Observe.Question.Design
- 1. Observe | Question | Design Seungkyun Lee Major Studio 1 Fall 2012
- 2. Self Checkout at CVS 129 Fulton Street There were four self-checkout stations in the CVS store. There was no line for the self-checkout stations. Each self-checkout station was occupied, but it was only me and another person waiting in line. Contrarily, there was a huge line for the cashiers. Perhaps people were intimidated by the self-checkout systems. There was one shop assistant standing in the corner by the self- checkout stations. He was there specifically to help resolve any self-checkout station problems. One lady had trouble figuring out how to use a coupon, so the shop assistant had to help her out.
- 3. Self Checkout at CVS My Experience 1. While I was waiting in line, I did not feel any emotion in particular. I was curious, though, why most people wouldn’t want to use the self-checkout stations. 2. When I approached the self-checkout station, it automatically sensed my presence and the screen switched from “Open” to “select language” prompt. 3. The first thing I was prompted to do was to select a language between English and Spanish. I chose English. 4. The screen changed and the menu screen displayed all the actions I could take next: scan items, scan CVS card, use my own bag, or ask for help. 5. I realized that for some reason, the machine I was using did not have any sound. Other machines had the “beep” sound plus the robot voice that guided customers through the checkout procedure. 6. Because my machine was lacking the voice feature, it was rather confusing to figure out what to do next. It started getting confusing and frustration around this stage. 7. Nonetheless, I scanned my CVS card first.
- 4. Self Checkout at CVS My Experience 8. I scanned my first item and thought that I wanted to use my own bag instead of getting a plastic bag. So I pressed the “Use My Own Bag” button. 9. Right after that, I realized there wasn’t enough space in my bag for the items, so I pressed “Cancel” and put the item in the plastic bag. I was relieved that the machine offered a way to undo my selection. Too bad I couldn’t utilize the “Use My Own Bag” option… 10. I scanned the rest of the items and put everything in one plastic bag. I got a little excited when I was scanning the items, because I usually love scanning barcodes. 11. I pressed the “Finish and Pay” button, and the screen changed so that I could choose a payment method. 12. I chose to pay by debit card. I swiped it on the card machine that was separate from the checkout machine. 13. The machine then printed out the receipt. The screen simultaneously warned me not to forget my receipt. 14. I took the receipt and left the self-checkout machine.
- 5. Self Checkout at CVS Interface • The interaction with the self- checkout machine I experienced in this exercise was not “natural.” • The main mode of interaction between the users and the system is by pressing buttons that appeared on the screen. The fact that you need to keep pressing the buttons to make things happen comes to mind naturally, and in a sense, it is intuitive. However, the order in which things had to be done is unclear, and there is a disconnection between the act of using the touch screen and the physical scanning of items.
- 6. Self Checkout at CVS 3 Opportunities for Design Intervention 1. What was interesting was that the total amount of time I ended up spending at the self- checkout station was probably longer than what it would have taken the cashier to process my checkout. This was most likely because I got confused and wandered around a bit when I was using the self-checkout system. In order for self-checkout systems to have a real meaning, they need to be efficiently designed so that the users can use them to maximize their own efficiency. The self-checkout systems at CVS need to have a better interface so that the actions flow more naturally. 2. I did not have any trouble scanning the barcodes. But I also didn’t realize that there were two scanners until I saw some other people using the other scanner. If the machine were to have two scanners, make it more obvious. 3. The area where I was supposed to put the purchased items in felt too constraining. There is physically not enough space to put everything down. Plus, the plastic bags are sometimes way too small to fit in the items if the user buys something big. There should be an option for the users to choose different sizes of plastic bags.
- 7. Observation in the Public Case 1: Umbrellas Situation: I saw a lot of people carrying umbrellas with them, amongst a lot of other things, such as purse, cellphone, food, etc. It is necessary to carry an umbrella, but it just tends to get in the way when it is not actually raining. Moreover, people these days love to use their cellphone as they are walking in the streets or waiting for subway, so it is often important to have at least one hand free. Carrying an umbrella, especially a big one and not the foldable ones, makes it awkward to do what you need to do with hands. Problem: What can we do to an umbrella to maximize its mobility and transportability?
- 8. Observation in the Public Case 1: Umbrellas Potential Improvement: Information from the user: Add a long strap so that the umbrella is The various ways users hold an umbrella. How wearable around the body. Purse or wallet they carry umbrellas. The kinds of umbrellas users can transform into an umbrella. A headpiece carry (long, big, foldable, cased, etc.). What makes that turns into an umbrella-like shield on them carry the umbrellas through the day. What top of the person’s head whenever rain is makes them not take an umbrella with them. detected. What they do when they don’t have an umbrella and it is raining outside.
- 9. Observation in the Public Case 2: Falling Asleep on the Subway Situation: It is easy to fall asleep on the subway, especially at the end of the day. Problem: How do you know if you’ve reached your destination? What do you do if you miss your station and wake up in the middle of nowhere? How could we improve the subway train so that people who fall asleep can wake up when necessary and get off properly? Potential Improvement: Make the seats do something (perhaps shake?) when the train approaches a certain station. The passenger can enter their destinations when they first get on the train and then fall asleep. Information from the user: How often do they fall asleep on the subway? How often do they miss their destination? How do they usually manage to wake up before they have to get off the train?
- 10. Observation in the Public Case 3: Wall-mounted Bike Rack Situation: There are these bike racks installed on the wall in the workroom in my dorm building. They are usually fairly full. One night a guy came in and to park his bike, but there weren’t much space left, so he had to squeeze his bike in between two other bikes. But because of the parts that stuck out on the bikes, such as the handle, foot pedals and locks, he had a hard time wiggling his bike in. Problem: How could either the bike or the bike rack system be improved so that it isn’t so hard to park your bike when the bike rack is almost full?
- 11. Observation in the Public Case 3: Wall-mounted Bike Rack Potential Improvement: Make the bike handles and other parts that stick out collapsible, just like how the side mirrors can fold flat on cars. Make the wall-mounted bike rack shiftable to create more room around the rack the user is trying to use. Information from the user: How they park their bikes in other places. What is their biggest challenge when parking a bike on the wall? What are some of the difficulties when getting the bike off the wall-mounted rack?
- 12. Design Opportunities in Daily Life Case 1: Climbing Down the Bunk Bed Ladder Problem: The dorm I am currently in provides its residents bunk beds. I use the top bunk. Climbing up the bunk bed ladder is not much of a problem, but climbing down is rather problematic, especially in the morning when I have just woken up and have less energy.
- 13. Design Opportunities in Daily Life Case 1: Climbing Down the Bunk Bed Ladder Design Opportunity & Questions: What can be done to make climbing down the bunk bed ladder easier? Is ladder the only solution to travel between the floor and the top bunk? Could there be another way to move between the floor and the bed? Could the ladder transform into another form when I am climbing down the ladder? Are there any safety issues with the ladder? Is there a safer way to travel between the floor and the top bunk? What do I do if my limbs are in pain? Does the location of the bunk bed in relation to the room have anything to do with the ladder-climbing experience? What about ergonomics?
- 14. Design Opportunities in Daily Life Case 2: Cleaning the Toothbrush Problem: Small bits of food get stuck in the toothbrush bristles and I always have hard time prying them out. It is also difficult to tell if the toothbrush is clean or not. Furthermore, I tend to forget when I started using a particular toothbrush, and so it is often hard for me to figure out when to replace it. Design Opportunity & Questions: What can be done to the toothbrush to make it easier to clean? Should there be an add-on part? Should there be a separate tool specifically for cleaning the toothbrush? Or can the toothbrush clean itself? Should the toothbrush have a completely different form? Should there be a new way of cleaning teeth? What else can I use to clean my teeth with? Can the toothbrush give me some sort of feedback telling if it is clean or not? Can it tell me when it needs to be replaced?
- 15. Design Opportunities in Daily Life Case 3: Storing, Organizing and Finding Clothes Problem: I have a lot of clothes and they do fit in the drawer space I have, but every single drawer is filled up to the max. I have sorted the clothes so that each drawer contains different types of clothes (i.e. cardigans, summer shirts, winder sweaters, etc.) but it is still hard to figure out what is in each drawer. Moreover, it is very difficult to find and pull out what I need out of the drawer without messing up other clothes that are neatly folded. There is absolutely no space to add another drawer in the room. Getting rid of clothes is not an option. (I’ve already got rid of two boxes of clothes.)
- 16. Design Opportunities in Daily Life Case 3: Storing, Organizing and Finding Clothes Design Opportunity & Questions: What are some of the ways to organize and store the clothes so that I get the maximum amount of space? Do I fold or should I roll the clothes? How can I store clothes so that they take up the least amount of space without being crumpled? What kind of system should I employ to keep order in each drawer? How can browsing in each drawer made easy? Should something be done to the clothes or the drawers? Or is this a question of system?
- 17. Design Opportunities in Daily Life Case 4: Transportability of Water Bottle Problem: I have a reusable water bottle, which can contain up to 600ml of liquid. However, I usually fill it up only up to half line, because the bottle becomes too heavy to carry around otherwise. Even so, it becomes cumbersome to carry the bottle around especially if I am walking around all day with my laptop. Design Opportunity & Questions: Is there anything that can be done to the water itself? For example, can water be lighter when it is in the water bottle and become liquid when it passes the neck of the bottle? (Just like aerosol cans!)
- 18. Design Opportunities in Daily Life Case 5: Earbuds, Earphones and Headphones Problem: I have earbuds, earphones and headphones, but none of them are truly comfortable or effective. Earbuds hurt my ears after 15 minutes using them, and the headphones hurt my ears because they press my ears against the temple tips of my eyeglasses. Plus, they don’t fit well when I am wearing earrings. The clip-on earphones are relatively comfortable, but they don’t effectively shut out the noise from my surroundings, so I cannot hear the music very clearly.
- 19. Design Opportunities in Daily Life Case 5: Earbuds, Earphones and Headphones Design Opportunity & Questions: How can these items be improved so that they are effective in transmitting music and can be worn comfortably? What are some other ways to listen to music? How do these audio accessories add to the auditory experience? How do they affect me physically? How do they influence my character, in terms of appearance and emotion? Is it more about the form or the function?
- 20. Thank you! Seungkyun Lee | www.skyunlee.net