Generalised Framework for Automated Conversational Agent Design via QFD

Automated conversational agents are often regarded as the most promising method of responding to customer queries with minimum human intervention. Focus of the existing literature is mostly on technological innovations such as artificial intelligence and learning. A generalized text based real-time conversational agent or a chatbot development framework can be both conceptually and practically appealing, as a way to develop technologies to improve the responsiveness and customer friendliness of the chatbots. Different forms of technological advancements could help the firms to deploy right chatbot technology with regard to the user requirements in their organizations. This paper explores some product design ideas such as Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Quality Function Deployment (QFD) drawn from industrial engineering literature for chatbot development.