TABLE OF CONTENTS Interactive voice response (IVR) interfaces are chiefly telephony interfaces. They are the much maligned systems that you reach when calling a business and do not connect to a live person, but instead hear a recording something like this: "Your call is very important to us. To continue in English, press 1." Most people can readily recall instances of terrible experiences withIVRs. IVRs, however, are not inherently bad. More often than not, they are created that way by their designers. This chapter will explore the challenge of designing IVRs that areusable and useful, and it will offer techniques for testing IVRs that will give the designer confidence that, once fielded, the IVR will fulfill its design goals and leave its users smiling (or at least not cursing) (Figure 7.1).
The most common IVR application is voice mail. Another well-known example is a 24-hour banking application where account holders can check balances and transfer funds from one account to another using the phone. The user dials a phone number associated with the bank, which is answered by an automated system (the IVR), which immediately plays out a recorded message: "Welcome to the Big Bank. Please enter...
