The present invention provides a means for an end user to customize a speech-based user interface, such as those used in status and control for such applications as messaging, unified communications, automobile control, and many others. The invention consists of two major components: a graphical configuration component, and a run-time component. The graphical configuration component allows a user to quickly and efficiently: specify the information they wish to be included in spoken summaries; restructure command menus or vocabulary structures to meet their personal requirements, moving commonly-used commands to the "top" of a hierarchy or vocabulary structure, and rarely-used commands to the bottom layers; create additional commands to access information relating to functions external to the system, e.g. access data from the web, or control another device or system, via the web; and save the customization for use by the run-time program. The run time program is embedded into the speech user interface module of the system, and effectively executes the customized speech based user interface. Some existing speech user interface modules may already be "data driven", thus providing an excellent foundation for implementing the invention.