What is voice-driven user interface design?

Since voice user interfaces (UVI) propose the interaction with devices, systems or applications by means of their own voice commands, it is not possible to apply the same design patterns of graphical interfaces in their construction. For this purpose there are other more appropriate guidelines and therefore in this article we will explain roughly what is involved in the design of an IVU.

The pillars of user interface design

Day by day the offer of voice-controlled devices grows both in quality and quantity and thanks to this irruption voice user interfaces such as Siri, Cortana, Google Assitant or Alexa are helping to improve all kinds of experiences related to their users.

According to the above, the ideal starting point for designing a UI consists of UX designers executing research directly on end users according to the application they are looking to create. To achieve this, the global standard currently relies on the following guidelines:

User Journey.

Taking voice as the only flow channel at this point the objective is to understand the prospective user's needs, behaviors and motivation in order to map their journey.

Competitive analysis

Knowing and understanding how competitors implement and contextualize their voice interfaces is a key factor in developing an approach that takes advantage of the best of the current context and avoids falling into common mistakes.

Gather Requirements

User requirements are what will later cement the design specifications that will be delivered to the developers. To this end, it is quite useful to convert the interaction scenarios into user stories that will allow the development of future dialog flows.

Voice Command Anatomy

The user's voice commands are shaped by three variables that can be equated with each other: intent, expression and space. In other words, the purpose of the interaction, how the user expresses his request and in what context it is found are what will define the voice command and its possible responses.

Prototyping

Starting from the requirements, designers are in charge of creating the dialog flows that will drive the interaction and trigger the responses. These flows are scripts that describe the two-way conversation between the user and the voice assistant.

UX analysis for the final product

At this point the IVU application is active and it is time to follow up on it to learn about the following metrics:

• Interaction.
• Language.
• Messages, intentions and expressions.
• Behavior patterns.

Finally, as if it were a living being, the IVU learns, matures and evolves.

Consequently, in the coming years VUIs will continue to gain ground to such an extent that we will be able to do without keyboards in about 10 years, according to some technology futurists. This highlights the enormous competitive potential of VUIs as long as they are properly integrated into existing enterprise products where they can add value. In closing, it is important to note that at DreamCode we are business growth enhancers and our technology consulting services are available so that together we can integrate digital solutions that transform the user interface (UX) of your applications for maximum profitability for your business. Learn more about our services by clicking here: