WO2004008417A1

WO2004008417A1 - Method and apparatus for obtaining a response from a subject

Info

Publication number: WO2004008417A1
Application number: PCT/IB2003/002717
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hendrik Johan Van Niekerk; Barend Jacobus Van Dyk; Johan Lötter WYBENGA; Nicolaas Wynand Bezuidenhout
Original assignee: Firstrand Bank Limited
Priority date: 2002-07-10
Filing date: 2003-07-10
Publication date: 2004-01-22
Also published as: AU2003244916A1; WO2004008417A8; AU2003244916A8; AP2005003216A0

Abstract

An input device comprises a housing on which is mounted a rotary knob. A pushbutton is mounted adjacent the knob to permit a person who has adjusted the knob to enter or save the value corresponding to the position of the knob. The knob is connected to a potentiometer which translates rotary movement into an electrical signal. A computer runs software which monitors the signals received from the knob and generates a display on the monitor which will typically be in the form of a thermometer or another well-known object. According to the position of the knob and the consequent signal from the transducer, the thermometer is depicted as being more or less 'full'. The software monitors the value of the input signal corresponding to the 'fullness' of the thermometer or container and records the value thereof, which corresponds to the subject's response to one or more questions.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING A RESPONSE FROM A

SUBJECT

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

THIS invention relates to a method of obtaining a response from a subject and to apparatus for implementing the method.

Throughout the retail industry, including the financial services sector, attempts are increasingly being made to maintain and improve customer service standards. This generally requires the monitoring of customer satisfaction and expectations, which is typically carried out using questionnaires and/or skilled interviewers. However, this is not without problems.

All questionnaires, whether paper based or interactive, require respondents to be literate. Major problems are experienced with interviewers who cannot speak respondents' home language, while the use of translation tends to render the meaning and interpretation of questions or answers problematic. The use of conventional measurement scales is problematic due to semantics. In general, existing research methods require a high degree of human participation which impacts on the reliability and validity and also the cost of such research.

It is an object of the invention to provide an alternative method and apparatus of obtaining a response from a subject such as a customer. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention there is provided a method of obtaining a response from a subject, the method comprising:

storing at least one predetermined question in an audio format;

replaying said at least one predetermined question to a subject;

generating a display which varies with operation of an input device by the subject according to the subject's response to said at least one predetermined question; and

recording data from the input device corresponding to the subject's response to said at least one question.

Preferably, the method comprises storing a plurality of predetermined questions.

The questions may comprise, for example, a customer survey or the like.

Preferably, the questions are stored in a plurality of different languages, the method including the step of receiving an input from the subject corresponding to a preferred language, and replaying the question to the subject in the preferred language.

Further according to the invention there is provided apparatus for obtaining a response from a subject, the apparatus comprising:

a storage device for storing data representing at least one predetermined question in an audio format;

audio output means for selectively replaying said at least one question to a subject; an input device operable by a subject in response to the replayed question or questions;

a processor for receiving input signals from the input device and generating display signals corresponding thereto; and

a display device responsive to the display signals to generate a display corresponding to the display signals.

The display preferably comprises a graphic signifying a relatively well- known article which can assume a number of possible states.

For example, the graphic may comprise a thermometer or a glass, bottle or other container which is depicted as being more or less full according to the subject's operation of the input device.

The input device may comprise a potentiometer or another transducer with an associated control such as a knob which can be operated easily by the subject.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a pictorial view of apparatus according to the invention for obtaining a response from a subject;

Figure 2 is a simplified block diagram of the apparatus of Figure 1 , showing its main functional components; and

Figure 3 is a pictorial view of an alternative embodiment of the apparatus of Figure 1. DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The present invention recognizes that the best method of tracking and monitoring the level of service experienced by customers of a business is to take statistically unbiased samples from the population of customers. These customers are questioned on their perception of the level of service and other related issues. Inevitably, a proportion of the customers will be illiterate or unfamiliar with the language used in typical questionnaires, or will be unfamiliar with the technology involved in interactive systems requiring the use of a touch screen or touch pad, for example.

An ideal system would not require a skilled interviewer, would not require customers to be able to read or write or operate sophisticated input devices, and should interact with the subject in his/her mother tongue.

Referring now to Figure 1 , an embodiment of apparatus according to the invention is shown. The illustrated embodiment is based on a conventional laptop or notebook computer 10, but could also be based on a conventional desktop personal computer (PC), an automatic teller machine (ATM) or another suitable device.

The laptop computer 10 has a monitor/display 12, a keyboard 14, built-in speakers 16 operated by a built-in sound card, and several input/output ports including one or more of a parallel port , a USB port and an RS-232 serial port. Such ports are typically accessed via appropriate sockets located along a side or rear edge of the computer 10.

The apparatus includes an input device 18 comprising a housing or box on which is mounted a large rotary knob 20. The knob 20 is sized to be gripped comfortably in the hand of a person who is not necessarily familiar with electronic equipment. A pushbutton 42 is mounted adjacent the knob 20 to permit a person who has adjusted the knob 20 to the correct position to enter or save the value corresponding to the position of the knob. A cable 22 terminating in a suitable plug 24 is connected to the computer 10 via one of the abovementioned ports.

Referring now to Figure 2, the contents of the housing of the input device 18 are shown in greater detail. The knob 20 is connected to a transducer 26 which is typically a potentiometer, an optical encoder or another transducer which translates rotary movement of the knob into an electrical signal. An analogue to digital converter 28 is connected to the transducer and converts the analogue input signal from the transducer (a resistance value in the case of a potentiometer) into a digital value. In the prototype system, the resolution of the analogue to digital converter was 8 bits or greater, and the status of the input device was sampled at a frequency of 10 Hz or greater. A durable plastic film potentiometer was utilized. An interface circuit 30 receives the output of the analogue to digital converter 28 and transmits it to the relevant port 32 of the computer 10.

The computer 10 runs purpose written software which monitors the signals received at the port 32 and which generates a display on the monitor/display 12 which will typically be in the form of a thermometer 34 as illustrated, or alternatively another well-known object such as a bottle, hourglass or other container or indicator. According to the position of the knob 20 and the consequent signal from the transducer 26, the thermometer or other device is depicted as being more or less "full", either in a substantially continuously variable display, or in a predetermined number of discrete steps. The software monitors the value of the input signal corresponding to the "fullness" of the thermometer or container and records the value thereof, which corresponds to the subject's response to one or more questions.

In practice, the operator simply has to inquire of the subject as to which language he/she prefers. A corresponding language selection is made by the operator, using the keyboard or another input device, and a predetermined introduction is then played to the subject, explaining that one or more questions will now be asked, and that the subject should indicate the extent of his/her agreement or disagreement with the question or statement by rotating the knob to cause the display to vary. A "full" display signifies complete agreement, while an "empty" display signifies complete disagreement. However, the display is not calibrated and is adjusted intuitively by the subject, rather than in accordance with a number of predetermined and prescribed levels or graduations.

A first question is now replayed to the subject via the sound card and speakers of the computer 10, and the subject is allowed a period of time to adjust the input device to a position corresponding to his/her response. The subject then operates the confirmatory pushbutton 42 (or another control) to indicate that the current reading is his/her response, or the operator can push the "enter" key on the computer 10 or otherwise accept the reading. Alternatively, after a predetermined period of time, or after the position of the input device has stabilized for a period of time, the reading from the input device is accepted. In either case a numeric value corresponding to the subject's response is stored on the hard drive of the computer.

Any desired number of further questions can be put to the subject in the same way. Once the final question has been put to the subject, a record comprising relevant data, either identifying the subject or, possibly, the category of service utilized by the customer, is created together with the responses to the predetermined questions. This record can be transmitted to a central database 34 via a network, or may be collected and uploaded to the database from time to time for statistical analysis. The database can be accessed by the operator of the computer 10 so that the operator can view relevant statistics of user responses.

An alternative embodiment of the input device 18 is shown in Figure 3. This version of the device also has a large user-adjustable rotary knob 20, but includes an hourglass-shaped window in which an indicator 38 is visible. The indicator 38 moves up or down in the window to fill the window to a greater or lesser extent as the knob 20 is turned. Optionally, graduations 40 can be provided adjacent the window, as illustrated, in order that a user can adjust the device more accurately, but the intention is again that the input device can be operated intuitively, with the "fullness" or "emptiness" of the window corresponding to the response of a subject operating the device. Like the input device of Figure 1 , the input device of Figure 3 has a pushbutton 42 which is operated by the subject to confirm his/her response as input via the knob 20.

It will be appreciated that the use of this embodiment of the input device makes the generation of a display on a monitor or elsewhere redundant, although this may still be preferred for convenience.

Instead of an input device comprising a separate housing with a knob or other control on it, other input devices such as a touch screen with suitable "buttons" or other controls displayed thereon, or another display such as a display screen of an ATM with a suitable control mounted nearby could be used to implement the invention.

In the prototype system, the following basic information was recorded for each interview session: Date, Name of Branch, Region, Number of Respondents. The information obtained from each of four subjects answering five different questions, for example, would be represented by numeric values for the subjects' answers to each question, saved as a text file in the following format:

1 , Time, Question 1 , Question 2, Question 3, Question 4, Question 5

2, Time, Question 1 , Question 2, Question 3, Question 4, Question 5

3, Time, Question 1 , Question 2, Question 3, Question 4, Question 5

4, Time, Question 1 , Question 2, Question 3, Question 4, Question 5

The text file is transmitted over the network or otherwise transferred to the central database, where it is imported to a suitable application such as Excel or Access (trade marks) for further analysis. The questions will typically be designed to provide various types of information, including the following:

1. Real-time information on key performance areas, such as staff satisfaction, customer satisfaction, and staff performance.

2. Information on Business Units and product performance.

3. Information regarding opinions and needs of customers, for example, service needs and product needs.

4. Information used to deliver superior customer experience.

5. Information for determining and facilitating cross-selling opportunities.

6. Information for assisting in segmentation of the market.

7. Information relating to customer likes and dislikes.

8. Information relating to product, service and organisational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and strengths.

Of course, the above are merely examples of the kind of information which could be gathered using the invention.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A method of obtaining a response from a subject, the method comprising:

storing at least one predetermined question in an audio format;

replaying said at least one predetermined question to a subject;

2. A method according to claim 1 further comprising storing a plurality of predetermined questions.

3. A method according to claim 2 wherein the questions comprise a customer survey or the like.

4. A method according to claims 1 to 3, wherein the questions are stored in a plurality of different languages, the method including the step of receiving an input from the subject corresponding to a preferred language, and replaying the question to the subject in the preferred language.

5. Apparatus for obtaining a response from a subject, the apparatus comprising:

a storage device for storing data representing at least one predetermined question in an audio format; audio output means for selectively replaying said at least one question to a subject;

an input device operable by a subject in response to the replayed question or questions;

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the display comprises a graphic signifying a relatively well-known article which can assume a number of possible states.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein the graphic comprises a thermometer, a glass, a bottle or other container which is depicted as being more or less full according to the subject's operation of the input device.

8. Apparatus according to any of claims 5 to 7 wherein the input device comprises a potentiometer or another transducer with an associated control which can be operated easily by the subject.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the input device is a knob.

10. A method of obtaining a response from a subject substantially as herein described with reference to the illustrated embodiments.

11. Apparatus for obtaining a response from a subject substantially as herein described with reference to the illustrated embodiments.