Conceptualization and Measurement of Voice-Interaction Usability: The Development of Cooperative Principle Theory for Smart Product Use

The usability of voice interaction is critical for consumers to have a satisfactory experience when interacting with voice-controlled smart products. However, voice interaction from the user’s perspective is underresearched and there are no existing scales to measure voice-interaction usability. This study uses a mixed methods approach to explore the construct of voice-interaction usability and establish a scale that can be used for measuring it. We first developed voice-interaction usability dimensions based on user reviews by using a coding technique that stems from grounded theory and then set up a classification of voice-interaction usability with five dimensions and 13 subdimensions based on cooperative principle theory. After developing the multilevel dimensions, we collected and examined multiple rounds of survey data to develop and validate a voice-interaction usability scale. This study enhances cooperative principle theory by extending the four-principle framework, developing the subdimensions of the framework in the human-machine voice-interaction context, and operationalizing the dimension concepts by developing the associated scales. The voice-interaction usability scale not only contributes to research on users’ behavior and experience with voice-controlled smart products but also provides insights to improve the design of voice-interaction functions.