Virtual Personal Assistant in the Digital Workplace. User Research and Requirements. Prototype
A Study on the Impact of Virtual Personal Assistant in Unified Communication Software on Motivation, Satisfaction, Communication, and Collaboration of Remote Employees.
The interactions were meticulously crafted, and scripts were developed for each individual conversational path to establish a comprehensive understanding of how the interactions are interconnected. These scripts serve as initial artifacts for testing the conversational flows.
The conversation design for the VPA adhered to the Google Assistant style guide, which provided essential guidelines for maintaining a user-focused approach. The main rules followed in the design process included:
- Focus on the user — The VPA’s responses and prompts prioritize addressing the user’s needs and providing helpful information.
- Avoid monologues — The design ensures that the VPA engages in a conversational dialogue rather than delivering long, uninterrupted monologues.
- Use short, simple words — The language utilized by the VPA employs concise and easily understandable vocabulary to facilitate clear communication.
- Avoid jargon — Complex or specialized terminology is avoided to ensure that the VPA’s responses are accessible and comprehensible to a wide range of users.
- Use contractions — Contractions are employed to make the conversation with the VPA feel more natural and conversational.
By adhering to these guidelines, the VPA conversation design aims to create an intuitive and user-friendly experience, allowing users to interact with the VPA in a seamless and effortless manner.
Scripts iterations
The designed scripts underwent multiple iterations and testing to refine and improve each flow. The testing process involved reading the scripts out loud, with two individuals taking turns playing different roles within the conversation.
During the testing phase, the scripts were carefully reviewed and evaluated for various factors, including clarity, coherence, naturalness, and effectiveness in meeting user needs. Feedback and observations from the testing sessions were collected to identify areas where improvements or adjustments were necessary.
Based on the feedback received, changes were made to the scripts to enhance the overall conversational experience. This iterative process helped ensure that the scripts effectively addressed user queries, provided relevant information, and maintained a smooth flow of interaction.
By engaging in role-playing and continuously refining the scripts based on testing outcomes, the aim was to create conversational flows that felt natural, intuitive, and user-friendly.
The main changes that were made after script testing include:
1. Creating a list of new notifications with options to perform specific actions on each notification, such as making a call, scheduling a meeting, adding the notification to the to-do list, or marking it as unread.
2. Adding more options for contact lists when making a call, including personal contacts, the company directory, and favorites. This provides users with greater flexibility in choosing the appropriate contact for their needs.
3. Focusing on the user by using appropriate forms when posing questions or providing information. This includes phrases such as “Do you want to…”, “Would you like…”, “You’ve added…”, etc. These forms enhance the conversational aspect and engage the user more effectively.
4. Incorporating contractions, such as “I’ve,” “You’ve,” “I’ll,” etc., to make the language used by the VPA more natural and conversational. Contractions contribute to a smoother flow of conversation and help create a more engaging user experience.
These changes were implemented to improve the overall user experience, ensure clear and concise communication, and create a conversational tone that aligns with the Google Assistant style guide and user expectations.
Visual components
VPA is designed to be a versatile tool that can be seamlessly integrated into any UC software. As such, its design aims to be universal and adaptable to suit different brands and user interfaces. The customization of the VPA primarily involves adjusting specific visual elements and language to align with the branding of a particular company or product.
The customization options may include:
1. Avatar — The visual representation of the VPA can be customized to match the branding of the software, such as incorporating brand-specific colors, logo, or character design.
2. Typography — The choice of typography can be adjusted to align with the brand’s visual identity, ensuring consistency and familiarity with other brand materials.
3. Colors — The color scheme used in the VPA’s interface and visual elements can be customized to match the brand’s color palette, creating a cohesive and branded experience for users.
4. Language of Conversations — The VPA’s conversational language and tone can be tailored to reflect the specific brand’s voice and communication style. This includes using brand-specific terminology, language preferences, and even localized language for different regions.
By allowing these customizations, the VPA can seamlessly integrate into any UC software while maintaining a consistent and branded experience for users. This flexibility ensures that the VPA feels like a natural extension of the software, enhancing the overall user experience and brand perception.
High fidelity prototype
Botsociety, Voiceflow, and Adobe XD were tested as prototyping tools for the VPA project. Each tool had its own set of limitations and functions, and as a result, a simple user flow was designed using both tools.
To determine which tool provided a better user experience, the designed user flow was tested with a small group of users. Their feedback and observations were collected and analyzed to evaluate the usability and effectiveness of each tool.
Based on the user testing results, a decision was made to select the tool that offered the best user experience. The criteria for selection may have included factors such as ease of use, intuitiveness, flexibility, available features, and overall user satisfaction.
The chosen tool would then be used to further develop and refine the VPA’s prototype, taking into account the feedback received from users and leveraging the capabilities of the selected prototyping tool to create an optimal user experience.
The Botsociety MS Teams template was chosen as the tool for creating conversational design prototypes, as it closely reflects the interface and environment of unified communication software. It provides a realistic simulation of testing the prototypes within a unified communication (UC) setting. However, it is important to note that Botsociety was closed on April 10, 2022, and therefore the prototypes created during the project are no longer available for interaction through Botsociety. Instead, they were recorded and incorporated into each task.
The purpose of creating the prototype of the conversation design was to gather information about various aspects, including:
1. Users’ expectations — The prototypes aimed to capture how users envisioned the conversation should look and feel when using both VPAs. It sought to understand their desired conversational style, user interface expectations, and overall user experience.
2. Users’ reactions — Feedback from users was collected to gauge their thoughts and impressions of the prototype conversations. This feedback would help in refining and improving the design based on user preferences and perceptions.
3. Intents coverage — The prototypes were designed to cover different user intents and scenarios. By analyzing user interactions and feedback, the project team could assess if the intents were correctly identified and addressed in the conversation design.
4. Utterance data — The prototype testing aimed to gather insights into the variations and patterns of user utterances. This data would inform the design of the final working product, helping to anticipate and account for the different ways users might express their needs and preferences.
5. Modality assessment — The prototypes were evaluated to determine if they effectively simulated real conversations. This assessment involved analyzing the flow, coherence, and naturalness of the interactions to ensure that the VPA’s responses aligned with user expectations and provided a seamless conversational experience.
By conducting prototype testing and gathering insights in these areas, the project team could refine the design and make informed decisions to create a more user-centered and effective VPA for unified communication software.
References
Banfi, V., (2022). Sunsetting Botsociety. https://botsociety.io/blog/2022/03/sunsetting-botsociety/
Deibel, D., Evanhoe, R. (2021). Conversation with things. UX Design for chat and voice. Rosenfield.
Google Assistant. Overview of conversational components.
https://developers.google.com/assistant/conversation-design/conversational-components-overview
