Talk presented at Puget Sound World Usability Day 2015

1. 1
From Speech to Conversation
A UX Challenge
Puget Sound World Usability Day
November 12, 2015 Siri Mehus, Blink UX

2. 2
Siri: The Perfect Robot for Our Time
The Atlantic, Oct 12, 2011
Siri is One Funny Lady
New York Times (blog), Oct 12, 2011
Siri is Sassy and Self-aware
CBS News, Oct 13, 2011
Why I’m Swooning Over Siri
CNN, Oct 10, 2011
Dear Siri, Do You Love Me?
International Business Times, Nov 17, 2011
Talk Dirty to Me, Siri
Slate, Oct 18, 2011

3. 3
Siri, we have to talk; Our communication stinks
CNET (blog), November 3, 2011
Siri is Apple’s Broken Promise
Gizmodo, Dec 5, 2011
Siri, Why Can’t You Understand Me?
Fast Company, Dec 7, 2011
Siri is Sexist
Forbes, December 1, 2011
Apple’s Siri not as smart as she looks, lawsuit charges
CNET, March 20, 2012
With Apple’s Siri, a Romance Gone Sour
New York Times (blog), July 15, 2012

4. Fast-forward to 2015

5. “Sometimes it doesn’t catch exactly what you say…It’s frustrating
at times, especially when you try to correct it and it just gets
worse. Then after about the fourth attempt you just give up and
type it in. You’ve spent more time saying it than it would have
taken to type it in.”
- A Siri User

6. 6
Why voice now?

7. Things
77

8. Making voice work in this technological
environment is fundamentally a user
experience challenge.

9. Speech à Conversation
9

10. What do we mean by “conversation”?

11. 11
Human Conversation
Where the action is
InterpersonalLinguistic Interactional

12. 1. Talk is Action
2. Sequence Matters
3. Breakdowns are Repairable
3 Principles of Human Conversation

13. 1. Talk is Action
13

14. 14
Treat every human utterance as having an intent.

15. Determining intent can be difficult.

16. Treat every machine utterance as having an effect.
16

17. “Sorry. I didn’t understand the question I heard.”
17

18. 18
2. SEQUENCE MATTERS

19. Siri: What can I help you with?
Me: I don’t need any help.
Siri: Who am I to say
otherwise?

20. 3. Breakdowns are Repairable.

21. Well, obviously the technology
just needs to get better.

22. Understanding

23. Design for errors.
Use human methods for repairing understanding.
23

24. Methods of Repair

25. 25
1 Trina: How do you say, “I want the big cheeseburger” in Spanish?
2 Siri: Here is what I found on the web.
3 Trina: I mean, can you translate it for me?
4 Siri: I’m sorry. I can’t find any translation services.
5 Trina: How do I get translation services?
6 Siri: I’m sorry. I can’t find any translation services.
7 Trina: How do I get them?
8 Siri: Let me think about that.
Here is what I found on the web for “How do I get them?”
9 Trina: Aaaaaah! Forget it!

26. Where the action is
InterpersonalLinguistic Interactional

27. Personality?

28. 28
Siri: What can I help you with?
Me: I don’t need any help.
Siri: Who am I to say otherwise?

29. Where the action is
InterpersonalLinguistic Interactional

30. 30
How human?

31. 31

32. What are the right combinations of human and
machine modalities?
How do they need to work together?
How do we know?
32

33. Thank you!
siri@blinkux.com
www.blinkux.com
@BlinkUX