Users' (mis)conceptions of a voice-operated train travel information service

When users interact with a voice-operated system, they bring along their expectations and habits from human-human dialogues as well as their experience with the domain and with other systems. The present study explores the extent to which problems in user-system interaction may be associated with users' expectations and (mis)conceptions of the system. In an exploratory study, twenty subjects queried two different train travel information systems. A semi-structured interview was held on subjects' dialogues with the systems, by replaying the recordings together with the subjects. The findings revealed in what ways users' misconceptions and misunderstandings of the system lead to various problems in interaction, such as undesired travel suggestions and irritation. The implications for the design of voice-operated systems are discussed.