Posts tagged as:

Voice & Speech

Bad IVR: If You Need Something From Me, How About Letting Me Know?

by Paul Sherman on June 23, 2009 · View Comments

in Everything Else

Once again I had a sub-optimal experience with an interactive voice response (IVR) system.

I called AT&T to check on the status of my service call – we haven’t had dial tone on our land line since mid-Saturday – and the system asked me to input “my ten digit phone number, starting with the area code.” Which I dutifully did. And you know what happened? Nothing.

And more nothing.

A whole bunch of nothing.

After a good 7-8 seconds of waiting I sighed and figured I should probably press “#” or something.

Sure enough, after pressing “#” the system cheerfully confirmed my input (“You entered yadda yadda yadda, is this correct? Press 1 if yes” etc.) and went? about its business.

This is deeply annoying and a bad user experience. From the experience perspective it’s bad because it puts a barrier in front of the caller and leaves her guessing what the system expects from her. And it’s bad from a business perspective because it increases the probability that the caller will zero out of the system and attempt to get transferred to an agent. Which costs the organization money.

So here’s a bit of advice to IVR designers…and know that even as I dispense this advice there are people out there who think about IVR’s and VUI’s 24/7, and whose advice is much more comprehensive. (I should know; I married one of these peeps.)

  • For touch-tone input where you know the length of the input, don’t require me to press “#” when finished. Just take the input and move on.
  • If you absolutely want (or, doubtfully, *need*) me to press “#” when I’ve finished entering information, then TELL me that you need me to press something. And tell me BEFORE you have me enter the information. Don’t just leave me hanging after I’ve fed you data. It just makes your organization look inattentive and/or stupid.
  • If for some bizarre and mysterious reason you can’t see your way clear to telling me what is expected of me up-front, then tell me something like “If you’re finished entering your number, press “#” to finish” when you notice that I haven’t entered anything in a few seconds.

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I Got Paid

by Paul Sherman on January 4, 2009 · View Comments

in Everything Else

I feel like Steve Martin in “The Jerk“, when he gets his first royalty check. (Only mine is really more like 250, not 250K…) I just received the first royalty payment on Usability Success Stories, the book I put out in early 2007. Total: $437 USD.

I’m actually not disappointed. Quite frankly I’m surprised the book earns anything. Hey, it’s the first one. And if it did suddenly start selling like hotcakes (do those actually sell well?), I’d want some formal mechanism to share with the chapter contributors, as it was an edited volume (with three of the chapters by me).

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Android’s UI @ Engadget

by Paul Sherman on November 12, 2007 · View Comments

in Web

Drop what you’re doing right now and go look at the screenshots of Android, Google’s open-source smartphone OS.

It’s…it’s…beautiful.

I want one. Now. Not now. Yesterday.

I know it’s not even a real phone yet, it’s just a reference design. But I want my next phone to run this platform. That’s how neat it looks.

A Visual Tour of Android’s UI – Engadget

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A Journey Into The Uncanny Valley

by Paul Sherman on May 23, 2007 · View Comments

in Everything Else

Last week in the Washington Post an article appeared describing how landmine-detonating robots being used in Iraq and Afghanistan were the objects of much affection in the field. This should not be surprising to anyone who works with systems that people depend on for critical tasks. Says the Washington Post:

Humans have long displayed an uncanny ability to make emotional connections with their manufactured helpmates…Now that our creations display elements of intelligence, however, the
bonds humans forge with their machines are even more impressive.

No kidding. I love my Sony Ericsson K750i with a passion. And my iPod – fuhgeddaboutit.

Blogged with Flock

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You Want Fries With That?

by Paul Sherman on January 16, 2007 · View Comments

in Everything Else


You Want Fries With That?

Ya gotta love when a robotics lab creates a monstrosity like the Morgui, a robot skull with a Terminator-like evil grin.

What does this have to do with usability, user experience, etc? Well, not much. But it sure is wicked cool.

But don’t forget, some day this thing will be taking your order at the local fast-food chain restaurant. (“Over ninety octillion hamburgers served…”)

Kyped from Engadget, who blogged it from here.

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