems and methods described herein.

While the present invention has been described in connection with the preferred embodiments of the various figures, it is to be understood that other similar embodiments may be used or modifications and additions may be made to the described embodiment for performing the same function of the present invention without deviating there from. Furthermore, it should be emphasized that a variety of computer platforms, including handheld device operating systems and other application-specific hardware/software interface systems, are herein contemplated, especially as the number of wireless networked devices continues to proliferate. Therefore, the present invention should not be limited to any single embodiment, but rather construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the appended claims.

Finally, the disclosed embodiments described herein may be adapted for use in other processor architectures, computer-based systems, or system virtualizations, and such embodiments are expressly anticipated by the disclosures made herein and, thus, the present invention should not be limited to specific embodiments described herein but instead construed most broadly.