As part of Arizona State University's Arizona Water Innovation Initiative, the AZ Water chatbot is essential for addressing Arizona's water challenges. I spearheaded efforts to enhance the chatbot, aiming to boost trust, credibility, and awareness among Arizona residents. My role in design and product strategy focused on defining and prototyping innovative features to modernize and transform the chatbot, ensuring its future effectiveness and relevance.

rESEARCH

conversational design

Website DESIGN

live project

Arizona - ai
water chatbot

2024

Project brief

The Arizona Water Chatbot, developed by ASU's interdisciplinary team, helps with water and drought decisions amid a historic megadrought. It uses OpenAI’s technology for accurate, secure information and includes perspectives from Arizona’s 22 tribal communities.

timeframe

3 Months

My role

UX Researcher
UI Designer
Conversational Designer
(Lead Interviews, Scoping, Visual Design, Prototyping)

The team

Dr. Claire Lauer - Product Manager
Pranav Suresh - UX Researcher and Visual Designer
Ria Sathya - Research Assistant

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Why this chatbot and
What inspired this initiative?

Arizona faces severe water scarcity due to drought, climate change, and population growth. To tackle these challenges, we created the Arizona Water Chatbot, inspired by the need for accessible and accurate information on water conservation. This friendly technology equips residents and policymakers with the tools and knowledge to manage water resources sustainably. The chatbot aims to provide timely guidance, helping individuals and communities make informed decisions for effective water management and conservation efforts.

Here's the link to the news report by FOX 10

design method

Is the chatbot effective?

To address this question effectively, we conducted Primary user research and user testing of the existing platform to understand Arizona residents' knowledge about water, technology and identify future opportunities for the product to meet their expectations. I led the research among 10 participants, all native Arizona residents, ensuring the product development was aligned with their specific needs and perspectives. This approach allowed us to gather valuable insights and tailor the chatbot to effectively serve the community it was designed for.

User Demographics

Our primary user base selected for the user testing was from Phoenix, Prescott, North Arizona, and Tuscon.

There were Students, Resident who were native residents and also ones lived for more than 7 years along with Business owners and Government Officials.

Understanding the User

The primary research provided deep insights into users' mental models, revealing both strengths and areas for improvement in the product's design and functionality.
Below are the what the user knows about certain topics related to Water in Arizona.

Poeple having knowedge on Arizona Crisis and water related topics

Here are some interesting insights derived from the user research.

30%

Were interested in environmental and water related topics.

50%

Were familiar and likely to use chatbot technology.

20%

Considered using social platforms like Facebook and Whatsapp as their source of information.

Testing the Product

The user testing sessions provided valuable insights into the issues users face when interacting with the chatbot and the types of questions they commonly ask. This feedback was critical to broaden the chatbot's scope, improving user experience, and ensuring the product meets users' needs effectively.
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Below are the questions which users asked the chatbot.

Questions asked by users to inital chatbot

"I liked the information the chatbot provided, but it would be more reassuring if the sources were mentioned. Knowing where the data comes from would make it feel more trustworthy. " - User 1

"I often doubt the reliability of chatbot responses since I can’t verify their sources. It would be helpful to have a way to check the information’s origin to boost my confidence in its accuracy. " - User 2

What did we do next?

Chatbot Audit was made with the initial chatbot to identify design and functionality issues. Several factors were found that made the chatbot less effective and trustworthy during its initial release. These were majorly surface notable usability and heuristic issues.

If User Error occurs, chatbot does not allow users to easy escape or ability to edit their text.

Questions asked by users to inital chatbot 2

Questions asked by users to inital chatbot 3

- This section contains a significant amount of text. The details within this section may not be immediately visible to users.
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- When user clicks “New Chat” or closes the browser, the previous chat is cleared and lost.

These prompts would look unnoticed and not easily understandable by the user.

Key Observations

Not following ASU Guidelines

More Response time

Trust issue due to source credibility

Off Topic and straight Responses

The challenges

Balancing the varying priorities of ASU faculty, Government agencies, and water management experts is challenging.

Faculties prioritize educational outcomes, government agencies ensure compliance with regulations, and water experts needed to emphasize the accuracy of information. Harmonizing these differing perspectives required careful coordination to ensure that the chatbot meets all stakeholder expectations while maintaining a cohesive design.

Adapting to constantly changing water management and data privacy regulations.

The chatbot responses had to comply with new laws and changes in existing regulations, which required regular updates and revisions to both the functionality and data handling processes.

Maintaining ASU's brand guidelines while using a different mascot than the Sun Devil or Forks Up posed a challenge.

It was difficult to introduce a new character that still aligns with the university's visual and cultural standards. Ensuring the new mascot fits seamlessly within ASU's branding while being distinct required careful design choices and creativity to maintain brand consistency without diluting the university's branding.

the design

Wireframing

Started off with rough sketches and wireframing using the gathered data from research and user testing. We then addressed the identified problems, ensuring adherence to both ASU design guidelines and design principles.

High Fidelity Screens

The wireframes were developed into high-fidelity screens using Figma. Conversational design was also considered, as many responses were straightforward and difficult to read. This approach aimed to reduce cognitive load and enhance learnability for users.

The redesigned screen will feature increased white space and include elements such as a help tip section in the bottom right corner to assist users in understanding the functions of actionable items. It will provide a concise overview of the product and include a dropdown section for information on how it works, frequently asked questions, resources, and history.

The sources section of the product has been redesigned, allowing users to easily view and click on them by pressing the actionable button for the response, enhancing the chatbot's trustworthiness.

User Testing

Right after the designs were finalized and pushed to development, we conducted an eye-tracking test to understand how users interacted with the interface and to identify any visual elements that might attract or distract attention. This allowed us to gather precise data on gaze patterns, which informed our insights into the effectiveness of our design in guiding users through key tasks. By analyzing the eye-tracking data, we were able to refine our design further, ensuring that critical elements were positioned intuitively and that the overall user experience was optimized for ease of use and engagement.

"The new interface is fantastic! It’s intuitive and easy to navigate, with all the information I need right where I expect it to be. The design makes completing tasks effortless. Great job on creating such a user-friendly experience! " - User 1

"The mascot looks cute and friendly" -- User2

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RESULTS

+200

uSS (User satisfaction score)

+80%

Completion Rate

90%

Response Accuracy

4.2/5

Feedback Score

Learnings

From the Arizona Water Chatbot project, I learned that user feedback is vital for creating technology solutions that truly meet user needs. Challenges like balancing diverse stakeholder priorities and maintaining ASU's brand while using a different mascot taught me the importance of adaptability and creative problem-solving. Detailed usability testing and competitive analysis were key in refining the product, while the challenges of real-time data integration underscored the need for seamless, personalized user experiences. Additionally, I realized that crafting natural, intuitive dialogues in the chatbot significantly boosts user engagement and satisfaction.

Future Scope

The Arizona Water Chatbot has been successfully developed and launched to the public, demonstrating its potential to revolutionize the way users access and interact with water-related information. Its debut at numerous conferences has showcased how AI-driven chatbots can positively impact lives by providing timely and accurate information, thus enhancing user engagement and satisfaction.

Marketing and Adoption
‍The chatbot has been actively marketed to ensure widespread adoption, emphasizing its benefits in delivering efficient and personalized water information. This marketing effort aims to reach a broad audience, encouraging more users, business and Government officials to integrate the chatbot into their daily routines.

The further expansion of the product would be majory on accessibility
Introducing Voice to Search, Making the chatbot multilingual since the state of Arizona has people talking in Spanish, Having advanced analytical visualization.

EXPLORE THE PROTOTYPE HERE

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