Mental Models and Home Virtual Assistants (HVAs)

This study examines how users interact with Google Home, which is a type of home virtual assistant (HVA). Users are expected to speak to HVAs in a conversational manner; however, there has been little research looking at users' mental models for what kinds of interactions they think the devices are capable of. To investigate users' mental models, I conducted user study sessions in which I gave novice users several tasks to complete, and asked them to think aloud as they completed those tasks. I elicited two mental models (push, pull) from verbal strategies they use to complete the task. My findings help to better understand why users may be reluctant to use HVAs, and provide design guidance for future conversational interfaces.