8 Streamlining complex flows

 

This chapter covers

  • The effect of complexity for end users
  • The effect of complexity for the business and support teams
  • How to trade off conversational feel versus complex implementation
  • How to simplify the user’s journey

Unnecessary complexity is painful for chatbot users and builders alike, and it often leads to bad business outcomes or delays in the deployment timeline. Building a conversation that feels simple and natural requires thoughtful design and empathy for the user’s situation. As designers and builders of these solutions, we aim to create an experience that helps a user reach their goal with the least amount of hassle or difficulty. Why should we be so accommodating? Because we need users to adopt or accept the solution in order to justify the cost of maintaining the technology.

Users will associate a “natural” conversational experience with “simple” or “easy to use.” An interface that is easy to use tends to result in the most successful outcomes. Conversely, an experience that has not properly considered the user’s perspective often feels disorienting, unnatural, and perhaps overly complicated. This can cause users to escalate, abandon the conversation, or fail to reach an optimal outcome.

8.1 The pain of complexity

8.1.1 Complexity’s effect on the end user

8.1.2 Complexity’s effect on business metrics

8.1.3 The incremental cost and benefit of reducing complexity for the user

8.2 Simplifying and streamlining the user journey

8.2.1 Spotting complex dialogue flows

8.2.2 Using what is known about the user

8.2.3 Aligning with the user’s mental model

8.2.4 Allowing flexibility in the expected user responses

8.2.5 Supporting self-service task flows with API/backend processes

Summary