Designing

Conversational
Solutions
POSITIONING
Part 1
Dialog is so much more than ‘chit chat’
What is ‘positioning’ ?
• Positioning is about determining how the solution should relate to the user, and behave in
the interaction with the user
• Positioning is NOT the same as Tone and personality
– The tone and personality of the responses should flow from, and express, the
positioning
• Getting the positioning right is key to leveraging the benefits of conversational interaction
Positioning, together with tone and personality,
and UI behaviour, creates the ‘feel’ of the
overall solution for the end user
What is ‘positioning’ ?
• Positioning a conversational solution involves …
– Defining the purpose of the solution – the ‘job description’
– Identifying the viewpoint of the solution – what role should the solution adopt in
relation to the end user; where does the solution ‘sit’ in relation to the end user and
the client
– Specifying how proactive (‘lean forward’) the solution should be

These elements work together to determine

the overall behaviour of the solution,
and how it relates to the user
What is ‘positioning’ ?
• The concept of positioning can be difficult to grasp at first
– It’s the part of designing a conversational solution which is farthest removed from
hands-on-keyboard developing
– It involves a combination of business analysis and strategy, and an understanding
of the human factors in involved in human-computer interaction
– There are multiple, interrelated elements to consider
– Some of the concepts involved are subtle
 Getting the positioning right is KEY to
the success of a conversational solution
 Let’s look at …

1.Defining the purpose

2.Identifying the viewpoint
3.Specifying proactivity
Conversational solutions should have a clear purpose,
a well-defined job to do
Defining the purpose
• You may be tempted to say …
– “The purpose of the solution is just to answer questions”
– “The purpose of the conversational stuff is just to make it seem more friendly”
– “We’re only adding the conversational stuff because the client expects it –
it doesn’t really have a job to do”

BUT …
Defining the purpose
1. Think about the role of conversational interaction
– Why do we include welcome statements and chit chat?
– To make the solution seem more human-like, engaging
– To make the solution look more intelligent
– Why do we use disambiguation and process flows?
– To help facilitate understanding by clarifying the user’s questions
– To guide users to information that we want them to have
– To help users complete a process that we want
them to complete
Defining the purpose
2. Think back to the Introduction – What does your client wants to achieve by using
Watson?
– To reduce costs by the number of calls to the call centre and call handling times …
and/or
– To attract new target segments … and/or
– To impress potential users and be seen as innovative and future-focused
… and/or
– To increase loyalty and user engagement with their brand
 To address the client's needs and deliver
real value, the solution needs to do more than
welcome the user, answer questions, and engage
in some chat chat
The conversational interaction must be specifically
designed to address the client’s needs
and ensure they are getting
the most from their Watson solution
( In fact, the solution should meet the
needs of three parties –
The client
The end user
… and IBM )
Defining the purpose
• Some clients will have an idea of the purpose they think their solution should have – they
may or may not be on the right track

• Some clients will have an idea of the outcomes they want – but have no clear idea of the
role the conversational interaction needs to play in achieving those outcomes

• Your task is to provide clear, confident guidance to clients on the purpose

of the solution and of the conversational interaction
YOU must provide the vision for the
conversational interaction –
what it can achieve for the client,
and how it will do it
Defining the purpose
Listen to your client …
– Listen to several different client stakeholders
– Find out the problem they want to solve (the one/s they have identified)
– Dig around for other pain points
– Sometimes the problem the client has identified is not a problem that is
best addressed with a conversational solution … OR
– Solving the problem the client has identified won’t have as big an impact
as the client thinks it will … AND
– Having additional pain points to address may provide the opportunity to
add extra value for the client for little additional effort
– Try to draw out their vision, their ‘hopes and dreams’ for what the solution will
achieve, behave like, feel like for their users
Defining the purpose
Questions to ask yourself and your colleagues
•About the client
– What is the problem that the client wants to solve?
– What are the client's other pain points?
– What actions/behaviors do they want the end user to take?
– What is the client hoping that the solution will achieve?
– What is the client’s vision for the technology in their business – their hopes and
dreams?
– What would exceed their expectations?
– What would firmly embed Watson into their business – now and into the future?
Defining the purpose
Questions to ask yourself and your Watson colleagues
•About the end user
– What are the end user’s pain points?
– What would make their relationship with the client easier?
– What would increase their loyalty to the client?
– What would encourage them to take the actions the client wants them to take?
– What would make them feel comfortable with and confident in the technology?
– What would impress and delight them?
Defining the purpose
Questions to ask yourself and your Watson colleagues
•About the solution
– What specific job – or jobs – does solution needs to do? E.g.
– Encourage the user to complete an online form or process
– Persuade the user to purchase a product or service
– Prequalify the user for something
– Engage the user and generate interest in something
– Educate or inform the user
– Entertain the user
Defining the purpose
Questions to ask yourself and your colleagues
•About the IBM’s best interests
– How can you best apply Watson technology to best …
– Solve the client’s pain points
– Solve the end user’s pain points
– Reflect well on the client
– Reflect well on Watson technology
– Help ensure a lasting – and growing – place for
Watson in the client’s business
Defining the purpose
Case Study – UniCredit Prototype

Client’s Problem: In Italy, the process of getting a mortgage is very long and convoluted,
for both the bank customer and the branch manager. Life-time renting is common. A lot of
bank customer give up part-way through the mortgage application process

Client’s Vision: UniCredit wants to leverage Watson technology to increase the number of
customers who complete the mortgage application process, and assist branch managers in
their mortgage-related work
Defining the purpose
Case Study – UniCredit Prototype

•Initial Dialog scope – before conversation design:

– Purpose: To answer questions about mortgages
– Conversational elements: Intro statements, some off-topic Q&A, a simple process
flow to help customers choose a mortgage
Defining the purpose
Case Study – UniCredit Prototype

•Revised Dialog scope after conversation design:

– Primary purpose: Watson should act as a facilitator in the relationship between the
branch manager and the bank, to support both parties through the process
– Conversation design:
– Watson proactively drives the conversation with the customer, guiding them
through processes, asking questions, suggesting things they might want to
know about, or need to do; provides up-to-date information to keep the
customer informed about the process and next steps
– Watson proactively prompts the branch manager with information and
reminders and the customer’s mortgage application and required next steps
with customer and bank manager
Defining the purpose
Case Study – UniCredit Prototype

•Result:
– The conversational part of the solution took a leading and guiding role, with the
long-tail solution providing on-topic question-answering capability
– The scope leveraged the technology to address the client’s problem in a way that
met the client’s vision and showed the power of Watson technology in this context

And …

– Ultimately, the client signed up for long-term transformation of its business using
Watson cognitive technology
Defining the purpose
Other examples

•Swiss Re prototype
– Gather information and, at the same time, subtly educate the user, so that at the
end of the conversation the user is likely to take a next step

•Barclays Bank HILDA

– Motivate and encourage users as they complete a tedious online process; answer
off-topic questions users ask to test the solution

•Lloyds Bank prototype

– Ask potentially-confronting challenge questions to authenticate users without
damaging the user’s relationship with the client
 Explicitly defining the purpose will help you
design a coherent solution that
meets the needs of the client, the users …
– and IBM
 Let’s look at …

1.Defining the purpose

2.Identifying the viewpoint
3.Specifying proactivity
Resources
[To be finalised]
•WGPT site and resources
•Links to Watson implementations
•Links to other virtual agents
•Links to other enablement
•Other documentation?