Download - Breaking the Fourth Wall in Software
Breaking The Fourth Wall In Software
Alex Bunardzic, February 24, 2016
https://twitter.com/alexbunardzichttps://medium.com/@alexbunardzic
Example
• Say we order something online• The next week we may be wondering about
the status of our order (hasn’t arrived yet)• We open a browser, go to the online store, log
in, try to navigate to the order status page• We have to wade through the jungle of
confusing menus, layouts, links etc. that keep changing constantly
Less Frustrating Example
• What if, instead of doing all of the above gymnastics, we just do the following
• Go to the command line (Messenger or Slack etc.) and type:
• ‘@merchant_name what’s the status of my order?’
• Let the merchant service (i.e. Amazon or Etsy etc.) do the legwork for us
Let’s Examine What Goes On In A Typical GUI Interface
• A user is presented with an Input field on the form
• This Input field is sometimes referred to as a Text Box
• The GUI listens to the user’s gestures and catches the ‘send’ or ‘submit’ gesture
• The GUI then sends text to the back end service layer
So GUIs Are Also Text-Driven
• Where do pixels come into play?• They’re being used as mere decoration• Often times pixels are used to sugar-coat the
web form and present it in a more familiar context
• Typically, emulating a paper form• Plus, it gives graphic designers the chance to
show off their chops
Remove Graphical Decorations And You’re Left With A Conversational Thread Between A User
And A Back-end Service
What Are The Advantages Of Conversational Interfaces?
• Intuitive• Sensitive to human frailty (the bot will try to
clarify its master’s requests if at first not understood)
• Familiar (everyone’s already fully accustomed to chatting with family/friends/coworkers)
• Consistent experience across all possible devices• Forever recorded in the fully personalized
discussion thread (full auditability)
Conversational Interface Offers Experience Uncannily Similar To Everyday Customer Support
• What does typically happen when calling customer support and not being able to resolve the issue?
• The issue gets escalated to the supervisor• Same thing happens with chatbots• When in doubt, they escalate the
question/issue to human customer support workforce
“We’re just getting people used to the idea that you can message more than just people on Messenger.”
Seth Rosenberg, Facebook Product Manager