Designing Effective Speech Interfaces

Master the critical knowledge you need to design speech-enabled applications It's not just a far-fetched gizmo straight out of a sci-fi movie anymore. Speech interface technology, which allows a user to communicate with computers via voice instead of a keyboard or a mouse, is quickly becoming a main feature in new software. This straightforward guide provides traditional graphical user-interface designers, developers, usability engineers, and product managers with all the information they need to make a rapid transition in order to stay abreast of this monumental shift in technology. Weinschenk and Barker, two experts in state-of-the-art online communication, discuss the basics of speech interfaces and speech technology, hardware, and software. They clearly explain the interface design principles that are applied to S/GUI and AUI interfaces and describe the latest practices of leading experts. In addition to its in-depth look at speech technologies and the different types of user interfaces, this book: * Provides an overview of the field of human factors and defines the basic concepts of human computer interaction * Discusses the current state of speech technology applications * Explains the laws of human factors that apply to speech interfaces * Contains guidelines and examples for user control, human limitation, model integrity, accommodation, clear dialogue, and aesthetic integrity * Details the best practices in interface design and usability engineering * Explores the special issues involved in interface design for disabled persons Visit the companion web site at www.wiley.com/compbooks/weinschenk/ for a categorized resource list of speech, speech interface, and human-computer interaction books, articles, and links.

SUSAN WEINSCHENK, PhD is Principal of Weinschenk Consulting Group which specializes in user interface design, Web design, and usability testing. She is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group in Computer-Human Interaction (ACM SIG CHI) and the Usability Professional&#146;s Association (UPA). She is also the author of GUI Design Essentials (also from Wiley).<BR>