Discussing the current landscape of chatbots and conversational UI. Where we might be headed and how we as designers can have influence over the process.

1. Makin’
Chatbots
@momentdesign

2. 2
Introductions
Josh Lucas-FalkDrew Gold

3. Notes
The design consultancy
redefining what lies ahead
3

4. 4
Chatbot time

5. 5
Messenger
Slack
Kik
Text
Contexts
Machine learning
Neural network
AI
Conversational UI
Technologies & methods
Siri
Cortana
Alexa
Google Assistant
Products

6. 6
Chat + bot
Context “Intelligent”
technology
+

7. 7

8. 8
Parameter
collector
Intelligent
interpreter

9. The intelligence part is really
hard, even for the very
biggest players.
9

17. If Microsoft, Facebook, and
Amazon struggle, what
chance do we have?
17

18. 18
The good news:
Chatbots can be successful without
passing the Turing test.

19. 19
Why?
Because you get some stuff for
free!

20. 20
Free thing #1
Interaction without interface

21. 21
Free thing #1
Interaction without interface

22. 22
Free thing #2
The context is usually familiar

23. 23
Free thing #3
The ELIZA effect

24. So, how can we build a good
product that is also a bot?
24

25. 25
Ask “Why?”
Bots are super cool, but should
your new product be a bot?
S T E P 1

26. 26
• Are you solving a genuine user need?
• Are you replacing an existing capability already offered
in another channel? Why?
• Which parts of your organization will be impacted by the
bot, and how are the impacted?
• How will your users discover this?
• Is there a path towards user adoption?
STEP 1: ASK “WHY?”
It’s time for
product strategy!
These are all the questions worth asking
when building any new
product/channel/capability.

27. 27
Define the intelligence level
and features
S T E P 2

28. 28
The context of “knowledge” will
drive the complexity of your bot.
STEP 2: DEFINE THE INTELLIGENCE / FEATURES

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Who will drive the
conversation:
The bot, or the user?
STEP 2: DEFINE THE INTELLIGENCE / FEATURES

30. 30
The question
game
Some experiences can be reduced to questions
and answers. These sorts of bots are pretty dumb
and are very easy to build—they don’t really need
to “know” very much.
STEP 2: DEFINE THE INTELLIGENCE / FEATURES

31. 31
The question
game
Some experiences are open-ended and complex.
If your bot is going to mimic a human interaction,
it’s going to need to “know” a lot and it will need to
learn.
STEP 2: DEFINE THE INTELLIGENCE / FEATURES

32. 32
Parameter
collector
Intelligent
interpreter
STEP 2: DEFINE THE INTELLIGENCE / FEATURES

33. 33
Box of
rocks
HAL 9000
simple
tasks
major
effort
more
complex
STEP 2: DEFINE THE INTELLIGENCE / FEATURES

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What is
the value
proposition?
“My bot helps people sign up and manages news updates.”
“My bot helps devs add, track, and manage bug tickets.”
“My bot helps people shop at my store.”
“My bot helps me track orders from my store.”
“My bot helps customers shop AND tracks orders.”
Define the bot’s scope and limits to set
expectations with users.
STEP 2: DEFINE THE INTELLIGENCE / FEATURES

35. 35
Organize your
features
• Break down your value proposition into the features
that combine to deliver a rewarding experience
“My bot helps people shop at my store”…How?
• How do your features relate to one another?
Are there any natural groupings? Any
dependencies?
• Can these features be prioritized? Can you evolve
your chatbot over time?
Prioritize features based on the path
to user adoption.
STEP 2: DEFINE THE INTELLIGENCE / FEATURES

36. 36
STEP 2: DEFINE THE INTELLIGENCE / FEATURES

37. 37
Design your chatbot!
S T E P 3

38. An introduction to Moment 38
Scriptwriting +
testing +
edge case design +
error handling
STEP 3: DESIGN YOUR CHATBOT

39. 39
STEP 3: DESIGN YOUR CHATBOT
Scriptwriting

40. 40
Onboarding
STEP 3: DESIGN YOUR CHATBOT

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Error handling
STEP 3: DESIGN YOUR CHATBOT

42. 42
Handoffs to other channels
STEP 3: DESIGN YOUR CHATBOT

43. 43
Take a lesson from Siri and Alexa — it’s really
difficult to craft personality with something that
only understands you most of the time.
?!
STEP 3: DESIGN YOUR CHATBOT
Who is your bot?
Still…you get points for
personality.

44. 44
STEP 3: DESIGN YOUR CHATBOT

45. 45
1. Ask “Why?”
2. Define your intelligence level
and features
3. Design your bot
4. (Test and learn)