|
|
|
|
|
In order to design the most successful application possible, it is a good idea to research some basic design principles. Human factors experts call these usability principles, since they are critical to designing a usable application.
Because of experiences with poorly designed applications, some callers are wary of all voice response systems. Be careful that your application does not alienate your customers. Your goal is to make an automated transaction at least as attractive and efficient as interacting with an attendant.
Know your callers
Choices you make in the application design will affect those who the application will serve. Find out as much as you can about the people who will call the system, and use the information when designing your applications.
Relevant information to gather includes the following:
Information |
Comments |
Who are your callers? |
Your callers have personal attributes that affect how they interact with the application you are designing. What language do they speak? If you expect that many callers will have an accent that is different from what the speech recognition package you are using expects, consider offering a bilingual service. How old are they? If you expect that a high percentage of callers may be children, you should use simple language and very short menus. Also, since speech recognition works best with deeper voices, for children you may want to use only touchtone input. If you expect that many of your callers are over the age of 65, you might want to allow them more time to respond. Make sure to reduce confusion by making the transaction as simple as possible. Are they employees of your company? You may want a script designed for in-house use to appear and perform differently than one designed for your customers. For example, if you provide training classes or user guides, you can probably use shorter and more concise prompts. Jargon and technical terms may be appropriate for employees if you can assume that they know the terms. Note any other personal attributes that could affect how callers will interact with your application, such as regional slang, accents, or education level. |
How often do they call? |
Some applications are meant to be used only one time, while others can be used more often. Callers might access some applications several times a day. If you expect callers to use the application rarely, your prompts and announcements may need to contain explicit information and instructions. Prompts for applications used very often can be made extremely short, since most callers will likely be experienced. If you expect your callers to be mixed in their experience levels, make it possible for the more experienced callers to dial through or barge in during prompts. |
How well do they know the subject matter? |
If you expect that most of your callers will be unfamiliar with the subject matter (for example, if you are describing a new service or product), you should take special care in structuring and presenting the information so that your audience can understand it. |
How will they feel about responding to requests for sensitive information? |
If you are asking your callers to provide sensitive information, such as bank account numbers, credit card information, and the like, many callers are shy about providing this kind of information over the telephone. If you want callers to provide this kind of information, be sure to use SSL for these parts of your applications—and be sure to let your callers know you are using secure connections for the transmission of this information. |
Use simple and natural dialog
Learning as much as you can about callers will allow you to determine what is "simple and natural" for them. Design uncomplicated, straightforward applications that use terms familiar to the callers.
Minimize demands on the caller's memory
Psychological research has shown that short-term memory can hold no more than five to nine separate pieces of information at one time. For each menu item you present to callers, two different pieces of information must be remembered: the option ("For loan rate information...") and the action required to choose the option ("press 2.") Menus should offer no more than four or five items at once, since callers cannot remember more items.
The fewer items callers have to remember, the more likely it is that they will remember them. Try to make the interaction easy for the callers. Keep menus short, and avoid wordy prompts and announcements.
Be consistent
Consistency in the structure of menu choices and in the presentation of information helps prevent callers from becoming confused. By using consistent language and requesting consistent action of callers, you simplify the interaction and reduce demands on memory.
Provide feedback
Whenever callers press touch tones or speak in response to a prompt, let them know how the response was interpreted. This clarifies the transaction for callers. For instance, if callers press zero for an attendant, the application could say "Please hold for an attendant." Although the application does not explicitly state that it heard the caller press zero, the interpretation of the key press is implicit in the announcement that follows.
Provide easy exits
To prevent callers from getting trapped in an application script, tell them how to reach an attendant, end a transaction, or return to the main menu. You can give this information at the beginning of the transaction. Provide these types of escapes within your application so that callers can always return to a place they know or can obtain help as necessary. This gives your callers more control over the interaction, and makes them feel as if they are not powerless in the face of automation.
Offer shortcuts
If you expect some callers to call often enough to become experts, provide ways to shorten their interaction with the application. For example, allow them to respond before the end of a prompt so that they can move through the interaction at a pace that is comfortable for them. You may want to consider providing separate scripts (or separate branches of a single script) for novice and expert callers.
Prevent errors
By following the above principles, you can prevent errors from happening. Well designed applications take into account the strengths and weakness of both the callers and the technologies.
