What Counts as VUI?

Headnote

Learn the business rules before starting to design

Voice user interface (VUI) design is a hybrid profession, requiring both creative and scientific skills. Some VUI designers focus more on the creative, emphasizing the sound and feel of a system from the user's perspective; others have a behavioral science perspective and make design decisions based on linguistic and psychological principles and user data. Most VUI designers acknowledge the importance of both in effective VUI design. In this column, though, I'll focus instead on two more controversial areas that have a huge impact on VUI, but are sometimes treated as outside the purview of a VUI designer. The first, multichannel user experience, needs less introduction because the VUI design community has long been aware of ways other interaction channels can impact a VUI. Most VUI designers regard it as a best practice to visit an organization's Web site and review its print materials before designing its VUI. Increasingly, outbound messaging and mobile interfaces are also there for us to investigate. From our nonuser perspective, the channels seem distinct because differ- ent teams are responsible for each piece of the user experience. Users, however, view the interaction media holistically as various methods to communicate with an organization.

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