Crafting Design Principles of VUI for B2C E-Commerce Sector

client

The Valley, CX Consultant Agency

ROLE

UX Research, UX & VUI Design, Design Sprints, Strategy

Duration

12 weeks

Tools

Figma, TheyDo, Dovetail, VoiceFlow AI

Introduction -
What does The Valley need?

The Valley sought to explore the potential of Voice User Interfaces (VUI) in B2C E-commerce, aiming to assess if this technology could become a future service offering. I took ownership of this project, with the goal of providing The Valley with insightful sessions and a set of design principles as the final deliverables.

Focus sector:
Nutritrional supplements

Nutritional supplements market comprises various customer segments. Most of these customers typically conduct research to access desired products before making a purchase. User input is therefore essential in this sector, and investigating different user behaviors and interactions between customers and technology will provide valuable information, which may also be able to apply in other markets.

Challenges

1. The broad scope of Voice User Interfaces and B2C E-commerce, especially in an open and discovery-oriented research project, posed challenges in narrowing down design directions.

2. Given the project's timeframe, only a basic AI assistant could be developed as a prototype.

Timeline

Research Methodology

The project began with an extensive exploration of voice technology and B2C e-commerce. After identifying a specific sector, research objectives and questions were established.

Below is a graph that visually represents this structured yet interconnected research approach:

Two Key Research Directions

1. Personas and Shopping Journey → VUI Opportunities
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Personas were developed through surveys and interviews, unified into a comprehensive customer journey map. The map is used to highlight opportunities for VUI implementation to enhance the shopping process.

Three major issues were targeted for improvement, selected based on their technological feasibility and alignment with the customer journey.

Overwhelming Choices

The vast numberof supplement options available makes it challenging for customers to discern the most suitable product amidst the extensive array of choices.

Time-consuming Research

Thorough research on supplements requires time and effort. Busy customers may find itchallenging to allocate sufficient time for this task, leading to a suboptimal decision-makingprocess.

Lack of Personalized Guidance

Individual needs, goals, and lifestyles vary significantly. A one-size-fits-all approach to supplements isn't always effective. Customers often face challenges finding products tailored to their specific needs, leading to potential dissatisfaction.

2. VUI Implementation in Online Shopping
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Survey results indicated a strong demand for clear information and transparency in supplement products. To validate this, a voice AI assistant was developed for testing, particularly focusing on this feature.

Interestingly, user feedback on the voice AI prototype indicated a mismatch in expectations, which is prompting the critical question:

How can VUI be designed to improve customer's shopping experience for nutritional supplements?

Narrow Design Directions in Company Alignment Meeting

The research identified numerous complex areas. To prioritize key elements, a strategic alignment meeting was held with The Valley. Three major directions were confirmed for the design sprints:

Expectation Management:
Balancing Human-likeness and System Performance

Research revealed varied preferences on VUI's human-likeness. Some participants wanted an emotionally responsive AI, while others sought purely informational interactions. Studies suggest a human voice can boost trust, but it also poses risks like unmet expectations. It's vital for users to know they're engaging with a bot. This highlights the challenge of determining the right balance in VUI's human-likeness and managing user expectations to prevent disappointment

Dialogue Strategy: Enhancing Communication and Information Presentation

The communication style of a VUI greatly influences customers' perceptions and usage willingness. A well-crafted dialogue strategy offers concise and relevant information, meeting user needs and reducing potential frustration. This can enhance user satisfaction and trust in the VUI.

Voice Persona

The personality, tone, and style of the voice used in a VUI, which can influence user perceptionand engagement and therefore the voice persona plays a crucial role in managing customerexpectations.

Design Sprints

The Design Sprint Methodology from Google was implemented in this project. Although the general structure encompassed six phases – Understand, Define, Sketch, Decide, Prototype, and Validate – the focus and execution of these phases were adjusted according to the goals of each sprint.

A storyboard will be used here to summarize the process and highlights for each sprint.

Wrap up:
Hifi Prototype + Final Testing

1. Prototype on Figma

After sprints feedback, I refined the prototype to a high-fidelity version with animation as a key visual cue. The video showcases the interaction, but note recording delays in the Figma Prototype and a voice assistant change.

2. AI Voice assistant prototype

a. Prototype Limitations and Experimental Use

This prototype features an AI voice assistant using ChatGPT, capable of generating responses from user input. Launched late in my internship, it wasn't fully aligned with my design principles, including voice personas, nor did it support my approach's visual elements. While it can be contextualized with roles and scenarios, it doesn't adhere to our validated dialogue strategy due to its ChatGPT foundation. This version wasn't participant-tested and should be considered experimental.

b. Reference: Initital Voice AI Prototype

This version of prototype is the one I initially used in the first interviews to understand user perceptionsin the nutritional supplement market. This is built on the fixed scenario that I tried to train the assistant with. If youstart by telling the bot that “i’m looking for supplements to improve sleep”, it should be able tohave a more coherent conversation.

Journey Highlights and Knowledge Sharing

Throughout this journey, numerous insights emerged at various stages. I presented these insights, intriguing findings, and the prototype to The Valley in a knowledge-sharing session. Additionally, I provided them with a set of organized design principles as a usage guide. In the next section, I'll share a selection of these highlights.

1. Evaluating the Relevance of VUI for the business
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Before exploring VUI design principles, it's crucial to determine if a voice interface suits the business. My research revealed mixed views on this technology, from traditionalists to voice enthusiasts. Some voice projects didn't meet expectations, emphasizing the importance of assessing a solution's fit before adoption.

2. General Principles of Conversational Design for VUI

When designing VUIs, it is essential to follow certain principles to ensure a satisfying andeffective user experience. Based on the research and insights gathered, the following are some crucial principles for VUI design:

Context-aware

VUIs should be capable of responding to contextual cues to provide amore natural conversation experience

Information Management

Efficiently managing information by chunking and pacing content, ensuring clarity and simplicity in language, and employing layered information with progressive disclosure

Error-tolerant

VUIs should be able to handle and recover from errors, understanding user intent even with imperfect information

3. Dialogue Strategy

Different strategies can be utilized to develop a compelling VUI. There is no definitive right orwrong approach when choosing a pattern, rather it is about selecting the pattern that best suits to the specific situation.

Here is example of Guided Informative Inquiry, which is tailored for this project specifically, which aims to strike balance between users’ preferences for information depth and conversational style while maintaining the VUI’s suitable conversational tone

Learning & Takeaway

1. Evaluating Technology's Role Before Implementation
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This project highlighted that VUIs are not universally applicable. Enthusiasm for integrating VUIs in shopping experiences must be balanced with their practicality in different contexts. Effective in multitasking scenarios, VUIs may not suit e-commerce sectors needing detailed information or visual emphasis. This reflects the need to assess technology's real value to a product or service, reminding us of the journey VUIs must undergo for broader acceptance.

2. Embracing Research Outcomes Beyond Hypotheses
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Initially focused on VUI benefits, the project evolved into questioning their real advantages. The emergence of visual cues as essential components led to reevaluating the technology's efficiency.

The project's core lesson for me was understanding research's purpose: not to validate designer hypotheses, but to understand user needs and company goals. Deviating or contradictory results are valuable, offering insights into user behavior and preferences, and guiding towards more user-centric, effective design solutions.

Crafting Design Principles of VUI for B2C E-Commerce Sector

Introduction -
What does The Valley need?

Focus sector:
Nutritrional supplements

Challenges

Timeline

Research Methodology