Assistive Devices for Graphic Designers

Today I want to talk a little bit about assistive technology. My background in usability research has hardly touched on accessibility and assistive devices. Occasionally I think about doing some research on accessible Web sites, but I haven't much considered how people with disabilities use graphic design software until this week.

About a month ago, Jason Statts, a former colleague of mine from SCAD was severely injured in a shooting, leaving him with limited arm and hand mobility. One of the most frustrating parts of his recovery is how difficult it is to find assistive devices that cater to designers. It is hard for him to accept that he may now have to work on a PC after years of being a die-hard Mac fan. There's also the added difficulty of limited availability of devices that could help him with the fine motor movements required to design artwork.

I had a chat with Georgia Tech senior research scientist, Robert Todd, to see if there is anything new in the world of assistive technology. He completely sympathized with the plight of designers who are suffering from limited mobility. Most devices are designed to help with basic tasks - writing a letter, sending email, and chatting. Unfortunately, researchers haven't focused much on helping people use more advanced applications like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

With little options available now, I challenge assistive technology researchers to consider graphic designers. There are countless solutions just waiting to be discovered because talented designers like Jason Statts were born to be creative artists and should have the chance to share their work with the world. I want to see Jason double the number of ADDYs on his mantle.

If you want to learn more about Jason Statts, please visit http://www.stattswilliams.com/.

Predict Expert Task Time With CogTool

No matter which company I work for or what type of usability position I hold, I always include CogTool as part of my research process. In the past, I’ve used it to sell my argument that use of a particular widget is a time-saver, to select a more efficient workflow, and to demonstrate how using this application for projects requiring quick turnaround can shave user research time significantly.

Unless you spend a lot of time with HCI researcher, Bonnie John, you may not be familiar with CogTool. Cognitive modeling is known to be incredibly time consuming and requires intensive training to accurately predict performance. Bonnie developed CogTool in an effort to simplify the task time prediction process to bring more designers into this type of user research.

Designers use a storyboard to map out a workflow using screenshots (or wireframes, sketches, etc). With a couple of clicks, CogTool spits out the predicted expert use task time. For those interested in the nitty gritty, export the cognitive details (ACT-R trace) or view a visualization of the task timeline.

What makes this a key tool for your user research arsenal is that you can compare expert use task time without recruiting participants for a think aloud study. This makes it an excellent choice for completely new systems that don’t already have “experts”. Run a couple of workflow paths through CogTool to determine which would be most efficient. I've done a few studies using both CogTool and think aloud testing, finding that the end result for both methods always results in the same design recommendation. Whenever appropriate, I like to run CogTool as an alternative usability testing.

It is important to note that CogTool does not help understand why users complete certain actions. It does not predict decisions or account for errors. It is simply there to predict expert use task time with no errors along a predetermined path. What that means is that many workflow decisions will be easier to make. It’s hard to argue with time predictions down to the millisecond. I’ve found that CogTool predictions leave stakeholders speechless.

For more information about CogTool, I highly recommend visiting Bonnie John’s site to read related research and download the application and tutorial. It won’t cost you anything. There’s nothing better than a free product that saves you time.

Fisher & Paykel Study Progress

Status
Four participants evaluated the task of selecting the comforter cycle and starting the washer.

Participant background
Participants included two adults and two teenagers who are experienced with washing laundry but have never used Fisher & Paykel appliances.

Task
Participants were told they recently purchased a new washing machine and were told by the salesperson that there is a cycle for washing comforters. They were expected to complete the task of selecting the special cycle and starting the load of wash.

Findings
It is too soon to report any significant data, especially about task time and task completion, however some key hypotheses can be made.

1. The excitement of unique settings and automated wash cycles may mask minor usability problems. Although all four users had difficulty finding the comforter cycle, they were fascinated by other settings and found the washer fascinating. One participant commented, "Oh my goodness! That's pretty cool. You have a chocolate stain on your shirt, you can pick that one."
   
   
2. Even if users aren't able to find the comforter setting, they should still be able to successfully wash the bulky blanket because if auto-sensing is left on (default), the water temperature and fill level will be determined by the machine.
   
   
3. Users won't spend much time trying to figure out the washing machine. They will probably try for 1-2 minutes and then just hit the start button.
   
   
4. Very few users will consult the manual.

Next steps

1. Continued evaluation of the washing machine by guests in my home.
   
   
2. Recruitment of current Fisher & Paykel users.
   
   
3. Look into research done on frequency of appliance customers referring to user guides.

Are you a Fisher & Paykel washing machine owner? Please get in touch with me! I'd love to hear your experiences.

Related Posts:
Usability Study: Fisher & Paykel Intuitive ECO

Bad Customer Service

This week has been full of horrible customer service experiences. To me, reasonable customer service is being able to access the information I need in a timely manner (whether automated or live), being able to speak with a live person if that is my wish, and receiving either a resolution to my problem or honest effort in doing so. Here are two negative experiences that solidified already poor feelings about each company:

Home Improvement
One step in a major home improvement store's kitchen remodel process is having new cabinets inspected by Installation Services shortly after delivery. This process helps ensure that before the installers get underway, all parts arrived in pristine condition. I scheduled a cabinet delivery date with the shipping company and decided to schedule the inspection now. I like to have appointments scheduled as soon as possible so I always know my availability.

At 3:10pm on a weekday, I called my local store and asked customer service for “Alicia” - note: this is not her actual name. The girl responded, “I'm not sure who that is.” It's a big store, so I figured all that was needed was some clarification and explained, “She's in Installation Services.” This rings a bell and the girl remembers who Alicia is. Unfortunately, this is where I remember that it's after 3pm and Alicia doesn't work late afternoons. The girl on the phone wasn't sure anyone else can handle Alicia's duties but offered to check with another department. I was transferred but the person on the other end picked up and promptly hung up.

I called back the next morning, figuring it best to reach Alicia directly. I learned from the last experience and asked specifically for Alicia in Installation Services. The phone is answered, “Installation Services” so I thought I was doing great and I'd reached my destination. However, when I asked for Alicia, the response I got was, “I don't know who that is, ma'am. Can I help you with an installation?” I explained I wanted to set up my cabinet inspection and needed to speak with a woman named Alicia. The rep insisted there was no Alicia and informed me that I may need to call the local store. When I explained that I called the local store and they must have accidentally transferred me, she told me I didn't call the store. I don't like being called a liar.

I decided to try the store one more time. This time, I asked for the kitchen cabinet department. The woman who answered was friendly and understood who Alicia was and how to reach her. Alicia didn't seem to want to talk to me though and fed information through the woman who was on the phone with me.

Anti-Resolution: They'll call me when my cabinets are delivered. They will not schedule an inspection ahead of time.

How I Feel: I don't care that they can't schedule my inspection. I only care that I spent so much time trying to reach Alicia.

Student Loans
My experience with a student loan lender was a little more serious than the home improvement store situtation. I use auto-debit to pay my student loans but still check that payments go through... just in case. After two years of perfect auto-debiting, I noticed that auto-debit no longer was applied to my account. I tried reaching someone by phone but the wait time was unreal so I simply signed back up for auto-debit and waited for confirmation. A month later with no confirmation, I made my payment manually and tried to contact the lender.

The lender phone system is set up so that no one waits on hold. If there is any wait time, they ask to call you back later. If their later offering doesn't work for you, you may select a future time, but that future time must be between the hours of 10am and 4pm. The don't specify which time zone. The day I called, the return call time was too late in the evening, so I waited another day to call back.

Calling again the next day I was thrilled when I was transferred to a live person without a wait. Then I was severely disappointed when the person told me he couldn't help me after just getting my name. I was put back into a queue and then shuffled into the call-back system. This time, I accepted the call-back and waited about 15 minutes. When the phone rang, I was thrilled to get a chance to resolve my issue. The automated system let me know I was next in line and shortly after, a rep answered the phone. I could hear voices and tapping of keys. I said hello several times and was greeted by a click... and a dial tone.

Resolution: I decided it wasn't worth my time to keep calling. I'd just send a check each month and be done with it. Ironically, auto-debit mysteriously appeared back on my account the next day, and along with it, an extra payment was made.

How I Feel: If I could pay off that loan in one lump sum to be done with that lender, I would.

So what am I trying to say here?
I've talked a lot about how lengthy and frustrating these situation were but what matters is not that I didn't receive the expected resolution, it's that no one cared to try to help me. In each of these cases, I could have been told, “I'm sorry but there's nothing I can do for you,” and if that person had made an effort to try to fix the problem, I would have left feeling a heck of lot more satisfied and my image of these companies would have remained positive.

Perhaps there is little incentive to be nice to me. The home improvement store has been a problem in the past so I'm fairly sure I'll use another store next time, and the lender has plagued me in the past so this experience leaves me wanting to never do business with them again. But they know I have no choice. I can't take my student loan elsewhere because it's “private”.

Usability Study: Fisher & Paykel Intuitive ECO

Three weeks ago I had a new washer and dryer installed. While excited for new appliances, I was also worried about the complexity of these Fisher & Paykel machines. No longer will my clothes be cleaned on permanent press, delicate, and regular cycles. Now they will experience the cleanliness of "allergy" and "sweaty" cycles, or I can trust the washer to sense what type of cycle my clothes need. I have always been about appliance simplicity. Give me on and off and I'm good to go, however, this washing machine has become my favorite appliance. I enjoy washing clothes now and find myself doing smaller loads of well-sorted clothes instead of cramming in everything I can fit. This washing machine is almost perfect. There are two problems, which for me are minor:

1. I frequently press the wrong button when flipping through menus trying to select a Lifecycle. It's not too big a deal because I am able to correct myself and I don't lose much more than a couple of seconds stepping back to select the correct cycle.

2. Every fourth load or so, I either forget to put the detergent into the agitator stem (I looked up the name of this part in the user guide for this blog entry) or I forget to replace the fabric softener dispenser before adding the softener into the agitator. I know the clothes still get clean when I pour detergent directly on them, but I'm not sure how the mix of softener and detergent affects the wash quality.

My troubles with the washer left me wanting to know more. Would other users also have these problems? Do the problems persist as users work with their machines over time? As someone who only reads user guides as a trouble shooting mechanism, I wonder, would other users read the guide to learn how to use the washer they way it was intended to be used?

I devised a study with a series of phases to learn more about the usability of the Fisher & Paykel Intuitive ECO washing machine.

Phase #1
Trying out a Lifecycle - new users
For this phase, people unfamiliar with the washer will adjust the settings and start a comforter cycle. They won't be asked to add detergent or softener. The major rationale behind splitting up the wash task is that I feel a bit funny asking people to do a load of my laundry when they come over. It seems somewhat strange to me. If I ask them to just do part of the task, it doesn't take them as long and they (hopefully) won't feel like they are doing a load of wash as guests in my home.

The first phase is already underway with four users having already evaluated the comforter cycle. I'd like to evaluate at least three more people before moving on to phase two.

Phase #2
Adding detergent and fabric softener - new users
During the second phase, new users will be presented with a washing machine loaded with clothing and asked to add detergent and fabric softener. Ideally, I'll stick to people who have some experience with fabric softener, but I'm not sure this experience would affect the study results.

Phases #3 & 4
Using a Lifecycle and adding detergent/softener - experienced users
Beginning with the third phase, things start to get complicated. I only know three other people who use Fisher & Paykel machines and I don't believe they are the Intuitive ECO. Since this is just a study for fun, I'm not compensating participants, so recruiting becomes more of a challenge. I'd also like to watch several loads so I can see how persistent certain problems are, if they are problems at all. I suppose, as I'm getting quite used to remote studies, perhaps I could do this over the phone, or ask my participants to set up a video camera and record their laundry process over a few weeks. That could get interesting.

I will post updates as interesting data presents itself. I have no idea how long it will take and I'm not putting a deadline on this research right now. I think I'll let things evolve as the study progresses. I have to thank Whitney Hess for inspiring me to get back into evaluating of the usability of items that aren't part of my job. I can always learn a thing or two in my personal life as well.

For more information about the Fisher & Paykel washing machine I'm evaluating, check out Intuitive ECO and if you're curious, download the user guide (PDF) from the company's Web site.

Support Team Gideon

Help support Team Gideon in the Missing GRACE Hope and Hearts Walk

Six months ago, Gideon was stillborn after a cord accident. Until that point, I had no idea how common stillbirth has remained, even with the advances in prenatal care. It was an incredibly painful moment to learn of Gideon’s death and one that I hope to help prevent for other moms in the future. In honor of Gideon and to help promote prenatal care and support women who have suffered a similar loss, I am walking in the Hope and Hearts Walk to raise money for the Missing GRACE foundation. If you live in the Twin Cities area and would like to join Team Gideon, please send me an email.

I am raising money for Missing GRACE. Please help support Team Gideon in the Hope and Hearts Walk by making a small donation. Every little bit counts. The team goal is $3600. Please visit www.firstgiving.com/gideon for more information.

For more information about Missing GRACE, please visit www.missinggrace.org.

Fridge vs Cabinets

Challenge
Replace a very old, small refrigerator. New fridge has to be squeezed into the kitchen, even after wall trim is removed. Zero clearance on either side means a shorter appliance lifespan. When the door opens, it slams into the wall. To resolve the issue, shifting cabinets down, a replacement fridge cabinet is required. New countertop recommended if we move things around. If changing countertop on one side, other side must be accommodated. Also, how to perfectly match the old cabinets... not easy.

Solution
Replace all the cabinets to leave more room, which leads us to reconsider the scope of the project and settled on two final choices.

A)Start the kitchen from scratch. Brand new cabinets, countertops, sink, and faucet. While we’re at it, a new flourescent light would be nice. Replacing the flooring would be required with removal of the peninsula. Fridge to be moved to the other side of the kitchen, away from a side wall.

B)Let the fridge live a short life and just replace the countertops, sink, and faucet. Paint the cabinets so they don’t look so outdated.

The cabinets need more than paint. They also need some repair and adjustment.

What do you think we will do?

Buttermilk Chicken with Rosemary

A recipe from Martha Stewart’s recipe magazine inspired dinner tonight. The simple instructions called for soaking chicken breasts in buttermilk and rosemary. I added a little garlic, nutmeg, and an egg and let the chicken soak for three hours. Later, I added cornbread stuffing, coating both sides, and broiled them until cooked. Served with a side of spinach and diced bell peppers sauteed in sesame oil, this was a tasty meal. The chicken was incredibly moist and juicy, so props go to Martha for suggesting the buttermilk soak. Even with the dairy, this is still a low-fat, nutritious meal.

Ingredients for a dinner for two include:

• Two boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• One tablespoon rosemary
• One cup low-fat buttermilk
• One cup cornbread stuffing
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh chopped garlic
• 1/2 tablespoon nutmeg
• One egg
• One bunch fresh spinach, stems removed
• One yellow bell pepper
• One red bell pepper
• Sesame oil