The impact of the sonification of a vocal server on its usability and its user-friendliness

This paper deals with the evaluation of the impact of the addition of eight sounds in a vocal server on its usability and user-friendliness. Thirty-two subjects tested two versions of a voicemail service through eight scenarios, with and without sounds. Three types of data were collected: behavioral data, declarative data (answers to questionnaires), and galvanic skin responses. The main results show a learning effect from one version to another that is not dependent on the versions tested. No effect of the sonification on the usability and on the perceived user-friendliness of this voicemail server was found.