Best practices on how to make a great interactive voice system, form UX Architect Joseph Dickerson. More at http://www.josephdickerson.com

1. Want to design Siri 2.0?
How to create a great voice
interface system
Joseph Dickerson

2. Introduction
• One of my first jobs in UX was designing an
interactive voice response system for my
company's customer support number.
• It was challenging...
• We had to understand the mental model
of callers, what their priority needs would
be in most situations, how much
"information" callers could keep in his or

3. Introduction
• Now, however, designers have an even
greater challenge - how to design an
“intelligent voice response system, like
Apple's Siri
• I've been thinking a while about some "best
practices" that can be applied to such
interactions...
• So here's my thoughts on how to make a
great voice interface system

4. Be conversational
• Respond in a way that is personal and
polite, not monotonous or robotic
• Just because it's a computer doesn't mean it
needs to be a computerized voice
• Be friendly, but...

5. Don't get too personal
• Avoid words or phrases that are overly
critical or praising... It can come off as
cloying and phony
• While a different domain than voice
interaction, I once evaluated an ATM UI that
used phrases that were completely informal
• It was off-putting and inappropriate

6. Recover gracefully
• When mistakes are made, learn from them
• Apologize, and remember - design a learning
system
• This is easier said than done, but it's
important

7. Respond quickly
• Latency is DEATH to a voice control system
• The user is expecting the response
immediately
• Every time the system responds with
"thinking" is a moment where the user's
confidence is reduced

8. Be ready for
ANYTHING
• Build out response "trees" that account for
any eventuality
• Be thorough
• Defaulting to a web search is not a positive
outcome
• Aim for a complete solution, and deliver it...
• And users will use the system with great
confidence

9. Be reliable
• A voice response system that doesn't
respond... well, that's not a very good thing,
is it?
• Make sure that the system is like the dial
tone should be when you pick up the phone
• Always on, always ready

10. Provide alternate inputs,
but use voice first
• One of the things that Siri does badly is
when users has to confirm something
• Most of the time the user has to click a
"yes" or "OK" button.
• Why?
• You're already talking to the device, the
device should KEEP LISTENING

11. Avoid doing HAL 9000
jokes
• I know it's tempting, but it's played out...
• But DO pay attention to how movies like
Moon, 2001, and Star Trek presents voice
control systems
• That is the "training" that all of us have
had
• Understanding the expectations that users
have of these systems can help you design
them better

12. Get out of the way
whenever possible
• Interacting with a voice system is cool now,
but in the future it will become as normal as
driving a car or watching TV
• Once the novelty wears off, people will be
more results and outcome-focused...
• So don't be cute
• Provide an interactive experience that obeys
commands and gets out of the way, with no
editorialization

13. Closing
• I have always said that we are living in the
future, it just wasn't the future we were
expecting
• The fact that we can seriously discuss best
practices in designing voice responses
systems like Siri reinforces that point
• The future has arrived

14. http://www.josephdickerson.com
@josephdickerson