Bhr4

BHR​ ​4:​ ​Full​ ​UI Standardized​ ​Microwave Raquel​ ​Dottle​ ​and​ ​Virginia​ ​Pettit

Prototype​ ​Version​ ​II:

User​ ​Profiles: Age​ ​Range

Gender

Ethnicity

Occupation

Frequency​ ​of Microwave​ ​Use

User​ ​1

10-14

Male

White

Student

Daily

User​ ​2

40-49

Male

White

Service​ ​Job

Daily

User​ ​3

20-25

Male

White

Student

Weekly

Experiment: What​ ​we​ ​did: Based​ ​on​ ​the​ ​repeated​ ​difficulties​ ​users​ ​had,​ ​we​ ​cut​ ​out​ ​half​ ​the​ ​buttons,​ ​put​ ​all​ ​the​ ​“clutter” functionality​ ​in​ ​one​ ​unobtrusive​ ​place,​ ​and​ ​switched​ ​to​ ​a​ ​dial​ ​to​ ​minimize​ ​the​ ​different​ ​context slips​ ​users​ ​would​ ​make.​ ​We​ ​also​ ​decreased​ ​the​ ​size​ ​of​ ​our​ ​prototype​ ​to​ ​be​ ​closer​ ​to​ ​a​ ​real microwave.​ ​Finally,​ ​we​ ​increased​ ​the​ ​size​ ​of​ ​the​ ​“start”​ ​and​ ​“cancel”​ ​buttons​ ​to​ ​follow​ ​Fitt’s​ ​law.

What​ ​they​ ​did: Users​ ​on​ ​the​ ​whole​ ​responded​ ​better​ ​to​ ​this​ ​version​ ​than​ ​any​ ​other.​ ​We​ ​noted​ ​significant improvement​ ​in​ ​number​ ​of​ ​errors,​ ​and​ ​less​ ​frustration​ ​overall.​ ​There​ ​wasn’t​ ​much​ ​feedback about​ ​the​ ​change​ ​from​ ​a​ ​number​ ​pad​ ​to​ ​a​ ​dial,​ ​but​ ​this​ ​change​ ​removed​ ​the​ ​confusion​ ​we​ ​had seen​ ​about​ ​how​ ​to​ ​start​ ​the​ ​microwave.​ ​On​ ​the​ ​whole,​ ​users​ ​seemed​ ​less​ ​“lost”;​ ​they​ ​were​ ​able to​ ​bridge​ ​the​ ​gulfs​ ​of​ ​execution​ ​and​ ​evaluation​ ​much​ ​faster​ ​than​ ​we​ ​had​ ​seen​ ​in​ ​previous versions.

Scenarios​ ​and​ ​test​ ​proceedings: Scenario​ ​1​:​ ​You​ ​have​ ​some​ ​leftover​ ​pizza​ ​you​ ​just​ ​pulled​ ​out​ ​of​ ​the​ ​fridge​ ​that​ ​you​ ​want to​ ​eat.​ ​Please​ ​show​ ​me​ ​how​ ​you​ ​would​ ​heat​ ​that​ ​up.

User​ ​1:​​ ​User​ ​paused​ ​a​ ​while,​ ​looking​ ​at​ ​the​ ​buttons​ ​a​ ​bit​ ​confused,​ ​then​ ​said,​ ​“Where’s​ ​the​ ​time cook?​ ​I​ ​usually​ ​have​ ​to​ ​press​ ​time​ ​cook.”​ ​He​ ​then​ ​pressed​ ​+30​ ​twice​ ​and​ ​then​ ​pressed​ ​start.​ ​The microwave​ ​then​ ​ran​ ​for​ ​a​ ​minute.

User​ ​2​:​ ​He​ ​turned​ ​the​ ​dial​ ​clockwise​ ​to​ ​45​ ​seconds​ ​and​ ​then​ ​pressed​ ​start.

User​ ​3:​​ ​User​ ​stated​ ​he​ ​had​ ​no​ ​idea​ ​how​ ​long​ ​pizza​ ​should​ ​go​ ​in​ ​for.​ ​He​ ​then​ ​turned​ ​the​ ​dial clockwise​ ​to​ ​40​ ​seconds​ ​then​ ​pressed​ ​start.

Scenario​ ​2​:​ ​You’re​ ​making​ ​a​ ​boxed​ ​dinner​ ​that​ ​has​ ​instructions​ ​to​ ​cook​ ​it​ ​for​ ​2​ ​and​ ​a half​ ​minutes.​ ​Please​ ​do​ ​that.

User​ ​1:​​ ​He​ ​turned​ ​the​ ​dial​ ​clockwise​ ​to​ ​2:30​ ​and​ ​then​ ​hit​ ​start.

User​ ​2​:​ ​The​ ​user​ ​stated​ ​“I​ ​usually​ ​just​ ​hit​ ​the​ ​3​ ​button​ ​and​ ​stop​ ​it​ ​when​ ​it’s​ ​done…​ ​but​ ​there’s​ ​not buttons​ ​on​ ​this​ ​one.”​ ​He​ ​then​ ​turned​ ​the​ ​dial​ ​clockwise​ ​to​ ​2:30​ ​and​ ​pressed​ ​start.

User​ ​3:​​ ​User​ ​hit​ ​the​ ​+30​ ​sec​ ​button​ ​5​ ​times​ ​and​ ​then​ ​hit​ ​start.

Scenario​ ​3:​​ ​The​ ​power​ ​went​ ​out​ ​in​ ​your​ ​house​ ​last​ ​night.​ ​You​ ​need​ ​to​ ​set​ ​the​ ​clock​ ​on your​ ​microwave​ ​to​ ​the​ ​current​ ​time.

User​ ​1:​​ ​(Time:​ ​7:30​ ​PM)​ ​The​ ​user​ ​turned​ ​the​ ​dial​ ​clockwise​ ​until​ ​it​ ​reached​ ​7:30​ ​minutes,​ ​then​ ​hit clock,​ ​where​ ​it​ ​reset​ ​to​ ​12:00​ ​AM.​ ​He​ ​then​ ​said​ ​“Oh,​ ​right!​ ​I​ ​should​ ​have​ ​hit​ ​the​ ​clock​ ​button​ ​first!” he​ ​then​ ​turned​ ​it​ ​clockwise​ ​to​ ​7:30​ ​PM. User​ ​2:​​ ​(Time:​ ​8:00​ ​PM)​ ​User​ ​hit​ ​the​ ​clock​ ​button​ ​and​ ​started​ ​to​ ​turn​ ​the​ ​dial​ ​clockwise,​ ​seeing​ ​it go​ ​from​ ​12:00​ ​AM​ ​to​ ​1​ ​AM,​ ​2​ ​AM,​ ​etc.​ ​He​ ​then​ ​turned​ ​it​ ​counter-clockwise​ ​to​ ​8:00​ ​PM,​ ​remarking that​ ​he​ ​hopes​ ​it​ ​goes​ ​faster​ ​backwards​ ​the​ ​faster​ ​he​ ​turns​ ​because​ ​it​ ​would​ ​get​ ​tedious​ ​otherwise.

User​ ​3:​​ ​(Time:​ ​11:00​ ​PM)​ ​He​ ​hit​ ​the​ ​clock​ ​button​ ​and​ ​then​ ​turned​ ​the​ ​dial​ ​clockwise​ ​to​ ​11:00​ ​PM.

Summary​ ​of​ ​results: It​ ​appears​ ​that​ ​our​ ​modified​ ​dial​ ​and​ ​fewer​ ​buttons​ ​improved​ ​user’s​ ​experiences​ ​with​ ​this machine.​ ​There​ ​were​ ​far​ ​fewer​ ​slips​ ​and​ ​mistakes,​ ​and​ ​many​ ​users​ ​had​ ​smaller​ ​gulfs​ ​of evaluation.​ ​However,​ ​they​ ​didn’t​ ​use​ ​the​ ​additional​ ​features​ ​at​ ​all.

Suggestions​ ​for​ ​change: Maintain​ ​the​ ​dial​ ​format,​ ​because​ ​it​ ​appears​ ​that​ ​users​ ​find​ ​it​ ​simplest​ ​to​ ​use.​ ​Figure​ ​out​ ​a​ ​way to​ ​balance​ ​the​ ​additional​ ​functionality​ ​with​ ​discoverability-​ ​perhaps​ ​some​ ​sort​ ​of​ ​chart?​ ​It​ ​might be​ ​possible​ ​to​ ​rely​ ​on​ ​the​ ​curiosity​ ​of​ ​the​ ​user​ ​to​ ​push​ ​the​ ​button,​ ​as​ ​those​ ​who​ ​enjoy​ ​that functionality​ ​probably​ ​would.​ ​A/B​ ​testing​ ​would​ ​be​ ​beneficial​ ​to​ ​test​ ​changes​ ​like​ ​this;​ ​however,

from​ ​a​ ​comparison​ ​to​ ​previous​ ​results,​ ​this​ ​version​ ​seems​ ​to​ ​be​ ​the​ ​most​ ​successful​ ​in minimizing​ ​user​ ​confusion​ ​and​ ​errors.