We are seeing the emergence and formalization of practices and principles for VUI design, however there are still few guidelines formulated for voice UX research. This talk examines the importance of taking into account the ways in which voice differs from other modalities when conducting research with potential users.
As voice becomes a common mode of human-machine interaction, UX professionals are increasingly involved in designing and evaluating these experiences. This is a positive sign of the maturity of the area – we are beginning to move out of a phase analogous to the early web, in which most design was performed by developers who may not have based their decisions on the needs of real users. We are seeing the emergence and formalization of practices and principles for VUI design, however there are still few guidelines formulated for voice UX research. While many of our general UX heuristics and principles continue to apply, particular characteristics of the voice modality can lead to different types of usability challenges and require modifications to standard testing methodologies. This talk examines why those standards are hard to set, and explores what those standards might be.
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Siri Mehus
I am a research professional with over fifteen years of experience designing and executing studies of situated human behavior. I have professional experience and formal training in a wide range of methods, including ethnographic observation and interviewing, usability evaluation, interaction analysis, diary studies, surveys, and secondary research. I am motivated by a deep fascination with the details of how humans interact with their social and material worlds, and I thrive on the challenge of translating those details into big-picture insights and actionable recommendations to create great user experiences. As a research director at Blink, I lead a team of UX researchers, shaping our organizational best practices and leading work for clients like Microsoft, Amazon, and Facebook.
