Design Recommendations for a Computer-Based Speech Training System Based on End-User Interviews Elina Eriksson 1 , Olle Bälter 1 , Olov Engwall 2 , Anne-Marie Öster 2 and Hedvig Sidenbladh-Kjellström 1 1 Interaction and Presentation Laboratory Nada, KTH (Royal Institute of Technology) SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden +46 8 790 6341 {elina, balter, hedvig}@kth.se 2 Centre for Speech Technology (CTT) TMH, KTH (Royal Institute of Technology) SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden +46 8 790 7565 {olov, annemarie}@speech.kth.se ABSTRACT This study has been performed in order to improve the usability of computer-based speech training (CBST) aids. The aim was to engage the users of speech training systems in the first step of creating a new CBST aid. Speech therapists and children with hearing- or speech impairment were interviewed and the result of the interviews is presented in the form of design recommendations. Keywords Computer-based speech training system, user involvement, user-centered design, articulatory training INTRODUCTION Unintelligible speech makes it difficult for an individual to fully function in a social setting and can be a social handicap. Difficulties in producing the different speech sounds and problems modifying the pronunciation may arise from the individual not hearing what is wrong because of reduced hearing or learning a language different from the mother tongue. Speech therapists and language teachers can help to correct the pronunciation, but the amount of help that they can provide is limited. Some children with speech deficits meet the therapist as little as 30 minutes a month. Speech learning and speech training can be improved by the use of another modality than hearing. Due to the problems hearing the mispronunciation, it is important to show where and how the articulation is produced and how different speech sounds differ from each other. The most important parts of the learning process are feedback of the articulation and repeated practice, which is performed with the help of a therapist. There is a wide consensus that computer-based speech training (CBST) systems are useful tools in speech training. However, they are not suitable for all the needed exercises and a major drawback is that they usually require help from educated personnel. From an interaction designer’s perspective we would like to raise the question if these systems are as usable as possible. CBST systems are today widely used in speech training for children with a hearing or speech impairment. Examples of such commercially available systems are SpeechViewer [1], developed by IBM in the 1980s and Box of Tricks [17] that was developed in the EU-project SPECO completed in 2001 with participating universities from Sweden, England, Hungary and Slovenia. Other systems developed include the Indiana Speech Training Aid (ISTRA) [18], the Speech Illumina Mentor (SIM) [16], the Speech Training, Assessment, and Remediation system (STAR) [3], and the OLP-method [12]. Both SpeechViewer and Box of Tricks are extensively used and acknowledged in speech training. But can the systems help the speech therapist and their students in all situations? From an interaction designer’s point of view, the development of many CBST systems seem to be driven by what is technologically possible rather than what is important for the users. This leads to systems that are advanced and useful, but not necessarily easy to use. Within the discipline of human-computer interaction (HCI), user involvement has been used as a way to ensure that the system is developed to be suitable not only to the task at hand, but also to the user and the environment around the user [7]. Central in this idea is that user involvement must begin as early as possible in the designing process, and that this involvement should continue until the system is finished [14]. When it comes to user involvement, SpeechViewer has been developed with “… extensive pilot testing and user feedback” [1, p. 984]. For Box-of-Tricks the developers report that they have been in close contact with speech therapists, and that the therapists have had the opportunity