What's all the noise a-bot?

What’s All the Noise a-Bot? - Denver Startup Week 2016
Thursday 9/15/2016
10:00am — 11:30am MDT

Driven by the explosive growth of messaging platforms, bot APIs, recent gains in natural language understanding and a machine learning renaissance, the world has gone a bit bot crazy. Is it a flash in the pan or a fundamental shift in computing?

Mike Brevoort—founder of the bot hosting platform Beep Boop—and UX researcher Dr Jonathan Haber explores why bots matter, best practices for designing conversational experience, and opportunities with bots for consumers and at work in the enterprise.

Mike Brevoort is CTO at Robots and Pencils and GM of Beep Boop, a ridiculously simple hosting platform for Slack bots. Mike has nearly 20 years experience creating products, building real-time distributed systems, service architectures, user experiences and data science.

https://twitter.com/mbrevoort
https://beepboophq.com
https://robotsandpencils.com

Jonathan holds a PhD in Human Computer Interaction and Information Visualization. His research focused on human computer interaction, interaction design, and information visualization. He loves designing intuitive and useful software, teaching, and sharing UX knowledge with others. He is actively involved in the international UX/HCI research community as a contributor and reviewer, having published in numerous international peer-reviewed conferences and journals. Jonathan is currently working across a diverse set of areas, designing applications in the mobile space related to conversation interaction, learning systems, the financial sector, and game development. When not working Jon can be found at the gym, yoga studio, or hanging out with his cat.

http://www.jonathanhaber.com/research.html

Some points in this presentation (slides 42, 57) were inspired by these two great posts:
- http://alistapart.com/article/designing-the-conversational-ui
- https://blog.intercom.com/principles-bot-design/

Transcript

1. What’s all the noise a-
   bot?
   Denver Startup Week
   Denver, CO
   September 15, 2016
   Jonathan Haber & Mike Brevoort
   Robots & Pencils / Beep Boop
   

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2. Mike Brevoort
   CTO, Robots & Pencils
   GM, Beep Boop
   @mbrevoort
   robotsandpencils.com
   beepboophq.com
   

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3. Sub Title
   Everything we do starts by blending the
   sciences with the humanities -
   the robots with the pencils -
   the engineers with the designers.
   

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4. View Slide

5. View Slide

6. robotsandpencils.com 6
   Follow The Talent
   Calgary
   Winnipeg
   New York
   Denver
   San Fran
   Austin
   London
   #1
   Pittsburgh
   

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7. View Slide

8. Agenda
   Why Bots? Why Now?
   Designing Bot 2 Human Interface
   Lessons from Beep Boop
   

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9. Why Bots?
   Why Now?
   1. Rise of Messaging
   2. A great undercurrent war over
   discoverability and distribution
   3. Natural Language Understanding / AI /
   Machine Learning Renaissance
   4. Billions of mobile, context-aware, sensing,
   connected, omnipresent computing
   devices.
   

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10. “Smartphones brought
    a step change in the
    level of abstraction and
    simplicity in UIs. AI will
    do the same again.
    - @BenedictEvans
    

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11. View Slide

12. Major “bot
    friendly”
    messaging
    platforms
    

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13. 4th Generation Platform
    Opportunity
    

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14. Meta-Platforms
    

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15. Any Device
    Anyone
    (% world)
    Anytime
    Bots
    !"#$%&'()*+,
    -./012345678
    9999999999
    meta-platform runtime
    

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16. Anyone
    Connected
    Anywhere
    Any device
    Context
    Data
    Systems
    

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17. A
    Human First
    Operating System
    

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18. Hardware
    Operating System
    Application
    People
    People
    Hardware
    Operating System
    Application
    People
    101100
    People bots:Systems
    Slack
    Computer First
    Human First
    words/
    signals
    words/
    signals
    

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19. How Are
    Bots
    Different?
    Social
    Meta-Platform “native”
    A character in the scene
    Passive and Active
    Rich interactive notifications
    

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20. Questions To
    Ask About
    Your Product
    Is your product an alien, visitor or
    citizen of these meta platforms?
    Is there value to your users?
    Primary or supplementary?
    Is my product an ivory tower?
    

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21. Jonathan Haber
    UX Researcher
    PhD, Robots & Pencils
    @jonathanhaber
    

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22. Designing the
    Bot 2 Human
    Interface
    10 Suggestions
    For Great Bot
    Design
    

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23. A pretty
    crowded
    playing
    field . . .
    

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24. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION - NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION.
    Human Computer Interaction (1830-2016)
    Touch 1.0 > Touch 2.0 > Touch 3.0 > Voice / Conversational
    Source: http://www.kpcb.com/blog/2016-internet-trends-report
    

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25. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION - NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION.
    Consumer Preference / Value Evolution
    Millennials = More Global / Optimistic / Tolerant
    Source: http://www.kpcb.com/blog/2016-internet-trends-report
    

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26. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION - NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION.
    Rapid Messaging Communication Growth
    Leaders = WhatsApp / Facebook Messenger / WeChat
    Note: Users are
    becoming more
    comfortable interacting
    with chat systems for
    more than just chat.
    Source: http://www.kpcb.com/blog/2016-internet-trends-report
    

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27. Messaging
    Secret Sauce
    Magic of the Thread = Conversational; Remembers Identity / Time /
    Specifics / Preferences / Context
    Source: http://www.kpcb.com/blog/2016-internet-trends-report
    

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28. Fighting To
    Get Noticed
    Amongst
    The Noise
    

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29. We will explore the
    design of the bot-
    human conversation
    piece of interaction.
    Keep in mind this may
    represent just the “tip of
    the iceberg” when it
    comes to what is
    happening with bot-2-
    bot interaction behind
    the scenes.
    

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30. Candace
    

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31. 10 Suggestions
    For Great Bot
    Design
    

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32. Attractive things work better
    

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33. Bot: Can I help you?
    How can I help you?
    bot
    

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34. Great choice! Want to
    purchase it now?
    Great choice!
    Want to purchase it now?
    

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35. Speed
    Really Does
    Matter
    

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36. 29 %
    of smartphone users will immediately
    switch to another site or app if it
    doesn’t satisfy their needs (e.g. they
    can’t find information or it’s too slow)
    - thinkwithgoogle.com
    

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37. 40 %
    of shoppers will wait no more
    than three seconds before
    abandoning a retail or travel site
    - thinkwithgoogle.com
    

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38. View Slide

39. What starts
    conversationally,
    need not stay
    that way!
    Would you like to pay now? (yes/no)
    Yes
    Would you like to pay now? (yes/no)
    

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40. Which seat would you like to book?
    B-7
    What seat would you like to book?
    Click the seat below.
    Which would you prefer?
    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
    

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41. Provide an escape
    hatch
    Provide an
    escape hatch
    “I’d just rather
    wait and talk to a
    real person.”
    :https://blog.intercom.com/principles-bot-design/
    

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42. Support undo
    and redo.
    Users often choose system
    functions by mistake or enter
    incorrect information.
    Don’t make them go through an
    extended dialogues to fix this.
    Bot: You just told me your
    home location is Antarctica.
    User: Forget what I just said.
    

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43. If Mobile
    Consider
    Bots and
    Proxemics
    

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44. Think beyond the keyboard & join people IRL
    

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45. When we design
    something that can be
    used by those with
    disabilities, we often
    make it better for
    everyone.
    - Don Norman
    

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46. An interface that doesn’t depend on
    users being able to recall specific
    commands or methods of interaction
    means the interface is by its nature
    accessible: each person uses the
    system in his or her own way, so every
    use case is accounted for.
    Users no longer have to translate their
    intents to actions. Now the intent is the
    action.
    - Alan Dix
    

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47. Consider Human
    On-boarding
    Problems
    

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48. Use
    Personas
    For Your
    Users &
    Your Bots
    

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49. Roles
    Negotiate New Contracts
    Find new clients and offer solutions for their needs, negotiate
    pricing for services.
    Sign off Authority
    • Reviews all company work and has final say
    • Handles payments and collections
    Company Goals
    • Increase the size of contracts and clients
    • Add 30% more architects & support staff in the next
    year
    • Grow use & understanding of technology in business
    Persona for Banking Customer - SAMPLE
    Debra Edworthy, 48
    Occupation: Architect, co-owner of
    Edworthy & Sullivan with her business
    partner Angela
    Personal Description:
    • Worked 15 years for another firm before starting
    a business
    • Business owner for 6 years
    • Works 50-70 hours per week
    Values:
    • Prefers working with upscale clients
    • Worried about security of data
    • Is a designer, so appreciates well thought out
    technical design
    Technological (7/10)
    Internet Use
    • Email
    • Banking
    • Shopping
    • Professional publications & journals
    Smartphone
    • Client communication
    • Text with partner
    • Check & update calendar
    • Banking
    Desktop
    iMac at the office for work, another one at home for mixed
    business / personal use.
    Problems / Desires
    • Transferring money needs to be easy, fast and clear
    about what can and cannot be sent and where
    • Wants to be able to easily transfer money between
    banks, people and to other countries
    • Ease of paying bills & salaries & invoicing is a top priority
    • Wants single sign on for personal & business
    • Wants different visuals & branding for business vs.
    personal
    • Wants to go paperless
    • Web services must have all the features of
    competitions’ offerings
    • Ease of getting necessary tax information is a top
    priority
    Tasks
    Both Debra and her business partner have individual and
    shared business bank accounts. Typical tasks include:
    • Paying staff salaries
    • Paying for office tools & furnishings
    • Collecting income from clients, often in instalments
    • Collecting invoices and expenditures to give to
    accountant at tax time
    • Keeping track of deductible expenses
    • Paying various small business fees (licenses, bonds, etc.)
    • Paying business taxes
    • Using credit cards for short-term revolving credit
    

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50. Decision Space of Bot Personality
    Avatar-building sites hint at design choices:
    Gender 

    Male, female, neither,
    other
    Degree of realism 

    Photo real to cartoon /
    mascot
    Class 

    Servant or peer (eg.
    Uber vs Lyft)
    Stack depth of state
    Airplane flight vs
    roommate
    Vocabulary

    Formality, emoji, giphy,
    other
    IQ 

    Language abilities and
    limitations
    Consider your bot back story. Does it have a race? What does it
    wear? How old is it? What kind of cultural references is it into
    (music, sports, etc)?
    

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51. Consider
    Inconvenient
    Bot Interaction
    CHI 2013
    Rekimoto
    

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52. Upping Your Relationship Fidelity
    

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53. View Slide

54. Let your bot’s
    personality
    shine!
    

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55. Let your bot display emotional states
    The person interacting with
    your bot should know:
    When a request is understood
    When something is easy OR difficulty to do
    When something wrong or inappropriate is
    happening
    

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56. Focus on acknowledging the user and letting
    them know when something went wrong
    We have the following colors: white, gray,
    brown, red, orange, pink, and black. What
    color would you like?
    smorange
    I’m sorry, “smorange”? Is that a color? We
    have white, gray, brown, red, pink and
    black. What color would you like?
    gray
    Cool! So a large gray t-shirt!
    Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    :http://alistapart.com/article/designing-the-conversational-ui
    

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57. Consider the follow:
    Displaying the bots level of pleasure / displeasure
    Energetic or exhausted
    Confident or anxious
    This allow users to learn about what the bot can
    do, how to interact with it, and even how to
    speak to the bot.
    “We teach others how to treat us and that is no
    different with a bot.”
    - Jon Haber
    

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58. Don't hesitate to praise, even if you're not
    sure the praise is accurate.
    Compliment sandwiches don't work…
    The bot should always blame itself when
    things go wrong…
    

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59. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION - NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION.
    High Level: CUI Best Practice
    A bot’s personality
    depends on the
    situation where it will
    be used.
    Bots that accept
    blame are more
    likeable.
    People feel that bots
    represent the
    organization more
    than the users.
    Bots shouldn’t be the
    primary interface for
    your app (yet).
    Users want to know
    when a dialogue or
    interaction is ending.
    I II III IV V
    

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60. A few final thoughts…
    

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61. Voice: Should
    be Most
    Efficient Form
    of Computing
    Source: http://www.kpcb.com/blog/2016-internet-trends-report
    Voice Interfaces:
    Consumer Benefits
    1. Fast

    Humans can speak 150 vs type 40
    works per minute on average
    2. Easy

    Convenient, hands-free, instant
    3. Personalized + Context

    Keyboard free, ability to
    understand wide context of
    questions based on history,
    interactions, locations and other
    semantics
    Voice Interfaces:
    Unique Qualities
    1. Random Access vs. Hierarchical
    GUI

    Think Google Search vs. Yahoo!
    Directory
    2. Low Cost + Small Footprint

    Requires microphone / speaker /
    processor / connectivity
    3. Requires Natural Language
    Recognition & Processing
    

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62. Usability Evaluation
    Considered
    Harmful
    (Some of the Time)
    CHI Panel 2008
    Bill Buxton
    Principal researcher
    Microsoft Research
    

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63. View Slide

64. Where can I go to find the best sushi in the city of Denver?
    Sushi Denver Best
    How will people
    want to talk to
    bots?
    

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65. Slash
    Commands
    The future is a simpler
    interface which looks
    less like this:
    And more like this:
    Discover of discreet conversational services becomes
    less of an issue if users are trained to think and type
    more like programmers.
    

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66. Sure, But
    What Does it
    All Mean?
    There is an obvious reason for the rising
    profile of messaging.
    Slack example:
    

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67. It is still early days…
    

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68. A few lessons from
    Beep Boop
    

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69. “Fool me once, shame
    on… shame on you.
    Fool me… you can’t get
    fooled again
    - George W. Bush
    

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70. 1
    One moment
    you’re cute
    and fun…
    

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71. 1
    The next
    moment,
    you’re an
    idiot
    

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72. 1
    Lesson 1:
    Be really
    smart or
    really dumb,
    not both.
    

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73. 2
    Lesson 2:
    Be social and
    collaborative
    

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74. 3
    Lesson 3:
    Delight users,
    just don’t
    overdue it
    

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75. 4
    Lesson 4:
    Don’t pollute
    the stream.
    

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76. 5
    Lesson 5:
    Make
    Notifications
    Actionable
    

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77. “We more often than not
    over-estimate platform
    shifts in the short term
    but under-estimate
    them in the long term.
    – Steven Sinofsky
    

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78. Follow up questions
    and comments:
    @jonathanhaber jon.haber@robotsandpencils.com
    @mbrevoort mike.brevoort@robotsandpencils.com
    https://robotsandpencils.com
    @robotsNpencils
    Robots & Pencils
    https://beepboophq.com
    @BeepBoopHQ
    Beep Boop
    

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