Why do People Dial Wrong Numbers

What is the lowest error rate that might reasonably be expected when people use an interactive voice response (IVR) system? What are some of the sources of errors during touch-tone entry? This paper addresses the most fundamental aspect of an IVR dialogue, the errors arising from the use of the touch-tone pad itself. Data are reported that provide baseline error rates and digit entry performance measures. A model of the process of entering a simple string is derived, and it fits the data well. This model suggests where errors might arise during more complex IVR dialogues and parameters that will be useful in predicting performance when comparing IVR dialogue designs.

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