Designing for Usability in Chat and Voice
4.7 (3)
10 Days
·Cohort-based Course
Create better bots for users of every age. Learn actionable concepts, frameworks, and methods for excellent conversational AI.
Designing for Usability in Chat and Voice
4.7 (3)
10 Days
·Cohort-based Course
Create better bots for users of every age. Learn actionable concepts, frameworks, and methods for excellent conversational AI.
Previously at
Course overview
Design world-class bots by understanding conversation across the lifespan.
In a world of mediocre chatbots and voice assistants, we’ll teach you how to design a conversational product with great usability.
To make a bot that works for everyone, conversation designers need to understand how human communication evolves as we grow up. Heidi and Rebecca are here to teach you the breadth and depth of good conversation design that centers users of every age.
We’ll talk about how human conversation works and what “usability” means for bots. You’ll learn about developing a use case, applying knowledge about linguistics and cognition, training a bot, crafting responses, prototyping, usability testing, and more.
Students will walk away with actionable knowledge, frameworks, and techniques to design better bots.
Who is this course for
01
Aspiring and beginner conversation designers who are eager for formal training
02
Designers who want to apply their skills to conversational products
03
Product managers, developers, and leaders who want to build conversational products that stand out
What you’ll learn in this course
Conversation is complex.
Designers apply research from linguistics, neuroscience, human-computer interactions, writing, and more.
Bots need to be good listeners.
Understanding people is a bot’s #1 job, and we achieve that through well-curated, well-architected training data.
Bots need to be strong speakers.
Using tested techniques, we craft a bot’s responses so they’re easy to comprehend, and choose a voice that helps users hear.
A great use case aligns audience, purpose, and fit.
The best bots have focused use cases that solve a specific problem, for specific people, through conversation.
How people talk changes over the lifespan.
Whether your target users are children, older adults, or everyone, our design choices support how people communicate.
Test the right way with the right people.
Conversational products require unique prototyping and usability testing methods, applied to the right audience.
Designing for Usability in Chat and Voice
Course syllabus
Week 1
Meet your instructors
Heidi Culbertson
Conversational AI Strategist & Founder
Heidi Culbertson is an innovation expert with decades of experience building products with emergent technologies. She was an early leader in voice technology and founder of the award-winning platform Marvee, creating a personalization design framework and building more than 50 conversational AI experiences for modern aging, accessibility and family caregiving. Heidi is a sought-after keynote speaker, AgeTech startup advisor, former Amazon Alexa PM and business development lead, and conversational AI strategy consultant. Industry awards have included: Top Leaders of Conversational AI, Voice AI Industry VIP, and Top 17 Voice AI Product & Design.
Rebecca Evanhoe
Conversational AI Strategist & Author
Rebecca Evanhoe has more than 10 years of experience in imagining, designing, planning, analyzing, and advocating for engaging conversational experiences. She has designed voice assistants, chatbots, talking conference rooms, games, healthcare simulations, and more. Rebecca co-authored Conversations with Things: UX Design for Chat and Voice. Her background in chemistry and writing provides an interesting mix of arts, humanities, science and tech.
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Designing for Usability in Chat and Voice
Course schedule
4-6 hours per week
Wednesdays & Fridays for 2 weeks
90-minute live sessions with a mix of brief lectures, activities, and Q&A.
We provide handouts with key info, resources and 6-month access to session recordings.
No assignments or projects, just great content and opportunities to practice and apply
Dates: Jan. 3, 5, 10, and 12
12:00 - 1:30 pm, ET
Learning is better with cohorts
Active hands-on learning
This course builds on live workshops and hands-on projects
Interactive and project-based
You’ll be interacting with other learners through breakout rooms and project teams
Learn with a cohort of peers
Join a community of like-minded people who want to learn and grow alongside you
Frequently Asked Questions
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