In an effort to maximize user performance and satisfaction, developers have added synthetic speech output to many computer interfaces. Using Multiple Resource Theory as the foundation, the purpose of this paper is to help determine under which conditions the addition of speech to an interface will be beneficial. Participants used a speech enhanced or control interface to complete a verbal and a spatial task. Results demonstrate that the simultaneous presentation of information via synthetic speech can be detrimental to performance on a verbal task and to user satisfaction. No performance or satisfaction differences were found for the spatial task. This paper concludes with design guidelines and suggestions for future research.
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