1. According to Norman, how should we handle all failures within a system?
What are the primary causes of most failures and what are the design
implications for developers?
How
should we handle all failures within a system?
1.
Understand cause and design to minimize cause rather than blaming end user. It
may include using constraints, proper messaging and
confirmations.
2.
Do Sensibility checks based on user's profile and previous flows chosen if
possible.
3. Keep
the option to undo action.
4. Make
it very easy to discover error.
5. Try bringing
end user to normal desired flow of action rather than immediately throwing out.
Swiss
cheese model beautifully describes how to reduce possibility of errors.
What
are the primary causes of most failures?
Most
common is requiring end user to operate in unnatural ways.
Interruptions are also major cause of errors, both slips and mistakes.
What
are the design implications for developers?
It is not
always possible to make errors discoverable or report the error before it has
occurred, and undo it when transaction is already complete. Say, end user
didn't bother the warning he was given and kept on clicking OK.
2. Explain the relationship between discoverability,
feedback, the conceptual model, affordances, signifiers, mappings, and constraints. Use an item to illustrate your
points (Norman discusses these in great deal using several examples. Do not
repeat an example from the book. Use your own).
Affordances: is the reason why I
am using the machine under consideration, say I will be using shaving kit for
cleaning my bread in a while.
Signifiers: Signifiers help determine
how I can do shaving bread with this shaving kit lying on my table.
Mapping: size and shape of the holder matching with the
slot is natural mapping for me.
Constraints (may be of type physical, logical, semantic, and
cultural): so the holes in blade and the corresponding elevation in the
holder work has forced constraint in my example.
Vincent-Old-Fashioned-Safety-Razor
Discoverability: with this it is
possible to determine what actions are possible in current state of machine. I
can put blade in the holder and clean my face full of shaving cream.
Feedback: Is the way to communicate back, what is
happening. I will look in to the mirror while shaving how it’s going on, this
is feedback for me.
Conceptual model: This is the rough image in my mind of the
system and how it works. I am writing this description above based on
conceptual modal in my head.
3.
Summarize Norman's thoughts on
standardization. He brings it up at several points in the book. He offers the
benefits and the drawbacks but does provide a clear viewpoint.
Author clearly mentions the importance of affordances and signifiers, discoverability, feedback. But
if it is not possible to provide anything or say there is a language barrier or
anything unforeseen, he says standardization
always pays and worth following.
When
no other solution is possible, design everything the same way so that people
have to learn once. Standards simplify life for everyone, but it is
difficult to set a standard and bring all the manufacturers and
governing agencies on the same page.
He
mentions, sometime standards may take so long to develop that they are no more
relevant and beneficial, because already in market there are
numerous manufacturer specific designs implemented now.
There
are always many people who advocate presence of multiple standards.
Sometimes,
even if standards are set, they are no followed and vanish with time.
4.
Norman discusses the process of design
thinking. What two tools does he provide to support this process and how are
they related? According to Norman, are these more theoretical or
practical? Why?
He suggests double diamond model for defining problem
and then again double diamond model to reach the best
possible solution.
In
both cases, we start with something, and expand our scope and finally based on
elimination reach to problem statement/ solution.
Start
with an idea, and through the initial design research, expand the thinking to
explore the fundamental issues. Only then is it time to converge upon the real,
underlying problem. Similarly, use design research tools to explore a wide
variety of solutions before converging upon one.
These
are more theoretical though.
Money,
schedule constraints and market pressure may not allow detailed analysis.
5.
Norman asserts that "reliance on
technology is a benefit to humanity". What does he mean by this? Do you
agree? Why or why not?
Author here means that, if we use more and more advanced
technology based solutions, it is not always true that we will be making
ourselves dumb. We may not be always losing our abilities, but we will have
more mental resources to be used elsewhere.
But he also mentions that, perfect coordination b/w man
and machine is the key. If we are not able to utilize our brain to fully deploy
machine power, it may be not so beneficial.
6.
Norman's goal with this book was to turn
readers into great observers of the absurd, of the poor design that gives
rise to so many of the problems of modern life, especially of modern
technology while giving them a tool chest of good design principles to address
future issues of design. Did Norman accomplish his goal with you? Explain
while offering your biggest take-a-ways from this book (positive or negative).
To be true, he is not successful if I consider myself as an
end user and reading this book, but yes me being in a designer role, it helped
me.
Me as an end User:
1. Author uses similar examples to illustrate two
almost opposite direction concepts.
2. I think, if I am the end user in this book, I may be a
person without common sense and empty skull. That is not the case in 99%
cases.
Yes it gives me some good tactics to argue, but I will
prefer to sort out issue myself before actually running to the
manufacturer.
Me as a designer/developer:
Yes, this book is something I will keep with me always and
keep on reading again and again. This book is the lifetime experience of a
brilliant personality and teaches me to be end user centric in
my products.
Some things I am going to stop doing:
1. Thinking that, why my client doesn't understand what I
am trying to explain.
2. Did she miss the big red message in large font?
3. Why should I worry to roll back transaction, when I gave
the big confirmation message.
4. This application works well in Chrome, who cares IE,
there are very few user base from IE as per Google analytics.
5. Why didn't the end user not able to see this download
button?
6. I won't ever blame customer service guy to forget a step
in sequence we handed over to him, rather think of making design more
robust.
7. Now I know the importance of text in error messages.
