Week #5 #

Feedback Collection #

This week, we focused on collecting feedback from various stakeholders to refine our bot further. We engaged with our Teaching Assistant (TA), mentor, and a few selected users to gather insights on user experience, functionality, and overall performance of the bot. This initial feedback phase was crucial for identifying areas of improvement and understanding user expectations.

Activities: #

• TA and Mentor Feedback: Demonstrated our prototype to our TA and mentor for their professional insights.
• User Testing: Selected a small group of users to test the bot and provide feedback on usability and functionality.

Gathered Feedback #

The feedback collected from our TA, mentor, and initial users was instrumental in shaping the next steps of our development process. Here’s a summary of the key points:

TA and Mentor Feedback: #

• Functionality: Commended the integration of all modules but highlighted some inconsistencies in the response format.
• User Interaction: Suggested improvements in handling multi-step interactions to make the conversation flow more natural.
• Error Handling: Noted the need for more robust error handling mechanisms to guide users when incorrect inputs are provided.

User Feedback: #

• User Interface: Users found the interface intuitive but recommended adding more interactive elements like buttons and images.
• Recommendation Quality: Feedback indicated that while the bot’s recommendations were useful, there was room for improvement in tailoring suggestions more closely to user preferences.
• Response Time: Some users experienced delays in response time, suggesting the need for performance optimization.

Conclusion: #

Right now, the major issue is the flexibility of user interaction with the bot. Although we have multi-step interactions, we need to include and test most of the ways regular users will make their requests and interact with the bot.

Progress Report #

Achievements: #

• Core Functionality: Successfully implemented and tested all basic functions of the bot. Major bugs related to connecting all three modules have been resolved.
• Quality Improvements: Began enhancing the quality of recommendations. Although the current recommendations are functional, they still need improvement to better meet user needs.
• Internal Testing: Conducted thorough internal testing to identify and fix bugs, ensuring the bot’s stability and reliability.
• UI Enhancements: Added buttons and photos of hotels in response to user feedback, improving the user interface and experience.

Next Steps: #

• Feature Enhancements: Continue improving the recommendation quality and user interface.
• Payment Mechanism: Add a payment mechanism to allow users to purchase trips directly through the bot.
• Testing and Refinement: Ongoing rigorous testing to find and fix more bugs, ensuring a smooth user experience.
• External Testing Preparation: Once core bugs are fixed, prepare for broader beta testing to gather extensive external feedback.