Newer technologies are being developed all the time in order to help us in our daily tasks. Smart Assistant (SA) is one such broad category of devices which, when instructed through speech or command, perform certain tasks. Most SAs have two primary tasks: identify the user, and perform the taskcommunicated by the user. The task of identification can be achieved in severalways and one such method involves face recognition interface integrated within SA. Further interaction with the user is achieved via either a touch screen or a speech-based interface integrated within SA. Since the primary objective of a SA involves interaction with an individual user, it is necessary to identify users' concerns related to the usability of SA.In this thesis, the goal is to perform a usability study of Smart Assistant(SA) in the context of providing assistance in scheduling meetings at the workplace. Adopting a qualitative approach and we performed the usability study by designing a questionnaire to document public perception of new technologies like a smart assistant. We performed an online survey and collected responses from a section of the population. We also performed a similar survey with employees at Cybercom who have experience in interacting with the SAbeing developed in their company, and which is meant for providing assistance in scheduling meetings.In the process, we also provide relevant background literatureon human-computer interaction to contextualize the results of our survey. Themain outcome of this work is a list of guidelines to be followed for developing asocially interactive speech-based SA.The results of our survey indicate that there are several privacy and security related concerns that users have when using a face recognition interface and speech-based interaction. Although some of the concerns require technological advancements, a few of the concerns can be addressed by adopting certain suggested strategies.

Denna kandidatuppsats undersöker hur user experience kan främjas i ett adaptivt talbaserat system i en fordonskontext. Att undersöka och involvera user experiencei adaptiva talbaserade system är i synnerhet viktigt i denna kontext då den primära sysslan, att köra, bör störas så lite som möjligt. Ett adaptivt system ger möjlighet att effektivisera interaktion och ett talbaserat system låter föraren fokusera på trafiken.Genom att undersöka existerande teori och utföra empiriska undersökningar i form av användartester genom Wizard of Oz-tekniken och intervjuer har vi skapat designoch dialogexempel. Dessa förslag kan främja user experience och på så vis bidra till att den interaktion som sker är effektiv och behaglig. / This bachelor thesis aims to build an understanding how user experience can be promoted in an adaptive speech-based system, which is found in the context of an automobile. Investigating this particular context and system is of importance since the primary task is to drive safely and let the driver focus on driving rather than system. An adaptive system provides the opportunity to make the interaction more effective and a speech-based system lets the driver focus on the traffic environment. By studying relevant theory and by carrying out user tests, with the technique Wizard of Oz, we have drafted design and dialogue recommendations. These recommendations can promote user experience and make the interaction of the system more effective and pleasant. / Safe Speech for Knowledge (SSK)