Not so Fancy Fan

            
       Now that spring has arrived, the fan in my living room will be constantly on to help circulate fresh air that comes through the open windows. However, there are many usability problems with this fan. This fan has two strings, one that turns on the lights and another that turns on the fan wings. Unfortunately, there is no way for the user to know which string controls which feature.

By having strings that look exactly the same, the fan controls lack signifiers. While there is a shorter and longer string, which are supposed to help the user understand what each string controls, users forget time after time which string controls what feature. The strings also look the same, not providing a way for the user to distinguish one string from another. One way to solve this usability signifier problem would be to make the strings two different colors. 

This fan system does not afford easy use to all of its users. Since the strings are relatively high, the shorter user may not be able to reach the strings in order to operate the fan. This fan does not afford a “universal design,” talked about by Norman in The Design of Everyday Things because handicap or shorter people would not be able to operate this system. 

Error is also bound to occur when using this fan. If a user wants to make the fan go faster, the user must pull on the fan string more than once. Since the fan takes time to begin to move quickly, the user assumes he or she did not turn the fan on, therefore making a slip by pulling the string multiple times while trying to turn on the fan. Since the user can not go back, the user must continue to pull the fan string until he or she gets the fan to the intended speed. 

Pretty Hot HotShot

       This HotShot is one of the best designed objects for creating drinks quickly without having to use microwaves. HotShots allow water to be heated quicker than most microwaves. Also, unlike the microwave, the HotShot has only two simple push buttons - "heat" and "dispense." There are many reasons why this HotShot is more usable than microwaves; however, there are also constraints.
       This HotShot affords signifiers that help make heating water easy. The first signifier that I would like to point out is the lip on the top of the HotShot. The tab on the lip signifies that the top section of the HotShot can be opened. Another signifier on the HotShot is the indent where a mug can be placed. This indent, which fits a mug perfectly, signifies a mug is what should be used with this device. Two other signifiers are the words and buttons that heat and dispense the water. By providing labels, users can easily understand what each button does. The red light that lights up when water is heating also signifies that contents are getting hot.
       One may think that from what I have said above, this HotShot couldn't be any better; unfortunately, I would have to disagree. While this HotShot does seem relatively usable, there are a few constraints placed on the HotShot that diminish its use. The first constraint is that only a certain size mug can be placed under the HotShot. Another negative constraint is that the user can not choose how hot his or her drink gets. Unfortunately, when interfaces become more simple, they do not afford many features that experts would like, and when interfaces become more complex, they do not allow unexperienced users to easily use the interface.

Take the Path Untraveled

     
     
       While I was walking to class one day, I noticed students were cutting through the bushes. As I walked into the side door of Lynch, I noticed that a permanent foot path was made by the students who wanted to travel from Lynch to the Neidig-Garber academic building and vice versa. In the photograph in the top left, one can see that the school made sidewalks that went away from the direction of the building in order to get to other buildings, making this sidewalk fairly unusable for students traveling from Lynch to Neidig-Garber.
       From the students' footpaths, one can see that the sidewalks could be made more usable. In class, a similar post was shared about a path created to get around a barrier. However, this situation on campus is a little different, for students are in a hurry to get to class in the shortest amount of time possible. This can be related to task time; users want tasks to be simple and take the least amount of time possible in order to achieve a goal.
       Another principle that can be applied to this unusable path is proximity. In digital communications, proximity is important, for the closer objects are to one another, the more related they appear to be. Clearly, due to the footpath, the school should make a sidewalk that connects Lynch and Neidig-Garber. Since the sidewalk currently is not close to Neidig-Garber when leaving Lynch, students decided to create their own path. A sidewalk would afford proximity by making the walk shorter from one building to another.
       As far as testing goes of whether to create a sidewalk, an observational usability test could be conducted. In this observational study, the tester could record the amount of students who travel from one building to another, and record how many use the footpath versus the sidewalk. Interviews could also be conducted to find whether it would be beneficial to create a new sidewalk.

Outlet Unknown

       Often times I will be working in the library in between classes or in the evening, completing assignments on my computer. When I go to plug in my computer, each time, I run into a usability problem; some of the plug caps do not open, and I often open the wrong plug cap. There are many usability problems with this design.
       The first usability aspect of these plugs is the idea of there being a constraint. The locked plug caps constrain the user from using certain outlets. While this type of constraint my be of annoyance to the user, it may be there for the user's own good. The constraint mentioned is a lock-out, not allowing the user to use certain plugs. Because some plugs may be broken or wired wrong, the janitors may have created this lock-out so students didn't make an error of trying to plug something in a bad socket.
       Another principle in usability that can be examined with these plugs is the affordance of signifiers. Unfortunately, these outlets do not display signifiers of which one is a regular outlet and which is not. Often times, I make the error of opening the wrong outlet cap. Also, another error I make is trying to open a cap that is actually locked. There is no clear indication of whether the outlet cap is locked or not, lacking signifiers.
       The location of the outlets are also a physical anthropometry problem, something Norman takes time to cover in The Design of Everyday Things. The outlets are placed directly in the middle of the table, making the user have to crawl on the floor to get access to the plug. Some handicap individuals would not be able to do this task. Instead of placing the outlets on the ground, they could be placed on the pillars next to the tables.
       There are many usability problems with the outlets in the library. In the future design of the library, new outlet placement should be considered.

In or Out?

       While I was in Philadelphia, I stopped in to Banana Republic to find some summer clothes; however, when I decided to leave, I pulled the handle to get out but nothing happened. I then realized that the door did not open toward me but away from me. Due to the door having two handles, pictured on the left, users do not know which way the door opens and closes.
       In this scenario, the door had a poor signifier; the door actually signified the wrong action. Users have a conceptual model that when there is a handle, one should pull, and the object will come toward them. When the object is to be pushed, there will be a metal plate, a sign, or nothing connected to the door.
       Signifiers are very important when it comes to design in order to make interfaces more usable. If signifiers are good, users can often save time. For example, if a user wants to order something on a shoe store website and they cannot find the box that signifies where to check out, he or she may spend minutes trying to find a button that indicates how to check out.
       In the situation with the door at Banana Republic, if there was a metal plate on the inside of the door indicating that the user should push in order to open the door, he or she would be able to get out of the store easier and faster. Saying this, sometimes signifiers help to reduce kinematic load. When designing interfaces, it is important that designers afford signifiers in their designs to make tasks easier for users.

Bike Rack that Rocks

     While on spring break in Philadelphia, I ran into this bike pole. I took a picture because of the interesting shadow and then realized what an incredible design this small little pole afforded. Normal bike racks have a gray colored metal that looks almost like waves and does not signify that the rack is for parking bikes. When I saw this red pole in the shape of a bike, this clearly signified that this pole was for people to tie their bikes to. What an incredible design.
     This bike rack not only is a wonderful signifier, it also follows the conceptual model that a user would hold. The bike pole has two tire holes, both of which are big enough to connect a chain to. The rest of the pole does not afford a user to easily attach a chain; therefore, the pole constrains the user to putting the chain through one of the bike's tires which is the intended purpose. In chapter four of The Design of Everyday Things, Norman states that "visible affordances...and visible signifier[s]" articulate "what to do and where to do it" on an object. This is exactly what the bike rack affords.
     This bike rack also affords physical anthropometry. The bike rack is not tall, allowing a small kid to use it. The rack is also not too short, allowing tall adults the ability to use it without bending over. The bike rack rises about three feet from the ground, making it usable by people of all sizes.
    This bike pole is designed well and is extremely usable for it's intended purpose. By placing these bike poles throughout the city, users are able to quickly tie up their bike while going into a restaurant or store. The red color of the poles make the bike poles easy to see and quickly identifiable.

Switch Designs Already

       The two light switches (pictured above; one is hiding due to being painted over) and the fan knob have poor mapping. The fan knob (above the switch plate) also has poor control signifiers. Norman states that "[b]asic switches and controls should be relatively simple to design well. But there are two fundamental difficulties. The first is to determine what type of device they control....The second is the mapping problem...." The light switches have poor mapping because the light switches on the far left do not turn on the lights on the left side of the room. The same goes for the light switches on the right. Also, since there are two light switches, a user does not know which panel is for the room and which one controls the lights outside. The lights in my house also have a constraint, not allowing the user to make the lights brighter or darker through a dimmer. The fan has poor mapping because it appears as though it is a dimmer for one of the lights due to it's proximity to the light switch plate. Norman mentions that the closer objects are to one another, the more likely a user thinks the controls are related. The fan knob has poor control signifiers because a user cannot tell that it turns on the fan and it doesn't display a signifier that tells the user how to make the fan go faster.
       There are a few solutions to the light switch and knob usability problem. One way that the knob could be more usable is by putting a picture of a fan on the plate that tells the user how to make the fan go faster. This signifier would also let the user know that the knob controls a fan. The designer could have eliminated the constraint of only being able to start at a slow speed by allowing the knob to turn left from the starting position. The light switch mapping could be fixed by what Norman did in his home by having a box-like figure come out of the wall. However, another solution that would make the lights more usable for the user would be to place signifiers under the light switches or just make sure that the switches on the left side of the panel turn on the lights that are farthest left in the room and the light switches on the right side of the panel turn the lights on in the right side of the room. The light switches should go in the order in which the lights are placed in the room so mapping is afforded.

Is It Going to Stop?

       As I was walking out of my sociology class, I noticed a student getting a drink from the water fountain. When he was finished, he began to head for the door to go down the steps, but the water fountain continued to run. Noticing that the water fountain didn't shut off, the young man came back to the fountain to see if there was something abnormal about the drinking system. When the student arrived back at the water fountain, the water stopped flowing out of the system. Due to the poor design of the fountain, when the side push bars are released, water continues to flow for an extra three seconds.
       This design does not follow a user's mental model. A user would think that as soon as the bars are released, water would no longer flow from the fountain. If the water would stop, this would provide feedback to the user that they have, in fact, released the side push bars completely. When the student used the fountain, the Gulf of Execution was relatively smooth; however, when it came to the Gulf of Evaluation, the student did not know what was happening with the water fountain. On the water fountain there are good signifiers; the gray bars tell the user where to push. The mapping is also done relatively well by placing the gray bars on the sides where a person would normally want to push; this is Human-Centered Design. This water fountain also can be applied to the principle of "knowledge in the head" and "knowledge in the world." People often see others using a water fountain and learn from this; however, if a user never saw someone use a water fountain, he or she would most likely still be able to use it.
       While this water fountain has some positive design features, there are some design features that should be changed. In order to make this water fountain more usable, the gray bar could come the whole way around the water fountain; this way if someone had objects in there hands and still wanted a drink, the user could push the front and water would still flow from the fountain. The water fountain should also stop immediately after the gray bars are released, for this would provide better feedback to the user.

Stove Top Almost Burns down Home

       A few weeks ago, I almost burnt my house down while trying to make tea. I turned the stove on using the knob in which I thought coordinated to the correct burner. I went upstairs to fold my laundry and continued to listen for the whistle of the tea pot. A few minutes later, I remembered that I was trying to make tea, but didn't hear the whistle. I came downstairs to find a burner that was bright red and the tea pot sitting on a different burner; luckily, my house did not burn down. There were two pieces of feedback/lack of feedback in the above story. The thing that lacked feedback, is the tea pot; if the tea pot was boiling, there would be a feedback of a whistling sound. One piece of feedback that allowed me to know which burner was on was the redness of the burner. Unfortunately, there wasn't a type of feedback to tell me that I turned on the wrong burner.
       If this stove was better designed, the risk of fire would be reduced. There are many problems with the layout of the stove. The knobs that turn on the burners are on the other side of the stove, meaning that when you reach to turn the burner off, you could potentially get burnt by a tall pot or light your shirt on fire. Another problem with this system is that the diagram of the knobs does not signify whether the burner being turned on is a large or small one. Also, the knobs give a signifier of "front" and "rear" to the user; however, how are you supposed to know what is the front of the stove and what is the back when the knobs are on the back of the stove, not the front? While the knobs do afford the mapping of the burners, there are many ways in which this stove could be improved.
       According to Norman, many stoves have bad mapping. The mapping of my stove was different than the ones that Norman used for examples; in fact, my stove actually may be the most natural of all the examples he provided. However, one way this stove could be improved is by signifying whether a knob turns on a large or small burner, instead of just showing four dots with one filled in. In order to make the stove "fire proof," companies could put a constraint on a stove that would not allow a burner to get hot unless there was weight applied to the burner. Also, the stove could use colored lights next to each burner to signify what burner is on and which ones are off.

Corn Sheller: Where to Now?

       Do you know what type of system this is? This is a corn sheller. Did you picture this as your mental model? Probably not. There are many design and usability problems with this piece of equipment. First off, there is no signifier telling the user whether to stick the ear of corn in the top of the system or in the side. Another problem with the corn sheller is that the corn kernels come out where a person is cranking the machine, creating obstruction between the bucket that catches the kernels and the cranking handle. Another issue with the corn sheller is that the ear is stuck in the top and the cob comes out the opposite side, making this system near to impossible for one person to operate. Saying this, this system has poor affordances.
       This system also has poor mapping, for the user does not know how to operate the piece of equipment without instruction from a previous user. One way this system could have better mapping and use signifiers would be to use arrows and images on the system pointing to what happens inside of the system. This system could afford better usability by placing the spout that the kernels come out of on the opposite side so that the bucket catching the kernels would not get in the way. While this system is not designed very well, the feedback the system provides is realatively good. The user knows that they are using the piece of equipment correctly when they see kernels coming out the spout, otherwise, something is wrong.

Stationary Bike Does Not Pass Inspection

       This stationary bicycle on the lower left side of the page is what many people would see as their mental model of a stationary bike. However, take a closer look at the top right image. While riding this bicycle, I wanted to adjust the handles so that they are closer to my body, which would allow me to ride the bicycle and hold on without bending over and hurting my back. However, this is as close to me as the handle bars would go. But doesn't it appear that the handles could be moved closer to me since there is still one more hole? Well, that's what I thought until I realized that the metal piece with the knob is not attached to the the handles and is just there to help hold the metal bar that goes through it. So, if I would want to push the handle bars farther out I could, but then they would be even less usable for me as a rider. Another problem with this bike is that in order to adjust certain parts, the rider has to stop cycling and get off.
       First, let me offer some some insight and basic solutions to the handle bar problem. While I understand that racing bicycle enthusiasts ride crunched over, I believe the designer should have allowed the bar to come closer to the rider for those who use the bike leisurely. The designer also should have not made the metal piece appear to be attached to the handles, which makes the rider think that the handle bars could be moved closer to the body when in fact, they can't be. By using Human-Centered Design, I could find a solution to this problem. I would make the handles and the metal piece with the knob connected; this would reduce errors and allow for the user to move the handles forward and back with ease. In The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman, Norman explains that when creating designs, designers should focus on the "physical anthropometry" of the object; that is, making the object usable for people of all sizes. I believe one way of doing this and solving the problem of having to stop cycling to adjust certain features would be to have electronic controls connected to the handle bars that could control the seat and handle bar positioning. While I just named a few improvements that this bicycle should have, designers could use Human-Centered Design and test the object on subjects to make a product that is the more usable.