Abstract
Speech applications are typically designed to be used without any instructions or manuals. More complex applications commonly come with web-based or printed manuals. An alternative approach, software tutoring, has been studied in the context of graphical user interfaces. In software tutoring, a software component guides users while they work with an application new to them. To evaluate the viability of software tutoring in speech-based applications a two-condition between-participants experiment (N = 18) was conducted. Participants learned to use a speech-based e-mail reading application and performed several tasks with it. In the first condition the e-mail application included an embedded tutoring component that guided the participants on using the application. In the second condition, a web manual was used. All interactions with the systems were recorded and annotated. Participants also filled in questionnaires that reported their attitudes towards the guidance they received and towards the e-mail reading application. The speech-based tutor performed equally well with web-based manual with no significant differences between the conditions on how well the participants managed to accomplish the tasks with the e-mail application or in participants’ attitudes towards the application or the guidance. In addition, during the learning period the participants in the tutored condition had significantly fewer problems with the speech interface.
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Hakulinen, J., Turunen, M. & Räihä, KJ. Evaluation of Software Tutoring for a Speech Interface. Int J Speech Technol 8, 283–293 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10772-006-7216-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10772-006-7216-1