1. Understand the capabilities and limitations of conversational apps and avoid functions they cannot perform well. 2. Improve cognitive ergonomics by reducing steps users need to take and lowering cognitive load. 3. Focus conversational app design on a well-defined problem or task to simplify for users. 4. Provide clear onboarding, commands, and ways to exit or get help to avoid frustrating users. 5. Carefully craft content in an appropriate tone and format so it serves as the interface.

1. Some best practices for Conversational apps
Matthieu Varagnat
June 8, 2016

2. Does your business need it?
Don’t get caught in the hype
Best practice n°1:
Understand what are conv
apps can and cannot
(shouldn’t) do
August 2015
Now ?

3. Does your business need it?
Why choosing a conversational app?
• Great at early stage (cheaper and faster than mobile app)
• Awesome format for pre-sales or support
• Emotional link through conversation
• Can reduce « cognitive load ».

4. Choose the right type of app
Ranked by increasing technical complexity
• Notifications (FROM external service)
• Commands (TO external service)
• Onboarder / Form bot (then operator takes over)
• Hybrid bot/human (operator takes over if needed)
• 1-1 chatbot (personal assistant)
• Chatbot within group/teams

5. Choose the right platform
• BtC (Messenger, Telegram, Kik)
• BtB (Slack)
• SMS
• Web widget or in-app

6. Cognitive load
Best practice n°2: improve cognitive ergonomics
• Friction: number of clicks, apps switching, copy paste, …
• Reduce cognitive load = great conversation app
Cognitive Efficiency is a measure of how much cognitive effort is saved through the interface.
a messaging platform, open a calendar, scroll to the right day, and find the event on the calendar. In the second
—Rob May

7. Cognitive load
• pull analytics graphs within a Slack conversation with marketers.
• press a « Request ride » button from within a conversation with
friends

8. Cognitive load
• painfully explain what would have taken a click on a list of pics
VSor

9. Cognitive load
Image & gesture based apps
+ UX can be more fluid
- Need to switch apps
- Need to download app
Text-based bots
+ Embedded in conversations
+ Existing apps
- No visual cues (affordance)

10. How to reduce cognitive load?
Some ideas
• Best: Use images, buttons or structured inputs
• Better: Provide clear choices (Say ‘Black’ or ‘White’ please)
• Good: Provide clear indication on how to input information
Book tickets for tomorrow
Can you tell me which show? You can say
things like ‘The Avengers at 8pm’

11. Limit scope
Best practice n°3: focus on a well-defined problem
• For now, the best bots are dumb, ultra-focused bots
• Simplification reduces confusion for users
• Focus helps the bot deliver value

12. Limit scope
Helps answering critical design questions:
• What can I ask about?
• What options do I have?
Avoid complicated design of conversation paths & NLP parsing
Book room at 4pm vs Can you help me organize the meeting?

13. Onboarding
Hi, I’m your new bot!
Hmmm… Hi?
I’m sorry, I didn’t understand
Alright, how do I uninstall this

14. Onboarding
Best practice n°4: Great onboarding is crucial
• Suggest commands
• Brief configuration steps
• Go quickly to value-delivering step
Do not leave user with a « hi » and a white page

15. Commands
Best practice n°5: support standard commands
• Help
• Menu
• Feedback

16. • Validate input
Hi, I’m your new bot!Hmmm… Hi?
Change destination
Book Flight
Provide escape routes
Where do you want to go?
Paris
I got Paris, Texas. Should I
book a flight?

17. • Allow reaching a human
Provide escape routes
Talk to support
Change my location
Help
Say ‘Movies’ to know what’s
playing in nearby theaters

18. Content
Best practice n°6: The content is the UI. Craft it with care
• Find a tone. Robotic or friendly?
• BASAAP: Be as Smart as a Puppy
Making smart things that don’t try to be too smart and fail, and indeed,
by design, make endearing failures in their attempts to learn and
improve. Like puppies.

19. Attention to content
Good writing skills will be sought after
• Avoid almost-human ‘uncanney valley’
• Avoid walls of text
• Limit notification frequency (high relevance ratio)

20. Consider AI/NLP carefully
100%
Human
Fluidify Rigid
command
syntax
NLP
Example:
Automate

21. Summary
1. Understand what are conv apps can and cannot (shouldn’t) do
2. Improve cognitive ergonomics
3. Focus on a well-defined problem
4. Great onboarding is crucial
5. Support standard commands
6. The content is the UI. Craft it with care

22. Reading material
• http://venturebeat.com/2016/05/21/the-5-branches-of-conversational-commerce-a-guide-for-the-bot-
curious/
• http://www.technicallysentient.com/blog/2016/4/1/cognitive-ergonomics-and-chatbots
• https://blog.intercom.io/principles-bot-design/
• http://berglondon.com/blog/2010/09/04/b-a-s-a-a-p/
• https://medium.com/truth-labs/where-does-conversational-ui-leave-design-7044c395be9f#.j65g36hqb
• http://techcrunch.com/2016/05/29/why-do-chatbots-suck/
• https://pilot.co/blog/chatbot-dilemma/
• https://chatbotsmagazine.com/designing-messenger-bots-f016a2c842cd#.ndslww93i