The Daily Conversation Design Challenge was created by well-known conversation designer, Hillary Black, and GoodRX content strategist, Ryan Farrell, in partnership with UX Writers Collective. I was the first person to complete it and was asked to write an article about it for the UXWC blog. Feel free to check it out for more insight into how I approached each day's challenge.
I had a lot of fun with the words on all the interfaces, which I designed using Figma 🎨 All solutions were reviewed by Hillary.
What I learnt
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How to write for voice user interfaces (VUIs)
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How to write for an SMS (text) bot experience
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How to use Botsociety's redesigned tool (I'd only used their previous version and had been using Botmock of late)
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How to design using Figma (I'd only used Adobe XD before)
Day 1: Welcome message
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Scenario: A user is exploring nearby museum websites and opens a certain museum's website chatbot widget.
Challenge: Write the welcome message that appears when a user opens the chatbot.
Requirements:
Message: 140 character limit
Button(s): 20 characters max (if needed)
Day 2: Re-engagement message
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Scenario: A user has previously used a supermarket's Messenger bot. This month, the supermarket is having a promotion and they want to send out alerts to all of their customers.
Challenge: Write a promotional notification message for a returning user that alerts them of a new online ordering feature and directs them to more information.
Requirements: 2 messages max, 200 character limit for each
Reasoning
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My aim here was to sound friendly, warm, and enthusiastic while highlighting how the new feature benefits the person.
I also wanted to offer an incentive to encourage them to act quickly.
Day 3: Instructions
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Scenario: A customer just checked their loyalty points online and it looks like they weren't credited for their most recent transaction. They pop open the website's chatbot which can help them solve this problem.
Challenge: We need to get the user's transaction number (found on their receipt) in order to credit the points to their account. Instruct them to send the information you need to help them out.
Requirements: 3 messages maximum, 200 character limit each
Reasoning
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My aim here was to be as clear and direct as possible. I even gave an example of the input needed to minimise the chance of errors and the bot running into problems, which would cause (more) frustration.
I knew there was no room for humour here, as the person could be annoyed they didn't get their points.
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Hillary also suggested having the bot show a photo of where on the receipt the transaction ID can be found, so I'll definitely keep that in mind.
Day 4: Human handoff
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Scenario: Your bot has failed, a lot. The user has grown frustrated so it's time to hand things off to a human to recover.
Challenge: Write the message that will hand off the user from the bot to a human agent.
Requirements: 1 message, 140 characters max
Reasoning
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My aim here was to acknowledge the person's frustration and transfer them to a human as soon as possible to avoid losing them.
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I also wanted to avoid being specific about the wait time to manage expectations and avoid causing further frustration.
Day 5: Contextual error message
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Scenario: A hotel chatbot is giving a user recommendations for places to stay based on a ZIP code they provide. This user typed in a 4-digit number instead of a valid, 5-digit ZIP code.
Challenge: Write an error message to explain what happened and get them back on track.
Requirements: 2 messages maximum, 140 character limit each
Reasoning
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My aim here was to avoid shaming the person for making a mistake and focus on getting them back on track by telling them what input Indya needs. I wanted to use informal language as well, as "valid" is a technical term.
I also saw this as a nice opportunity to add a bit of personality 🙂
Day 6: Turn taking
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Scenario: A user wants to rebook their airline flight, but before they do, we want to understand why they want to rebook, and when they want to fly. This will require more than one question, with the user replying to the question before moving on to the next one.
Challenge: Write the messages the chatbot will say to collect this information from the user (why they want to rebook and when they want to fly), and also what the user will say in response.
Requirements: 2-3 chatbot messages, 2 user replies.
Chatbot messages should be no longer than 200 characters each. If you choose to use buttons, 20 character limit on those.
Reasoning
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My aim here was to put the person at ease concerning why the bot wanted to know their reason for rebooking.
As for the second message, I wanted to minimise the chance of errors, so I made sure Jetta gave an example of how the person should enter the new date they'd like to fly. Ideally, though, I'd have Jetta show a calendar and let the person select available dates on it.
Day 7: Abandoned cart re-engagement
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Scenario: A user was shopping at your online jewelry store and added multiple items to their cart, but hasn’t completed the purchase and it’s been 20 hours. They have opted in to receive messages from your business, so you can send messages directly to them via SMS.
Challenge: Write an abandoned cart re-engagement message attempting to get the user back to your site to purchase their cart items.
Requirements: 1 message, 200 character limit.
Reasoning
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There are a number of reasons why a person would leave their cart. I didn't want to come across as nosy, and I certainly didn't want to shame them for not completing their purchase. I just wanted to give an incentive to encourage them to do so in a warm, friendly way.
Day 8: Double opt-in
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Scenario: You have a car wash business, and throughout the shop while customers wait for their car you have signage that prompts them to subscribe to text messages to receive coupons and access their membership number on their phone. They text “CARWASH” to your number to start a conversation.
Challenge: Write the first message the user will see.
Requirements: 1 message, 180 character limit. Must include a reply prompt (eg: reply YES) and an unsubscribe. No images or links.
Reasoning
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My aim here was to highlight the value of subscribing to the text messages, offer an immediate incentive for doing so, and add a bit of personality — all while complying with the double-opt-in law.
Day 9: Personalised recommendation
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Scenario: A user wants to order a bouquet from a flower delivery service chatbot. They have the option of selecting a size and a theme for the order and will then be presented with 3 recommendations they can choose from.
Challenge: Write the conversation that a user will have with the bot, starting from the first question the bot will ask (skipping the “hello” part). Find out what size arrangement they want and what gift theme. You can have the user reply with buttons or open text.
Requirements: Minimum 2 questions, 2 user responses. Reply confirmations/transition messages optional. Each message has a maximum of 140 characters, if you use buttons they are limited to 20 characters each.
Reasoning
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I had to do a little research here, as I didn't really know much about the flower industry.
My aim was for the bot to get the necessary info so it could give the person appropriate floral recommendations. There was an opportunity to add a bit of personality as well, which I grabbed with both hands.
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Hillary suggested including a way to help the person understand the difference between the various sizes, so I added a "Compare sizes" quick response to take care of that.
Day 10: Start command
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Scenario: A user has a robot vacuum at home, and they hooked it up to their smart speaker so they can start cleaning their home with a simple command (how futuristic!)
Challenge: Write the command the user says to their smart speaker to initiate the robot cleaning schedule. Then, write the reply that the speaker says confirming that it understood.
Requirements: 1 user command (be sure to state the name of the speaker first), 3 seconds maximum (about 7 words). 1 voicebot reply, 10 seconds maximum (about 25 words).
Conversation
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Person: "Alexa, start NeatFreak’s cleaning schedule."
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Alexa: "Ok, I’ve started NeatFreak’s schedule. It’s going to start cleaning the living room first, then the kitchen and the bedrooms. Watch your step!"
Reasoning
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This one was really fun! It was new territory for me, so I did a little research.
My aim was to have Alexa acknowledge the command and assure the person that it's being carried out. I also couldn't resist the chance to add some personality to the interaction.
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In using Botsociety, I played around with the various voice features (pitch, emphasis, and so on) to get Alexa to sound as human as possible. I also had her use informal language ("start" instead of "initiate").
Day 11: Multimodal login
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Scenario: A user would like to track their online orders using their smarthome "Smart Speaker" hub, but they have not set up this feature yet. In order to track, they will need to log in to their account using the app on their phone, so their speaker can access the information.
Challenge: Write the dialog the smart speaker will say to the user instructing them to log in to their account on their phone in the app. In addition, write the confirmation message they will receive from the speaker once they are logged in.
Requirements: 2 separate voicebot messages, each 10 seconds maximum (about 25 words).
Conversation
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Person: "Hey, Alexa, can you tell me when my iPhone 13 Pro and iPad Mini will get here?"
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Alexa: "Sure, I just need your order info. Sign in to your account in the Alexa app, and turn order notifications on. I’ll wait..."
*pause 6 seconds*
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Alexa: "Thanks, I have the info for all your orders now. Your iPhone 13 Pro and iPad Mini just arrived at your skybox for processing."
Reasoning
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This was new territory for me as well, so I did a little research. In the end, I wanted Alexa to avoid shaming the person for not setting up the feature before. I also wanted her to give simple, clear instructions to guide them toward fixing the problem.
In my second message, I wanted her to assure them they were successful in doing so, and to give them the order tracking info they asked for at the outset. I tried to get her to keep a nice, friendly tone throughout.
Day 12: Subscribe
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Scenario: You’re a beverage company and you’ve just chatted with a user — it went great! Now that you’ve completed the experience, here’s a chance to ask them to subscribe to your messages for future promotions and news.
Challenge: Create a message that asks the user to opt in for future communications from the brand.
Requirements: 1 message maximum, 200 character limit. Must be a question (most likely, a yes or no)
Reasoning
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My aim here was to highlight the value of subscribing (people like being first in line to get new things or the inside scoop) and offer an immediate incentive to encourage them to do so.
If they're not interested, I wanted it to be easy for them to turn the offer down and move on without feeling like they were shamed for doing so.
Day 13: Failure message or catch all
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Scenario: The user has said something that your bot doesn’t understand, bummer.
Challenge: Write the message the bot sends to the user when it does not understand what they are trying to do, and attempt to get the conversation back on track.
Requirements: 1-3 bot messages that should explain what has happened and attempt to get the user back into the experience.
Each message is limited to 140 characters, and if you decide to use buttons, 5 maximum, 20 characters each.
Reasoning
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My aim here was to come up with a friendly and helpful message that could suitably handle various situations where Jetta can't understand something the person said.
I wanted the message to be able to get the person back on track without causing them frustration, even if it meant contacting a human.
Day 14: Set a reminder
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Scenario: A user has enabled a to-do list app on their Smarthome Speaker so they can capture their daily tasks whenever they come to mind. Now that they have listed their options, they need to be prompted to set a reminder to actually get things done.
Challenge: Confirm to the user that you have captured their "to-do" (maybe you can even restate it to them), and then ask when they would like to be reminded to complete it.
Requirements: 2 separate voicebot messages, each 10 seconds maximum (about 25 words, minus repeating what the user says if you choose to include)
Conversation
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Person: "Hey, Alexa, set a to-do for me: I need to take the chicken out the freezer for dinner later."
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Alexa: "Ok, Doug, I’ve set your to-do to take the chicken out the freezer for dinner later.
"What time should I remind you to do that?"
Reasoning
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My aim here was to assure the person that their to-do was recorded. The fact that it was repeated to them should put them at ease.
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To make sure their to-dos actually get done, I wanted Alexa to be clear and direct in asking them for a specific time to give a reminder. "Later" could be any time, so I wanted to be specific to avoid confusion and resulting frustration.
I again played around with the various voice features to make sure Alexa sounded as human as possible.