Task Switching in Audio Based Systems

The worker on the move has an ever-increasing need to access information, such as instructions on how to process with a task. The use of audio to convey that information and for interaction has many advantages over traditional hands&eyes devices, especially if the user needs his hands to perform a task. In this paper, we focus on a task model stored in a workflow engine. The execution of a task is often interrupted by external events or by the user who wants to suspend a task or switch to another one. If the user wants to resume the task he has to be aware of his current position in the workflow. Due to the transient nature of speech, he does not have the possibility to review what he has done before in audio-only systems. In this paper, we present a novel approach, based on psychological theories, to assist the user to get back into the context of an interrupted task. The usability of this recovery concept was successfully tested in a user study.