1. Open Source Telecommunications: Enabling Anyone to Build a Bad Telephony Application Jeff Dworkin Segment Marketing Manager jeff.dworkin@dialogic.com

2.  Extends Mobile VAS Segment Leadership  Video Algorithmic and Analytics Leadership  Extends Technology Enabling MSS Leadership −Fax Segment MSS Leadership  Converged Communications Technology Enabling Market Segment Share Leadership −Dialogic “pioneer” history, relationships and patent portfolio −Enterprise Gateway  Established SS7 / Signaling Part of Business  Established HMP as core to Dialogic customer value proposition  Deeper Service Provider Segment Products / Customers −Service Provider gateway and IP media server  Extends Technology Enabling MSS Leadership  TDM to IP Transition Leadership  Extend into Web communication and open source ISV innovators  Enabling Video IP Streaming Value Added Services 2006 2007 2008 “VIDEO IS THE NEW VOICE” ™ Dialogic Evolution “VIDEO IS THE NEW VOICE”™ Mission: To Enable Secure Multimedia Communications Through Any Network To And From Any Endpoint In The World

3. What is Human Factors? Ergonomics – an applied science concerned with designing and arranging things people use, such that they interact most efficiently and safely. Ergonomics is the physical part Human Factors encompasses the physical as well as the mental and emotional. The Man/Machine Interface

4. PEOPLE JUST DON’T LISTEN!

5. Persistence, Memory and Time Telephony Interfaces Vs. Visual Interfaces

6. Persistence In a visual display, data remains on the display until replaced by new data. This allows users to: –Return to a task after interruption –Review – by scanning back and forth – among several possible menu choices –Eliminate or minimize the effects of time by scrolling freely between the past and the present –Maintain context – even when confronted with multiple tasks

7. Memory The serial presentation of auditory information places heavy demands on working memory More impactful on novice users More impactful on older users

8. Time Time is the enemy of the spoken user interface -Bruce Balentine/David P. Morgan, How To Build a Speech Recognition Application –Defeating this enemy requires repeating critical information until it “sticks” –Yet it takes time to say things –“Hold on – I’m writing this down” –Cultural/Social issues can cause communication breakdown Issues of Prosody/Timing What’s your phone Number? –Is it 973-555-1212 or is it 9735-5-1212?

9. Machine Output

10. Machine Spoken Output Prompts – indicate it is time for user input. Feedback – presents the application state that results from user input, allowing the user to compare original intent with final results. Instructions – give information to the user about operating the user interface or understanding the task. Help – offer context sensitive corrective action. Often adopts a separate mode or state aimed at coaching. Application Data – the content or information that the user seeks or intends to modify.

11. Silence, the Silent Killer People will wait without feedback for six to eight seconds. –Anything longer than that and callers will think something wrong. –Causes frustration. –Calles people to hang up. If a processing delay or a wait in queue lasts more than six seconds, give the caller feedback. –Music, Information, Advertising. –If using tones, explain the tone or callers may think the tone is an indication that they have been disconnected.

12. Prompts

13. Action-Goal vs Goal-Action Action-Goal –Press one for sales… Goal-Action –For sales, press one… Goal-Action reflects the way people think, using Action-Goal can cause confusion. What you are saying: Press One for Sales…Press Two for Marketing…Press Three for Support. What is heard: Press One (not heard because the user is not paying attention yet) for Sales, press two…for Marketing…press three, for support…???

14. Please, Now and Thank-You “Social Graces” just add to the length of the communication –For sales, please press one now… –For sales, press one… Many phone-based interfaces are tedious because they unnecessarily put the word “please” in front of every action statement on a menu (e.g., “For more information, please press 4.” (Scumacher)

15. Anthropomorphism The attribution of human characteristics to non-human beings This is not the same as the system having a “personality” Experts disagree on the use of anthropomorphism In my opinion: Avoid anthropomorphism The more “like” a person people believe the system to be the more they want to communicate with it like it is a person, but it is not a person, it is a machine If you must personify, let the personality be a narrator or guide, not the machine

16. Compression The speed or tempo at which recordings are played –Should be between 135 words/min and 170 words/min –Software can be used to compress (or speed-up) playback while maintaining the pitch of the voice –Faster may seem better, but it can cause error due to retention issues and response mistakes…especially in older adults (Sharit, 2003) Faster tempo can cause Perceived Enunciation Errors or Mondegreens –There’s a bathroom on the right There’s a bad moon on the rise –Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy –??? For information and directions, press 5…

17. Short Prompts vs Long Prompts With dial-through, dial-ahead and/or barge in, why is this relevant. –Prevents repeating irrelevant prompts during error correction. “Thank you for calling XYZ, please enter your PIN” “That was not a correct entry” “Thank you for calling XYZ, please enter your PIN” –Prompts can be used for “grunt detection” even when ASR is failing.

18. Lists, Menus and User Input

19. Hierarchy vs Skip and Scan Hierarchy –For Sales, press 1…For Support, press 2. –There are four matches…For Jan Smith, press 1…For John Smith, press 2…For Ken Smith press 3. –“Lakeview Terrace”, press 9…”Burn after Reading”,press 10…”Igor”, press 11. Skip and Scan –Sales. To select this option, press 1. For the next option, press 9. For the previous option, press 7. –Jan Smith. To select this option, press 1. For the next option, press 9. For the previous option, press 7. –“Lakeview Terrace” To select this option, press 1. For the next option, press 9. For the previous option, press 7.

20. Number of Choices Per Menu The primacy and recency effects –Designers should also consider the primacy and recency effect that enables users to remember the first and last options most frequently. The recency effect makes the last few items presented in a list the easiest to recall. However, a short disturbance or interference can make it difficult to remember the last few items (Baddeley, 1999). Most people can only remember 5 choice –Some can remember more, some less –More complex instructions are harder to remember –Older users have more difficulty remembering –5 items +2, depending on user base and complexity, is a good rule of thumb

21. Delimiters: To # or not to # What is that thing (#) called –Pound, Number Sign, Hash Telling them where it is –The # Key is located at the lower right corner of your keypad. Enter your 4 Digit PIN followed by the #? –Why required the # if you know length of the expected input? Enter your 4 Digit PIN –What to do if they enter # anyway?

22. Press vs Enter Use Press when a single digit entry is required –Implies that no Delimiter (#) is Needed –“For Sales, Press 1...” Use Enter when a multi-digit entry is required –Doesn’t matter if it is a fixed-length entry or a variable-length entry –“Enter your 4-digit PIN Now” –“Enter you PIN, followed by the # key”

23. Other User Inputs Lack of Instruction, Preparation. Directional Metaphors Consistent use of keys Mnemonics Dynamic Menus Alphabetic Input –Two Button – Key then Position –Two Button – Key then Location –Count along the key

24. Feedback Presents the application state that results from user input, allowing the user to compare original intent with final results: Prompted or Unprompted Echoing user input for confirmation –You entered “ABC”, if this is correct, press 1, if you need to try again press 2 –You said “ABC”, is this correct? Do not echo menu choices –For technical support press 1… “Technical Support Menu” Can be tedious for experienced users, the feedback can be implied in the follow up prompt “For new product installation support, press 1, for trouble shooting an existing implementation, press 2

25. Instructions and Announcements

26. Announcements and Disclaimers “Please Listen Carefully as our menus have recently changed.” –Since When? –Is this the first time I have used this system? –I called the system an hour ago, have they changed since my last call? –Use ANI to make sure the caller only hears this message when necessary!

27. Instructions Tune the instructions to the user –Verbose, explicit instructions for the new user. When you are listening to a recorded message, you can press 6 to jump ahead 5 seconds in the message. You can press 4 to jump back 5 seconds. You can press 5 to pause the playback; press 5 again to resume playback. Or you can press # to jump to the end of the message. –Short Instructions for expert users 6 to jump ahead 5 seconds, 4 to jump back 5 seconds, 5 to pause or resume playback, # to jump to the end.

28. Duel Tone Multi Frequency (DTMF) vs. Automated Speech Recognition (ASR)

29. DTMF or ASR: Different or Better DTMF: STRENGTHS –Familiarity –Ubiquity –Speed –Privacy –Efficiency –Availability –Cost DTMF: WEAKNESSES –Auditory Only –Taxes Working Memory –Limited Input Device –Variability in Equipment ASR: STRENGTHS –Hands Free in a Mobile World –Flexible –Adaptable –Good for Data Intensive Input Automated Attendant Lists ASR: WEAKNESSES –Cost –Difficult to Recover From Errors –Error Amplification –Regional Issues –Legally Ambiguous

30. ASR Menus Don’t mimic DTMF menus –“To Pay with Visa, press 1 or say one” –“To Pay with Visa, press or say 1” –“To Pay with Visa, say Visa” How about –“What Credit Card Would You Like to Use to Pay for That”

31. References How to Build a Speech Recognition Application –Balentine & Morgan, 2001 It’s Better to be a Good Machine than a Bad Person –Balentine, 2007 Increasing the Usability of Interactive Voice Response Systems: Research and Guidelines for Phone-Based Systems –Scumacher, Hardzinski & Schwarz, 1995 Skip and Scan: Cleaning up Telephone Interfaces –Resnick & Virzi, 1992 Effects of Age, Speech Rate, and Environmental Support in Using Telephone Voice Menu Systems –Sharit, Czaja, Nair, Lee, 2003

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