9.3 Attention

Attention is the process of selecting what to focus on, given the multitude of possibilities available (Preece, Rogers, and Sharp 2002). The way you present information to callers can have a significant effect on how easily they can attend to the information of greatest interest.

Let's look at an example of reading back flight information in a travel planning application. Imagine that a caller has requested a flight from New York to Boston "this afternoon." Assuming that the system has found four flights in its database that match the caller's criteria, it must inform the caller of the possibilities and request a selection. Imagine the following presentation of the list of four possible flights:

(4)

SYSTEM:

United Airlines flight 47 leaves New York Kennedy Airport at 1 p.m. from gate 36 and arrives at Boston Logan at 1:45 p.m. at gate 22. American Airlines flight 243 leaves New York Kennedy Airport at 2:15 p.m. from gate 12 and arrives at Boston Logan at 3 p.m. at gate 47. American Airlines flight 260 leaves New York Kennedy Airport at 3:45 p.m. from gate 15 and arrives at Boston Logan at 4:30 p.m. at gate 42. United Airlines flight 52 leaves New York Kennedy Airport at 5 p.m. from gate 38 and arrives at Boston Logan at 5:45 p.m. at gate 31. Which would you like?

Whether or not one of these flights meets the caller's needs, the presentation of the information is so cluttered as to derail the caller's ability to attend to the information that is most important for the decision. Now imagine the following alternative:

(5)

SYSTEM:	There are flights at 1 p.m., 2:15, 3:45, and 5. Which would you like?
CALLER:	How about the 2:15 flight.
SYSTEM:	American Flight 243 leaves New York Kennedy Airport at 2:15 p.m., arriving at Boston Logan at 3. Would you like to book this flight?

In this case, only the information of greatest concern to the caller is provided, easing the decision. If your application will present possibly complex information, you should note that fact during requirements definition. You should make sure you understand the prospective caller's goals, priorities, and decision criteria. In this way, you can optimize the presentation of information and not unduly challenge the caller's ability to attend to the information of greatest concern.

In some cases, divided attention is inevitable. For example, when users are driving, situations may arise that temporarily demand their complete attention. Systems designed for use while driving must accommodate this need by providing the caller with control over the pacing of the interaction. Users might exert such control by, for example, using a pause/resume feature. Or the application might clarify the conversational context after a timeout so that the caller can seamlessly continue with the dialog. (Note: The issue of VUI design for driver safety is an important area that needs careful research. The suggestions in this paragraph are meant to be illustrative only. They are not based on research with subjects in real or simulated driving situations.)

In other cases, you may desire to communicate information without derailing the caller's current activity. Imagine a personal agent application that manages callers' phone calls and voice mail and can read them their e-mail over the phone. If a new voice mail message arrives while users are listening to e-mail, the application can use a recognizable earcon to notify them without interrupting the flow of e-mail reading. The message "New voice mail has arrived" is communicated via the earcon without disrupting the caller's attention.

In general, the first step in facilitating attention is to understand the caller's goals and priorities. Then you can design strategies to make only the pertinent information available. At the same time, the system can accommodate the caller's needs to attend to information and events outside the purview of the application.