MFDs

Norman’s Seven Stages of Action

Forming the goal:

Print something from a library computer using a multi-function device (MFD)

Forming the Intention:

Start off with clicking print with your mouse on the document screen. A pop up window will then appear on the screen a few seconds afterwards and you have to click Okay to send the document to the printer. You would have to then walk to MFD and use the keyboard and touchpad to type in your username and password. After this a window will come up indicating that you have x amount of print jobs waiting. Click okay and then the Release button. When the Release screen comes up, select the print job(s) you would like to print and then press the print button. Your documents should start printing now. Finally after you’re done, you have to press the access button and click okay in order to sign out of your account.

Specifying the intention:

In order to send the print job to the MFD you have to use the muscles in your hand to operate the mouse and the keyboard. You’d proceed to get out of the chair and using your leg muscles you’d walk to the printer. Using your finger and hand muscles you’d operate the keyboard and touchscreen connected to the MFD.

Executing the action:

Follow the intention specified.

Perceiving the state of the world:

Printed document comes out of printer

Interpreting the state of the world:

Printing job was successful

Evaluating the outcome:

Although the process was long and there were some unnecessary steps the goal was achieved and the pop-up windows helped move the process along.

Conclusion:

The process was pretty self-explanatory and after using it once, it’s easy to get the hang of. The pop-ups give you information about how to release print jobs and how to sign out. The process however is really long and there are numerous times that you have to confirm that you want to print which seems very unnecessary. If I say that I want to print something, I really do mean that I want to print that thing.

Needs Assessment:

Observe: Some students spent less than a minute at the MFD and walked away with their print job without a hitch. Fewer students spent a longer time at the MFD and occasionally had to walk back to their computers and eventually walked away with their print job. The rare student would tinker with the MFD and the computer they were using and eventually walked away without being able to print something. One thing that surprised me was how I didn’t see anyone ask for help when they couldn’t figure out how to use the MFD.

Try: After using the MFD the first time, I never had a problem with printing anything. I feel like the steps are easy enough however I never tried doing anything but printing. The people that I watched that copied things did not seem to have a problem though.

Ask: I did an individual interviews because I felt that group and expert interviews would take more planning to conduct. Also, I was interviewing other students and not faculty or staff members so I could afford to be a somewhat less formal. I was not interviewing people to find out about the product but rather to find out about other people’s experiences so expert interviews were not necessary. I chose a few random students at the Clapp library who had gotten up to print something and who did not look like they were in a hurry. (I asked to just to make sure.) They stated that they didn’t like having to wait to use the printer at certain times of the day and that the printing process was just too long in general. One student also stated that when something goes wrong it causes a huge inconvenience because students only know how to use the device to print and maybe copy things. If a problem arose they would have to call for help because their knowledge about the device is so limited. 

Mind Map

Solutions:

The main problems with the MFDs are that they make it unnecessarily difficult to print things and that because they are overly complex. One proposed solution is to include next to the MFD an easy and simple to read instruction booklet that not only describes how to do certain things but also had to solve common problems such as a paper jam. Another solution is to separate the devices so that one device is used to print, another to copy etc and have multiple printers and copiers around the room to lessen the wait time. This way the devices would be much simpler and less intimidating looking. Yet another is to shorten the printing process by getting rid of some steps such as having to validate the print job more than once.

Pugh Chart:

Sketches: 

Design of Everyday Things, Chapter 2

I found that I related to a lot that Norman stated in chapter 2 of The Design of Everyday Things and I thought that overall his thoughts and points were very well stated. One thing that really resonated with me was when he pointed out that when a task appears simple, people blame themselves. I have definitely done that a number of times and have been too embarrassed to say anything about it. Occasionally, after the fact, I’d find out that other people suffered from the same problem. It’s nice to have someone acknowledge that the fact that so many people having problems with it indicates a problem in the design and not in the users’ incompetence. Another part of the chapter that I found interesting is when he Norman mentions “mathematics phobia.” It’s something that I’m definitely familiar with and I really liked how he explained the way this “phobia” is developed.  It’s not that the concepts are particularly difficult but because each new lesson builds on the previous it is hard to catch up if you fall behind once.