Patent ID: 7461000

Claim:
A method for conducting a user dialog via a speech-based user interface, the method comprising: providing a sequence of goal-directed auditory prompts, the sequence of goal-directed auditory prompts being based upon a pre-determined user-oriented task; for each prompt, determining if there is a communication error; and if a communication error occurs, responding to the communication error by initiating an error recovery including: determining a type of the communication error from a hierarchy of communication error types based upon a sequential analysis of a user response to the particular prompt, the hierarchy of communication error types including an acoustical error, a lexical error, a syntactical error, and a conceptual error, wherein an acoustical error occurs when a volume at which the user response is provided is not within a predetermined audible range, wherein a lexical error occurs when there is no match between the user response and a list of pre-designated acceptable responses, wherein a syntactical error occurs when there is no match between parts of speech of the user response and expected parts of speech, and wherein a conceptual error occurs when a user fails to provide any auditory response within a predefined time interval or when the user response is not within an activated grammar corresponding to the sequence of goal-directed auditory prompts; and providing at least one error-recovery prompt selected from a hierarchy of error-recovery prompts, the selection being based upon the determination of the type of communication error.