1. Generate a simple list of ideas for a chatbot. Write down at least 10 topics that might be interesting to you and useful to people.

2. Conduct an internet search for existing chatbots similar to some of your ideas. Simply try searching the term chatbot combined with variations on each of your ideas.

3. Use any search results to consider new ideas or adapt your initial ideas.

4. After some reflection on your ideas, define three concepts with a little more detail using the concepts template.

Concepts Template

❏ Deliverable Collect your team's initial ideas in a list and gather the resulting concepts into a single document or slide set.

Each team member will conduct background research on at least one topic to understand the scope of of possibilities for each (like current trends, statistics, and impact) and the opportunities to provide value to a chatbot visitor. It is important to look at each topic through the lens of how a chatbot may be of value.

• How knowledgeable is the general public on the topic right now?

• How much could the community benefit from learning some key information through a chatbot?

• What is the potential for generating social movement, sometimes called "viral"?

• Will you have access to the communities regarding the topic for further research and testing your chatbot?

As a team, discuss all the research and determine which topic will be your focus. If your team is still undecided, you may use the interviews in the next task to help you finalize your decision.

❏ Deliverable Collect your team's background research into a single document or slide set.

Each team member will complete the chatbot warm-up project to develop a firm understanding of the design considerations, technical opportunities and constraints your team will have with your chatbot design.

❏ Deliverable Demonstrate that you have completed the each step of the warm-up project and can discuss how the code works.

Refine your previous work as needed to be included in your presentation. Ensure that each slide contributes to an explanation of a cohesive story that supports your initial concept and value proposition.

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❏ Deliverable Your team's proposal as a collection of slides containing...

• a title slide

• your value proposition

• intended chatbot features map or listing

• summary slides (or exemplars) of your teams work

  • Background research

  • Personas

  • Task analysis.

This is only an example of the types of artifacts you want in you proposal, carefully consider how you will tell a convincing story about your team's concept.

Value propositions clearly define key aspects of your design that demonstrate it is a valuable and worthwhile product or service. It provides focus for the design of many types of services or products. Here is a template to get you started.

For [describe target users] who [describe problem or need], [name of product/service] is a [describe type of product/service] that [describe benefit or value].

As a team, review all of your work and discuss several possible design directions before settling in on one single value proposition. You will want this statement to be clear, concise, and compelling. It should be supported by your research and analysis up to this point. This is a good time to outline your intended features for the chatbot that you will be able to adapt as you move through your project. Here is a template to get you started.

❏ Deliverable A document or slide deck with your team's value proposition in large font, and a copy of your draft feature mapping.

Each team member will conduct two interviews of people outside of class to understand their perspective on your chosen health issue and on chatbots. You will want to investigate the depth of each person's knowledge and passion about your topic. You will also want to gather their likes and dislikes with chatbots and chat interfaces in general. As a team review your interview responses and use this information to develop personas, one for each team member, that describe the context, needs, and frustrations of stakeholders, revealing opportunities to support meaningful value with your chatbot.

• Interviewing Users from Nielsen Norman Group **

• Personas Make Users Memorable for Product Team Members from Nielsen Norman Group.

❏ Deliverable Collect your team's personas into a single document or slide set.

1. Provide each team member time to share their ideas and the value of each concept documented.

2. Synthesize your concepts into three top concepts that all team members find interesting and valuable. Document the three concepts in the template linked below the same as you did in the previous individual exercise.

3. Develop a sample dialogue flow diagram for each of the three concepts that is at least as detailed as this example, but begins to show some more detail like this example from this article. Include your sample dialogue flow in each concept using a Google drawing embed or photo of a hand-drawn version. Make sure it is clearly legible and useful for describing the concept.

   Note: This will not be a complete (or exhaustive) dialogue flow chart, only a sample of a common interaction with a user that you envision.

4. Share your three concepts to six people in your class and document feedback on the value, interest-level, and complexity of each concept. Be sure to carefully explain the concepts and use the dialogue flow diagram to help illustrate the idea. Be sure to discuss the tone and personality of the potential chatbot. Also, capture in your document any ideas that people give you that may be incorporated later.

5. Have each team member share your team's three concepts with two people outside of class. (For example, share with a total of six people if you have a team of three.) Try to target a different, but pertinent, audience---like parents, siblings, coaches, etc. Capture the feedback as before.

Concept Narrowing Document Template

❏ Deliverable Your team's Concept Narrowing and Evaluations Document as a single document or slide set.

Analyze how people currently (without your bot) complete tasks and achieve the same goals. This will inform your design decisions in several ways.

Understanding the current habits of people will...

• help you design an easy entry into using your bot so it feels natural and consistent with people's mental model of the topic.

• reveal opportunities to design noticeable advantages for your bot over current practices. You need to "sell" the experience in a way. Does it save time? Make it more fun? Provide better value?

• identify paths that you may want to avoid in your bot. You don't want to mimic any bad experiences people may have on the topic.

Instructions

Snapshot of Task Analysis Template

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1. Determine the top 3 tasks that your bot will perform. Be sure to identify the primary goal for each of those tasks. This may change later as you develop your project, but you need to start with a clear direction to make progress.

2. For each task, list the detailed steps people currently use to reach the task goal using a specific instance. In other words, how do people complete this task without your bot? Label the steps the user performs and any steps completed by a computer program (or other tool). Start with your best guess. But for each task, ask 3 people how they would complete it and use your findings to adjust the steps for a particular instance.

   For example, if one bot task will be to "Find Burrito Recipes by Ingredients or Taste", use a specific instance like the following.

   TASK: Jill wants a burrito recipe that incorporates chorizo as an ingredient.

   • Jill: Opens browser.

   • Jill: Enters "chorizo burrito recipes" in the search bar.

   • COMPUTER: Google returns a list of sites having burrito recipes (with 2 ads at the top)

   • Jill: Scans results and selects a page on allrecipes.com

   • ...

   • ...

   • ...

   • Jill: Returns to the browser tab from seriouseats.com and selects print from the browser menu.

   • Computer: Prints recipe with all the other headings, menus, and ads on the web page.

3. Look for the best opportunities to improve the steps in each task using your chatbot. At the same time, be sure to consider how to avoid inserting any steps with your chatbot that would degrade the experience.

4. Make an instance of a potential chatbot dialogue for the same tasks that you believe improves the experience. Be detailed and consider how the chatbot will handle "directing" the conversation so that it is easy to follow and reduces the chance of getting lost in the conversation. Include labels for the person and chatbot in the example dialogue.

5. After completing all three chatbot dialogues, review and compare the current way completing the task with your proposed chatbot concepts. Refine the chatbot dialogues as needed.

6. List the main advantages you see in using the chatbot.

7. List the potential traps that could cause the chatbot to provide a poor experience for people.