Tag Archives: user experience

AI Requires Conversational Intelligence

AI Requires Conversational Intelligence

GUEST POST from Greg Satell

Historically, building technology had been about capabilities and features. Engineers and product designers would come up with new things that they thought people wanted, figure out how to make them work and ship “new and improved” products. The result was often things that were maddeningly difficult to use.

That began to change when Don Norman published his classic, The Design of Everyday Things and introduced concepts like dominant design, affordances and natural mapping into industrial design. The book is largely seen as pioneering the user-centered design movement. Today, UX has become a thriving field.

Yet artificial intelligence poses new challenges. We speak or type into an interface and expect machines to respond appropriately. Often they do not. With the popularity of smart speakers like Amazon Alexa and Google Home, we have a dire need for clear principles for human-AI interactions. A few years ago, two researchers at IBM embarked on a journey to do just that.

The Science Of Conversations

Bob Moore first came across conversation analysis as an undergraduate in the late 1980s, became intensely interested and later earned a PhD based on his work in the field. The central problems are well known to anybody who has ever watched Seinfeld or Curb Your Enthusiasm, our conversations are riddled with complex, unwritten rules that aren’t always obvious.

For example, every conversation has an unstated goal, whether it is just to pass the time, exchange information or to inspire an emotion. Yet our conversations are also shaped by context. For example, the unwritten rules would be different for a conversation between a pair of friends, a boss and subordinate, in a courtroom setting or in a doctor’s office.

“What conversation analysis basically tries to reveal are the unwritten rules people follow, bend and break when engaging in conversations,” Moore told me and he soon found that the tech industry was beginning to ask similar questions. So he took a position at Xerox PARC and then Yahoo! before landing at IBM in 2012.

As the company was working to integrate its Watson system with applications from other industries, he began to work with Raphael Arar, an award-winning visual designer and user experience expert. The two began to see that their interests were strangely intertwined and formed a partnership to design better conversations for machines.

Establishing The Rules Of Engagement

Typically, we use natural language interfaces, both voice and text, like a search box. We announce our intention to seek information by saying, “Hey Siri,” or “Hey Alexa,” followed by a simple query, like “where is the nearest Starbucks.” This can be useful, especially when driving or walking down the street,” but is also fairly limited, especially for more complex tasks.

What’s far more interesting — and potentially far more useful — is being able to use natural language interfaces in conjunction with other interfaces, like a screen. That’s where the marriage of conversational analysis and user experience becomes important, because it will help us build conventions for more complex human-computer interactions.

“We wanted to come up with a clear set of principles for how the various aspects of the interface would relate to each other,” Arar told me. “What happens in the conversation when someone clicks on a button to initiate an action?” What makes this so complex is that different conversations will necessarily have different contexts.

For example, when we search for a restaurant on our phone, should the screen bring up a map, information about pricing, pictures of food, user ratings or some combination? How should the rules change when we are looking for a doctor, a plumber or a travel destination?

Deriving Meaning Through Preserving Context

Another aspect of conversations is that they are highly dependent on context, which can shift and evolve over time. For example, if we ask someone for a restaurant nearby, it would be natural for them to ask a question to narrow down the options, such as “what kind of food are you looking for?” If we answer, “Mexican,” we would expect that person to know we are still interested in restaurants, not, say, the Mexican economy or culture.

Another issue is that when we follow a particular logical chain, we often find some disqualifying factor. For instance, a doctor might be looking for a clinical trial for her patient, find one that looks promising but then see that that particular study is closed. Typically, she would have to retrace her steps to go back to find other options.

“A true conversational interface allows us to preserve context across the multiple turns in the interaction,” Moore says. “If we’re successful, the machine will be able to adapt to the user’s level of competence, serving the expert efficiently but also walking the novice through the system, explaining itself as needed.”

And that’s the true potential of the ability to initiate more natural conversations with computers. Much like working with humans, the better we are able to communicate, the more value we can get out of our relationships.

Making The Interface Disappear

In the early days of web usability, there was a constant tension between user experience and design. Media designers were striving to be original. User experience engineers, on the other hand, were trying to build conventions. Putting a search box in the upper right hand corner of a web page might not be creative, but that’s where users look to find it.

Yet eventually a productive partnership formed and today most websites seem fairly intuitive. We mostly know where things are supposed to be and can navigate things easily. The challenge now is to build that same type of experience for artificial intelligence, so that our relationships with the technology become more natural and more useful.

“Much like we started to do with user experience for conventional websites two decades ago, we want the user interface to disappear,” Arar says. Because when we aren’t wrestling with the interface and constantly having to repeat ourselves or figuring out how to rephrase our questions, we can make our interactions much more efficient and productive.

As Moore put it to me, “Much of the value of systems today is locked in the data and, as we add exabytes to that every year, the potential is truly enormous. However, our ability to derive value from that data is limited by the effectiveness of the user interface. The more we can make the interface become intelligent and largely disappear, the more value we will be able unlock.”

— Article courtesy of the Digital Tonto blog and previously appeared on Inc.com
— Image credits: Pixabay

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Creating a Seamless and Unique Customer Experience

Creating a Seamless and Unique Customer Experience

GUEST POST from Howard Tiersky

Most companies recognize that creating a seamless and unique customer experience is key to success in the digital world, but that’s not always easy to do. How can you deliver the optimal digital experience to your users?

If you’ve ever been to the arctic circle, there are icebergs that are not only acres wide, but that rise hundreds of feet above sea level — truly massive objects. Yet what is perhaps even more amazing is that scientists tell us that almost 90% of a typical iceberg’s mass is underwater, and not visible to from the surface. If you are in the “iceberg business” — studying them for science or cutting through them for ships to pass — it’s quite important to understand not just the visible component, but the full scale and depth of the iceberg.

Similarly, most companies now recognize that creating a seamless, elegant and differentiated customer experience is key to success in this increasingly digital world. Defining that optimal experience is not necessarily an easy task. In fact, it can seem like a huge undertaking, and at FROM, it’s something that we spend a large portion of our time working with clients to optimize.

But we also see many companies struggling to execute on delivering their customer experience vision. There are many reasons for this, but a starting point of success is realizing that excellent customer experience is more than meets the eye. While concrete manifestation of the experience is found in the brand’s digital properties, content, and features, this is just the part of the iceberg that sticks up above the water. Beneath the waterline is three additional supporting elements that must also be effectively managed in order to achieve an excellent customer experience and the associated business outcomes.

User Experience FROM Iceberg

1. Technical Architecture

Outstanding customer experiences are supported by modern technology stacks that permit two essential capabilities:

Access From Any Touchpoint

Great customer experiences have the flexibility of touchpoint, and permit you to not only interact via web, phone, mobile, kiosk or other devices but have all actions instantly updated and available in a consistent manner. An example of what not to do: I placed an order on HomeDepot.com and immediately realized I made a mistake. I wanted to cancel it, but due to technical constraints, you can’t cancel orders on the website, only from the call center. So I called the call center, and they told me they wouldn’t be able to “see” my order (and therefore weren’t able to cancel it) for about an hour when the systems synchronize, and I should call back then. Not a great or accessible customer experience.

Flexible Frameworks

Flexible frameworks have the ability to be modified rapidly along with the changes that are being frequently deployed. The number one secret to how great customer experiences got to be great? It’s not by having a genius team that gets it right the first time; it’s through an iterative process of testing and learning. To do that, you have to be able to efficiently code, test, and iterate or kill new ideas quickly. Furthermore, the frameworks for presentation, business logic, and transaction processing need to be flexible. If user testing shows that changing the sequence of information collected from users during a checkout process might improve conversion, you need to be able to make a change like that reasonably simply. We often see companies with aging mainframe-based “back office” systems that are holding them back from being able to re-engineer their customer experience because “that’s not how the legacy system works.” No matter how much pain, companies in this situation need roadmaps to upgrade, redesign or replace these inflexible systems to permit the creative evolution of their customer experience.

2. Business Operations

Serving the digital customer effectively is not just about creating digital touchpoints, but about evolving the total experience with digital at the center. That means you will need to change the way you do business in a variety of spheres. Customers who use online chat to ask questions expect answers far faster than those who email, let alone those who send in snail mail. Digital customers opening an account at your bank don’t want to have to wait to receive a thick packet of forms in the mail that they have to sign in 17 different places. You may want to offer digital customers alternatives in “out of stock” situations (such as a direct ship) or permit them to customize their purchases in ways that weren’t previously possible. Truly optimizing for digital will probably change how you merchandise, your return policies, your customer support, customer communications, and, well, everything. It may require new roles, new processes or a re-organization of the company.

3. Business Model

One of the benefits customers see from digital is a huge improvement in the value equation. Skype has taken our long distance bill from hundreds of dollars to pennies. Spotify has given us access to practically any song ever recorded for a few dollars a month, and Netflix has done the same for movies. In many markets, Uber has halved the cost of a taxi. This is awesome for consumers, but threatening to incumbents whose business models are dependent on the pricing levels of legacy business models. Jeff Zucker, the former CEO of NBC, echoed this concern a decade ago when he bemoaned having to trade “analog dollars for digital pennies.”

Why are some companies able to offer consumers a “better deal?” Because digital can take substantial cost out of the equation, allowing more digitally centric companies to be more cost-competitive or shift to totally different business models (subscription access to huge content libraries instead of one by one DVD rental in the case of Netflix; offering the largest ground transportation fleet in the world without ever buying a single vehicle in the case of Uber; likewise eBay and Alibaba, two of the largest online stores, both of which stock no inventory.) You can have a great website and app, but if the fundamental value equation of your business is no longer competitive, you are going to struggle.

Don’t Bolt On Digital

Digital started out as a means of communication. We then had the era of eCommerce, where we “bolted on” digital alternatives to access the same inventory and offers available in our non-digital channels. But today, the winners are “digitally-transformed” companies that are offering a digital value proposition and have a technology stack that empowers them to create a great customer experience, and the business processes necessary to support and deliver on it.

It may seem like a lot. And it is. The world is changing fast, and the companies that succeed in the future will be those that make the transition. The ones that don’t will wind up on the list with companies like Kodak, Polaroid, BlockBuster, Sports Authority, Borders, Linens and Things and Circuit City. You can use this as a high-level roadmap for what you need to do to keep up with the digital transformation era. If your formula is not working yet, ask yourself which of these three areas you might not be paying enough attention to, or adapting quickly enough.

This article originally appeared on the Howard Tiersky blog
Image Credits: Pexels

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User Testing with Diverse Audiences

User Testing with Diverse Audiences

GUEST POST from Art Inteligencia

In today’s interconnected world, designing products that resonate with a diverse audience is not just a competitive advantage; it’s a necessity. At the core of inclusive product design is user testing with diverse audiences. This approach ensures that products are accessible, relevant, and enjoyable for people from a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and abilities.

Why User Testing with Diverse Audiences Matters

The benefits of user testing with diverse audiences extend beyond functionality. It enhances empathy, highlights potential biases, and uncovers aspects of user experience that might otherwise remain hidden. It ensures that innovation stems from not just technological brilliance but also a deep understanding of the multifaceted user base.

Case Studies

Case Study 1: Global Media Streaming Service

A leading media streaming service sought to expand its market penetration across different continents. To achieve this, the company conducted extensive user testing sessions in Asia, Europe, and South America.

The company discovered that users in Asia preferred a more straightforward interface, while European users valued detailed categorization of content. In South America, users emphasized the need for continuous connectivity despite bandwidth limitations.

By integrating these diverse insights, the service launched a redesigned interface with adaptive features like a toggle menu for detailed or simple navigation and an offline viewing mode for bandwidth-constrained users. The result? A significant boost in user retention and satisfaction across target markets.

Case Study 2: Mobile Banking Application

A mobile banking application recognized the need to cater to an aging population and users with varying degrees of tech literacy. They embarked on user testing involving older adults and individuals unfamiliar with mobile technology.

Insights from the testing revealed usability issues like small fonts and complex navigation. By addressing these, the app introduced voice-activated commands and simplified transaction processes, making it accessible and user-friendly for everyone.

The inclusivity factor proved pivotal in expanding the app’s user base among older adults and those previously excluded due to technological barriers, significantly increasing financial inclusivity and trust in digital banking.

Conclusion

Incorporating diverse user testing is more than a step in the product development process—it’s a catalyst for meaningful innovation. It underscores the importance of understanding and valuing the rich diversity among end users. As organizations embrace inclusive design, they not only build successful products but also contribute to a more equitable world.

This article provides an overview of the importance of user testing with diverse audiences, supported by two case studies demonstrating how this approach can lead to significant improvements in product design and market success.

Bottom line: Futurology is not fortune telling. Futurists use a scientific approach to create their deliverables, but a methodology and tools like those in FutureHacking™ can empower anyone to engage in futurology themselves.

Image credit: Unsplash

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Human-Centered Design and User Experience

Human-Centered Design and User Experience

GUEST POST from Art Inteligencia

As technology becomes increasingly complex, the need for user-friendly design and user experience (UX) is more important than ever. To understand user experience, it’s essential to understand human-centered design, which is the practice of designing products and services with the user’s needs and objectives as the focal point. Human-centered design involves looking at the needs and wants of a product’s end user, rather than the product or service itself, which helps create a better user experience. The focus of human-centered design is on creating the best possible user experience, and many companies have realized the benefits of using this approach. Here, we’ll look at two case studies of successful human-centered design and user experience.

What are the key ways that human-centered design and user experience intersect?

There are definite intersections between user experience and human-centered design. Here are four (4) intersection points to consider:

1. Focus on Context: Human-centered design and user experience both focus on taking the context of the user into account and ensuring the system meets their needs. This means understanding the user’s environment, their emotional state, and their goals, and then designing the system to meet those needs.

2. Create Solutions for Different Types of Users: Human-centered design and user experience approach the problem solving process differently. They take into account how people interact with the system, how they may encounter problems, and how they feel. Then, they create solutions that can be tailored to specific types of users, older users, disabled users, etc.

3. Enable Iterative Development: Human-centered design and user experience methods enable a more iterative development process. This means that the design process can evolve as new information comes in from users, allowing for improved solutions at each step of development.

4. Focus on Holistic Experiences: Human-centered design and user experience place importance on the usability of the system, but also the overall experience the user will have. This means that both the visuals and the usability should enhance the user’s experience. It also means that the system should be easy to use and understand, no matter how it is accessed.

Case Study 1 – Healthcare Industry

The first case study is an example of human-centered design applied to the healthcare industry. Vitamin Health is a company that is leveraging human-centered design to quickly and accurately deliver personalized vitamin and supplement recommendations, tailored to the individual’s lifestyle and health needs. The company created an online platform that assesses the user’s needs and then generates personalized vitamin and supplement recommendations. After a brief survey, the user is presented with a clear summary of their recommended vitamins and supplements. Along with providing the recommendations, Vitamin Health has also created an app that allows users to manage their vitamin and supplement intake. Vitamin Health has improved the user experience by making the process of obtaining personalized recommendations easy and convenient.

Case Study 2 – Entertainment Industry

The second case study involves human-centered design applied to the entertainment industry. Netflix is a streaming service provider that has placed a strong emphasis on user experience. Netflix uses human-centered design to create a personalized experience for each user. It is constantly collecting data on user action in real time, which is then used to make personalized recommendations. Netflix has implemented many features that allow users to find content that suits their particular interests and preferences. The company has also made the process of subscribing to its service quick and easy.

Conclusion

By focusing on human-centered design and user experience, Netflix and Vitamin Health have been able to create products and services that are more user-friendly, efficient, and enjoyable. They have also demonstrated the importance of understanding the needs of end users in order to create an optimal user experience. Human-centered design is quickly becoming the foundation of modern product and service design, and companies must consider the end user’s needs if they hope to remain competitive in the future.

SPECIAL BONUS: Braden Kelley’s Problem Finding Canvas can be a super useful starting point for doing design thinking or human-centered design.

“The Problem Finding Canvas should help you investigate a handful of areas to explore, choose the one most important to you, extract all of the potential challenges and opportunities and choose one to prioritize.”

Image credit: Pexels

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The Relationship between Human-Centered Design and User Experience

The Relationship between Human-Centered Design and User Experience

GUEST POST from Art Inteligencia

User experience (UX) and Human-Centered Design (HCD) are two popular topics in the field of web and software design. While UX and HCD are related, they are not the same thing. Understanding the distinction between UX and HCD is crucial for designers who want to create the best possible experiences for their users.

At its core, UX is the process of creating a product or service that is easy to use and provides a positive user experience. UX designers focus on making sure that the user can successfully complete their desired task. This often involves research, analysis, and testing to ensure that the product or service meets the user’s needs.

On the other hand, HCD is a process of designing products and services that focus on the needs and wants of the user. This involves researching users and their contexts to better understand the user’s motivations, behaviors, and preferences. Designers then use this information to create solutions that are tailored to the user’s needs.

The relationship between UX and HCD is symbiotic. UX design focuses on creating a product or service that meets the user’s needs, but HCD takes this a step further. By understanding the user, HCD can create a product or service that is tailored to the user’s needs and preferences, resulting in a more positive user experience.

For example, a UX designer may create a website that is easy to use, but an HCD designer may take this a step further and make the website more visually appealing, adding elements such as animations or illustrations that the user will find interesting. This will make the user more likely to use the website and have a positive experience.

In conclusion, UX and HCD are related but distinct design processes. UX focuses on creating a functional product or service, while HCD takes this a step further and creates solutions that are tailored to the user’s needs. By understanding the relationship between UX and HCD, designers can create more engaging and enjoyable experiences for their users.

SPECIAL BONUS: Braden Kelley’s Problem Finding Canvas can be a super useful starting point for doing design thinking or human-centered design.

“The Problem Finding Canvas should help you investigate a handful of areas to explore, choose the one most important to you, extract all of the potential challenges and opportunities and choose one to prioritize.”

Image credit: Pixabay

Subscribe to Human-Centered Change & Innovation WeeklySign up here to get Human-Centered Change & Innovation Weekly delivered to your inbox every week.