The Contacts Reference Application: Overview

  Microsoft Speech Technologies Homepage

The Contacts reference application is an end-to-end, voice-only application that provides contact and information services. This application:

  • Demonstrates the function of an end-to-end voice-only application that provides services to users.
  • Provides developers with a flexible application that they can configure and use as a model for developing voice-only contact applications.

The Contacts reference application offers a total of four services. Two of the services initiate communication with a contact, and two services provide information about a contact.

Class of Service Type of Service Function of Service
Contact Services Phone Number Places a call to a contact's home, work, or cell phone number.
E-mail Records and sends an e-mail message to a contact.
Information Services Office room number Supplies the room number of the contact's office.
Home postal address Supplies the postal address for the contact's home.

Users can direct the application to place a phone call, record and send an e-mail message, or send an instant message to selected contacts. Users can also obtain the office room number and the postal address of selected contacts.

Contacts Reference Application Features

  • Application configurability
  • Support for the global commands Help and Repeat.
  • Support for handling user silence and user mumbling.
  • Transfer to operator:
  • After more than two consecutive exceptions on a QA control (including noreco events, silence, or mumbling)
  • If the application cannot confirm the user's request after two tries
  • If the user presses 0 (zero) at any QA control in the application

Contacts Reference Application Contact Data

The Contacts reference application uses contact data stored in an XML data file. Each record in the data file contains contact and information data for a single person. Each record contains at least a last name and a first name. The record for each contact also includes a field for each of the following pieces of information:

  • Work phone number
  • Home phone number
  • Cell phone number
  • E-mail address
  • Office room number
  • Home postal address

The names, phone numbers, e-mail addresses and other information that the application uses are fictional.

Contacts Reference Application Documentation Topics

Running the Contacts Reference Application links to instructions on how to run three Contacts demonstration scenarios.

The Contacts Application Logic Diagram provides a visual representation of the logic of the Contacts application.

The Contacts Data Table displays the list of names and other information for each contact used by the Contacts application.

Note  As in production application databases, the data file does not contain data in every field for every contact.

Using the Contacts Application as a Development Blueprint describes how to use Contacts as a basis for developing a new application.

Contacts Speech Controls: Inputs and Responses lists the ASP.NET Speech Controls used in the Contacts reference application.