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Abstract
This research explores how Voice User Interface (VUI) and Graphical User Interface (GUI) can be combined into a multimodal user interface to improve usability and user experience, specifically for mental health professionals working with patients who have Neurodevelopmental Disorders (NDD). These patients often face significant challenges in expressing their emotions or thoughts, making it difficult for therapists to fully understand their mental state. To address this, the study focuses on creating an intuitive and effective interface that allows professionals to dynamically generate, modify, approve, and save AI-generated illustrations representing patients’ emotions and thoughts.
Using a Human-Centered Design (HCD) approach, the study involved iterative prototype development and evaluation. By combining qualitative and quantitative data collection through observation, surveys, and semi-structured interviews, feedback was gathered from participants using standardized tools like the System Usability Scale (SUS) and the User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ). Participants included psychologists, therapists, and medical students, providing a comprehensive perspective on the system’s usability and user experience.
The findings highlight the importance of integrating VUI and GUI to overcome the limitations of relying solely on one modality. The multimodal interface significantly improved accessibility and usability, offering a more inclusive solution for therapeutic communication. This thesis contributes to the field by providing actionable design recommendations for multimodal systems, with the potential to inform future research and development in mental health applications and beyond.
