Patent ID: 8607147

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of previewing proposed modifications to a structured flow diagram, the method comprising: presenting a display of the structured flow diagram with a user interface, the structured flow diagram being displayed according to a predetermined visual format; dragging an object to a drop target where it is proposed that the object be inserted into the structured flow diagram; upon the object hovering over the proposed drop target, generating an alternative construct of the structured flow diagram that would result from the insertion of the object at the drop target in the display, wherein generating comprises showing a modification comprising one or more modified portions of the structured flow diagram due to the inserting the object at the proposed drop target in a first different visual format juxtaposed with other portions of the structured flow diagram that would not be modified by dropping the object at the proposed drop target so that the alternative construct of the structured flow diagram can be previewed prior to determining whether to incorporate the modification into the structured flow diagram at the drop target, wherein the other portions of the structured flow diagram that would not be modified by dropping the object at the proposed drop target remain being displayed in the predetermined visual format, and wherein portions of the structured flow diagram that would be modified by dropping the object at the proposed drop target are displayed in unmodified form in a second different visual format and concurrently with the modification; dragging the object to an alternative drop target and repeating the generating step if the modification is not desired; incorporating the modification into the structured flow diagram if the modification is desired; wherein the predetermined visual format, the first different format, and second different visual format are of different kinds of lines or different color schemes; and wherein the structured flow diagram is a grammar builder that visually represents speech responses for a voice application defined by at least one grammar rule represented by a token icon and at least one connector linking the token icon and another token icon.