30-03-2011, 09:58 AM
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Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Systems
Introduction
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems have become more complex and more prevalent.
Information can be accessed and processed over the phone through touch tone and speech user interfaces.
The speech component allows customers to use verbal commands to obtain general or personal (account) information and conduct transactions.
Providing an intuitive user interface is key for a successful user experience.
Fidelity’s Phone Stats
Fidelity’s phone systems receive a combined average of 282,000 phone calls per day.
Forty-two percent of those calls are handled by an automated system.
Background
Fidelity has conducted a great deal of research into older adult’s usage of the web.
We observed many age-dependent behaviors that affected web usage.
Would we see similar results if we looked at our IVR system?
Our Usability Studies
We have conducted over 125 IVR-based usability and research sessions over the past 5 years, many with older adults.
The studies included several “typical” usability sessions (approx. 8-10 users) and one larger research study that specifically focused on older users.
The systems tested were designed to:
Find account and personal information
Conduct transactions
Report technical problems
Check voicemail
Set up a voice ID
Most systems used both speech recognition and touch tone interfaces.
Research Study Results
• Task Completion Rate by Age Group
(p = .037, n=27)
Designing for the Older User
Older users bring different abilities and expectations to phone-based interactions than younger users do.
Until the middle of 2004, 96% of users interacted primarily through touchtone.
Lessons Learned
We compiled the following lessons learned from the variety of usability studies we conducted over the past few years with older adults.
Our recommendations are based on our past experience and other available research.
Don’t set false expectations
Unrealistic expectations of system’s abilities (Expecting a ‘Star Trek’ experience).
Users knew they weren’t talking to people, but many older adults tried to interact with the system as if it were human.
The conversational and easy-going “nature” of some interfaces may set false expectations.
Some users described certain system responses, such as “Got it,” as colloquial and not professional.
“Younger users expressed annoyance at the system attempting to sound sorry.
Be Consistent
Consistency is very important.
Sudden auditory changes of the automated voice might signal an error or incorrectly indicate that users have been transferred somewhere else.
Menu structure and controls should be consistent throughout the interaction. Don’t set up the ability to use voice commands in one part of the system and then disable voice commands in other parts of the system.
Pacing of System
Pace of system was often too fast for older users.
Older users tend to be slower at information processing.
Providing them just enough time between spoken menu items to echo each choice sub-vocally appears to improve their success with IVR Systems.
However, some younger users actually preferred menu items spoken at a more rapid pace (less time between items) as they could get to the information they wanted faster.
Pace of system was often too fast for older users.
If possible, consider implementing a system that recognizes the age of the user and leverages that to determine the amount of space between items and the speed at which the menu prompts are spoken.
If that is not possible, we recommend following the option that would help the greatest number of users, i.e. the largest user group.
Avoid Information Overload
Too many menu choices & long messages
Reduced working memory capacity in older users made this more problematic for them than younger users.
When presented with a long menu, we observed many older users simply choosing the last item in the list.
Lengthy messages can also overload memory. We observed a a few older users opting out to a representative possibly because it took too long to get to the menu prompts.
Avoid Jargon
Usage of jargon, obscure terminology
This affected all users, but especially older users and those with lower levels of financial literacy.
If users are unsure what a menu prompt means, they will be more likely to just make a random choice or attempt to reach a representative quickly.
Know your users and avoid using “jargon-y” terms that they may not understand.
Using familiar words & ones that refer to concrete objects has been shown to improve performance.
Politeness
Older users were overly polite.
Older users were often hesitant and had trouble interrupting the system.
They often said “please” and “thank you”.
They spent much longer on the phone at the end of the call than younger users because they waited for an obvious ‘out’ vs. just hanging up.
Allow generous barge-in.
The system should ignore various pleasantries such as “please
and “thank you”.
Inform users at various points in the interaction that they can hang up when they’re finished.
Include Some Touchtone Options
Many users prefer using the touchtone options to speaking their choices.
Always offer a touchtone option for entering sensitive information, like SSN and PIN.
Touchtone options serve as an external memory device, offering a physical indication of the available choices (think of a finger hovering over buttons). This seemed especially helpful to older users.
Use touchtone options strategically when transitioning users into a new technology
In the initial rollout, offer both touchtone and voice options in the first menu.
Touchtone options should always be available as a backup.
► Accents, environments, privacy concerns.
Frequency of Sound
Because higher-frequency sounds are the first to go with progressive hearing loss1, use a lower-pitched voice.
Peak hearing sensitivity is around 3,000 – 4,000 Hz.
Lower frequencies are less susceptible to ‘masking’ effects
Positive Reaction to Voice Recognition
Many seniors were very enthusiastic about the voice recognition.
Hands-free interaction helps users:
With physical impairments such as arthritis
Fine motor-control problems
On cell and cordless phone
“Words are much easier!” – comment from a user with severe arthritis.
Conclusion
Many of the usability issues we observed affected both older and younger people, but in general older users had more trouble recovering from those errors.
Many of the usability recommendations given here would benefit all users if implemented.
Understanding issues that result from the aging process help not only older users but lead to a more universally accessible design.
The key is to know and design for your user.
If the majority of users is older make sure your system accommodates their requirements.
Set expectations. Warn customers of big changes – ahead of time and/or in the system itself.
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Systems
Introduction
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems have become more complex and more prevalent.
Information can be accessed and processed over the phone through touch tone and speech user interfaces.
The speech component allows customers to use verbal commands to obtain general or personal (account) information and conduct transactions.
Providing an intuitive user interface is key for a successful user experience.
Fidelity’s Phone Stats
Fidelity’s phone systems receive a combined average of 282,000 phone calls per day.
Forty-two percent of those calls are handled by an automated system.
Background
Fidelity has conducted a great deal of research into older adult’s usage of the web.
We observed many age-dependent behaviors that affected web usage.
Would we see similar results if we looked at our IVR system?
Our Usability Studies
We have conducted over 125 IVR-based usability and research sessions over the past 5 years, many with older adults.
The studies included several “typical” usability sessions (approx. 8-10 users) and one larger research study that specifically focused on older users.
The systems tested were designed to:
Find account and personal information
Conduct transactions
Report technical problems
Check voicemail
Set up a voice ID
Most systems used both speech recognition and touch tone interfaces.
Research Study Results
• Task Completion Rate by Age Group
(p = .037, n=27)
Designing for the Older User
Older users bring different abilities and expectations to phone-based interactions than younger users do.
Until the middle of 2004, 96% of users interacted primarily through touchtone.
Lessons Learned
We compiled the following lessons learned from the variety of usability studies we conducted over the past few years with older adults.
Our recommendations are based on our past experience and other available research.
Don’t set false expectations
Unrealistic expectations of system’s abilities (Expecting a ‘Star Trek’ experience).
Users knew they weren’t talking to people, but many older adults tried to interact with the system as if it were human.
The conversational and easy-going “nature” of some interfaces may set false expectations.
Some users described certain system responses, such as “Got it,” as colloquial and not professional.
“Younger users expressed annoyance at the system attempting to sound sorry.
Be Consistent
Consistency is very important.
Sudden auditory changes of the automated voice might signal an error or incorrectly indicate that users have been transferred somewhere else.
Menu structure and controls should be consistent throughout the interaction. Don’t set up the ability to use voice commands in one part of the system and then disable voice commands in other parts of the system.
Pacing of System
Pace of system was often too fast for older users.
Older users tend to be slower at information processing.
Providing them just enough time between spoken menu items to echo each choice sub-vocally appears to improve their success with IVR Systems.
However, some younger users actually preferred menu items spoken at a more rapid pace (less time between items) as they could get to the information they wanted faster.
Pace of system was often too fast for older users.
If possible, consider implementing a system that recognizes the age of the user and leverages that to determine the amount of space between items and the speed at which the menu prompts are spoken.
If that is not possible, we recommend following the option that would help the greatest number of users, i.e. the largest user group.
Avoid Information Overload
Too many menu choices & long messages
Reduced working memory capacity in older users made this more problematic for them than younger users.
When presented with a long menu, we observed many older users simply choosing the last item in the list.
Lengthy messages can also overload memory. We observed a a few older users opting out to a representative possibly because it took too long to get to the menu prompts.
Avoid Jargon
Usage of jargon, obscure terminology
This affected all users, but especially older users and those with lower levels of financial literacy.
If users are unsure what a menu prompt means, they will be more likely to just make a random choice or attempt to reach a representative quickly.
Know your users and avoid using “jargon-y” terms that they may not understand.
Using familiar words & ones that refer to concrete objects has been shown to improve performance.
Politeness
Older users were overly polite.
Older users were often hesitant and had trouble interrupting the system.
They often said “please” and “thank you”.
They spent much longer on the phone at the end of the call than younger users because they waited for an obvious ‘out’ vs. just hanging up.
Allow generous barge-in.
The system should ignore various pleasantries such as “please
and “thank you”.
Inform users at various points in the interaction that they can hang up when they’re finished.
Include Some Touchtone Options
Many users prefer using the touchtone options to speaking their choices.
Always offer a touchtone option for entering sensitive information, like SSN and PIN.
Touchtone options serve as an external memory device, offering a physical indication of the available choices (think of a finger hovering over buttons). This seemed especially helpful to older users.
Use touchtone options strategically when transitioning users into a new technology
In the initial rollout, offer both touchtone and voice options in the first menu.
Touchtone options should always be available as a backup.
► Accents, environments, privacy concerns.
Frequency of Sound
Because higher-frequency sounds are the first to go with progressive hearing loss1, use a lower-pitched voice.
Peak hearing sensitivity is around 3,000 – 4,000 Hz.
Lower frequencies are less susceptible to ‘masking’ effects
Positive Reaction to Voice Recognition
Many seniors were very enthusiastic about the voice recognition.
Hands-free interaction helps users:
With physical impairments such as arthritis
Fine motor-control problems
On cell and cordless phone
“Words are much easier!” – comment from a user with severe arthritis.
Conclusion
Many of the usability issues we observed affected both older and younger people, but in general older users had more trouble recovering from those errors.
Many of the usability recommendations given here would benefit all users if implemented.
Understanding issues that result from the aging process help not only older users but lead to a more universally accessible design.
The key is to know and design for your user.
If the majority of users is older make sure your system accommodates their requirements.
Set expectations. Warn customers of big changes – ahead of time and/or in the system itself.
