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Interactive voice response (IVR) system usability study
Project type
Unmoderated Usability - Qualitative
Role
Senior Researcher
Stakeholders
Product Managers x2, Content Strategy
Business Problem
Long + costly customer service call times, high rate of agent transfers, low customer experience ratings
Impact
+35% increase in measured CSAT and -55% call transfers between agents
Tools & Methods: Unmoderated usability testing, scenario-based task design, voice/audio capture.
Adobe's customer support team had recently rolled out a new IVR system and was seeing a spike in agent-to-agent call transfers, alongside a noticeable dip in customer satisfaction. The team lacked clarity on what was going wrong in the user experience.
I was brought in to lead the end-to-end research effort—from scoping through synthesis—with the goal of identifying friction points in the IVR system and recommending improvements.
I designed and ran an unmoderated usability study that mimicked common call scenarios where transfers occurred most frequently. Participants called into the IVR while screen and voice recordings captured their experience in full context. Although IA testing was considered, I prioritized real-time interaction data to surface usability issues more directly aligned with customer pain points.
The study revealed several high-impact issues including fast-paced voice prompts, premature disconnections, and misleading wait time estimates. After implementing my recommendations, the team reported a significant drop in call transfers and a marked increase in customer satisfaction, along with reduced operational costs.