Conversational User Interface : Jim's Commute
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For this project we designed a CUI, using a tool called 'Voiceflow', that interacts with a passenger in an autonomous vehicle. The CUI talks with the user about personal aspects of their life, schedules their day for them and also provides news information.
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Group Members:
Shujing Lin Shiyang (Sabrina) Lyu Shalini Rao Pooja Casula |
Scenario + Scripts
We began this project by collaborating on one scenario and then individually creating four different conversation scripts, with different topics.
Primary Scenario
Jim is a manager in at Farcical Pharmaceuticals in Princeton, New Jersey. He puts in over 80 hours a week at his job. Due to the nature of his job, he spends much of his time at work sitting in a chair. As a result of this, he is experiencing many health problems, including obesity, high blood pressure and fatigue. Recently he has been put in charge of a big project and has been feeling even more stressed than usual. His busy schedule has also strained relationships with his family life as he does not have enough time to spend with them.
Jim’s daily commute is 30 minutes by car and he has recently gotten an autonomous vehicle to take him to and from work. His route begins at his home on Van Dyke road and usually includes going on Nassau Street, which runs through Princeton University. His company, Farcical Pharmaceuticals, is located on Princeton Pike, approximately 15 miles from his home.
For the past week Nassau Street has been crowded with traffic due to a road closure on North Harrison street. This has added an additional 30 minutes to his daily commute. He leaves his home around 7:30 am and arrives back home around 6:30 PM.
Currently, he is on his way to the office in his autonomous vehicle. Feeling tired, stressed, and unsatisfied with his current situation he starts chatting with the CUI.
Jim’s daily commute is 30 minutes by car and he has recently gotten an autonomous vehicle to take him to and from work. His route begins at his home on Van Dyke road and usually includes going on Nassau Street, which runs through Princeton University. His company, Farcical Pharmaceuticals, is located on Princeton Pike, approximately 15 miles from his home.
For the past week Nassau Street has been crowded with traffic due to a road closure on North Harrison street. This has added an additional 30 minutes to his daily commute. He leaves his home around 7:30 am and arrives back home around 6:30 PM.
Currently, he is on his way to the office in his autonomous vehicle. Feeling tired, stressed, and unsatisfied with his current situation he starts chatting with the CUI.
High Level Conversational Structure
We designed 4 different dialogue pieces, and the transitions between them. The sequence of them are highly flexible, depends on the users’ intents.
Each of the dialogue pieces can support multiple turns of conversation.
User may enter a conversation piece by two ways:
Each of the dialogue pieces can support multiple turns of conversation.
User may enter a conversation piece by two ways:
- an intent being captured; or
- the CUI suggest a topic, then user affirms (here the rationale for suggesting topic is based on the conversation history)
Conversation Design
Initial Script : Mental Health |
Initial Script: Family Relationship |
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Jim tells CUI that he is stressed...
CUI: Would you like me to help you plan out time in your schedule when you can blow off steam? Jim: Okay yeah sure. CUI: Great. Let’s start here. What do you usually do during your lunch break at work? Jim: Well I usually go to the break room where I am eating lunch. But usually at this time people keep interrupting me. CUI: Perhaps you could spend some of your break time walking outside? This way you people will not interrupt you and you could use the time to be alone? Also, moving around in the middle of the day could give you a wake up boost for the rest of the day. Jim: That‘s not a bad idea, but what if I miss an important question or issue? CUI: In your opinion, if you were to come back after a few minutes, could the issues be fixed then? Jim: I suppose so. CUI: Do you think taking a walk during your lunch break is doable? Jim: I think so yeah. CUI: Great! Try it out today and we’ll chat more about it during the car ride back! Does that sound good to you? Jim: Yeah. Thanks! Initial Script : SchedulingCUI: It seems like you’ve got a full day ahead of you. Do you want anything to perk you up?
Jim: I’ll have coffee at work. What do I have set up for today? CUI: You have a meeting at 9 with your supervisor. Then, you have a lunch meeting at 12:30 planned with Mr. Hamamoto to plan strategy for new clients. And at 3, you have another meeting with your team about their progress. You don’t have meetings after that, but there are already 4 tasks that have been placed on your to do list, and the 2 leftover tasks that you didn’t finish yesterday. Jim: Jeez, I really have no time today. I need to schedule a conference call with our team in California too. CUI: I can do that. Do you prefer morning or afternoon? Jim: I would rather just get it over with early, so in the morning is good. CUI: Okay, looking at the availability of the team in California, it looks like 10:30 is the best time. Should I put it in your calendar? Jim: Yes, that sounds great. CUI: Should I block out work time for you to finish your to do list? Jim: Yes, block out any time in the afternoon that I’m not in meetings for tackling the todo list. CUI: Great, I’ve scheduled the entire afternoon except for the progress meeting for concentrated work. Anything else? Jim: Nope, I’m good. Thanks. CUI: We’ll talk about how today went and fix your to-do list for tomorrow on the way home. See you later! |
CUI: I can tell that you really want to improve your relationship with your family. Would you like some advice?
Jim: Sure. CUI: Let me check…You don’t have a very tight schedule today. You are supposed to finish your work at 6pm. I think you can find a good place to have dinner with your family and do some catching up. I can make a reservation for you. What do you think? Jim: That’s a good idea. CUI: Do you have a preferred restaurant? Jim: No…Do you have any recommendations? CUI: Yes! There is a popular seafood place called Blue Point Grill on 258 Nassau Street and they have special offer today. It might be a pretty good option. Jim: Sounds great! I’ll choose it. CUI: OK. What time would you like to have dinner? Jim: Mmm. What about 7:30? CUI: For how many people? Jim: Three. CUI: OK. I have made the reservation for you. Just show up at 7:30 in the Blue Point Grill with your family! Jim: Thank you so much! CUI: You’re welcome! Initial Script: NewsCUI: Here’s a headline I found from {Wall Street Journal}, {Google’s ‘Project Nightingale’ Gathers Personal Health Data on Millions of Americans}
Jim: Oh, my colleague mentioned this yesterday, I am concerned about the privacy issues. What do you think? CUI: Well, as a bot I actually don’t have an opinion on that, but I can tell you what do other people think. Jim: Sure. CUI: {This project has already attracted criticism from those who argue that it takes away patients' control of their own data. "There's a massive issue that these public-private partnerships are all done under private contracts, so it's quite difficult to get some transparency," said Prof Jane Kaye at the University of Oxford.} Jim: Interesting. CUI: Yes it is quite interesting. |
Evolution of Conversation
Based on our lecture in class there were four types of conversations we explored: Delegating, Controlling, Collaborating and Guiding. We were encouraged to formulate different versions of our individual conversations to fit these four types. This gave us a better sense of how to fit together the four individual conversations to make one coherent one.
Controlling
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Guiding
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Delegating
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Collaborating
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Pangaro, Paul. "Designing for Conversation: Goals and Means." Interaction Design Overview. Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh. 13 Nov. 2019.
4 Types of Conversation : Mental Health Chats
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Guiding
CUI: Great. Let’s start here. What do you usually do during your lunch break at work? Jim: Well I usually go to the break room where I am eating lunch. CUI: Perhaps you could spend some of your break time walking outside? |
Delegating
CUI: Great. Let’s start here. How about rethinking how you use your lunch break time? Jim: Oh! I can use some of my lunch break to walk outside! |
Collaborating
Jim: I’m not sure how to blow off steam during work? CUI: Well do you have break time during work? Jim: Maybe I can take a walk during my break? |
Controlling
CUI: Great. Let’s start here. How about spending some of your lunch break at work, walking outside? Jim: Well I usually eat my lunch in the break room. But I think that would be a good idea for me! |
4 Types of Conversation : Family Relationship
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Guiding
Jim: I really want to improve my relationship with my family. What can I do? CUI: How about calling your wife right now and apologize to her? Jim: I don’t think she will be available to answer my call right now. CUI: Then, since you will finish work earlier today. What about having a nice dinner with your family? Jim: OK. Good idea. CUI: Would you like me to make a reservation for you? Jim: Sure. Which restaurant is better? CUI: How about Blue Point Grill? It is on 258 Nassau Street, which is on your way back home. And they have special offer today. Jim: Sounds good. |
Delegating
Jim: I want to improve my relationship with my family in whatever ways you say. CUI: OK. I think you can have a nice dinner with your family tonight since you finish work earlier. Jim: Great. Tell me which restaurant is better. CUI: How about Blue Point Grill? It is on 258 Nassau Street, which is on your way back home. And they have special offer today. Jim: No problem. |
Collaborating
CUI: I think you need to have some rest. Maybe you can take a few days off to relax yourself. Jim: That’s not possible, I am leading a big team and everything will be messy if I am away. I just want to improve my family relationship without sacrificing my career. CUI: OK. Then you should try your best to spend more time with them. Jim: Yes. CUI: What about having a nice dinner with them tonight as you will finish your work earlier. Jim: Good idea. CUI: What about me making a reservation for you right now? Jim: That would be great. Do you have any restaurant recommendations? CUI: How about How about Blue Point Grill? It is on 258 Nassau Street, which is on your way back home. And they have special offer today. Jim: Sounds good. |
Controlling
CUI: As you want to improve your family relationship and you have some time tonight, go ahead and have dinner with your family. Jim: Okay. Which restaurant should I go? CUI: There is a popular seafood place called Blue Point Grill on 258 Nassau Street and they have special offer today. I will make a reservation for you. Jim: Alright. |
4 Types of Conversation : Scheduling Chats
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Guiding
Jim: I’m so busy today, I need to schedule a conference call. CUI: I can schedule that for you. Maybe you could schedule it for this morning? Jim: It seems like 10:30 works best for me, that sounds good. |
Delegating
Jim: Could you schedule a conference sometime this morning? CUI: It seems like 10:30 is the best time for everyone, so I’ve scheduled the call for you. |
Collaborating
Jim: I need to schedule a conference call with our team in California too. CUI: I can do that. Do you prefer morning or afternoon? Jim: Morning is good. CUI: It looks like 10:30 is the best time. Should I put it in your calendar? Jim: Yes, that sounds great. |
Controlling
Jim: When should I have a conference call today? CUI: I’ve scheduled it for 10:30 am today, based on your availability and the availability of your colleagues. |
4 Types of Conversation : News Chats
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Guiding
Jim: I want to know what’s happening recently, what are my options? CUI: How about some headlines from BBC? Jim: Hmm, I would prefer the Wall Street Journal. CUI: Sure, here’s a headline I found from Wall Street Journal, Google’s ‘Project Nightingale’ Gathers Personal Health Data on Millions of Americans. |
Delegating
Jim: CUI, some news please. CUI: Here’s a headline I found from Wall Street Journal, Google’s ‘Project Nightingale’ Gathers Personal Health Data on Millions of Americans. |
Collaborating
Jim: CUI, how about I listen to something? CUI: Would you like to hear some recent headlines? Jim: Sure, I haven’t got time to read news these days. |
Controlling
Jim: CUI, give me some headlines from the Wall Street Journal. CUI: Sure. Here’s a headline I found from Wall Street Journal, Google’s ‘Project Nightingale’ Gathers Personal Health Data on Millions of Americans. |
Post Exploration Insights |
We noticed that much of Jim’s conversation with the CUI would fall under collaborating and delegating. Jim may prompt the CUI with an emotional prompt or ask the CUI for advice on something. The CUI suggests to Jim what he may do to destress or what he may buy for his wife, prompting Jim to disagree or take the conversation in a different direction. The nature of this conversation seems to fit well under delegating.
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Final Conversational Model
Persona
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Who is Jim?
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What is on Jim’s mind?
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Purpose and Current State
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Jim is traveling from his home to his work, which is 15 miles away. Currently, he is on his way to the office in his autonomous vehicle. Feeling tired, stressed, and unsatisfied with his current situation he starts chatting with the CUI.
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Context
1. Conversation History
Our conversation is built upon the previous conversations that Jim and the CUI had. Which include:
The CUI has access to Jim’s calendar and to-do list and can plan tasks accordingly.
Our conversation is built upon the previous conversations that Jim and the CUI had. Which include:
- Family issues. In the previous conversations, Jim mentioned he has no time being with family frequently, and the CUI has stored the data.
- Mental health. Jim’s sentiment level is being measured in previous conversations. The CUI knows that his sentiment is relatively negative.
- News. In the previous conversations, Jim often asked the bot to read the recent headlines. The CUI knows that the most frequent topics Jim mentioned are technology and healthcare.
The CUI has access to Jim’s calendar and to-do list and can plan tasks accordingly.
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Mental Health
Jim is stressed about being in charge of a big project. He is unsure about whether they will finish the work by the deadline. The CUI will schedule some time for him to relax in the conversation. |
Family Relationship
Jim finds it hard to spend time with family due to his busy work schedule. And he is having strained relationship with them. The CUI will give him some suggestions about how to improve family relationship. |
Scheduling
Jim normally uses his time in the car to go over his daily schedule at work. He is able to add and remove things from his schedule. |
News
Due to his recent stress, Jim has been unable to keep up with the current news. He relies on the CUI to keep him updated. |
Post-Conversation Expectations
After chatting with the CUI, we expect Jim to be more relieved about his work, more confident in how to build a better relationship with his family, more organized with his daily schedule, and make better use of his time in the car.