Age Group Differences in Subjective Perceptions of Telephone Voice Menu Systems

Abstract

Interactive voice response (IVR) systems are increasingly being used for a variety of tasks. Unfortunately many users experience difficulty and frustration when interacting with these systems. IVR systems may be particularly problematic for older people given the cognitive demands associated with their use. This paper reports results from a study examining the usability of IVR systems for two applications: banking and an electric utility company. The sample included 195 males and females ranging in age from 18–82 years. The participants used the system to respond to a set of 24 problems/questions. They performed these tasks at one of three speech rates: 0% compression, 10% compression, and 20% compression. Prior to performing the task, the participants completed a prior experience questionnaire; following task performance they completed a questionnaire assessing system usability. Findings from these subjective measures will be presented in this paper. Overall, the data indicate age differences in perceptions of usability. These data will be discussed with respect to implications for system design.