Designing dialogue - an intro to voice design

With the rise of voice assistants, designers will now have to start thinking about voice as a new canvas. In this talk, Ben outlines the potential future of voice, the design process, and how to test ideas using the Wizard of Oz method.

Transcript

1. DESIGNING DIALOGUE: 

   AN INTRO TO VOICE DESIGN
   @bensauer
   MOBX BERLIN, SEP 2017
   

   View Slide

2. ARISTOTLE
   There is only one condition in which we can
   imagine managers not needing subordinates,
   and masters not needing slaves.
   This condition would be that each instrument
   could do its own work, at the word of
   command or by intelligent anticipation.
   @bensauer
   

   View Slide

3. View Slide

4. Curious Rituals
   produced by The Near Future Laboratory
   

   View Slide

5. View Slide

6. Curious Rituals
   produced by The Near Future Laboratory
   

   View Slide

7. View Slide

8. • Limited shared vocabulary
   • Poor skills / co-ordination
   • No capacity to learn
   • Never sure job will get done
   • Turns you into the a$$h0le
   Using VUI is a bit like dealing with Manuel…
   

   View Slide

9. Our true calling is to make 

   the system fail gracefully.
   

   View Slide

10. WHERE ARE 

    VOICE ASSISTANTS
    GOING?
    

    View Slide

11. We’re facing a future where our
    home devices may talk by default.
    @bensauer
    

    View Slide

12. ELLIE, 7
    "Speaking to Alexa's a bit like a Jedi Mind Trick,
    isn't it Daddy? 

    

    Tell her what to do, she repeats it, then does it."
    @bensauer
    

    View Slide

13. @bensauer
    @bensauer
    VOICE ASSISTANT MODELS
    SIRI: ‘FAMILIAR’ ALEXA: ‘THING’
    http://www.dfki.de/LAMDa/2013/accepted/13_ApplinFischer.pdf
    

    View Slide

14. UBIQUITOUS COMPUTING
    “Invisible, everywhere computing that does not
    live on a personal device of any sort, but is in
    the woodwork everywhere.”
    

    View Slide

15. View Slide

16. UBIQUITOUS COMPUTING
    • Multi-modal
    • Voice-first; speaks human
    • Ever-present
    • Get your attention back
    

    View Slide

17. Most voice UI today is 

    ‘command and control’.
    @bensauer
    

    View Slide

18. GUI vs. VUI
    

    View Slide

19. VUI is deceptively limited.
    @bensauer
    

    View Slide

20. @bensauer
    VUI USE MAY BE U-SHAPED
    @bensauer
    AWESOME
    SUCKS
    10 100 ∞
    USE CASES
    

    View Slide

21. Recall over recognition.
    

    View Slide

22. View Slide

23. The first expression 

    is the goal.
    

    View Slide

24. GUI VUI
    THE USER JOURNEY
    

    View Slide

25. The context of use 

    is everything.
    

    View Slide

26. DESIGN PROCESS
    

    View Slide

27. The heart of VUI is great writing.
    @bensauer
    

    View Slide

28. @bensauer
    0. DOES THE CONTEXT WORK?
    hands eyes mouth ears
    

    View Slide

29. @bensauer
    0. CONTEXT
    1. DEFINE YOUR PERSONA
    

    View Slide

30. @bensauer
    0. CONTEXT 1. PERSONA
    2. WRITE SAMPLE DIALOGUE
    

    View Slide

31. @bensauer
    0. CONTEXT 2. SAMPLE DIALOGUE
    1. PERSONA
    3. WIZARD OF OZ TESTING
    ‘Say Wizard’ Demo time!
    

    View Slide

32. @bensauer
    0. CONTEXT 2. SAMPLE DIALOGUE 3. TESTING
    1. PERSONA
    4. DIALOGUE FLOW
    Intent
    Location
    Check
    Recover
    Confirm
    booking
    Time Check
    Recover
    Confirm
    Location
    

    View Slide

33. @bensauer
    0. CONTEXT 2. SAMPLE DIALOGUE 3. TESTING 4. FLOW
    1. PERSONA
    5. BUILD AND TEST
    

    View Slide

34. VUI PRINCIPLES
    

    View Slide

35. Always be capturing.
    

    View Slide

36. Postel’s Law
    Be conservative in what you send,
    be liberal in what you accept.
    @bensauer
    

    View Slide

37. I’d really like to visit
    Schmedeswurtherwesterdeich.
    @bensauer
    USER:
    In Germany?
    ALEXA:
    

    View Slide

38. Design for mundane realities.
    

    View Slide

39. Pair Bluetooth!!!!
    @bensauer
    HEAVILY ACCENTED USER FOR THE 3RD TIME:
    I’m really sorry, I still don’t understand.
    Can I suggest using the Alexa app instead?
    ALEXA:
    

    View Slide

40. Considerate confirmation.
    

    View Slide

41. Did you mean Odeon, Brighton?
    @bensauer
    SYSTEM HAS 50% CONFIDENCE:
    When would you like to go to 

    the Odeon Brighton?
    IMPLICIT:
    
    NONE:
    

    View Slide

42. There are no errors
    in human conversation.
    

    View Slide

43. Human, but not *too* human.
    

    View Slide

44. View Slide

45. RESOURCES
    • Cathy Pearl’s VUI book
    • Wizard of Oz Testing:

    https://chatbotsmagazine.com/stfu-test-your-
    voice-app-idea-in-less-than-an-
    hour-2638cdff2503
    • Say Wizard:

    https://github.com/bensauer/saywizard
    

    View Slide

46. MARC WEISER
    “The most profound technologies are
    those that disappear.
    They weave themselves into the
    fabric of everyday life until they are
    indistinguishable from it.”
    @bensauer
    

    View Slide

47. I’m @bensauer.
    “AUDIENCE. thanks for listening.”
    Read more of my nonsense at: http://slapdashery.org
    

    View Slide