[IxDA Discuss] how to implement a dialogue?

[Peter Boersma]

Hi,

For one of our clients, we're considering designing a site around the
concept of a dialogue, and I could use some help in deciding on approaches
and maybe technologies.

In this concept, the website would act as one partner in a conversation, the
visitor as the other. We might even decide to have multiple
client-representatives participate in a conversation. The conversations
would be focussed on learning about, selecting and buying financial products.

(And before I go any further: no, we are not creating the new Boo.com! :-))

Depending on the available technology, combined with the amount of time and
effort required to implement the rules of the dialogue, we could design
anything from a fixed series of paths that a user is taken through (Q&A/IVR
style, with the user being limited to choosing one out of several possible
anwers) to a free-form interactive chat-session with either a 'bot' and/or
(at times) a live person on the client side.

I already know a bit about:
- speech-recognition technologies (including former local European players
like Lernout&Hauspie, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lernout_%26_Hauspie)
- smart conversation agents like SmarterChild (now owned by
http://www.colloquis.com/, look for their BuddyScript SDK)
- designing and builing multi-player applications and games (at Info.nl we
designed the Da Vinci Code multiplayer game in MSN Messenger that launched
all over Europe last May and until recently was playable in Brazil).

I could use suggestions about anything related to this idea, from what to
look for when writing scenarios for fixed conversations to pointers at
chat-software with built-in multi-lingual (or just Dutch) controlled
vocabulairies, and of course (public) examples of interactions with
dialogues.
Surprise me! :-)
Peter
-- 
Peter Boersma | Senior Experience Designer | Info.nl
Sint Antoniesbreestraat 16 | 1011 HB | Amsterdam, The Netherlands
p: +31-20-530 9100 | m: +31-6-15072747 | f: +31-20-530 9101
mailto:peter at peterboersma.com | http://www.peterboersma.com/blog