Finally, the super hero we have all been waiting for.
The man that fixes your ODBC database links in seconds.
The man that can overcome any parking ticket machine.
The man that might even be able to understand the Motorola UI...
It's usability man!

Technorati Tags: usability

Either the Samsung Jitterbug mobile phone is really an accomplishment in terms of usability, or someone has paid Ruth Davis to write this extremely positive review about the mobile phone her 93 year old mother is using. I'm hoping for the first, though sentences like this make me suspicious:

In addition to a conventional 12-button direct dial model, Jitterbug also offers a model with three oversized buttons. This model is especially useful to very low use, safety-oriented users, especially older or disabled consumers.

See for yourself through the online demo of the phone. Anyway, not better way to evaluate usability then through a usability test I think. It would be interesting to test the product with - let's say five - users, to see how good it really is.

Today, I'm prioritizing my work...

Usability in the enterprise is a project within the Usability Professionals Association, aiming to collect information on the impact of user-centred design processes on the business performance of organizations. Just pointing this out, because it's closely related to my own research subject (Usability in the Practice of Product Development).

goals
The project aims to answer a number of questions, such as:

• What makes an organization user-centred?
• What are measurements for the return-on-investment (ROI) for user-centred design methods?
• Which business performance indicators are influenced by user-centred design activities?

I am not attending the UPA conference this year, so unfortunately I won't be able to join in on the workshop on the subject. If you're interested in the results (as I am) you can subscribe on the project website. Where you can also offer to join the project by the way.

the numbers game
In essence the project is about proving the value of user-centred design, mostly by joining the 'numbers game'. That's one way. Philips' executive Andrea Ragnetti allegedly used another strategy when convincing his fellow board-members of the sense of the sense and simplicity campaign. If I have to explain the business value of usability I use the story of a craftsman that makes leather gloves. If you were making and selling leather gloves, what would be better for (repeat) business and word-to-mouth: making really cheap gloves in one size, or making gloves that fit the hand of your customers comfortably (at a reasonable price)?

UPDATE: learn more and participate
The project team is organizing a tutorial at the UPA2007 conference entitled: The Business of Usability: a tutorial for user experience managers, directors & team leaders (if you happen to be in the neighborhood of Austin, Texas that is...)

Technorati Tags: business and usability, usability, usability events, user-centred design

The smoked sausage is neatly labeled 600 W, but my microwave isn't...

I was in a hurry last wednesday and decided to have myself a microwave dinner (traditional Dutch 'boerenkool met worst' if you want to know). The thing that struck me is this: all the 'components' of the meal have neat labels that say how long to put them in the microwave at for example 500 Watts (see picture), which I thought was very thoughtful. However, my microwave doesn't have any labeling that indicates it's power. And I checked, but most microwaves of people I know don't have labels either. At least not on the front. Annoying. Maybe we're supposed to remember the indications from the packaging, or read the manual, or ask the person in our household that originally bought the thing.

Technorati Tags: consumer electronics, consumer product usability, consumer products, usability

A study performed by the Dutch commercial research institution TNO on behalf of TomTom, Aon, Athlon Car Lease and Delta Lloyd lead the researchers to the conclusion that:

• the user of satellite navigation systems improves driving performance when driving in an unfamiliar area to an unfamiliar destination;
• the user of satellite navigation systems improves the readiness and reduces the stress level of the driver;
• drivers of lease cars that don't use navigation systems claim 12% more damages and 5% more in damage costs;
• using a TomTom navigation system reduces the driving distance by 16% and travel time by 18% when driving to an unfamiliar destination in an unfamiliar area;
• using a TomTom navigation system reduces the workload of the driver while driving in an unfamiliar area to an unfamiliar destination.

Methods
Three research methods were used to study the impact of navigation systems on traffic safety:

• 36 participants drove a test TNO vehicle under realistic traffic circumstances (to an unfamiliar destination in an unfamiliar area...);
• a statistical analysis of a combination of databases of a car lease company (sponsor of the study);
• four-thousand drivers participated in a user study through a written questionnaire.

Safer When Not Interacting
That TNO performed the study on behalf of TomTom makes me a bit wary. But the summarized research results are available in pdf format at the TNO website (unfortunately in Dutch only), so you can judge them yourselves. They make a pretty solid impression to me.

Though it does not reveal the impact of the usability of the navigation device you use on the driving performance, which would fascinate me, but that's a whole other study. If your navigation device is hard to operate, I can imagine you'll get distracted more easily. And from the research setup we learn that participants in the driving test were not allowed to operate the device while driving; they only reacted to the results. So the driving test that was part of the study is not about using a navigation device, it's about the influence of receiving driving instructions. Not really representative for reality, where one of the dangers is operating your navigation device while driving.

Another side note I have: "Using a TomTom reduces the driving distance by 16% and travel time by 18%." It should be noted that the total average distance for the participants that used a navigation system was 18,1 km, and those who didn't drove 21,5 km on average. If one travels 80 km one can't expect using a TomTom to reduce the driven distance by 12.8 km. But it does make a good press clipping doesn't it?

UPDATE
English press release by TomTom about the study
English version of the TNO report (pdf)

Technorati Tags: automotive, consumer electronics, consumer product usability, usability, usability study

That interaction or interactive design is about much more than on-screen displays is shown by Martin Frey. Take for example the CabBoots. A concept for guiding pedestrians through the city by having the soles of their shoes inflate on either side and thus 'pushing' them in a direction. Frey's website contains lots of photographs and illustrative videos.

(tnx to Bob)

Technorati Tags: design, user interface design

The 'Greeny' Energy meter by Dennis Menheere

This graduation project of Dennis Menheere (a graduation student here at IDE in Delft) has been nominated for the Shell Bachelor Master Prize on sustainable development and energy. With the non-profit environmental organization Milieu Centraal as his client, he completely redesigned an existing energy meter, that users considered too complex. I just want to take some time to elaborate on his project, because I think it was a textbook example of user-centred design, and led to inspiring results (in my humble opinion).

The original energy meter was used during the campaign 'meten is weten' (to measure is to know) of Milieu Central, during which people could borrow an energy meter for three weeks. With this energy meter they can measure the energy consumption of electronic devices in their homes. The meter is placed in between the power socket and the power plug of the device one wishes to measure. Participants in the campaign on average saved 7% on their electrical bill, according to Milieu Centraal.

However, Milieu Central received a number of reactions from participants in the campaign that they considered the energy meter too complicated. By putting the user at the heart of his design process he made a design that in a comparative lab usability study performed much better than the original design. In an exploratory test with 5 participants his design achieved higher task completion ratio (5 out of 5, versus 2 out of 5 for the old design) and task times were 4 times shorter (on average).


The unit that has to be put in the socket has been separated from the rest of the device.

Menheere used user centered design techniques such as home visits, personas, scenarios, use cases, paper prototyping, interface concept simulation in powerpoint, a group-wise cognitive walkthrough, heuristic analysis and a lab usability study throughout his process. As a result he designed a new user interface, that that guides the user step by step through the measuring process, and that can be set to multiple languages (allowing for the product to be used throughout Europe). In addition he separated the part of the meter that has to be plugged into the socket from the body of the device. This makes the Greeny suitable for measurements on a larger number of devices, and it's easier to read the display while measuring. Finally he added LEDs to the product, which allows the user to - even from a distance - get a general impression of the energy usage. The more energy the device that is attached consumes, the more LEDs will light up. (Leds consume only small amounts of energy, so the environmental load of this design feature is relatively low).

If the improved design were to be applied in the 'meten is weten' campaign, that should make the campaign accessible to larger audience, and participants can measure more devices and thus improve their insight in their electricity consumption.

See also:
> Design Strategies for Sustainable Behavior
> Design for Sustainability at Industrial Design Engineering.

Ad for the Apple II from 1977 (from www.kellyad.com)

The success of the Nintendo Wii, the ever-increasing success of Apple, and the introduction of a new, easy to use tracking system of UPS prompted Rohit Bhargava to write an article on simplicity marketing. This apparently is the latest trend in marketing land. If that's so, and we look at the ad for the Apple II, Apple has really been way ahead for years... about 30 years.

Technorati Tags: business and usability, consumer electronics, consumer product usability, design, usability

You need to do your laundry. You go to the laundromat, put in your clothes, and reach for your book to spend the next 1,5 hours. Not in this Amsterdam based laundromat 'Wash & Mail': it offers free internet access while you do your laundry. A brilliant combination of user needs. Especially because the laundromats in Amsterdam are used a for the larger part by tourists, a target group that's always on the lookout to send a message home. What shall we call it? User-centred retail design?

You'll find an even better picture here.

Technorati Tags: business and usability, user-centered design