Tring! Tring! usability study of a voice based information system

Abstract

In developing regions, voice based telecommunication services are one of the most appropriate medium for information dissemination as they overcome prevalent low literacy rate and are more reachable than any other medium. However, voice based Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems are still not exploited to their full potential and are commonly considered as frustrating to use. We did a real world experiment to investigate the usability issues of a voice based system. In this paper, we report content usage of our experimental IVR and interface difficulties as experienced by the user. We also highlight the user behavior towards accessing critical and non-critical information over multiple information media vis-a-vis IVR, web and talking to a human on the phone. Findings from the post-study survey reveal that people trust web more than human and IVR. We believe, our results can be used for efficient development of future IVR systems.