Automated Telephone Agent for Restaurant Reservation Management: Development and Usability Evaluation
Abstract
This work aimed to develop and assess the usability of a prototype automated system for telephone reservation management, integrating automation tools and specialized web services, in order to determine its acceptability by potential users in the restaurant industry. The prototype was developed using a component-by-component methodology that allowed each equipment member to focus on specific tasks, promoting parallel work and increased system construction efficiency. The system successfully integrated all of its modules, establishing an automated conversation flow capable of verifying in real time the availability of periods and accurately registering customer information prior to confirming the reservation. The SUS scale was applied to a sample of 50 university students from various academic fields at the Universidad Nacional de Trujillo in order to assess the system's usability and degree of acceptance. The system received an average score of 81.2 points, placing it in the "good" usability category according to international standards. These results show that users are very receptive and positive about using automated systems for reservation tasks, which validates the potential for implementing these kinds of solutions in real-world settings.
Downloads
References
A. Bangor, P. T. Kortum, and J. T. Miller, "An empirical evaluation of the System Usability Scale," Int. J. Hum.-Comput. Interact., vol. 24, no. 6, pp. 574-594, 2008. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447310802205776. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10447310802205776
AXELOS, ITIL Foundation: ITIL 4 Edition. London, U.K.: The Stationery Office, 2019. https://www.mizekhedmat.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/ITILFoundation-ITIL4Edition.pdf.
J. Brooke, "SUS: A 'quick and dirty' usability scale," in Usability Evaluation in Industry, P. W. Jordan, B. Thomas, B. A. Weerdmeester, and I. L. McClelland, Eds. London, U.K.: Taylor & Francis, 1996, pp. 189–194. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319394819_SUS_--_a_quick_and_dirty_usability_scale.
D. Buhalis, T. Harwood, V. Bogicevic, G. Viglia, S. Beldona, and C. Hofacker, "Technological disruptions in services: Lessons from tourism and hospitality," J. Service Manage., vol. 30, no. 4, pp. 484–506, 2019. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JOSM-12-2018-0398/full/html. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-12-2018-0398
ComparaSoftware, "Software de Reservas," ComparaSoftware Peru. https://www.comparasoftware.pe/reservas.
A. Dix, J. Finlay, G. D. Abowd, and R. Beale, Human-Computer Interaction, 3rd ed. London, U.K.: Pearson Education Limited, 2004. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/224927543_Human-Computer_Interaction.
IBM, "Conversational AI," IBM Topics. https://www.ibm.com/es-es/topics/conversational-ai.
ISO/IEC 25010:2011, Systems and Software Engineering — Systems and Software Quality Requirements and Evaluation (SQuaRE) — System and Software Quality Models, International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland, 2011. https://www.iso.org/standard/35733.html.
J. Li, M. A. Bonn, and B. H. Ye, "Hotel employee's artificial intelligence and robotics awareness and its impact on turnover intention: The moderating roles of perceived organizational support and competitive psychological climate," Tourism Manage., vol. 73, pp. 172–181, 2021. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261517719300354. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2019.02.006
J. Nielsen, "Why you only need to test with 5 users," Nielsen Norman Group, Mar. 19, 2000. https://www.nngroup.com/articles/why-you-only-need-to-test-with-5-users/.
J. Sauro and J. R. Lewis, Quantifying the User Experience: Practical Statistics for User Research, 2nd ed. San Francisco, CA, USA: Morgan Kaufmann, 2016. https://www.elsevier.com/books/quantifying-the-user-experience/sauro/978-0-12-384968-7.
M. B. Saydam, E. Aydin, G. Sahin, and E. Sirakaya-Turk, "Artificial intelligence in tourism and hospitality: Bibliometric analysis and research agenda," Int. J. Contemp. Hospitality Manage., vol. 35, no. 7, pp. 2412–2436, 2022. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0278431922001797.
TeacupLab, "Qué es la escala SUS y cómo usarla para medir la usabilidad," TeacupLab Blog. https://www.teacuplab.com/es/blog/que-es-la-escala-sus-y-como-usarla-para-medir-la-usabilidad/.
T. L. Barton and J. B. MacArthur, "A teaching case on the benefits and costs of restaurants using OpenTable online restaurant reservations," J. Bus. Account., vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 126–134, 2020. http://asbbs.org/files/2016/JBA_Vol9_2016.pdf#page=128.
VPNUnlimited, "Component-Based Development," VPNUnlimited Help Center. https://www.vpnunlimited.com/es/help/cybersecurity/component-based-development.
K. Wüst and K. Bremser, "Artificial intelligence in tourism through chatbot support in the booking process—An experimental investigation," Tourism Hospitality, vol. 6, no. 1, Art. no. 36, 2025, doi: 10.3390/tourhosp6010036. https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp6010036. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp6010036
Zadarma, "VAPI AI Instructions," Zadarma Support. https://zadarma.com/es/support/instructions/vapiai/.
- Conceptualization
- Formal Analysis
- Investigation
- Methodology
- Software
- Validation
- Writing - original draft
- Conceptualization
- Formal Analysis
- Investigation
- Methodology
- Software
- Validation
- Writing - original draft
- Conceptualization
- Formal Analysis
- Investigation
- Project administration
- Software
- Validation
- Writing - original draft
Copyright (c) 2026 Innovation and Software

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The authors exclusively grant the right to publish their article to the Innovation and Software Journal, which may formally edit or modify the approved text to comply with their own editorial standards and with universal grammatical standards, prior to publication; Likewise, our journal may translate the approved manuscripts into as many languages as it deems necessary and disseminates them in several countries, always giving public recognition to the author or authors of the research.











