Alli: The Artificial Intelligence Chatbot
Information Technology Services
San Francisco State University
July 2017 - May 2018
At the IT Help Desk on campus, students, faculty, and staff continuously called or emailed about basic IT related questions, such as how to connect to wi-fi or recover a lost password. Our department saw these "level-one" questions as a perfect opportunity to explore automated conversations — an IT chatbot!
After winning a $10,000 technology grant from the California State University system, my team decided to tackle the issue with an artificial intelligence chatbot. We hired Jayway, a Scandinavian software company with a strong point in design to provide expert guidance on our conversation design, software, and information architecture. I was one of the lead designers/developers on the project, specializing in user research, conversation design, development, and usability testing.
Research
- Lead in-depth research on best practices for bot voice, conversational flow, visual presentation, and software
- Experimented with different ways to utilize the SF State template and color scheme, while creating new component designs and variations
- Conducted user research and interviews with staff, students, and faculty to determine pain points and goals of project
- Conducted user research and interviews with staff, students, and faculty to determine pain points and goals of project
Conversation Design
- Analyzed voice and linguistic strategies in existing AI interfaces
- Wrote bot dialogues, employing language that was both student-friendly and professional
- Tested and edited product with user groups
Development
- Designed visuals of engagement button, color scheme, and in-conversation buttons
- Programed backend functions, intents, and entities using HubSpot.ai (formerly Motion.ai) interface
Testing and Presentation
- Tested and revised existing prototypes with student groups, staff, faculty, and university stakeholders
- Identified and revised broken pathways to improve conversation flow and usability
- Presented product to department-wide and CSU-wide audiences
