Dialogue modelling for information access

This paper describes a dialogue modelling approach to information access. We apply this approach to the design of software used by management professionals for whom technology should be seen and not learnt. From dialogue data we identify context and mutual coverage as key dialogue features for this class of interface. We compare the handling of these features by existing systems, describe a novel query mechanism called Query By Format and conclude with the results of an evaluation study noting its strengths and weaknesses.