One of my research interests is human factors, particularly in the use of high technology. And, no, we are not talking about interpersonal relationships (this reminds me of the time while I was pursuing my math MA in Austin; I was buying a book on group theory, and the saleslady asked what psychology class I was taking: very cute.) We are talking the fit of the technology to the person using it: how comfortable, natural is an interface with a person's physical characteristics (like legibility, ease of using controls, etc.) and background/experience (can I use a new technology naturally, leveraging prior knowledge and organizers or models? If I am a power user, does a simplistic interface get in the way of my getting things done?)
The segment title is no accident; Don Norman wrote a highly influential book in the late 80's, originally titled "The Psychology of Everyday Things", a text I frequently cited in my later academic/professional writings and when I finally got a chance to teach my dream graduate course on human factors as a visiting professor at Illinois State. I often take up related considerations in my SoftDoc blog. But I note many examples of poor usability design in everyday life: for example, do I find myself unsuccessfully pushing vs. pulling a door open?
I'm just going to list a few examples to illustrate the point:
- While I was at ISU, I used to use bank ATM machines located outside. It was nearly impossible to see the display with the sun shining on it.
- I've been at a federal facility in the Yuma area which requires those without a security card to call the security desk for an escort. My smartphone display wasn't legible in the bright sunshine (I had to radically raise brightness settings).
- I get text messages on my cellphone which might display characters in dark blue or red on black, a poorly legible contrast. These might include verification codes for various Internet accounts. I've had similar issues with default setups in putty, a software utility which provides a terminal session to various accessible intranet computer servers. This is an option to reset a session's colors, and I've typically done a natural black text on white background setup.
- With newer credit cards you may need to insert vs. swipe the credit card, e.g., on self-checkout lanes at WalMart.
- When I checked in to AA at VPS, most of the work is done at kiosks (there was an agent, mostly there to weigh and tag luggage--after you paid the $25 fee at the kiosk; you still had to walk the luggage to security). The typical way to establish your identity at the kiosk is through the credit card you used to book the flight. There was no credit card insert guide at the kiosk, so I must have inserted the credit card 2-3 different ways, with the kiosk complaining it couldn't read the card.
- This is more of a procedural issue. I had to check my Avis Car rental in at VPS; there were no personnel available. I decided to park it in an available numbered slot; there was a key drop off (for Preferred members?) at the empty counter, but no forms available at the corner to note vehicle location, etc. (And I didn't have paper with me.) No 800 number for customer service. Some people brought forms with them, but all I seem to recall getting when I checked in were keys and the vehicle location, no paperwork other than when I signed for Avis. But even if I had misplaced any paperwork, the procedure did not seemed to anticipate that, and I had a flight to catch. The lack of closure was worrisome. I had to call the local office while waiting for my Yuma flight in Phoenix. (I think Google gave me the local branch number at VPS--which, of course, was not forwarded to Avis national customer service.)
- I recently had to throw away my old microwave (my last few apartments came furnished with a microwave, unlike my current) and bought a new, inexpensive replacement at WalMart. I have often relied on microwave timers, e.g., 3 minutes or so for my Foreman grill to warm up, another 5 minutes to grill my grass-fed beef patty. What annoyed me was the inconsistency between cooking time and the kitchen timer functionality on the new appliance. For example, I might enter Cook-430-start to microwave a TV dinner. But I have to provide a leading digit for the kitchen timer, i.e., Kitchen Timer-0430-start if I wanted to time 4 min 30 sec. It's not immediate obvious why the timer requires a leading digit; these types of inconsistencies result in higher human error.
Things Are Getting Better All the Time (9/5/16)
Now granted, this might be old hat to long-time users of cellphones, but I haven't taken that many flights since 2009 and I didn't own a smartphone back then. So I recently signed up for TripIt, which integrates with my corporate travel card. Now grant you, there was probably support for connection information from airline websites, etc., some airlines like AA allow free WIFI on board for connecting to their portal, and there may be other trip portals offering similar functionality, but I love getting text alerts about availability for check in, tight connections, and incoming/outgoing connection gate information, often waiting for me as soon as I take my cellphone off airplane mode. For example, the night before I left for Florida, I was alerted my Phoenix-DFW segment had been delayed by more than an hour, well into boarding time for my DFW-VPS segment. What made things worse is that I had to go to another terminal via Skylink. The fat lady wasn't singing, but she was warming up; usually I end up sitting near the back of the plane, which means waiting 10-15 minutes for interim passengers to clear out first. I told the American agent when I checked in (no, not at a kiosk in Yuma) that I thought it was necessary to book a seat later for DFW-VPS. She didn't cancel my existing seat just in case I somehow made it but made a backup reservation just in case. I don't think the rebooking was in TripIt, but unbelievably there was another delay in Phoenix on top of the existing delay, and the fat lady moved to the stage. I think my original VPS flight took off while we were still taxiing at DFW, and I had to go to an AA customer service counter to get my new boarding pass for the next flight out (2 hours), but it only took about 5 minutes or so to confirm my booking. But the nice thing about the TripIt alerts is that the original segments would give alerts like "the Phoenix flight is coming in at terminal B gate 15, and you have 2 hours to make your DFW flight at terminal C gate 5". So no longer do I have to wait in line for an agent at the incoming gate or hunt wherever they have a board for departing flights, a huge convenience.
On a different topic, I've lived in apartments for decades, and washing one's clothes was always a hassle; I do think a couple of complexes I lived in in Maryland had washer/dryer units, and I had connections in my SC apartment and rented a set. But over the years, it had always been a hassle, primarily for the insatiable appetite for quarters. Now the technology has been around for ages on refillable cards (e.g., mass transit, long distance phone cards, etc.), and I seem to recall some sort of earlier version of this concept when I lived in Normal, IL. But more recently I had to deal with coin-operated in my WV apartment and during my recent hotel stays. (In Florida, the hotel bragged about its dollar-only washers and driers, which reminds me of how my CA boss actually tried to recruit me on having access to quarter-only soda pop machines.) But it's a hassle getting quarters; the WV apartment did have a greenback conversion machine, but half the time it wasn't in working order. My bank usually doesn't have local branches but will reimburse ATM fees up to a certain amount and frequency of withdrawals. This doesn't help getting rolls of quarters; at hotels, I can usually convert a small number of dollar bills, and sometimes I can get them at WalMart customer service, although sometimes I've been given the runaround to finding the right manager.
So my local complex has a refillable card system; it wasn't immediately obvious to me but they charge $5 for the card itself (not exactly the contemporary razor model where they give the razor essentially for nothing and make their profits on cartridges, similar to desktop printer sales). I thought I had $5 of credit on the card, but it dawned on me when the washer showed $0.00 on the card I had to make a second credit card transaction. (I would say that you should be able to combine transactions.) It's been great not having to hunt for quarters, although the usability could be tweaked; on more than one occasion, I've withdrawn the card prematurely. I would prefer something like the WalMart self-service handling of newer credit cards, when they alert you when to remove your card.
Post-Trip Diet Back on Course (9/5/16)
Somehow I had put on 9 lbs. during my 2-week trip to Florida. Granted, I ate more eating out (particularly carbs). I find for some reason I'm no longer able to eat big meals; it'll often make me feel uncomfortable for an hour or two if I eat more than my usual meals on the diet, like a frozen entree. I'm used to eating everything on my plate, but for example I recently ordered a baked potato with my restaurant meal, and I couldn't finish the meal.
Two days back, and as I predicted, 5 of those water-gain pounds have already melted away. I'm not saying that the last 4 will be gone by Wednesday; the weight losses often stutter-step, so it wouldn't surprise me if I gained back a pound tomorrow and then lost 2 more Tuesday. I need to join a local fitness center, which I haven't done in a while, but I don't want to exercise in 100 F heat.
Good Weekend For Alma Mater Football (9/5/16)
I've already tweeted about UH's (MBA, PhD) stunning upset of Oklahoma Saturday. UH had a magnificent season last year, losing only 1 game (without their star quarterback). I would have to say that UT's (MA) defeat of Notre Dame was even more entertaining, going into multiple overtimes. Somehow UT blew a 17-point lead, capped off by a highly unusual blocked extra point runback by Notre Dame for 2 points to tie the game. I've never been a fan of gimmicks in overtimes to soccer and football, particularly after Minnesota's 1998 field goal loss to Atlanta on a first score basis. It seemed unfair not to allow the other team its chance to respond. In the first overtime, UT and ND traded touchdowns; in the second overtime Notre Dame hit a field goal, but Texas responded with a game-winning touchdown, which answers UT's humiliating loss last year at Notre Dame. UT is coming off a bad season last year, and Texas is platooning two talented quarterbacks, one a true freshman.
Of course, the UH and UT wins were at home, but UT is expected to be one of the most improved teams over last year. As for my first alma mater OLL: no major sports while I attended; the college had recently turned coed after being a women's college (even a geek like me could date with a 2-1 ratio of women to men). They have fielded a basketball team since the 80's although the program was shut down for a while a few years back and resurrected.
