11.23.2009
Miranda Capra /
Consumer Products /
Human Factors
A few years ago I bought a new can opener that leaves a smooth edge on the lid of the can so that you don’t have to worry about cutting yourself on the lid. The first time I tried to use it, it took me 10 minutes and I completely mangled the lid of the can in the process. Why? Because the new can opener look very similar to my old one, but worked in a completely different fashion. Let me show you some example can openers to explain what happened.
Read more »
11.09.2009
Miranda Capra /
Usability /
Web & Software
This week marks the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street. When I visited their website in a browser that didn’t support Flash, I was greeted by a fantastic error message: F is for Flash! What was so great about this error message? It felt like something Sesame Street would say. It used letters and alliteration, it had a happy Muppet character next to it, and it tried to sneak in a little educational information about Flash. It was also great from a user interface perspective. Much of the rest of the site was still usable; it explained what was happening and why I couldn’t use this part of the website (feedback), and gave me a helpful link to download and install flash so I could use the site (feed forward). I love it!
10.16.2009
Miranda Capra /
Community Involvement /
Consumer Products /
Green Technology /
Local /
User Experience
HumanCentric is creating designs for better recycling containers and recycling systems as part of a design challenge sponsored by TriUPA for World Usability Day. We are collecting information about how you recycle, what you know about recycling, and what you would change, and would love for you to take 5 minutes and fill out our survey. Thanks!
10.13.2009
Miranda Capra /
Human Factors
Last month, the FDA issued a public health alert about Potential Medication Errors with Tamiflu Oral Suspension. Doctors in the US typically prescribe dosages for liquid drugs in terms of teaspoons. However, the eye dropper that comes with the medication has doses listed in milliliters. Users that do not realize this difference might under-dose themselves, leading to not being protected from the flu, or over-dosing, which could be potentially fatal, especially for young children. Now that doctors are aware of this problem they can issue dosages in milliliters, assuming that the doctor is able to properly do the conversion math. The best way to solve this would be to have the US using the same measurement system as the rest of the world, but that’s a huge issue all to itself. The next best solution is to have drugs that use the local units, or at least be labeled with both metric and English units…
Read more »
09.15.2009
Miranda Capra /
Consumer Products /
Usability
I have played computer sales associate for my family for years, helping guide them when they buy a new computer and translating the technical jargon that goes into computer specifications. I’ve patiently explained that the new laptop probably comes with an 80GB hard drive, not an 80GB CPU, that RAM is for running programs and not storing photos, and that you don’t need a high-end graphics card designed for gamers if all you’re going to do is watch a few YouTube videos. So I’m very excited to see that AMD is launching an ad campaign focused on tasks, rather than technical specifications.
Read more »
09.09.2009
Miranda Capra /
Consumer Products /
Usability /
Web & Software
My husband downloaded the Kindle application for his iPhone recently, and, despite having a PhD in Computer Science/HCI, immediately proceeded to accidentally purchase a book. He started off well, downloading a free sample of the book from the Kindle store (screenshots 1 + 2). When he reached the end of the sample (screenshot 3) he wanted pricing information for purchasing, so he clicked on “Buy Now” and poof! purchased the book (screenshot 4). I’m not sure what surprised me more – the fact that Amazon, which has been doing online shopping for almost 15 years, managed to create an application that made it so easy to accidentally purchase a book, or that the accidental purchase seemed to be anticipated. Because after purchasing the book, the confirmation screen asked “Purchased by accident?” and provided a large “Cancel this order” button that immediately canceled the order. After I found out how easy it was to cancel the order, I had to try this myself, and decided that the design wasn’t nearly as terrible as I thought at first. Let me explain…
Read more »
09.02.2009
Miranda Capra /
Consumer Products /
Usability
Eric Taub of the New York Times posted on his blog this week an explanation of how Vizio, which was founded in 2002, became the largest seller of LCD TVs in the US. One of his key points: they provide an easy-to-understand one-sheet summary of how to hook up the TV, because no one wants to read a manual. If you can’t figure out how to hook up your TV, how likely are you to keep it?
Read more »
08.21.2009
Miranda Capra /
Consumer Products /
Usability /
User Research
Last month I bought new shower curtain rings for my bathroom. Actually, not rings, I’m so tired of the plastic rings I’ve been using forever, so difficult to open and snap closed, and half the time one of them breaks when I open it. Instead I decided to buy elegant metal s-shaped shower curtain hooks from Target. What a mistake! Every time I opened or closed my shower curtain, several rings came off the pole, or the curtain came off the hooks, and a few times a hook fell off completely and hit me in the head. They looked so good, where did the design go wrong?
Read more »
08.05.2009
Miranda Capra /
Human Factors /
Usability /
Usability Lab /
User Research
In a previous blog, I discussed the pros and cons of having a one-way mirror in your usability lab. A one-way mirror is glass that has been coated with a thin layer of metal so that it’s reflective, like a mirror. It’s called a one-way mirror because in one direction it’s a mirror, but in the other direction it’s a window. There’s some debate about the proper name – many people call it a two-way mirror because either side can be used as a mirror by changing which room is lit and which room is dark. They’re commonly used in usability labs and focus group rooms, but also in other locations like observation rooms in police stations and day care facilities. Once you’ve decided that you want a one-way mirror for your usability lab, what next? Here are some tips for designing your one-way mirror, based on our experiences building our lab (including consultation with a professional acoustician) and experiences that our moderators have had in other labs.
Read more »
07.13.2009
Miranda Capra /
Human Factors /
Usability
I downloaded the game
Wolfenstein 3D for my iPod Touch the other day. This is one of the early first-person shooter games, where the perspective is as if you are looking out over your gun, and the world moves around you. The advantage of first-person perspective is that your own body, vehicle, robot, or whatever doesn’t block your view. The disadvantage is that they are well known for inducing motion sickness in many people that play these games. After about 5 minutes of playing Wolfenstein I gave up because I felt sick to my stomach, and I’m deleting the app from my iPod.
Read more »
