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DESIGN BEFORE TESTING

Here are some of Oracle Voice Jump designs before the testing. Users can activate the voice command by tapping the red microphone(1) and enter the voice command interface(2). If users don't say any voice command then system will enter the waiting to activate mode (3). Users have to tap on the green icon to activate the voice command again. If the system doesn't recognize the command, the message "I am not sure I understand" as well as three random suggestion will appear(4). Users can say the command again when the green icon turns orange again.

Oracle Voice Jump

August - February

Team: 2 UX designers | 2 PMs | 3 developers | 1 UX researcher

Oracle Voice Jump is a Siri-like Virtual Assistant that allows sales reps to speak directly to the “Oracle Sales Cloud” on their mobile devices. It is a fast and friendly way for sales reps to view their work, so they can walk into meetings feeling prepared. Sales reps are able to quickly create Notes, Activities, Contacts, and update or search any information by talking, tapping and typing on their mobile devices. 

 

For this project, I planned and conduced usability testing during Oracle Open World. The purpose of this testing is to gather data about how the voice interaction should work on mobile sales cloud, since some of the interaction and elements are different from the “Oracle Fusion Voice”

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(1) Tap red microphone icon to activate voice command mode

(2) Voice command activated (orange icon with radiation animation)

(3) Waiting to activate mode -- need to tap on green icon to activate

(4) When voice command fail, fail message with 3 random suggestions

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RESEARCH GOAL

To Understand The General Voice User Behavior And Collect The Feedback of our current Oracle Sales Cloud voice command design

TESTING PLAN

We wanted to observe how participants use voice command naturally. That’s why we came up with the idea of using a driving simulator. While driving, participants were asked to complete tasks by using voice commands. 

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PARTICIPANTS

10 participants (7 voice users & 3 non-voice users)

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Use Voice At Least Once A Week

(OK Google | Siri | Alexa | Cortana)

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Use Voice Once A Month Or Less

TASK FLOW & RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Task1: Find Steven Shaw's contact information

  • ​Can users navigate to the contacts using voice commands?

  • Do users know the difference between activate mode & inactivate mode? 

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Tap red microphone icon to activate voice command mode

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Voice command activated (orange icon with radiation animation)

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Voice command "Search for contact Steven Shaw"

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Search result for Steven Shaw

Task1 Findings:

The Red Microphone Icon

  • A few participants directly said the command without activating voice icon. They thought the icon meant  the system was waiting for activation keywords such as “Hey Siri” or “OK Google”

Voice Command

  • Used the wrong command

  • Said voice commands without activating it first

  • Misled by the random recommendations

  • Don’t understand voice command is always a brand new global search

Waiting To Activate Mode vs. Activated Mode​

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Waiting To Activate

3/10 participants answered correctly

"Not sure if green icon means activated or not"

"It’s on. Means I can speak without tapping the button"

"It’s listening. Green means it’s ready for my input, means go"

"Activated"

"Good to go"

"If I press it that I will be recording"

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Activated, Listening for command

5/10 participants answered correctly

"You are talking"

"Home start button (didn’t notice the radiation)"

"Means the system is saying something"

"I think I am on mute"

Task2: Check the time of an appointment with big data corporation

   Note:This appointment actually doesn’t exist in the calendar

  • What do users do if their voice command fails?

  • What do users expect to see when entering the “Help” page? 

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Voice commend for searching appointment with Big Data Corporation

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The Big Data Corporation doesn't exist in the list

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In voice mode (pic 1), click "Help" on top right to see suggested commands

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Scroll up to see all of the suggested commands

Task2 Findings:

A Voice Command Fails...​

Observations

  • All participants tried other different commands when the command failed (tried 3-5 times)

  • 5/10 participants tried to break down the command into simpler phrases: “Appointment”, “Calendar”, “Contacts”

  • Other 5 participants tried different verbs “Look for”, “Search”, “Go to” or rearrange the sentence
     

Interview - What do users EXPECT when a voice command fails

  • Most participants preferred to keep interacting with the voice for next step (the voice system give them some options & guide them step by step to find what they want)

  • A few participants prefer the system show the search bar for them to type

  • Some participants would go to the object page and search on their own

Help Page​

Thoughts about the current Help page

  • Too much information

  • Most participants didn’t know they could scroll up to see more suggested commands

  • “It’s too busy”, “It need either priority or alphabetical order”

 

What participants EXPECT to see in Help Page

  • Provide categorized links that allow users to go directly to different pages

  • Help page should provide suggestions based on the pervious command

  • Help content provided via voice only instead of having a separate page

Task3: Identify whether you have selected accept, maybe, or declined an appointment 

   Note: In order to know if users understand that the voice icon is movable, we...

   (1) purposefully changed the red microphone's transparency to 100%, and blocked one of the meeting invite status

   (2) we also printed the picture out in order to prevent users from accidentally scrolling up to see the meeting status

  • Do users know they can drag and drop the microphone icon?

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Change the red icon transparency to 100% and block the meeting status

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Printed the screen out to prevent users from accidentally scroll up to see the answer

Task3 Findings:

Drag & Drop Red Microphone Icon

  • Only 1 participant knew the icon is moveable 

  • Most participants like the function, but suggested that we make it more obvious

  • Participants’ suggestions:
     - Add shadow, make it floating
     - Small arrow on each side
     - Press and hold it until wiggles like apps on the iPhone

Interview Question: When a voice search isn’t recognized, what response do users prefer?

Note: We collected different answers from other platform, and we wanted to see which response  do user like the most

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Oracle Voice Jump

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"I didn't get that"

Oracle Fusion Voice

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Google Map

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Different response every time

Siri

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Amazon

Interview Result:

Like The Most & The Least

  • Participants liked Oracle Voice Jump response "I am not sure I understand" the most

  • Disliked Siri's response which is different every time

Why do participants like or dislike each response?​

Response

Oracle Voice Jump

"I am not sure I understand"

Positive

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“This is neutral”
“Most polite of all 5 options”
“It's pretty standard”
“Something everyone would understand”

“It's good, but If I will said "I didn't understand” 

Oracle Fusion Voice

"I don't get that"

“It’s more human and natural”
“It’s short”
“Short is fine and it’s not rude”
“It is honest and short to the point”

Google Map

"Didn't catch that. Try speaking again"

<N/A>

Siri

Different response every time

“Makes it more human”

Amazon

We didn't quiet get that

<N/A>

Positive

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Not sure = not direct/ dishonest

“People not familiar with English may not understand” 
“I could see somebody might say “What do you mean you don't get that??? I just say that to you…find it!””

“If you are not familiar with English, you might not understand”
“Too long”

“I will be lost if it tells different answers every time”
“It might drive me crazy”

“Not sure why use we”
“We is weird”
“Don't like WE”
“Seems like multiple personality on the phone”

OVERALL FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS

Functionality:

  • Used the wrong command

    • Use the hint or example to help users better understanding the voice command rules

    • ​Update the voice with the natural language processing system

 

  • Said voice commands without activating it first

    • Change the color of waiting to activate mode, since green normally means go/activate (refer to visual issues below)

 

  • Misled by the random recommendations

    • Recommendations should be provided based on users’ command

 

  • Don’t understand voice command is always a brand new global search

    • ​Clear previous commands form the screen

    • Provide hint or example to demonstrate that voice command is always a new global search

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  • Too much information on Help page

    • ​Separate the list by different categories

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  • Response when voice command fails 

    • ​The current response “I am not sure I understand” is a standard and clear response for users. There is no need to change

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Visual:​

  • Waiting to activate mode

    • ​Change the color to orange, since green normally means ready/go/activate

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  • Activated, listening for command mode

    • Change the color to green and make the radiation direction going inside

 

  • Movable red microphone icon 

    • Perhaps make the icon floating so users know the icon is movable

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→ Previous Project: AP Invoic (Under Construction)

Alison Tseng © 2025

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