Interaction between Product and User profiles How to increase user satisfaction and avoid mistakes 01 Workshop introduction A comprehensive and accurate insight into how a product is used by its users in practice (the so- called use practice) is essential for designing products that meet user expectations. A user centred approach in product development processes requires a deeper understanding of user characteristics related to the (unexpected) problems users face when interacting with particular products and services. Product and user profiles are design techniques that help designers to foster this understanding of target users and the product in development. When designing for all, the product profile helps designers anticipate usability problems of next generation products at the start of the product development process. When designing for a specific user group, the user profile helps designers to better understand the target group and predict usability problems in practice. In this workshop you will experience these techniques handson, so that you gain insights into their applicability in your own practice. At the end of the workshop we discuss the participants experiences. Contact information c.j.kim@tudelft.nl
Conceptual framework Three categories of soft usability problem www.designforusability.org
Sensory quality 02 Definition Product qualities related to the sensory perception of the form, appearance, texture, touch, size, weight, level of noise and vibrations, qualitative standard, general behaviour of the product, and trends. Related complaints Awkward structure Irritating cables Unpleasant touch Heat generation Bulky size Noise Old-fashioned No improvement Contact information c.j.kim@tudelft.nl
Examples (short-term use interaction) Alarm clock - Inconvenient to hold and set the time and alarm - Not comfortable to see the buttons and display - Hard to press the buttons because they are too tiny - Unpleasant alarm sounds - Annoying to press the button twice - The feeling to press buttons is not good - The buttons are at backside but the display at front side - I don t like the change of directions for alarm sounds - The alarm sound should be louder - Long antenna cord is irritating - Toy look and unstable round shape - It was tricky to put batteries into it - Too tiny texts next to the buttons Mp3 player - The colour is not chic - No good usecues - The buttons are too small - I can t see the buttons very well - I can t find the buttons, invisible - Hard to press buttons - Letters are too tiny Examples (long-term use interaction) Mobile phone - It is always considered as first to take when a call is coming - Poor quality of sound - Mechanical structure is awkward - Hard to press or read the buttons because of their small size or shape - Uncomfortable touch feeling - Loose buttons in use - Heat generation - Touch keys are too sensitive - Design easily becomes boring - Spam messages Vacuum cleaner - It keeps falling over when the cord is pulled - Noisy - It s bulky - It always gets stuck behind all things Laptop computer - Heat generation - Low sound quality - USB slots are backside - Heavy to carry Digital camera - Uncomfortable touch feeling - Heavy to carry Printer - It looks very complex because of many buttons - More unnecessary than necessary buttons - Too bulky Earphones - Annoying cable - It doesn t fit my ear Refrigerator - The design easily becomes boring and old-fashioned - I feel heavy when opening the door Toaster - It s too bulky www.designforusability.org
Functional quality 03 01 Definition Product qualities related to function, performance, compatibility or unexpected technical errors when using the product. Related complaints Low performance Slow reaction Functional Contraint Compatibility Unexpected error Short battery life Contact information c.j.kim@tudelft.nl
Examples (short-term use interaction) Alarm clock - Tuning a radio channel with the wheel is not accurate Mp3 player - No game - Not doing things at the same time - Slow reaction time - I am afraid of battery life - The display is too small Examples (long-term use interaction) Mobile phone - Charging takes too long - Low battery sustainability - I can t send a text message while listening to music with it - Performance is poor - Slow reaction time - It sometimes doesn t have necessary functions - Texts on it are erased in a certain period - Battery life decreases - Not enough capacity to store data Vacuum cleaner - The cord can t be rolled up automatically - Battery is gone very fast - Sucking power is not strong enough - Disappointing performance - The cord isn t long enough Mp3 player - It switches very slowly to another song - Not all songs are playable - Battery life decreases - Low battery sustainability - No display screen - Using the product requires other equipment such as a dock or speaks Printer - Frequent errors and jams - It doesn t print till the edge of the paper - It doesn t act as I want it to be - Too much software, which slows down my computer Laptop computer - Low battery sustainability - It sometimes doesn t have necessary functions - Its performance is poor Digital camera - The way of electric charge can be only through a USB slot or particular cable - It doesn t have necessary functions - Charing takes too long Coffee machine - It sometimes makes errors without any reason Microwave - It doesn t work as you want it to do - My bread is still frozen or boiled - The food is not heated as warm as I want www.designforusability.org
04 Operational quality Definition Product qualities related to the durability of the product, the need for maintenance and repairs, understandability in finding or understanding functions, feedback and feedforward during the useful life of the product. Related complaints Difficult to understand Hard to navigate Poor durability Annoying maintenance Too much care Contact information c.j.kim@tudelft.nl Lack of need Lack of function No feedback
Examples (short-term use interaction) Alarm clock - Difficult to set between the time and alarm - It s extremely multi-functional - Hard to figure out how to set an alarm - Difficult to find the structure - Unclear user manual - I had to read the manual to set - Revolving system is unclear - Only one button for setting the time - Only going forward to set the time and alarm Mp3 player - Buttons don t work because of many hidden functions - Difficult to find a function - Difficult to find a song - Unfriendly user manual - I had to push some of the buttons for a long time - Difficult to figure out how to get in the menu or functions - Buttons are scattered - It is like a search game - There is no text next to the buttons Examples (long-term use interaction) Mobile phone - No sensorial feedback - Too many useless functions - Easily broken LCD - Easy to drop because it s small and sleek - Many steps are required to use a function - Various types of chargers, so there is no more slot to plug in - Difficult to understand how to use a specific function - There is no universal way of use - More care or maintenance is required than I expected - Some buttons are pressed by mistake Mp3 player - More care or maintenance is required than I expected - Many steps are required to use a function - Difficult to understand how to use a specific function - I forget how to use a particular function because a button has many functions - No feedback - Various type of chargers, so there is no more slot to plug in - It is confusing because of a button has many functions Remote - It s very difficult to find functions - It is confusing because a button has many functions - No visual feedback - They are all different - There are just too many possibilities DVD player - Awkward to adjust recording - It s easily broken - Difficult to understand functions - It requires too much knowledge or skills to operate Digital camera - Difficult to use because of too many functions - Easily worn out (e.g. painting or coating) Microwave - Difficult to understand how to use a specific function - It doesn t has a simple manual - The product is awkward to use Coffee machine - There are too many things to do for the appliance - I don t know how to estimate how much coffee and water I am supposed to put Dish washer - Difficult to arrange dishes at once - I can t see how long the program is running or will run www.designforusability.org
Product profile 05 sensory quality functional quality operational quality The percentages of soft usability problems in consumer electronic products Contact information c.j.kim@tudelft.nl
Product profile in terms of both cognitive load and interaction density HCLI type: Functional > Operational > Sensory HCHI type: Operational > Functional > Sensory LCLI type: Operational > Sensory > Functional LCHI type: Sensory > Functional > Operational In case of short-term use interaction LCLI type -> Alarm clock: Sensory > Operational > Functional HCHI type -> MP3 player: Operational > Functional > Sensory www.designforusability.org
User profile 06 Cognitive aspect: use fixation, technical skill, adaptability, sensitivity to stereotype, literacy, memory, and prerequisite content knowledge Personality: patience, locus of control, perfectionism, changeability, uncertainty avoidance, self-efficacy, and exposure to marketing knowledge Demographics: age, gender, culture, income, and educational background Use behavior: frequencey of use, task success rate, buy decision, and complaining behavior A user s characteristics in product use Contact information c.j.kim@tudelft.nl
The interaction between user characteristics and soft usability problem Sensory quality - Old generation - High use fixation - Low risk-taking - Strong internal locus of control - South Korean > American > Dutch - Happened in LCLI type products - No active complaining but negative words-of-mouth - Low success rate in tasks requiring high cognitive load Functional quality - Young generation - Low use fixation - Internal locus of control Operational quality - Old generation - High risk-taking - Dutch > American > South Korean - Happened in HCHI type products - No complaining action (staying calm) - High success rate in tasks requiring high cognitive load www.designforusability.org