Recommendation 4.3.14:
Accept a variety of communication styles from users
Benefits Users
Visual | Auditory | Cognitive | Speech | Physical
Relevant W3C Guidance
Phase 1: Gather & Organize
User Research
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If you have access to historical user data like forms, see if there are any common typos, mis-spellings, or other mistakes.
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Learn about the communication styles of the target user groups. What vocabulary to do users employ? How do the current customer service representatives communicate policy and information to users?
Phase 2: Design & Implement
Design Question
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How will you support users when the chatbot fails to understand them?
- Natural language processing isn’t as powerful as human understanding of language, so sooner or later the chatbot will encounter communication it can’t understand. You will need to offer users a way to seek help if they are unable to complete their task with the chatbot. Live communication with human representatives is ideal but may not be affordable. Alternatives include e-mail communication, an FAQ page, or a phone number and schedule of hours when phone communication is available.
Tip
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If the user is asked to input data, let the user know if specific input formatting is required, or not.
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If the chatbot is unable to understand the user’s messages, it should offer the user response options to proceed or offer to transfer the user to a human representative.
Examples
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Typos or misspellings
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Colloquial language, for example, “wages”, “income”, “money”, “pay”, or “profit”
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Limited English skills
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Shaky or broken speech with a speech-to-text input device
Phase 3: Test & Evaluate
Self Check
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Errors due to typos or flawed speech-to-text are infrequent and the chatbot recovers gracefully.
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Chatbot understands communication at a lower secondary education English proficiency.
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When the chatbot doesn’t understand the user input, it offers choices to continue the conversation or it transfers the user to a human representative.
Ask the User
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Does the chatbot allow you to communicate with your preferred word choice?
- This question could be subjective or objective. This question should be asked post-study.
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Does the chatbot understand your messages when they contain typos, English mistakes, or flawed speech-to-text?
- This question could be subjective or objective. This question can be asked mid-study or post-study.
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Did the chatbot’s input suggestions make sense?