There are many reasons why storing data in XML format is often a great choice, not the least of which is that it results in data which is easily human-readable. Please, voice browser developers, apply this same concept when developing your voice browser's log files! Not that logs should be in XML, but they should serve their purpose: while debugging, it should be easy to scan through the log and find what you need.

I spent a good deal of this afternoon working my way through the arcane logs of a particular voice browser, trying to determine why a particular VoiceXML file was causing errors. To find the error in question, each time I ran a test call I then had to scroll through over 20 pages of unrelated information, and scan it with a fine-toothed comb to find the one line I needed. To say it was tedious would be an understatement.

On the other hand, some vendors have it right. Using the online TellMe voice browser logs is a pleasure, I wish more voice browser developers would follow this model. Yes, there is sometimes a need for lots (20 pages even) of technical information. But 90% of the time, I am looking through the logs for a simple error; make it easy to find.