The UX of Phone Trees

Designing Effective Phone Trees

In this video, the speaker discusses the challenges of designing effective phone trees and provides tips to improve their usability.

Challenges in Designing Phone Trees

• Phone trees are difficult and frustrating to use.

• Users can feel that nobody wants to take responsibility for their question when the first thing the phone tree tells them is to visit the company's website.

• Callers and organizations often have conflicting goals.

• People generally call because they have no other option.

Tips for Improving Phone Tree Usability

• Only provide a URL if it will take someone to a specific page with detailed information related to their interests that they have indicated with their phone tree selections.

• Allow users to make immediate selections in phone tree menus.

• Present menu options as unique and concise as possible.

• Frontload each menu option with task-related information and provide the selection number at the end.

Conclusion

• Simple usability testing on the phone tree for your organization is recommended.