Participatory Design with Domain Experts: A Delphi Study for a Career Support Chatbot

We present a study of collaboration with expert participants for the purpose of the responsible design of a conversational agent. The Delphi study was used to identify and develop design and evaluation criteria for an automated career support intervention. Career support tasks present complex design problems as they are highly personalized and the definition of success for a single intervention is ambiguous. The study engaged domain experts in a structured communication process to explore the opportunities and risks of introducing a conversational agent to complement existing services provided to young people. Three rounds of questionnaires were used to build consensus across the expert panel. The questionnaire design incorporated design fictions, qualitative data from the panel, and requirement statements. The study produced a validated set of criteria that can be used for the design and evaluation of a conversational agent, that aligns with professional ethics and intended outcomes for a career support intervention. Our approach demonstrates the value of mixed method Delphi studies to facilitate participatory design of conversational user experiences by bridging knowledge gaps between technical and domain experts. The resulting evaluation criteria establish a meaningful foundation for future human-centered conversation design for career support.