It's not the technology or the designers, but the short-sighted, financially strapped vendors deploying IVR (Interactive Voice Response) who are responsible for the negative attitude toward them currently in the public's minds. Yes, technology used to be an obstacle, especially since expectations of HAL had to be overcome from the start. Yes, some designers made poor decisions that were outed by countless usability studies and surveys. However, today, technology from text-to-speech to speech recognition and beyond is truly living up to its potential and even the costs of deployment have been dramatically reduced.

More can be done with less these days. A great design will get around many older technology problems if you can't put your money there and great technology can likewise improve user satisfaction when the design is lackluster. Also, designers have recognized the errors of their ways and are coming together to discuss their findings and publish recommendations based on them.

Despite what Paul English may have you believe, no one is out there willingly deploying systems with 10-year-old technology and design. However, 10-year-old systems do remain out there because companies don't have the funds or vision to replace or upgrade, instead choosing only to make the problem worse by adding pieces indiscriminately, only adding to the already inconsistent, difficult to navigate interfaces. This session will point out the flaws in the Gethuman Standard and provide motivation and tips to design and improve your systems in the face of the current backlash against all things VUI.