An intelligent user interface model for contact centre operations
- Authors: Singh, Akash
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: User interfaces (Computer systems) , Human-computer interaction , Mobile computing , Customer services -- Management , Call centers -- Customer services
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:10475 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1011399 , User interfaces (Computer systems) , Human-computer interaction , Mobile computing , Customer services -- Management , Call centers -- Customer services
- Description: Contact Centres (CCs) are at the forefront of interaction between an organisation and its customers. Currently, 17 percent of all inbound calls are not resolved on the first call by the first agent attending to that call. This is due to the inability of the contact centre agents (CCAs) to diagnose customer queries and find adequate solutions in an effective and efficient manner. The aim of this research is to develop an intelligent user interface (IUI) model to support and improve CC operations. A literature review of existing IUI architectures, modelbased design and existing CC software together with a field study of CCs has resulted in the design of an IUI model for CCs. The proposed IUI model is described in terms of its architecture, component-level design and interface design. An IUI prototype has been developed as a proof of concept of the proposed IUI model. The IUI prototype was evaluated in order to determine to what extent it supports problem identification and query resolution. User testing, incorporating the use of eye tracking and a post-test questionnaire, was used in order to determine the usability and usefulness of the prototype. The results of this evaluation show that the users were highly satisfied with the task support and query resolution assistance provided by the IUI prototype. This research resulted in the design of an IUI model for the domain of CCs. This model can be used to assist the development of CC applications incorporating IUIs. Use of the proposed IUI model is expected to support and enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of CC operations. Further research is needed to conduct a longitudinal study to determine the impact of IUIs in the CC domain.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2007
Designing adaptaptive user interfaces for enterprise resource planning systems for small enterprises
- Authors: Singh, Akash
- Subjects: User interfaces (Computer systems)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:10458 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/2073 , User interfaces (Computer systems)
- Description: It is widely acknowledged that enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems suffer from complex user interfaces. The complexity of these user interfaces negatively affects the usability of these systems. Current research has shown that a need exists to improve the overall usability of ERP systems. This research proposes the use of adaptive user interfaces (AUIs) as a means of improving the overall usability of ERP systems. Research has shown that AUIs are capable of improving system usability by reducing user interface complexity and improving the overall user experience. The primary objective of this research was to determine how AUIs could be designed to improve the usability of ERP systems. An adaptation taxonomy, ERP system architecture (incorporating an AUI), a set of AUI components and a set of usability heuristics for ERP systems were proposed to support the design, development and evaluation of AUIs for ERP systems. The proposed adaptation taxonomy provides support for three types of adaptation: content adaptation, presentation adaptation and navigation adaptation. The proposed ERP system architecture is a three-tiered system architecture, consisting of a Presentation Layer (incorporating an AUI), an Application Layer and a Database Layer. The proposed set of AUI components comprise a user model, a task model and a dialog model. The set of proposed usability heuristics aims to identify usability issues of ERP systems within the areas of Navigation, Presentation, Task Support, Learnability and Customisation. An AUI prototype was developed based on selected adaptive techniques from the proposed adaptation taxonomy and selected components from the proposed system architecture. All of the proposed AUI components were implemented. The AUI prototype was developed for an existing ERP system, namely SAP Business One (SBO). This prototype was designed, in order to resolve the usability issues of SBO identified through the use of the proposed set of heuristics. The development of the AUI prototype was made possible through the use of a software development kit (SDK) provided with SBO. The AUI prototype made use of content adaptation, presentation adaptation and navigation adaptation in order to address the identified usability issues. An empirical evaluation was conducted on the AUI prototype to determine whether it provided any usability benefits over the standard SBO system. The results from the empirical evaluation revealed that the AUI presented usability benefits with regard to learnability and satisfaction. Users who used the AUI prototype were able to learn how to use the ERP system a lot quicker and were more satisfied than users of the standard SBO system. The successful implementation of the AUI prototype provided practical evidence that the proposed adaptation taxonomy and the proposed system architecture can be implemented. This research has provided empirical evidence that the use of AUIs can improve the usability of ERP systems. Future research has outlined several possibilities to utilise and enhance the proposed adaptation taxonomy, the ERP system architecture and ERP heuristics, for the purpose of furthering research within the area of AUIs for ERP systems.
- Full Text: