Accessible conversational user interfaces

Lister, Kate; Coughlan, Tim; Iniesto, Francisco; Freear, Nick; Devine, Peter

doi:10.1145/3371300.3383343

Cited by 50 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Of those, 13 (60%) were female. The disabilities more frequently declared were long-term medical conditions (12), mental health (9), fatigue or pain conditions (8) and specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia (7). Other needs included restricted mobility (3), autistic spectrum conditions (3), restricted manual skills (1), impaired speech (1) and visual impairment (1).…”

Section: Samplementioning

confidence: 99%

“…CUIs could enable more efficient and effective access to support for people with accessibility needs. However, there is little research to date that explores how to design CUIs to be accessible [4][5][6], or how best to use them to support people with accessibility needs [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Table 1 shows that many of the studies used a combination of questionnaires with taskdriven or free iteration with the CUI, direct observation, or included interviews in their methodologies. Broadly speaking, these studies tend to omit specific consideration of accessibility aspects to be evaluated and included in the design [7]. Questionnaires are the most common method, Kocaballi et al [22] in their literature review identified several standardised questionnaires to evaluate the UX in CUIs such as AttrakDiff, Subjective Assessment of Speech System Interfaces (SASSI), the Speech User Interface Service Quality (SUISQ), the Mean Opinion Scale (MOS) and The System Usability Scale (SUS).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Implementing an accessible conversational user interface

Iniesto

Coughlan

Lister

2021

Proceedings of the 18th International Web for All Conference

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In the ADMINS (Assistants for the Disclosure and Management of Information about Needs and Support) project, we have implemented a virtual assistant which is designed to enable students to disclose disabilities and to provide guidance and suggestions about appropriate accessible support. ADMINS explores the potential of conversational user interfaces (CUIs) to reduce administrative burden and improve outcomes, by replacing static forms with written and spoken dialogue. For the beta version of the assistant, we have carried out a trial to evaluate its accessibility and user experience (UX). Following the project's participatory-design approach, the trial sample included university students with accessibility needs and disability support advisors for its evaluation. The results included both qualitative and quantitative feedback from the participants (students and advisors) which helped to identify accessibility and UX barriers for improving the assistant's design in the next stages of the project.

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Section: Samplementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Implementing an accessible conversational user interface

Iniesto

Coughlan

Lister

2021

Proceedings of the 18th International Web for All Conference

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“…Form-filling and administrative processes are ubiquitous throughout further and higher education; they can dominate one of the first interactions students have with an institution, and this means that the disadvantage they represent to certain students begins right at the beginning of their educational experience. Processes are frequently onerous for disabled students, both due to their design and the effect of the student's disability [16,17]. Forms may ask questions that are difficult for students to answer, such as asking them to imagine and summarize the impacts of their disability on their studies before they have actually started to study (and, as such, are not in a position to know.)…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Taylor, the Disability Disclosure Virtual Assistant: A Case Study of Participatory Research with Disabled Students

et al. 2021

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Administrative burden in education is a serious issue for disabled students. Form-filling and bureaucracy are ubiquitous in further and higher education, particularly for students who need to disclose a disability and arrange for accommodations and support for an equitable educational experience. Paradoxically, many of these processes are inherently inaccessible for disabled students, and yet completing them can be critical to their success. Artificial Intelligence has potential to alleviate some of the burden imposed by administration and bureaucracy; virtual assistants and chatbots can replace forms with dialogue, without placing additional strain on institutions. However, it is essential that solutions are designed in partnership with disabled students to ensure that students’ needs are met, their concerns addressed, and the final solution is equitable for them. This paper explores a case study of participatory research with disabled students in a large UK distance learning institution, in which participatory research identified an issue of administrative burden for disabled students, and a virtual assistant was designed as a solution using participatory design. It shares the methodology and design process, explores findings from different phases of the research, and shares recurrent themes arising throughout the study. In doing so, it aims to provide a foundation for future participatory research to reduce barriers for disabled students.

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“…CUIs could enable more efficient and effective access to support for people with accessibility needs. However, there is little research to date that explores how to design CUIs to be accessible [8], or how best to use them to support people with accessibility needs [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Designing an Assistant for the Disclosure and Management of Information about Needs and Support: the ADMINS project

Iniesto

Coughlan

Lister

et al. 2020

Proceedings of the 22nd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

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In this paper, we describe accessible design considerations for the Assistants for the Disclosure and Management of Information about Needs and Support project (ADMINS). In ADMINS, artificial intelligence (AI) services are being used to create a virtual assistant (VA), which is being designed to enable students to disclose any disabilities, and to provide guidance and suggestions about appropriate accessible support. ADMINS explores the potential of a conversational user interface (CUI) to reduce administrative burden and improve outcomes, by replacing static forms with written and spoken dialogue. Students with accessibility needs often face excessive administrative burden. A CUI could be beneficial in this context if designed to be fully accessible. At the same time, we recognise the broader potential of CUIs for these types of processes, and the project aims to understand the multiple opportunities and challenges, using participatory design, iterative development and trials evaluations. CCS CONCEPTS• Computing methodologies → Intelligent agents; • Information systems → Expert systems; • Social and professional top-ics → People with disabilities.

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Accessible conversational user interfaces

Cited by 50 publications

References 25 publications

Implementing an accessible conversational user interface

Implementing an accessible conversational user interface

Taylor, the Disability Disclosure Virtual Assistant: A Case Study of Participatory Research with Disabled Students

Designing an Assistant for the Disclosure and Management of Information about Needs and Support: the ADMINS project

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