Report generation using multi-modal data entry for office systems

The purpose of the paper is to introduce work from the ongoing Tentalus project, which aims to explore multi-modal user interfaces (or MMUI´s) in the context of report generation by a professional. The paper emphasises the user interface issues regarding such MMUI´s, as well as the problems involved with the integration of multiple modes of data entry into one system such that the user can choose which mode to use to enter data. A range of user interface components available to the system designer are assessed to characterise their relative merits, with a view to preparing their optimised combination. Data entry devices discussed are: speech recognition, bar code reader technology, pen-based character recognition, the QWERTY keyboard, and mouse-activated pull-down lists