Some tips for your VUI design
Hey! It's my first post actually related to Microsoft Speech Server. Actually, that's not true - one of my earlier posts was about a slew of MSS KB articles we published in July.
Last week, Kevin, one of the awesome Product Managers on our team, presented some tips for designing a voice user interface (VUI). I liked the simplicity of these tips, so I'm sharing them with you, my loyal readers.
Tip #1: Don't replicate the touch-tone-based menu system
It's a better user experience if you let users choose an option by name rather than having to remember which number goes with which option ("Press or say 1, etc.")
Tip #2: Restrict options on the main (opening) menu to 4 or fewer
Studies have shown (unfortunately I don't remember which ones) that people are only good at remembering lists of up to 3-4 items.
Tip #3: Make sure your opening greeting is short
Frequent users (and really, any users) don't want to listen to a long greeting before they can get down to business.
Tip #4: Don't design the app solely for the new user
Again, you don't want to frustrate frequent users with extensive info. You can reveal additional help progressively, if your users seem "stuck".
Tip #5: Focus on task completion above all
Your users are there to perform a particular task or get certain information. Focus on that above making your application "fun", "exciting", or "personal".
This isn't rocket science, but I think these simple tips will go a long way towards building an application that at the very least, doesn't annoy its users.
What tips do you have for VUI design?
