Home Programs Predictive input. Predictive dialing in a call center – essence and functional features. #8. Use abbreviations to speed up typing

Predictive input. Predictive dialing in a call center – essence and functional features. #8. Use abbreviations to speed up typing

He makes a call to the subscriber at set time, connecting it to the IVR module or operator. The implementation of this task occurs in several ways, which affect the specific differentiation of the auto-dialer.

So, what types of auto dialers are there?

Progressive - in this case, the system tries to occupy the maximum number of communication channels with calls and at the same time records the number of dial-ups that were made to each subscriber. This method most suitable for auto-notification.

Predictive – used to minimize operator waiting time for a call, while taking into account minimal losses of successful calls. In other words, the predictive module is faced with the task of making such a number of calls that can occupy all operators and so that all subscribers who answer the call are connected to operators. This result is achieved thanks to the presence of special algorithms that, based on data on the number of available free operators, taking into account the average call duration, taking into account the number of successful connections, etc., can predict the number of calls.

It is believed that predictive dialing is best used in large call centers. That's where it happens huge amount calls and a large staff of operators. Only such a condition will provide a sufficient amount of statistics for forecasting.

Preview – in this case, a decision about the call, as well as about the number to which the operator accepts the call. This call differs from the usual one in that the operator does not need to press the phone buttons and pick up the handset exactly until the subscriber answers the call. incoming call. This module is basic for all call centers without exception.

Auto dealer – what is needed to create one?

Operator queue API - there should be control over the availability of operators, as well as the ability to determine their release not at the moment when the conversation is over, but based on the result of the conversation.

The number of communication channels must be sufficient - VoIP is required (it provides flexibility, low cost and speed as channels grow).

Robust communication platform - must have software control, it must match the load and be stable.

It happens that you come up with something, but you don’t know what it should be called. There seems to be an understanding of the essence, but it’s impossible to find the same thing on the Internet based on seemingly sane queries. In this case, I was lucky - I accidentally came across a phone that can do exactly what is needed, so I was able to find out that this function is called “predictive number entry”. For those who use their phone to make calls rather than throw birds at pigs, this functionality should save a lot of time and nerves.

How do we usually call, for example, Alexey Ivanov? Something like this:
1) Unlocked the phone,
2) Clicked “Notebook”
3) Click “2444433” to see an abbreviated list of contacts with the substring “ale” (i.e. Alexei and Alexandra mainly),
4) We realized that typing his entire popular name in order to proceed to entering an equally popular last name is quite a long process (we would have to type the following sequence: “444663344”), so we decide to move the arrows down and up to quickly get to the desired contact.

In total, in about a dozen button presses we made the desired call. This is not too much, you can tolerate it if there are no normal alternatives. But it turns out they exist! So how do we accomplish the same task with predictive dialing?
1) Unlocked the phone,
2) We immediately typed the short “243” (this is to instantly get into the state after point (3) from the previous approach) - after all, a list of all lines was generated especially for us notebook, which contain a substring that can be assembled from the letters located on the second, fourth and third buttons, respectively.
3) And in this list, you can use the same up and down buttons to reach the desired Alexey Ivanov, and if the list is still too long, then just type a few more numbers (“463”) to weed out Alexandrov from the resulting list.

It seems that we saved only one point (opening a notebook), but in fact we relieved our fingers and head a lot: we don’t have to type a long sequence of numbers, we don’t have to remember what order the letter “l” is on the “4” button - everything turns out noticeably faster and easier. By the way, in the case of touch screens this is also sometimes used (the smartphone dialer often turns out to be more convenient than an honest notebook keyboard, since large buttons with numbers are easier to access than small buttons with letters, see the beginning of the explanatory video about RapDialer).

But for some reason, there is almost nothing written about this functionality on the Internet, either in Russian or in English. I couldn’t even find an explanatory video about a push-button telephone, but with it this text would have been much clearer. I don’t even know how to find out whether this feature is built into a candidate phone (almost all models write about predictive input, but usually this means T9 support when entering text messages), so everything has to be checked in the showroom, which takes time . That's why let's in

Application

Mobile devices

Predictive text input has expanded to mobile devices(primarily on phones) on which text entry is difficult, for example, when writing SMS messages. There are mainly two predictive input systems used: and iTAP.

Editors for programmers

The editor parses the text and displays a menu that suggests the ending of the entered keyword or identifier. Or, for example, when entering a tag, HTML offers a choice of all its parameters.

In most editors, the predictive input menu is called either by a short typing pause or by pressing the button Ctrl-Space.

Document editors

When entering text, the system suggests the ending of the entered word. For example, this can help when entering tables in which the contents of cells are often repeated. In document editors, developers use predictive input very carefully, since prediction errors are especially common here.

Problems

General

In languages with a developed system of endings (like Russian), the system that suggests the ending of a word based on its beginning works poorly - there is no guarantee that the word will appear in the case in which it is needed.

Applicable to mobile devices

In languages with a lot of short words (English), predictive typing offers too many alternatives. And in other languages, the same key combination can produce several words, and if you do not look at the screen, you can send a message with an error. The most entertaining phone errors are collectibles, and sometimes included in teenage slang, for example:

the name of Smirnoff T9 vodka turned into Poisoned- “poisoned”;
English antonyms select And reject(“select” and “reject”) are on the same phone buttons;
Russian words body And dinner in most phones they are on the same buttons, which is why the error “ When you get home, there’s dinner in the fridge» → « When you come home, there’s a body in the refrigerator»
“mobile phone number - grave number” also coincide;
but the most common and unpleasantly ambiguous T9 mistake is replacing the word “you” with “yourself.” Especially in the phrase “I love you”;
still on Nokia phones, Sony Ericsson the phrase “kiss on the neck, scratch behind the ear” turns into “kiss on the crack, scratch behind the snout.”
On some Nokia T9 phones there is a strange word “obscurity”

When entering languages with agglutinative elements, for example, German, you have to enter the word in parts. The text input system must be prepared for this. For example, the implementation in Sony Ericsson phones offers the following solution: after typing the first part of the word, the user presses the “OK” button, and the second part is entered.

You should also provide for entering words that are not in the dictionary. This is done most elegantly in iTAP: when the user sees that the phone is making a mistake, he presses the “Erase” button once and uses the arrow buttons to fix the beginning. After that, he enters the remainder one letter at a time. You have to erase the word completely (or almost completely) and type it one letter at a time.

For touch phones Swype technology has been developed, which allows you to type text without taking your hands off.

In programmer editors

The predictive text input system used in programming editors must be error-resistant. For example:

In this case, the predictive input system should, despite the missing semicolon, allow the programmer to select the someVector identifier from the menu.

Sometimes an error in the code can become a prerequisite for predictive input. For example.

In this case, the system may prompt you to enter the someVector identifier.

Curiosities

In Motorola phones (in particular in firmware R365-2.2F for the Motorola C650 and its analogues) until about 2005, there were obscene words in the Russian dictionary. In subsequent models (for example, Motorola KRZR K1) they were removed.
In Siemens phones (C65, M65, M75, S65, S75, etc.), the Russian dictionary also contained obscene language.

Notes

1. Word completion function included in LibreOffice

Predictive input is included as a feature text editor LibreOffice. If in The word completion function is active; when typing in this editor, we will periodically see hints on how to write a word in full. To use such hints and insert entire words, the Enter key is assigned by default.

This function does not have its own knowledge base, but it can learn and collect frequently used words as the user types. The function is configured in the AutoCorrect settings.

Here we can increase the number of word entries, set the minimum word length, disable the function completely or only in the self-learning part (collection of words) etc.

Initially active option "Show as tooltip" determines the specifics of displaying word completion options - in the form of a tooltip. If you deactivate this option, the options will be inserted into the document, and their unfinished part will be highlighted in a blue block. In this case, the proposed word completion is also approved by Enter or another key selected in the settings. This type of display of word completion options is preset in the settings of a similar function on board the text editor.

2. Word completion function included in OpenOffice

Included OpenOffice Writer there is exactly the same word completion function as discussed above.

Only the path to its settings is slightly different.

The rest is the same as described above for .

3. Products from Comfort Software

The developer company has predictive input technology for any software inside Windows Comfort Software. This technology is present on board three of the company’s products. Without predictive input, these products are supplied in free editions, and with it - in paid editions. The latter can be tested for a whole month in trial versions. Available on the company website:
http://ru.comfort-software.com/downloads.html

What are these products?

The program is an advanced, customizable onscreen keyboard with a bunch of different features. There is a choice of skins for the touch keyboard. It can hide and appear at the right moment, which, by the way, standard keyboards in any of the Windows versions. It supports several languages, including Russian and English. It provides the so-called stroke function - mouse gestures for individual actions. In general, this is a very good program for touch devices. And, of course, it supports predictive input with a huge knowledge base. Only this feature is not enabled by default. Enabled in the parameters.

How to enable? Go to the parameters tab "Text Suggestions" and check the first option "Show text suggestions as you type". Here we can hold additional settings functions, including activating the display of numbers for word completion options. This setting is important when working with a physical keyboard.

In the options subtab below "Dictionaries" We can download additional dictionaries for the languages we need.

What does it all look like? Full spelling options for words are displayed on top panel touch keyboard. The latter can be reduced to small sizes and placed somewhere in the corner of the screen so that it does not interfere with typing in the editor window. Insertion of words suggested as you type is carried out either by clicking the mouse, or, as we configured above, by pressing the corresponding number.

Comfort Keys Pro

Comfort Keys Pro– another product from Comfort Software, includes the capabilities of the previous program with additional functions clipboard and text templates. Predictive input is configured in the same way as discussed above.

Perhaps those who work with a physical keyboard will find the touch keyboard window inconvenient. For such cases Comfort Software There is a product completely tailored for regular PCs and laptops without touch screens.

This program includes the same predictive input feature, but the word completion options are offered in a small form that appears at the right time.

By the way, predictive input from Comfort Software tries to guess not only the spelling of the current words, but also the next words in template text constructions.

As in the previous two programs, predictive input is configured in the same settings tab "Text Suggestions". And here, too, you can customize the choice of words by pressing numbers. But you can leave the preset settings for selecting words using the navigation keys, and simply assign a convenient insertion confirmation key. Whichever is more convenient for you.

With word selection numbers set up, it is easier to use options in distant positions.

Other features of the program include working with text templates and correcting the keyboard layout.

T9, or Predictive text input in mobile phones

Almost all users mobile phones They cannot do their practice without SMS. This is a very convenient and inexpensive service, provided by virtually all operators in the standards where possible. However, it is inconvenient to type text using ten buttons instead of a standard PC keyboard. The developers of the T9 program promise to help us by offering predictive text input.

What is this? Using the T9 system, we press the key where the required letter is located only once. Having typed several letters in this way, we wait for T9 to try to create a word from them. If it matches what you typed, then press the spacebar and move on to the next word. And if not, then T9 will offer a choice of several variants of words made up of the letters you entered. To select the desired word, press the “0” key several times and then enter it by pressing the spacebar or any punctuation mark.

Let's try to look at the operating principle of T9 and similar systems using the example of the iTAP system, which is used in some Motorola phone models. The description says that while typing, the phone anticipates or predicts the word you are trying to enter. How does the system work?

After pressing the key with the desired letter, the phone will display the one of the three or four letters (written on the button) that, in its opinion, occurs more often, and at the bottom of the screen it will offer other options. If he didn’t “guess” the letter, he will have to use “<*» и «#>» keys (instead of “0” in the classic T9) to select the desired option in the lower list. At first, such a dialing system seems very unusual. For example, we are used to typing the letter “c” by pressing the 2-abc button three times, but here it is typed like this: pressing 2-abc, then “#>” twice. If, as usual, we press 2-abc three times, we will get three letters, because “sorting through” is done using arrows, and each keystroke, even the same one, is an initial letter.

It’s quite difficult to explain this right away, so I’ll try to do it with an example:

Let's say we need to enter the word "abandon":

Again, a small nuance: in the classic T9, we would have to press the space bar “#>” instead of “Ok”.

I am sure that some of you have not yet understood everything, since I myself did not immediately understand everything. It's really simple! There is no need to click on a button several times for it to change its value, this is done using the arrows "<*» и «#>“ in the process of selecting an option from those proposed below on the screen.

Once you understand, you may think:

And what does this give us? It’s easier to routinely go through the buttons than to search with arrows for the options offered by this “smart” phone!

But you will be wrong. Typing this word in the usual way, we would press the buttons 15 times (trust me), but this way - only 11, which, you see, is already a little faster. When I typed this word for the second time, iTAP substituted its third letter right away, which means , there is also a self-learning system.

But that's not all! If you don’t use arrows when writing a word, then iTAP will try to rearrange the last letters (sometimes all) at its discretion, that is, do exactly what is specified by the developer. Here is an example: we type “motorola”, do not use the arrows and do not look at the suggested options at the bottom of the screen. We look only at the word being typed.

6-mno - m,
6-mno - on,
8-tuv - not,
6-mno - onto, (it seems like nonsense is starting, but let's look further)
7-pqrs - motor,
6-mno - motoro,
5-jkl - motorol,
2-abc - motorola.

Or the word "rules":

7-pqrs - p,
8-tuv-st,
5-jkl - rul,
3-def - rule,
7-pqrs - rules.

In both cases, complete success!

Unfortunately, some difficulties still exist. You can’t type many words that easily without using the arrows. Let's try, for example, enter “mainboard”.

6-mno - m,
2-abc - na,
4-ghi - nag,
6-mno - main,
2-abc - maina,
6-mno - mainam,
2-abc - mainama,
7-pqrs - mainamap,
3-def - mainamard.

It didn't work out L. This happens quite often. And still, this word is typed in 14 clicks using the arrows instead of 18 in normal mode. Moreover, “>” is pressed 6 times - to speed up the process, you can put your finger on this button and not remove it.

After entering a word, you need to click “OK”, a space automatically appears in the text (also “saving” one click), and if you want to add any punctuation, then iTAP will automatically return to the end of the word!

Another feature: when typing a word of 2-4 letters, several options from combinations of these letters will be offered at the bottom of the screen (classic T9). For example:

type the word “pony”,

the phone will dial snow,

and below it will offer options:

snow pony sonw sonx sonz son9,

Move the arrow one position to the right and get the desired word.

But if you have used the arrows at least once or if the word contains more than 4 letters, the phone will only offer options with the last letters changed.

For example, let's write "snowman":

And below are the options snown snowm snowo snow6.

That is, at this stage we can replace only the last letter using arrows.

On the question of the number of clicks in normal mode. To type a letter that is on the same button as the one you just typed, I (on my cell phone) need to move the cursor. For example, to type “cba”, I have to do the following: type “c” (three presses), move the cursor (otherwise, when pressing the same key, the letter “c” will be replaced by the letter “a”), then type “b” (2 press), move the cursor again and finally type “a”. I know that on some models, in order to dial a character located on the same button as the previous one, you just need to wait, and it will not be replaced, but this will not speed up the process, since during the wait you can manage to type several characters. What is pleasant is that at any time while typing, by pressing two or three buttons you can switch to normal or numeral input. (Menu - iTAP - Numeric - Tap right in the editing process).

But... the most unpleasant thing for many of us is: as often happens, the Russian language has fallen into disrepair. If you type Russian words in Latin letters, the effect will be lost: it is unlikely that in the iTAP or T9 dictionary we will find such a set of words as in the sentence “Pozvoni mne domoi pogalysta, ya yge gdu.Tvoi zaichik!”:). I think it will be easier to enter words the normal way.

We are, of course, waiting for the beginning of the “universal” Russification of mobile phones, but... The Russian language is undoubtedly more complex than English: there are more letters in the alphabet, richer vocabulary, more complex grammar. Russian cases and conjugations will make the developers of this system work hard, but we will also improve our English !

Conclusions. The considered system certainly deserves attention. Thanks to iTAP, typing and editing text on a mobile phone is much easier. Some words are entered three times faster than the usual way! T9 and iTAP have not yet become an alternative to small portable keyboards, but this is already a big step forward. Unfortunately, the Russian language is not supported, and transliteration is ineffective. We are waiting for the arrival of the Russian language and similar T9 systems in every mobile phone!

I think that with similar systems we will “live” to voice typing in mobile devices.

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