at&t chat ‘n talk: getting to know you... hfweb june 3, 1999 at&t chat ‘n talk: getting...
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AT&T Chat ‘N Talk: Getting to Know You...
HFWEB June 3, 1999
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk:Getting to Know You without
Getting to Know All About You
Helen A. Fairbrother
Elizabeth A. Hohne
Steven Todd
User Experience Engineering Division
AT&T Labs
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk: Getting to Know You...
HFWEB June 3, 1999
Overview
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk: What Is It? Usability Issues Lessons Learned
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk: Getting to Know You...
HFWEB June 3, 1999
What Is AT&T Chat ‘N Talk?
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk: Getting to Know You...
HFWEB June 3, 1999
What Is AT&T Chat ‘N Talk? An anonymous voice-enabled chat service
– Chat room participants can move from text chat to voice chat without exchanging phone numbers
A “transitional” web-based communication service– Call set-up occurs on the Web– The voice call is switched through a conference
bridge on the traditional telephone network
A service looking for a market– Is there money in good, clean, anonymous
intimacy?
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk: Getting to Know You...
HFWEB June 3, 1999
Usability Issues
User Model of Call Set-up– Anonymous Calling re-orders call set-up
Shifting gears from text chat to voice chat can be complex– Improved by integration with chat program
Trust– Data privacy at the system and personal
level
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk: Getting to Know You...
HFWEB June 3, 1999
User Model of Communication Events
First party uses context-appropriate address to initiate communication
Second party is alerted of the communication event
Second party determines whether to engage or not at this point
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk: Getting to Know You...
HFWEB June 3, 1999
Anonymous Chat Flow
First party requests a call Second party consents (or not) Each party enters own phone number Network dials each Each answers or not Conversation ensues
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk: Getting to Know You...
HFWEB June 3, 1999
Usability Issues: Model Violations Users must communicate in advance about the
communication each time Users must share the session password Outcalling surprises the person who “initiates”
the call– The initiator of the call frequently does not recognize
the relationship of the ringing phone to the call setup activity
The time lag between the initial request and the ringing phone may confuse the “called” party
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk: Getting to Know You...
HFWEB June 3, 1999
Usability Issues: Complexity
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk: Getting to Know You...
HFWEB June 3, 1999
Usability Issues: Complexity
Users must navigate between chat windows and call set-up windows– Window management becomes an issue
Integrating with the chat software reduces information user must move around– The session identifier is hidden from the
users
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk: Getting to Know You...
HFWEB June 3, 1999
Independent Host Flow
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk: Getting to Know You...
HFWEB June 3, 1999
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk: Getting to Know You...
HFWEB June 3, 1999
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk: Getting to Know You...
HFWEB June 3, 1999
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk: Getting to Know You...
HFWEB June 3, 1999
Integrated Flow
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk: Getting to Know You...
HFWEB June 3, 1999
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk: Getting to Know You...
HFWEB June 3, 1999
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk: Getting to Know You...
HFWEB June 3, 1999
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk: Getting to Know You...
HFWEB June 3, 1999
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk: Getting to Know You...
HFWEB June 3, 1999
Integrated vs. Independent: Host
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk: Getting to Know You...
HFWEB June 3, 1999
Receiving a Call
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk: Getting to Know You...
HFWEB June 3, 1999
Integrated Advantage
Host– Initial step is more natural: click “Phone”– Invitation to participant is simple and timely– May be done in open chat--instant
message not required
Participant– Click “Phone” to start– Phone number is only data entered
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk: Getting to Know You...
HFWEB June 3, 1999
Usability Issues: Trust
At the personal level– Users are informed that their phone numbers will
not be disclosed– A “decoy” number appears on the bill
• Calls to the number identify the Chat ‘N Talk service
– Caller ID boxes do not display the users’ numbers
At the system level– Links to AT&T Privacy Policy– AT&T reputation for trustworthiness
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk: Getting to Know You...
HFWEB June 3, 1999
Summary
Integrating the two applications lowers the bar for initiating calls– Using the context-appropriate address
minimizes complexity for the user– Reduced need to pass information from
one application to another– Quicker call set up favors call completion
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk: Getting to Know You...
HFWEB June 3, 1999
Summary
Differences in call set-up flow are not entirely removed– Users must still communicate about the
communication before initiating it
Services whose directories contain phone numbers could remove the need for this step
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk: Getting to Know You...
HFWEB June 3, 1999
Summary
The market for anonymous calling may be limited to certain situations– Typing dirty Talking dirty
AT&T Chat ‘N Talk technology supports more than anonymous voice chat– Dialing from online directories (anywho.com)– conference call setup (www.click2dial.att.com)– Phone/instant messaging integration