Using the Grammar Tester

The Grammar Tester is a powerful tool that analyzes your call data and allows you to see how proposed changes to your grammar or speech engine configurations will affect the results of your application. It works best if you have transcribed interactions, but transcripts are not necessary to get benefits from the Tester.

This page will walk you through the basics of performing tests; for detailed information about the Grammar Tester and test results, see the Grammar Tester Reference page under the Advanced Help section.

Launching the Tester

The Tester can be launched in one of two ways:

1. From the main Tuner window, once you have loaded a database and applied filters, simply select Launch Tester to run the Tester using the filtered calls and interactions.
2. From the Call Browser, you can analyze a specific interaction by clicking on an interaction so that it is highlighted in the Interactions List and then selecting Launch in Tester.

Modifying Grammars and Running Tests

The heart of the Tester is the ability to modify grammars and then decode interactions in your speech engine using the new grammar to see how your results have changed.

1. From the main Tester window, click on a grammar under the Grammars list so that it is highlighted and select Modify.
2. If you modify an SRGS grammar the Tester will launch the external Grammar Editor. When you are finished editing your grammar, select Send to Tuner under the File menu.
3. If you modify a grammar that is the older LV-Concepts type, the Tester will launch a simplified editor that allows you to add, change, and delete concepts and phrases. When you are done with that, you may simply select Apply Changes.
4. If you want to make changes to the way your speech engine is configured, you may do so by choosing ASR Configuration under the Settings menu. This will launch the SRE Manager.
5. You can make changes to as many grammars as you wish. Grammars that have been modified appear red in the list. Once you are finished making changes, press Start Test at the top of the Tester window.
6. Once the test is completed, it will display the Test Report window. The report provides information on interactions and how their results have changed or not changed based on any modifications to grammars or to the speech engine. If you wish to save the report, you may select Save As... at the bottom of the window. Otherwise, close the window.
7. The Summary section of the Tester window will be updated, showing statistics for your call data before and after the tests you just ran. You can see the Test Report again by selecting View Detailed Report. For more information on working with this data, see Interpreting Grammar Test Results.