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30/04/08 - Speech Recognition faster more accurate than typing

SANDY PARK, 9 APRIL 2008
TALKINGPOINT EXPERIMENT
TALKING vs TYPING

SUMMARY.

The experiment produced three very clear conclusions:

TalkingPoint is very much faster than typing.  There is a huge variation in typing ability with the maximum speed for the average executive being no more than 50 words per minute and the average about 40 words per minute.

TalkingPoint speeds are consistent and not dependent on skill. Without training the same executives are able to create text through speech recognition at 125 words per minute with very little variation between individuals.

TalkingPoint is more accurate than typing.  In every case there were the same or fewer mistakes made when using speech recognition.

 

Introduction

A seminar was held by Voicescene Ltd prior to the monthly Exeter Business Network lunch.  A controlled experiment was set up to measure the difference in performance between typing and dictating using speech recognition.

The Experiment

Text totalling 121 words was presented to the participants.  The text was unseen by the participants prior to the experiment.  A copy of the text is included at the end of this report.

The participants were requested to type the text at their normal typing speed whilst at the same time being as accurate as they reasonably could.  Errors were checked by other participants and counted.

Sean and Jane Humby, directors of Business Network (SW) Ltd, divided their participation with Jane doing the typing.

The participants then were asked to dictate the text direct to screen using TalkingPoint software.  One participant had been using the TalkingPoint software for approximately 2 weeks. The other participants had no training or previous experience.

The Results

The typing results showed a wide range in performance depending on the skill of the individual.  The quickest being 150 seconds and on the longest 612 seconds.  A variation in excess of 300% with the errors ranging from four to nine per typist.

The speech recognition test showed very little variation with everyone completing in approximately 1 minute with a range of 49 seconds to 72 seconds.

The full results are shown in the table below and from which two clear conclusions can be made.

1.      Transcribing text by speech recognition is approximately 3 times faster than typing for an average to good typist.

 2.      Irrespective of typing ability transcription by speech recognition produces a significantly more consistent level of performance.

Participant
Time Comparison
Error Comparison
Comments

 

Typing Time
Dictation Time
Time Saved
Percentage saving
Typing Errors
Recognition Errors
Dictation Errors
Total Dictation Errors
Error Difference

 

 

A
B
A - B

 

C
D
E
F=
D+E
C-F

 

Retail Manager312
55
257
82.4%
4
0
4
4
0
Typing 24 wpm.
Talking 132wpm.
Director A
Director B

 

172
49
123
71.5%

 

6
1
3
4
-2
Typing 40 wpm.
Talking 148 wpm
Business Development Manager.
284
56
228
80.3%
9
3
3
6
-3
Typing 25 wpm.
Talking 129 wpm.
Managing Director150
72
78
52.0%
4
2
2
4
0
Typing 49 wpm.
Talking 101wpm.

 

Average Performance

 

230

 

58

 

172

 

71.6%

 

5.75

 

1.5

 

3

 

4.5

 

-1.25
Average speeds:
Typing 32 wpm.
Talking 125wpm

Validation

I can confirm that the experiment was carried out in controlled conditions.  The participants came from different businesses and had a range of skills and ability when using a keyboard.  Each of the participants were timed whilst typing the 121 word document and then timed whilst using Talking Point.  During both these the number of errors was recorded also.  In all cases there was a huge time saving when using Talking Point as the results show.

Sean Humby
Director
Business Network (SW) Ltd
Wyastone Business Park
Wyastone Leys
Monmouthshire
NP25 3SR

 

Addendum

Following this experiment the test was undertaken by a highly qualified touch typist who completed typing the text in 96 seconds making just two mistakes.  The speed achieved was 76 wpm.  The average user when dictating e-mails and correspondence etc will probably not exceed 55 words per minute.

This experiment has shown that people with no training are able to achieve consistently a dictation speed of 125 words per minute using TalkingPoint speech recognition systems.

G. T. White
Director
Voicescene Ltd
09 April 2008

TEST TEXT

Consisted of 121 words of prose in three paragraphs. Participants were required to complete the text with all punctuation and formatting.

Participants.

Participants included the following persons:                                     
                   
Jane Humby, Business Network (SW) Ltd                
Sean Humby,Business Network (SW) Ltd                                                             
Chrissie Peel, Devon Air Ambulance Trust               
 Julie Piper, Springboard Marketing Ltd     

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