Preface xvii ONE: The Psychopathology of Everyday Things 1 TWO: The Psychology of Everyday ctions !" T#$EE: %no&ledge in the #ead and in the World '" (O)$: %no&ing What to *o +1 (,-E: To Err ,s #./an 10' six: The *esign Challenge 1"1 SE-EN: )ser0Centered *esign 1+1 Notes 212 S.ggested $eadings 2!1 $eferences 2"1 ,ndex 2"2 P $E( CE TO T#E 2 0 0 2 E *, T , ON "Norman Doors" 3, 4.st fo.nd a Nor/an door: ,t &as really diffic.lt to open53 , a/ fa/o.s for doors that are diffic.lt to open6 light s&itches that /a7e no sense6 sho&er controls that are .nfatho/a8le5 l/ost anything that creates .nnecessary pro8le/s6 /y correspondents report6 is a 3Nor/an thing3: Nor/an doors6 Nor/an s&itches6 Nor/an sho&er controls5 That &asn9 t &hat , had in /ind &hen , &rote this 8oo75 , tho.ght /y ideas &o.ld stand for good design6 for o84ects &e co.ld .se easily and effi0 ciently:&ith delight and f.n5 nd &itho.t having to read co/plex instr.ctions or as7 for help5 Sigh5 ll those years spent st.dying f.nda0 /ental principles of the h./an /ind6 of /e/ory and attention6 learning6 /otor control:only to 8e re/e/8ered for 8ad doors5 ;.t then again6 the interest sho&s that , /ade /y point5 (ar too /any ite/s in the &orld are designed6 constr.cted6 and foisted .pon .s &ith no .nderstanding:or even care:for ho& &e &ill .se the/5 Calling so/e0 thing a 3Nor/an door3 is recognition of the lac7 of attention paid 8y the /a7er to the .ser6 &hich is precisely /y /essage5 , a/ delighted 8y the letters , receive6 incl.ding yet /ore exa/ples5 , a/ delighted that /any &onderf.l prod.cts no& do exist6 and that in n./ero.s cases designers vii have stated that The Design of Everyday Things &as re<.ired reading for their staffs5 This 8oo7 has s.cceeded5 So sho& /e /ore of those Nor/an doors6 those fa.cets6 those plastic 8ags of food that can 8e opened only 8y ripping the/ &ith the teeth5 Sho& /e /ore of those a.to/o8ile radios6 s.ch as the one in /y o&n car6 &ith ro&s of tiny identical 8.ttons that can9t possi8ly 8e operated &hile driving5 The pro8le/s so.nd trivial6 8.t they can /ean the difference 8et&een pleas.re and fr.stration5 The sa/e principles that /a7e these si/ple things &or7 &ell or poorly apply to /ore co/plex operations6 incl.ding ones in &hich h./an lives are at sta7e5 =ost accidents are attri8.ted to h./an error6 8.t in al/ost all cases the h./an error &as the direct res.lt of poor design5 The principles that g.ide a <.ality6 h./an0centered design are not relevant 4.st to a /ore pleas.ra8le life:they can save lives5 The Hi dden Frustrations of Everyday Thi ngs ;efore , &rote this 8oo76 , &as a cognitive scientist6 interested in ho& the /ind &or7s5 , st.died h./an perception6 /e/ory6 and attention5 , exa/0 ined ho& people learned6 ho& they perfor/ed s7illed activities5 long the &ay6 , 8eca/e interested in h./an error6 hoping that /y .nderstanding of error &o.ld provide &ays to teach people ho& to avoid /ista7es5 ;.t then ca/e the n.clear po&er plant accident at Three =ile ,sland in the )nited States6 and , &as a/ong a gro.p of social and 8ehavioral scientists &ho &ere called in to deter/ine &hy the control0roo/ operators had /ade s.ch terri8le /ista7es5 To /y s.rprise6 &e concl.ded that they &ere not to 8la/e: the fa.lt lay in the design of the control roo/5 ,ndeed6 the control panels of /any po&er plants loo7ed as if they &ere deli8erately designed to ca.se errors5 =y interest in accidents led /e to the st.dy of h./an0centered devel0 op/ent proced.res that /ight eli/inate those pro8le/s5 , spent a sa88at0 ical year in Ca/8ridge6 England6 at the =edical $esearch Co.ncil9s &orld0 fa/o.s pplied Psychology )nit and &as contin.ally a/.sed and fr.s0 trated 8y the &or7ings of the 8.ilding5 ,t &as diffic.lt to fig.re o.t &hich light s&itch controlled &hat light5 *oors &ere another p.>>le: so/e had to 8e p.shed6 so/e p.lled6 and at least one re<.ired sliding6 yet there &ere no cl.es to the .n&itting person atte/pting to go thro.gh the door&ay5 Water taps:3fa.cets3 in the )nited States:&ere capricio.s? so/e sin7s had the hot &ater on the left6 so/e on the right5 =oreover6 &henever peo0 ple /ade errors .sing these ill0constr.cted devices6 they 8la/ed the/0 viii Preface to the 2002 Edition selves5 What &as going on@ Why did people 8la/e the/selves &hen a device itself &as at fa.lt@ , started to o8serve ho& people coped &ith the n./ero.s devices that pop.late o.r lives5 ,n /ore recent years6 /y st.dies have expanded to incl.de aviation safety6 co/plex /an.fact.ring plants6 /edical error6 and a &ide range of cons./er prod.cts s.ch as ho/e entertain/ent syste/s and co/p.ters5 ,n all these sit.ations6 people often find the/selves fl.s0 tered and conf.sed5 Worse6 serio.s accidents are fre<.ently 8la/ed on 3h./an error53 Aet caref.l analysis of s.ch sit.ations sho&s that the design or installation of the e<.ip/ent has contri8.ted significantly to the pro8le/s5 The design tea/ or installers did not pay s.fficient attention to the needs of those &ho &o.ld 8e .sing the e<.ip/ent6 so conf.sion or error &as al/ost .navoida8le5 Whether 7itchen stove or n.clear po&er plant6 a.to/o8ile or aircraft6 ther/ostat or co/p.ter6 the sa/e pro8le/s &ere present5 ,n all cases6 design fa.lts led to h./an error5 =y fr.strations &hile in England ca.sed /e to &rite The Design of Everyday Things, 8.t the pro8le/s , enco.ntered there are .niversal and &orld&ide5 When , &rote the 8oo76 , &as a research scientist interested in principles of cognition5 ;.t , fo.nd /yself /ore and /ore fascinated 8y the &ay these principles co.ld 8e applied to i/prove everyday life6 to /in0 i/i>e error and accident5 , changed the direction of /y research to foc.s on applications and design5 Event.ally , left /y .niversity so , co.ld devote /yself to the develop/ent of prod.cts5 , 4oined pple Co/p.ter6 first as an 3pple (ello&63 then as vice president of the advanced technol0 ogy gro.p5 , served as an exec.tive at t&o other co/panies and then6 &ith /y colleag.e Ba7o8 Nielsen6 cofo.nded a cons.lting co/pany Cthe Nielsen Nor/an gro.pD to apply these ideas to a &ider variety of fir/s6 a &ider variety of prod.cts5 ,t has 8een exciting to &itness the principles in Everyday Things reali>ed in prod.cts5 The Book Title: A Lesson i n Des i gn This 8oo7 has 8een p.8lished .nder t&o titles5 The first title6 The Psychology of Everyday Things:POET:&as /.ch li7ed 8y /y acade/ic friends5 The second title6 The Design of Everyday Things:DOET:&as /ore /eaningf.l and 8etter conveyed the contents of the 8oo75 The editor of the paper8ac7 edition explained to /e that in 8oo7stores6 titles are &hat read0 ers see as their eyes &ander the shelves6 s7i//ing the spines5 They rely .pon the title to descri8e the 8oo75 , also learned that the &ord 3psychol0 ogy3 ca.sed the 8oo7 to 8e shelved in the psychology sections of the stores6 &hich dre& readers &ho cared a8o.t people and h./an relation0 Preface to the 2002 Edition ix ships rather than o84ects and o.r relationships to the/5 $eaders interested in design &o.ld never thin7 of loo7ing in the psychology section5 , &ent to 8oo7stores and &atched ho& people 8ro&sed5 , tal7ed &ith 8oo7 8.y0 ers and cler7s5 =y editor &as correct: , needed to change the &ord 3psy0 chology3 to 3design53 ,n titling /y 8oo76 , had 8een g.ilty of the sa/e shortsightedness that leads to all those .n.sa8le everyday thingsE =y first choice of title &as that of a self0centered designer6 choosing the sol.tion that pleased /e &itho.t considering its i/pact .pon readers5 So *OET it 8eca/e6 and DOET it re/ains in this ne& edition5 Lessons from DOET When yo. have tro.8le &ith things:&hether it9s fig.ring o.t &hether to p.sh or p.ll a door or the ar8itrary vagaries of the /odern co/p.ter and electronics ind.stry:it9 s not yo.r fa.lt5 *on9 t 8la/e yo.rself: 8la/e the designer5 ,t9s the fa.lt of the technology6 or6 /ore precisely6 of the design5 When &e first see an o84ect &e have never seen 8efore6 ho& do &e 7no& ho& to .se it@ #o& do &e /anage tens of tho.sands of o84ects6 /any of &hich &e enco.nter only once@ This <.estion propelled the &rit0 ing of DOET. The ans&er6 , <.ic7ly deter/ined6 &as that the appearance of the device /.st provide the critical cl.es re<.ired for its proper opera0 tion:7no&ledge has to 8e 8oth in the head and in the &orld5 t the ti/e , &rote DOET, this idea &as considered strange5 Today6 ho&ever6 the concept is /ore &idely accepted5 =any in the design co/0 /.nity .nderstand that design /.st convey the essence of a device9s oper0 ation? the &ay it &or7s? the possi8le actions that can 8e ta7en? and6 thro.gh feed8ac76 4.st &hat it is doing at any partic.lar /o/ent5 *esign is really an act of co//.nication6 &hich /eans having a deep .nderstanding of the person &ith &ho/ the designer is co//.nicating5 ltho.gh DOET covers n./ero.s topics6 three have co/e to stand o.t as critical: 15 It's not your fault: ,f there is anything that has ca.ght the pop.lar fancy6 it is this si/ple idea: &hen people have tro.8le &ith so/ething6 it isn9t their fa.lt:it9s the fa.lt of the design5 Every &ee7 8rings yet anoth0 er letter or e0/ail fro/ so/eone than7ing /e for delivering the/ fro/ their feeling of inco/petence5 2. Design principles: , /a7e it a r.le never to critici>e so/ething .nless , can offer a sol.tion5 DOET contains several i/portant design principles6 po&erf.l tools for designers to ens.re that their prod.cts are .nderstand0 x Preface to the 2002 Edition a8le and .sa8le5 The principles6 of co.rse6 are explained &ithin the 8oo76 8.t to give yo. a hint of &hat yo. &ill enco.nter6 here is a short list of the /ost i/portant5 Note that they are all easy to .nderstand6 yet po&erf.l5 F onceptual !odels. The h./an /ind is a &onderf.l organ of .nder0 standing:&e are al&ays trying to find /eaning in the events aro.nd .s5 One of the greatest fr.strations of all is trying to learn ho& to do so/e0 thing that see/s co/pletely ar8itrary and capricio.s5 Worse6 &hen &e lac7 .nderstanding6 &e are apt to err5 Consider the ther/ostat5 When so/e people enter a cold ho.se6 they t.rn the ther/ostat to a very high te/perat.re in order to reach the desired level /ore <.ic7ly5 They do this 8eca.se of their internal /ental /odel of ho& the f.rnace &or7s5 The /odel is sensi8le and coherent6 even if not &ell tho.ght o.t5 ,t is also &rong5 ;.t ho& &o.ld they 7no&@ ltho.gh this 8ehavior is &rong for the ho/e6 it &or7s for /ost a.to/o0 8iles:t.rn the heat or air conditioning .p all the &ay6 and &hen the inte0 rior is at the correct te/perat.re6 ad4.st the te/perat.re control again5 To .nderstand ho& to .se things6 &e need concept.al /odels of ho& they &or75 #o/e f.rnaces6 air conditioners6 and even /ost ho.sehold ovens have only t&o levels of operation: f.ll po&er or off5 Therefore6 they are al&ays heating or cooling to the desired te/perat.re as rapidly as pos0 si8le5 ,n these cases6 setting the ther/ostat too high does nothing 8.t &aste energy &hen the te/perat.re overshoots the target5 No& consider the a.to/o8ile5 The concept.al /odel is <.ite different5 Aes6 the heater and air conditioner also have only t&o settings6 f.ll po&er or off6 8.t in /any a.tos6 the desired te/perat.re is achieved 8y /ixing cold and hot air5 ,n this case6 faster res.lts co/e 8y t.rning off the /ixing C8y setting the te/perat.re control to an extre/eD .ntil the desired te/0 perat.re is reached6 then ad4.sting the /ixt.re to /aintain the desired te/perat.re5 The explanations of the ho/e and a.to/o8iles are exa/ples of si/ple concept.al /odels5 They are highly oversi/plified 8.t <.ite ade<.ate for .nderstanding ho& they &or75 They /a7e it easy for .s to .se very dif0 ferent 8ehavior &hen in the ho/e or in the a.to5 good concept.al /odel can /a7e the difference 8et&een s.ccessf.l and erroneo.s operation of the /any devices in o.r lives5 This short lesson on concept.al /odels points o.t that good design is also an act of co//.nication 8et&een the designer and the .ser6 except that all the co//.nication has to co/e a8o.t 8y the appearance of the device itself5 The device /.st explain itself5 Even the location and opera0 tion of the controls re<.ire a concept.al /odel:an o8vio.s and nat.ral Preface to the 2002 Edition xi relationship 8et&een their location and the operation they control so yo. al&ays 7no& &hich control does &hat Cin the 8oo76 , call this a 3nat.ral /apping3D5 When the designers fail to provide a concept.al /odel6 &e &ill 8e forced to /a7e .p o.r o&n6 and the ones &e /a7e .p are apt to 8e &rong5 Concept.al /odels are critical to good design5 F "eed#ac$. ,n design6 it is i/portant to sho& the effect of an action5 Witho.t feed8ac76 one is al&ays &ondering &hether anything has hap0 pened5 =ay8e the 8.tton &asn9 t p.shed hard eno.gh? /ay8e the /achine has stopped &or7ing? /ay8e it is doing the &rong thing5 Witho.t feed0 8ac76 &e t.rn e<.ip/ent off at i/proper ti/es or restart .nnecessarily6 losing all o.r recent &or75 Or &e repeat the co//and and end .p having the operation done t&ice6 often to o.r detri/ent5 (eed8ac7 is critical5 F onstraints. The s.rest &ay to /a7e so/ething easy to .se6 &ith fe& errors6 is to /a7e it i/possi8le to do other&ise:to constrain the choices5 Want to prevent people fro/ inserting 8atteries or /e/ory cards into their ca/eras the &rong &ay6 th.s possi8ly har/ing the electronics@ *esign the/ so that they fit only one &ay6 or /a7e it so they &or7 perfectly regardless of ho& they &ere inserted5 (ail.re to design &ith constraints is one reason for all those &arnings and atte/pts to give instr.ctions: all those tiny diagra/s on the ca/era6 in o8sc.re locations6 often in the sa/e color as the case and .nreada8le5 , loo7 for instr.ctions posted on doors6 ca/eras6 and other e<.ip/ent5 $.le of th./8: &hen instr.ctions have to 8e pasted on so/ething Cp.sh here6 insert this &ay6 t.rn off 8efore doing thisD6 it is 8adly designed5 F %ffordances. good designer /a7es s.re that appropriate actions are percepti8le and inappropriate ones invisi8le5 DOET introd.ced the con0 cept of 3perceived affordances3 to the design co//.nity6 and to /y pleas0 .re6 the concept has 8eco/e i//ensely pop.lar5 !5 The po&er of o#servation: ,f , have 8een s.ccessf.l6 DOET &ill change the &ay yo. see the &orld5 Ao. &ill never loo7 at a door or light s&itch the sa/e &ay again5 Ao. &ill 8eco/e an ac.te o8server of people6 of o84ects6 and of the &ay they interact5 ,n fact6 if there is one single /ost i/portant part of the 8oo7 it is this: learn to &atch6 learn to o8serve5 O8serve yo.r0 self5 O8serve others5 s the fa/o.s 8ase8all player Aogi ;erra said6 3Ao. can o8serve a lot 8y &atching53 Pro8le/ is6 yo. have to 7no& ho& to &atch5 ;efore DOET, had yo. seen a hapless .ser6 &hether an .n7no&n person or even yo.rself6 yo. &o.ld have 8een apt to 8la/e the person5 No& yo. &ill find yo.rself criti<.ing the design5 ;etter yet6 yo. &ill find yo.rself explaining ho& to fix the pro8le/5 xii Preface to the 2002 Edition *esign Today Since The Design of Everyday Things &as first p.8lished6 prod.cts have 8eco/e /.ch 8etter:and /.ch &orse5 So/e designs are &onderf.l6 so/e horri8le5 The n./8er of co/panies that are sensitive to the needs of their c.sto/ers and e/ploy good designers increases yearly5 Prod.cts have i/proved5 las6 at the sa/e ti/e6 the n./8er of co/panies that ignore the needs of their .sers and there8y create ill0conceived6 .n.sa8le prod.cts see/s to increase even /ore rapidly5 The conf.sions foisted .pon .s 8y technology are increasing at a faster pace than ever 8efore5 Today9s heavy .sage of the ,nternet6 cell.lar tele0 phones6 porta8le /.sic players6 and the &ide variety of porta8le6 &ireless /essage and e0/ail syste/s sho&s 4.st ho& i/portant these technologies have 8eco/e to o.r lives5 Nonetheless6 &e8sites are often .n.sa8le6 cel0 l.lar telephones gro& ever /ore co/plex6 and a.to/o8ile dash8oards loo7 li7e airplane coc7pits5 The ne& prod.cts i/pose the/selves .pon .s in the 8edroo/6 in the a.to/o8ile6 &hile &al7ing do&n the street5 s each ne& technology e/erges6 the co/panies forget the lessons of the past and let engineers 8.ild their fancif.l creations6 driven 8y /ar7eting insistence on a proliferation of feat.res5 s a res.lt6 conf.sion and dis0 tractions increase5 $e/ote control of the ho/e is a pop.lar fantasy a/ong technologists5 Why not6 they /.se6 call yo.r ho/e &hile yo. are driving and t.rn on the heat or air conditioner6 start filling the 8atht.86 or /a7e a pot of coffee@ So/e co/panies offer prod.cts that /a7e it possi8le to do these things5 Why do &e need the/@ Thin7 of ho& /.ch diffic.lty the average a.to0 /o8ile radio presents to the driver5 No& i/agine trying to control the var0 io.s appliances in the ho/e &hile driving5 h6 the &onders yet 8efore .s5 , sh.dder in apprehension5 *esign is a co/plex endeavor6 covering /any disciplines5 Engineers design 8ridges and da/s6 electronic circ.its6 and ne& for/s of /aterials5 The ter/ 3design3 is .sed to refer to fashion6 8.ildings6 interior decorat0 ing6 and landscaping5 =any designers are artists6 e/phasi>ing aesthetics and pleas.re5 Others are concerned a8o.t cost5 ll in all6 /any different disciplines are involved in developing the /any prod.cts &e .se5 ltho.gh this 8oo7 e/phasi>es one /a4or aspect:ho& &ell the design fits the needs of the people &ho .se it:this is only one of a /.ltit.de of di/ensions that /.st 8e considered5 ll are i/portant5 This is &hat /a7es design s.ch a challenging and re&arding discipline: it grapples &ith the need to acco//odate apparently conflicting re<.ire/ents5 Preface to the 2002 Edition xiii ppropriate6 h./an0centered design re<.ires that all the considera0 tions 8e addressed fro/ the very 8eginning6 &ith each of the relevant design disciplines &or7ing together as a tea/5 =ost design is intended to 8e .sed 8y people6 so the needs and re<.ire/ents of people o.ght to 8e driving /.ch of the &or7 thro.gho.t the entire process5 ,n this 8oo76 , concentrate on one co/ponent: /a7ing things that are .nderstanda8le and .sa8le5 , e/phasi>e this one di/ension 8eca.se it has 8een so long neglected5 ,t is ti/e to 8ring it to its rightf.l place in the develop/ent process5 This does not /ean that .sa8ility ta7es precedence over every0 thing else: all great designs have an appropriate 8alance and har/ony of aesthetic 8ea.ty6 relia8ility and safety6 .sa8ility6 cost6 and f.nctionality5 There is no need to sacrifice 8ea.ty for .sa8ility or6 for that /atter6 .sa8il0 ity for 8ea.ty5 No need to sacrifice cost or f.nction6 ti/e to /an.fact.re6 or sales5 ,t is possi8le to create things that are 8oth creative and .sa8le6 8oth pleas.ra8le and co/pletely &or7a8le5 rt and 8ea.ty play essential roles in o.r lives5 Good designs &ill have it all:aesthetic pleas.re6 art6 creativity: and at the sa/e ti/e 8e .sa8le6 &or7a8le6 and en4oya8le5 Technol ogy hanges !a"i dl y# $eo"l e hange %l o&l y ltho.gh significant ti/e has passed since the &riting of this 8oo76 s.r0 prisingly little needs to 8e changed5 Why@ ;eca.se the e/phasis is on peo0 ple6 on ho& &e6 as h./an 8eings6 interact &ith the physical o84ects in the &orld5 This interaction is governed 8y o.r 8iology6 psychology6 society6 and c.lt.re5 #./an 8iology and psychology do not change /.ch &ith ti/e: society and c.lt.re change very slo&ly5 =oreover6 in selecting exa/0 ples6 , deli8erately 7ept a&ay fro/ high technology6 loo7ing instead at everyday things6 things that have 8een aro.nd a &hile5 #igh technology changes rapidly6 8.t everyday life changes slo&ly5 s a res.lt6 DOET has not 8eco/e dated: the pro8le/s &ith everyday things are still there6 and the principles descri8ed in DOET apply to all design6 fro/ lo& to high technology5 =any people &rite to as7 &hether the lessons of DOET also apply to co/p.ters and other digital and &ireless devices5 t first , &as s.rprised at these <.estions:of co.rse they do? &asn9 t the ans&er o8vio.s@ 'uestion: In your #oo$ The *esign of Everyday Things6 you tal$ a#out the design of everything fro! telephones to door$no#s consisting of essentially four ele!ents: affordance, constraint, !apping, and feed#ac$. (ou &eren't tal$ing a#out co!puters, #ut do you thin$ the #oo$ also applies to the!) 'iv Preface to the 2002 Edition %ns&er: , &as a8sol.tely tal7ing a8o.t co/p.ters5 , deli8erately didn9 t .se co/p.ters and other digital devices as exa/ples 8eca.se , &anted to sho& that the very sa/e principles that applied to the design of door7no8s and light s&itches also applied to co/p.ters6 digital ca/eras6 cell phones6 n.clear po&er control roo/s6 and aircraft:and6 of co.rse6 vice versa5 'uestion: Do you #elieve that designers of the latest technological devices address those ele!ents) %ns&er: Nope5 Each ti/e a ne& technology co/es along6 ne& designers /a7e the sa/e horri8le /ista7es as their predecessors5 Technologists are not noted for learning fro/ the errors of the past5 They loo7 for&ard6 not 8ehind6 so they repeat the sa/e pro8le/s over and over again5 Today9s &ireless devices are appalling5 The principles in DOET are highly relevant5 We &ent thro.gh this &ith &e8sites:the early designs ignored all that had 8een learned 8efore and set .s 8ac7 /any years in progress to&ard .sa8ility and .nderstanding5 ;.t event.ally6 as people 8eca/e /ore expe0 rienced6 they started to de/and 8etter &e8sites6 so things i/proved5 s each ne& technology /at.res6 c.sto/ers are no longer happy &ith the flashy pro/ises of the technology 8.t instead de/and .nderstanda8le and &or7a8le designs5 Slo&ly the /an.fact.rers relearn the sa/e 8asic principles and apply the/ to their prod.cts5 The /ost egregio.s fail.res al&ays co/e fro/ the developers of the /ost recent technologies5 One goal of DOET is to ill.strate the po&er of design5 ,f DOET does nothing else6 it sho.ld sho& yo. ho& to ta7e delight in good designs and to ta7e ./8rage at /ediocre6 tho.ghtless6 inappropriate ones5 Technology /ay change rapidly6 8.t people change slo&ly5 The princi0 ples6 the exa/ples6 and the lessons of The Design of Everyday Things co/e fro/ an .nderstanding of people5 They re/ain tr.e forever5 *ON NO$=N *orth#roo$, Illinois &&&54nd5org Preface to the 2002 Edition xv P$E(CE This is the 8oo7 , have al&ays &anted to &rite6 8.t , didn9t 7no& it5 Over the years , have f./8led /y &ay thro.gh life6 &al7ing into doors6 failing to fig.re o.t &ater fa.cets6 inco/petent at &or7ing the si/ple things of everyday life5 3B.st /e63 , &o.ld /./8le5 3B.st /y /echanical ineptit.de53 ;.t as , st.died psychology and &atched the 8ehavior of other people6 , 8egan to reali>e that , &as not alone5 =y diffic.lties &ere /irrored 8y the pro8le/s of others5 nd &e all see/ed to 8la/e o.rselves5 Co.ld the &hole &orld 8e /echanically inco/pe0 tent@ The tr.th e/erged slo&ly5 =y research activities led /e to the st.dy of h./an error and ind.strial accidents5 #./ans6 , discovered6 do not al&ays 8ehave cl./sily5 #./ans do not al&ays err5 ;.t they do &hen the things they .se are 8adly conceived and designed5 Nonetheless6 &e still see h./an error 8la/ed for all that 8efalls society5 *oes a co//er0 cial airliner crash@ 3Pilot error63 say the reports5 *oes a Soviet n.clear po&er plant have a serio.s pro8le/@ 3#./an error63 says the ne&spa0 per5 *o t&o ships at sea collide@ 3#./an error3 is the official ca.se5 ;.t caref.l analysis of these 7inds of incidents .s.ally gives the lie to s.ch a story5 t the fa/o.s /erican n.clear po&er plant disaster at Three =ile ,sland6 the 8la/e &as placed on plant operators &ho /is0 diagnosed the pro8le/s5 ;.t &as it h./an error@ Consider the phrase xvii 3operators &ho /isdiagnosed the pro8le/s53 The phrase reveals that first there &ere pro8le/s:in fact6 a series of /echanical fail.res5 Then &hy &asn9t e<.ip/ent fail.re the real ca.se@ What a8o.t the /isdiag0 noses@ Why didn9t the operators correctly deter/ine the ca.se@ Well6 ho& a8o.t the fact that the proper instr./ents &ere not availa8le6 that the plant operators acted in &ays that in the past had al&ays 8een reasona8le and proper@ #o& a8o.t the press.re relief valve that failed to close6 even tho.gh the operator p.shed the proper 8.tton and even tho.gh a light ca/e on stating it &as closed@ Why &as the operator 8la/ed for not chec7ing t&o /ore instr./ents Cone on the rear of the control panelD and deter/ining that the light &as fa.lty@ Cct.ally6 the operator did chec7 one of the/5D #./an error@ To /e it so.nds li7e e<.ip/ent fail.re co.pled &ith serio.s design error5 nd6 yes6 &hat a8o.t /y ina8ility to .se the si/ple things of every0 day life@ , can .se co/plicated things5 , a/ <.ite expert at co/p.ters6 and electronics6 and co/plex la8oratory e<.ip/ent5 Why do , have tro.8le &ith doors6 light s&itches6 and &ater fa.cets@ #o& co/e , can &or7 a /.lti/illion0dollar co/p.ter installation6 8.t not /y ho/e refrigerator@ While &e all 8la/e o.rselves6 the real c.lprit:fa.lty design:goes .ndetected5 nd /illions of people feel the/selves to 8e /echanically inept5 ,t is ti/e for a change5 #ence this 8oo7: POET6 The Psychology of Everyday Things. POET is an o.tgro&th of /y repeated fr.strations &ith the operation of everyday things and /y gro&ing 7no&ledge of ho& to apply experi/ental psy0 chology and cognitive science5 The co/8ination of experience and 7no&ledge has /ade POET necessary6 at least for /e and for /y o&n feeling of ease5 So here it is: part pole/ic6 part science5 Part serio.s6 part f.n: POET5 c7no&ledg/ents POET &as conceived and the first fe& drafts &ritten &hile , &as in Ca/8ridge6 England6 on a sa88atical leave fro/ the )niversity of Cali0 fornia6 San *iego5 ,n Ca/8ridge6 , &or7ed at the pplied Psychology )nit Cthe P)D6 a la8oratory of the ;ritish =edical $esearch Co.ncil5 Special than7s are d.e to the people at the P) for their hospitality5 They are a special gro.p of people6 &ith special expertise in applied and theoretical psychology6 especially in the topics of this 8oo75 World0 fa/o.s experts in the design of instr.ction /an.als6 &arning signals6 co/p.ter syste/s6 &or7ing in an environ/ent filled &ith design fla&s:doors that are diffic.lt to open Cor that 8ash the hands &hen they xviii Preface doD6 signs that are illegi8le Cand nonintelligi8leD6 stovetops that conf.se6 light s&itches that defy even the original installer to fig.re the/ o.t5 stri7ing exa/ple of all that is &rong &ith design6 lodged in the ho/e of the /ost 7no&ledgea8le of .sers5 perfect co/8ination to set /e off5 Of co.rse6 /y o&n .niversity and /y o&n la8oratory have horrors of their o&n6 as &ill 8eco/e all too apparent later in this 8oo75 /a4or arg./ent in POET is that /.ch of o.r everyday 7no&ledge resides in the &orld6 not in the head5 This is an interesting arg./ent and6 for cognitive psychologists6 a diffic.lt one5 What co.ld it possi8ly /ean for 7no&ledge to 8e in the &orld@ %no&ledge is interpreted6 the st.ff that can 8e only in /inds5 ,nfor/ation6 yes6 that co.ld 8e in the &orld6 8.t 7no&ledge6 never5 Well6 yeah6 the distinction 8et&een 7no&ledge and infor/ation is not clear5 ,f &e are sloppy &ith ter/s6 then perhaps yo. can see the iss.es 8etter5 People certainly do rely .pon the place/ent and location of o84ects6 .pon &ritten texts6 .pon the infor/ation contained &ithin other people6 .pon the artifacts of society6 and .pon the infor/ation trans/itted &ithin and 8y a c.lt.re5 There certainly is a lot of infor/ation o.t there in the &orld6 not in the head5 =y .nderstanding of this point has 8een strengthened 8y years of de8ate and interaction &ith a very po&erf.l tea/ of people at Ha Bolla6 the Cognitive Social Science Gro.p at the )niversity of Califor0 nia6 San *iego5 This &as a s/all gro.p of fac.lty fro/ the depart/ents of psychology6 anthropology6 and sociology6 organi>ed 8y =i7e Cole6 &ho /et infor/ally once a &ee7 for several years5 The pri/ary /e/0 8ers &ere $oy d9ndrade6 aron Cico.rel6 =i7e Cole6 ;.d =ehan6 George =andler6 4ean =andler6 *ave $./elhart6 and /e5 Given the pec.liar Caltho.gh typically acade/icD nat.re of this gro.p9s interac0 tion6 they /ay not &ish to ac7no&ledge anything to do &ith the ideas as they are presented in POET5 nd6 finally6 at the pplied Psychology )nit in England6 , /et another visiting /erican professor6 *avid $.8in of *.7e )niversity6 &ho &as analy>ing the recall of epic poetry:those long6 h.ge feats of prodigio.s /e/ory in &hich an itinerant poet sings fro/ /e/ory ho.rs of /aterial5 $.8in sho&ed /e that it &asn9t all in /e/ory: /.ch of the infor/ation &as in the &orld6 or at least in the str.ct.re of the tale6 the poetics6 and the life styles of the people5 =y previo.s research pro4ect &as on the diffic.lties of .sing co/0 p.ters and the /ethods that /ight 8e .sed to /a7e things easier5 ;.t the /ore , loo7ed at co/p.ters Cand other de/ons of o.r society6 s.ch as aircraft syste/s and n.clear po&erD6 the /ore , reali>ed that there &as nothing special a8o.t the/: they had the sa/e pro8le/s as did the Preface xix si/pler6 everyday things5 nd the everyday things &ere /ore perva0 sive6 /ore of a pro8le/5 Especially as people feel g.ilt &hen they are .na8le to .se si/ple things6 g.ilt that sho.ld 8e not theirs 8.t rather the designers and /an.fact.rers of the o84ects5 So it all ca/e together5 These ideas6 the respite of the sa88atical5 =y experiences over the years fighting the diffic.lties of poor design6 of e<.ip/ent that co.ld not 8e .sed6 of everyday things that see/ed foreign to h./an f.nctioning5 The fact that , &as as7ed to give a tal7 on /y &or7 at the P)6 &hich ca.sed /e to start &riting do&n /y ideas5 nd finally6 $oger Schan79s Paris 8irthday party6 &here , discov0 ered the &or7s of the artist Carel/an and decided it &as ti/e to &rite the 8oo75 (or/al $esearch S.ppor The act.al &riting &as done at three locations5 The &or7 8egan &hile , &as on sa88atical leave fro/ San *iego5 , spent the first half of /y sa88atical year at the pplied Psychology )nit in Ca/8ridge6 England6 and the last half at =CC Cthe =icroelectronics and Co/p.ter Technol0 ogy CorporationD in .stin6 Texas5 =CC is /erica9s research consor0 ti./ dedicated to the tas7 of developing co/p.ter syste/s of the f.t.re5 Officially , &as 3visiting scientist3? .nofficially , &as a sort of 3/inister &itho.t portfolio63 free to &ander and interact &ith the n./ero.s research progra/s .nder &ay6 especially those in the area called 3h./an interface53 England is chilly in the &inter6 Texas hot in the s.//er5 ;.t 8oth provided exactly the proper friendly6 s.pportive environ/ents that , re<.ired to do the &or75 (inally6 &hen , ret.rned to )CS*6 , revised the 8oo7 several /ore ti/es5 , .sed it in classes and sent copies to a variety of colleag.es for s.ggestions5 The co//ents of /y st.dents and readers &ere inval.a8le6 ca.sing radical revision fro/ the original str.ct.re5 The research &as partially s.pported 8y contract N0001"0+'0C0 01!! N$ II10'"1 &ith the Personnel and Training $esearch Progra/ of the Office of Naval $esearch and 8y a grant fro/ the Syste/ *evel0 op/ent (o.ndation5 People There is a 8ig difference 8et&een early drafts of POET and the final version5 =any of /y colleag.es too7 the ti/e to read vario.s drafts and give /e critical revie&s5 ,n partic.lar6 , &ish to than7 B.dy Greiss0 xx Preface /an of ;asic ;oo7s for her patient criti<.e thro.gh several revisions5 =y hosts at the P) in ;ritain &ere /ost gracio.s6 especially lan ;addeley6 Phil ;arnard6 Tho/as Green6 Phil Bohnson0Haird6 Tony =ar0 cel6 %aralyn and $oy Patterson6 Ti/ Shallice6 and $ichard Ao.ng5 The scientific staff at =CC gave .sef.l s.ggestions6 especially Peter Coo76 Bonathan Gr.din6 and *ave Wro8le&s7i5 t )CS*6 , especially &ish to than7 the st.dents in Psychology 1!' and 20': /y .ndergrad.ate and grad.ate co.rses at )CS* entitled 3Cognitive Engineering53 =y colleag.es in the design co//.nity &ere /ost helpf.l &ith their co//ents: =i7e %ing6 =ihai Nadin6 *an $osen8erg6 and ;ill -erplan75 Special than7s /.st 8e given to Phil gre6 Sher/an *e(or0 est6 and Bef $as7in6 all of &ho/ read the /an.script &ith care and provided n./ero.s and val.a8le s.ggestions5 Collecting the ill.strations 8eca/e part of the f.n as , traveled the &orld &ith ca/era in hand5 Eileen Con&ay and =ichael Nor/an helped collect and organi>e the fig.res and ill.strations5 B.lie Nor/an helped as she does on all /y 8oo7s6 proofing6 editing6 co//enting6 and enco.raging5 Eric Nor/an provided val.a8le advice6 s.pport6 and photogenic feet and hands5 (inally6 /y colleag.es at the ,nstit.te for Cognitive Science at the )niversity of California6 San *iego6 helped thro.gho.t:in part thro.gh the &i>ardry of international co/p.ter /ail6 in part thro.gh their personal assistance to the details of the process5 , single o.t ;ill Gaver6 =i7e =o>er6 and *ave O&en for their detailed co//ents6 8.t /any helped o.t at one ti/e or another d.ring the research that preceded the 8oo7 and the several years of &riting5 Preface xxi T#E PSAC#OPT#OHOGA O( E-E$A*A T#, NGS C # P T E $ ON E +,enneth Olsen, the engineer &ho founded and still runs Digital E-uip!ent orp., confessed at the annual !eeting that he can't figure out ho& to heat a cup of coffee in the co!pany's !icro&ave oven.+ . Ao. Wo.ld Need an Engineering *egree to (ig.re This O.t ( 3Ao. &o.ld need an engineering degree fro/ =,T to &or7 this63 so/eone once told /e6 sha7ing his head in p.>>le/ent over his 8rand ne& digital &atch5 Well6 , have an engineering degree fro/ =,T5 C%enneth Olsen has t&o of the/6 and he can9t fig.re o.t a /icro&ave oven5D Give /e a fe& ho.rs and , can fig.re o.t the &atch5 ;.t &hy sho.ld it ta7e ho.rs@ , have tal7ed &ith /any people &ho can9t .se all the feat.res of their &ashing /achines or ca/eras6 &ho can9t fig.re o.t ho& to &or7 a se&ing /achine or a video cassette recorder6 &ho ha8it.ally t.rn on the &rong stove 8.rner5 Why do &e p.t .p &ith the fr.strations of everyday o84ects6 &ith o84ects that &e can9t fig.re o.t ho& to .se6 &ith those neat plastic0 &rapped pac7ages that see/ i/possi8le to open6 &ith doors that trap people6 &ith &ashing /achines and dryers that have 8eco/e too con0 ()( arelman*s offee"ot for +aso, chists) The (rench artist Bac<.es Carel0 /an in his series of 8oo7s atalogue d 'o#/ets introuva#les 0atalog of unfinda#le o#1 /ects2 provides delightf.l exa/ples of everyday things that are deli8erately .n&or7a8le6 o.trageo.s6 or other&ise ill0for/ed5 Bac<.es Carel/an: 3Cof0 feepot for =asochists53 Copyright J 10I001I0+0 8y Bac<.es Carel/an and 5 *5 5 G5 P5 Paris5 (ro/ Bac<.es Carel0 /an6 atalog of 3nfinda#le O#/ects, ;alland6 edite.r6 Paris0(rance5 )sed 8y per/is0 sion of the artist5 f.sing to .se6 &ith a.dio0stereo0television0video0cassette0recorders that clai/ in their advertise/ents to do everything6 8.t that /a7e it al/ost i/possi8le to do anything@ The h./an /ind is ex<.isitely tailored to /a7e sense of the &orld5 Give it the slightest cl.e and off it goes6 providing explanation6 ration0 ali>ation6 .nderstanding5 Consider the o84ects:8oo7s6 radios6 7itchen appliances6 office /achines6 and light s&itches:that /a7e .p o.r ev0 eryday lives5 Well0designed o84ects are easy to interpret and .nder0 stand5 They contain visi8le cl.es to their operation5 Poorly designed o84ects can 8e diffic.lt and fr.strating to .se5 They provide no cl.es: or so/eti/es false cl.es5 They trap the .ser and th&art the nor/al process of interpretation and .nderstanding5 las6 poor design predo/inates5 The res.lt is a &orld filled &ith fr.stration6 &ith o84ects that cannot 8e .nderstood6 &ith devices that lead to error5 This 8oo7 is an atte/pt to change things5 The (r.strations of Everyday Hife ,f , &ere placed in the coc7pit of a /odern 4et airliner6 /y ina8ility to perfor/ gracef.lly and s/oothly &o.ld neither s.rprise nor 8other /e5 ;.t , sho.ldn9t have tro.8le &ith doors and s&itches6 &ater fa.cets and stoves5 3*oors@3 , can hear the reader saying6 3yo. have tro.8le 2 The Design of Everyday Things opening doors@3 Aes5 , p.sh doors that are /eant to 8e p.lled6 p.ll doors that sho.ld 8e p.shed6 and &al7 into doors that sho.ld 8e slid5 =oreover6 , see others having the sa/e tro.8les:.nnecessary tro.0 8les5 There are psychological principles that can 8e follo&ed to /a7e these things .nderstanda8le and .sa8le5 Consider the door5 There is not /.ch yo. can do to a door: yo. can open it or sh.t it5 S.ppose yo. are in an office 8.ilding6 &al7ing do&n a corridor5 Ao. co/e to a door5 ,n &hich direction does it open@ Sho.ld yo. p.ll or p.sh6 on the left or the right@ =ay8e the door slides5 ,f so6 in &hich direction@ , have seen doors that slide .p into the ceiling5 door poses only t&o essential <.estions: ,n &hich direction does it /ove@ On &hich side sho.ld one &or7 it@ The ans&ers sho.ld 8e given 8y the design6 &itho.t any need for &ords or sy/8ols6 certainly &ith0 o.t any need for trial and error5 % friend told !e of the ti!e he got trapped in the door&ay of a post office in a European city. The entrance &as an i!posing ro& of perhaps si4 glass s&inging doors, follo&ed i!!ediately #y a second, identical ro&. That's a standard design: it helps reduce the airflo& and thus !aintain the indoor te!perature of the #uilding. 5y friend pushed on the side of one of the left!ost pair of outer doors. It s&ung in&ard, and he entered the #uilding. Then, #efore he could get to the ne4t ro& of doors, he &as distracted and turned around for an instant. 6e didn 't reali7e it at the ti!e, #ut he had !oved slightly to the right. 8o &hen he ca!e to the ne4t door and pushed it, nothing happened. +6!!,+he thought, +!ust #e loc$ed.+8o he pushed the side of the ad/acent door. *othing. Pu77led, !y friend decided to go outside again. 6e turned around and pushed against the side of a door. *othing. 6e pushed the ad/acent door. *othing. The door he had /ust entered no longer &or$ed. 6e turned around once !ore and tried the inside doors again. *othing. oncern, then !ild panic. 6e &as trapped9 :ust then, a group of people on the other side of the entrance&ay 0to !y friend's right2 passed easily through #oth sets of doors. 5y friend hurried over to follo& their path. 6o& could such a thing happen) % s&inging door has t&o sides. One contains the supporting pillar and the hinge, the other is unsup1 ported. To open the door, you !ust push on the unsupported edge. If you push on the hinge side, nothing happens. In this case, the designer ai!ed for #eauty, not utility. *o distracting lines, no visi#le pillars, no visi#le hinges. 8o ho& can the ordinary user $no& &hich side to push O*E: The Psychopathology of Everyday Things ! ()- A !o& of %&inging .lass Doors in a Boston Hotel) si/ilar pro8le/ to the doors fro/ that E.ropean post office5 On &hich side of the door sho.ld yo. p.sh@ When , as7ed people &ho had 4.st .sed the doors6 /ost co.ldn9 t say5 Aet only a fe& of the people , &atched had tro.8le &ith the doors5 The designers had incorporated a s.8tle cl.e into the design5 Note that the hori>ontal 8ars are not centered: they are a 8it closer together on the sides yo. sho.ld p.sh on5 The design al/ost &or7s:8.t not entirely6 for not everyone .sed the doors right on the first try5 on) ;hile distracted, !y friend had !oved to&ard the 0invisi#le2 supporting pillar, so he &as pushing the doors on the hinged side. *o &onder nothing happened. Pretty doors. Elegant. Pro#a#ly &on a de1 sign pri7e. The door story ill.strates one of the /ost i/portant principles of design: visi#ility. The correct parts /.st 8e visi8le6 and they /.st con0 vey the correct /essage5 With doors that p.sh6 the designer /.st provide signals that nat.rally indicate &here to p.sh5 These need not destroy the aesthetics5 P.t a vertical plate on the side to 8e p.shed6 nothing on the other5 Or /a7e the s.pporting pillars visi8le5 The vertical plate and s.pporting pillars are natural signals6 naturally inter0 preted6 &itho.t any need to 8e conscio.s of the/5 , call the .se of nat.ral signals natural design and ela8orate on the approach thro.gho.t this 8oo75 " The Design of Everyday Things -isi8ility pro8le/s co/e i n /any for/s5 =y friend6 trapped 8e0 t &een t he glass doors6 s.ffered fro/ a lac7 of cl.es t hat &o.l d indicate &hat part of a door sho.ld 8e operated5 Ot her pro8le/s concern the !appings 8et &een &hat yo. &ant to do and &hat appears to 8e possi8le6 anot her topic t hat &ill 8e expanded .pon t hro.gho.t t he 8oo75 Con0 sider one t ype of slide pro4ector5 This pro4ector has a single 8.t t on to control &het her t he slide tray /oves for&ard or 8ac7&ard5 One 8.t t on to do t &o things@ What i s t he /apping@ #o& can yo. fig.re o.t ho& to control t he slides@ Ao. can9 t5 Not hi ng is visi8le to give t he slightest hint5 #ere is &hat happened to /e in one of t he /any .nfa/iliar places ,9ve lect.red in d.ring /y travels as a professor: The <eit7 slide pro/ector illustrated in figure ..= has sho&n up sev1 eral ti!es in !y travels. The first ti!e, it led to a rather dra!atic incident. % conscientious student &as in charge of sho&ing !y slides. I started !y tal$ and sho&ed the first slide. ;hen I finished &ith the first slide and as$ed for the ne4t, the student carefully pushed the control #utton and &atched in dis!ay as the tray #ac$ed up, slid out of the pro/ector and plopped off the ta#le onto the floor, spilling its entire contents. ;e had to delay the lecture fifteen !inutes &hile I struggled to reorgani7e the slides. It &asn't the student's fault. It &as the fault of the elegant pro/ector. ;ith only one #utton to control the slide advance, ho& could one s&itch fro! for&ard to reverse) *either of us could figure out ho& to !a$e the control &or$. %ll during the lecture the slides &ould so!eti!es go for&ard, so!e1 ti!es #ac$&ard. %fter&ard, &e found the local technician, &ho e41 plained it to us. % #rief push of the #utton and the slide &ould go Taste /01 fur Dia&echsel am .erat *ia&echsel vor&arts K 7.r> dr.c7en6 *ia&echsel r.c7&art> K langer dr.c7en5 Button /01 for changing the slides Slide change for&ard K short press6 Slide change 8ac7&ard K longer press5 ()2 Leit3 $ravodit %lide $ro4ector) , finally trac7ed do&n the instr.ction /an.al for that pro4ector5 photo0 graph of the pro4ector has its parts n./8ered5 The 8.tton for changing slides is n./8er 15 The 8.tton itself has no la0 8els5 Who co.ld discover this operation &itho.t the aid of the /an.al@ #ere is the entire text related to the 8.tton6 in the original Ger/an and in /y English translation: O*E: The Psychopathology of Everyday Things ' for&ard, a long push and it &ould reverse. 0Pity the conscientious student &ho $ept pushing it hard:and long:to !a$e sure that the s&itch &as !a$ing contact.2 ;hat an elegant design. ;hy, it !anaged to do t&o functions &ith only one #utton9 >ut ho& &as a first1ti!e user of the pro/ector to $no& this) %s another e4a!ple, consider the #eautiful %!phitheatre <ouis1 <aird in the Paris 8or#onne, &hich is filled &ith !agnificent paintings of great figures in "rench intellectual history. 0The !ural on the ceiling sho&s lots of na$ed &o!en floating a#out a !an &ho is valiantly trying to read a #oo$. The painting is right side up only for the lec1 turer:it is upside do&n for all the people in the audience.2 The roo! is a delight to lecture in, at least until you as$ for the pro/ection screen to #e lo&ered. +%h,+ says the professor in charge, &ho gestures to the technician, &ho runs out of the roo!, up a short flight of stairs, and out of sight #ehind a solid &all. The screen co!es do&n and stops. +*o, no,+ shouts the professor, +a little #it !ore.+ The screen co!es do&n again, this ti!e too !uch. +*o, no, no9+ the professor /u!ps up and do&n and gestures &ildly. It's a lovely roo!, &ith lovely paintings. >ut &hy can't the person &ho is trying to lo&er or raise the screen see &hat he is doing) Ne& telephone syste/s have proven to 8e another excellent exa/0 ple of inco/prehensi8le design5 No /atter &here , travel6 , can co.nt .pon finding a partic.larly 8ad exa/ple5 ;hen I visited >asic >oo$s, the pu#lishers of this #oo$, I noticed a ne& telephone syste!. I as$ed people ho& they li$ed it. The -uestion unleashed a torrent of a#use. +It doesn't have a hold function,+ one &o!an co!plained #itterly:the sa!e co!plaint people at !y univer1 sity !ade a#out their rather different syste!. In older days, #usiness phones al&ays had a #utton la#eled +hold.+ (ou could push the #utton and hang up the phone &ithout losing the call on your line. Then you could tal$ to a colleague, or pic$ up another telephone call, or even pic$ up the call at another phone &ith the sa!e telephone nu!#er. % light on the hold #utton indicated &hen the function &as in use. It &as an in valua#le tool for #usiness. ;hy didn't the ne& phones at >asic >oo$s or in !y university have a hold function, if it is so essential) ;ell, they did, even the very instru!ent the &o!an &as co!plaining a#out. >ut there &as no easy &ay to discover the fact, nor to learn ho& to use it. I &as visiting the 3niversity of 5ichigan and I as$ed a#out the ne& ? The Design of Everyday Things syste! there. +(ech9+ &as the response, +and it doesn't even have a hold function9+ 6ere &e go again. ;hat is going on) The ans&er is si!ple: first, loo$ at the instructions for hold. %t the 3niversity of 5ichigan the phone co!pany provided a little plate that fits over the $eypad and re!inds users of the functions and ho& to use the!. I carefully unhoo$ed one of the plates fro! the telephone and !ade a photocopy 0figure ..@2. an you understand ho& to use it) I can't. There is a +call hold+ operation, #ut it doesn't !a$e sense to !e, not for the application that I /ust descri#ed. The tel ephone hol d sit.ation ill.strates a n./8er of different pro80 le/s5 One of t he/ is si/ply poor instr.ctions6 especially a fail.re to relate t he ne& f.nctions to t he si/ilarly na/ed f.nctions t hat people already 7no& a8o.t 5 Second6 and /ore serio.s6 is t he lac7 of visi8ility of t he operation of t he syste/5 The ne& t elephones6 for all their added sophistication6 lac7 8ot h the hold 8.t t on and t he flashing light of t he old ones5 The hold is signified 8y an ar8itrary action: dialing an ar8itrary se<.ence of digits CL+6 or ABB, or &hat have yo.: it varies fro/ one phone syste/ to anotherD5 Third6 there is no visi8le o.t co/e of t he operation5 *evices in t he ho/e have developed so/e related pro8le/s: f.nc0 tions and /ore f.nctions6 controls and /ore controls5 , do not t hi n7 t hat si/ple ho/e appliances:stoves6 &ashi ng /achines6 a.dio and television sets:sho.ld loo7 li7e #oll y&ood9 s idea of a spaceship con0 trol roo/5 They already do6 /.ch to t he consternation of t he cons./er &ho6 often as not 6 has lost Cor cannot .nderst andD t he instr.ction O*E: The Psychopathology of Everyday Things C ()5 $late +ounted 6ver the Dial of the Tele"hones at the 7niversity of +ichigan) These inade<.ate instr.ctions are all that /ost .sers see5 CThe 8.tton la8eled 3TP3 at the lo&er right is .sed to transfer or pic7 .p calls:it is pressed &henever the instr.c0 tion plate says 3TP5 3 The light on the lo&er left co/es on &henever the telephone rings5D /an.al6 so:faced &ith the 8e&ildering array of controls and dis0 plays:si/ply /e/ori>es one or t&o fixed settings to approxi/ate &hat is desired5 The &hole p.rpose of the design is lost5 In England I visited a ho!e &ith a fancy ne& Italian &asher1drier co!#ination, &ith super1duper !ulti1sy!#ol controls, all to do every1 thing you ever &anted to do &ith the &ashing and drying of clothes. The hus#and 0an engineering psychologist2 said he refused to go near it. The &ife 0a physician2 said she had si!ply !e!ori7ed one setting and tried to ignore the rest. 8o!eone &ent to a lot of trou#le to create that design. I read the instruction !anual. That !achine too$ into account everything a#out today's &ide variety of synthetic and natural fa#rics. The designers &or$ed hardD they really cared. >ut o#viously they had never thought of trying it out, or of &atching anyone use it. If the design &as so #ad, if the controls &ere so unusa#le, &hy did the couple purchase it) If people $eep #uying poorly designed pro1 ducts, !anufacturers and designers &ill thin$ they are doing the right thing and continue as usual. The .ser needs help5 B.st the right things have to 8e visi8le: to indicate &hat parts operate and ho&6 to indicate ho& the .ser is to interact &ith the device5 -isi8ility indicates the /apping 8et&een in0 tended actions and act.al operations5 -isi8ility indicates cr.cial dis0 tinctions:so that yo. can tell salt and pepper sha7ers apart6 for exa/0 ple5 nd visi8ility of the effects of the operations tells yo. if the lights have t.rned on properly6 if the pro4ection screen has lo&ered to the correct height6 or if the refrigerator te/perat.re is ad4.sted correctly5 ,t is lac7 of visi8ility that /a7es so /any co/p.ter0controlled devices so diffic.lt to operate5 nd it is an excess of visi8ility that /a7es the gadget0ridden6 feat.re0laden /odern a.dio set or video cassette re0 corder C-C$D so inti/idating5 The Psychology of Everyday Things This 8oo7 is a8o.t the psychology of everyday things5 POET e/pha0 si>es the .nderstanding of everyday things6 things &ith 7no8s and dials6 controls and s&itches6 lights and /eters5 The instances &e have 4.st exa/ined de/onstrate several principles6 incl.ding the i/portance + The Design of Everyday Things of visi8ility6 appropriate cl.es6 and feed8ac7 of one9s actions5 These principles constit.te a for/ of psychology:the psychology of ho& people interact &ith things5 ;ritish designer once noted that the 7inds of /aterials .sed in the constr.ction of passenger shelters af0 fected the &ay vandals responded5 #e s.ggested that there /ight 8e a psychology of /aterials5 ((O$*NCES +In one case, the reinforced glass used to panel shelters 0for railroad passengers2 erected #y >ritish Eail &as s!ashed #y vandals as fast as it &as rene&ed. ;hen the reinforced glass &as replaced #y ply&ood #oarding, ho&ever, little further da!age occurred, although no e4tra force &ould have #een re-uired to produce it. Thus >ritish Eail !anaged to elevate the desire for deface!ent to those &ho could &rite, al#eit in so!e&hat li!ited ter!s. *o#ody has, as yet, considered &hether there is a $ind of psychology of !aterials. >ut on the evidence, there could &ell #e9+ F2G There already exists the start of a psychology of /aterials and of things6 the st.dy of affordances of o84ects5 When .sed in this sense6 the ter/ affordance refers to the perceived and act.al properties of the thing6 pri/arily those f.nda/ental properties that deter/ine 4.st ho& the thing co.ld possi8ly 8e .sed Csee fig.res 15' and 15ID5 chair affords C3is for3D s.pport and6 therefore6 affords sitting5 chair can also 8e carried5 Glass is for seeing thro.gh6 and for 8rea7ing5 Wood is nor/ally .sed for solidity6 opacity6 s.pport6 or carving5 (lat6 poro.s6 s/ooth s.rfaces are for &riting on5 So &ood is also for &riting on5 #ence the pro8le/ for ;ritish $ail: &hen the shelters had glass6 van0 dals s/ashed it? &hen they had ply&ood6 vandals &rote on and carved it5 The planners &ere trapped 8y the affordances of their /aterials5 ! ffordances provide strong cl.es to the operations of things5 Plates are for p.shing5 %no8s are for t.rning5 Slots are for inserting things into5 ;alls are for thro&ing or 8o.ncing5 When affordances are ta7en advantage of6 the .ser 7no&s &hat to do 4.st 8y loo7ing: no pict.re6 la8el6 or instr.ction is re<.ired5 Co/plex things /ay re<.ire explana0 tion6 8.t si/ple things sho.ld not5 When si/ple things need pict.res6 la8els6 or instr.ctions6 the design has failed5 psychology of ca.sality is also at &or7 as &e .se everyday things5 O*E: The Psychopathology of Everyday Things 2 ()8 Affordances of Doors) *oor hard&are can signal &hether to p.sh or p.ll &itho.t signs5 The flat hori>ontal 8ar of % Ca8ove leftD affords no operations except p.shing: it is excellent hard&are for a door that /.st 8e p.shed to 8e opened5 The door in > Ca8ove rightD has a different 7ind of 8ar on each side6 one relatively s/all and vertical to signify a p.ll6 the other relatively large and hori>ontal to signify a p.sh5 ;oth 8ars s.pport the affordance of grasping: si>e and position specify &hether the grasp is .sed to p.sh or p.ll:tho.gh a/8ig.o.sly5 ()9 :hen Affordances Fail) , had to tie a string aro.nd /y ca8inet door to afford p.lling5 10 The Design of Everyday Things So/ething that happens right after an action appears to 8e ca.sed 8y that action5 To.ch a co/p.ter ter/inal 4.st &hen it fails6 and yo. are apt to 8elieve that yo. ca.sed the fail.re6 even tho.gh the fail.re and yo.r action &ere related only 8y coincidence5 S.ch false ca.sality is the 8asis for /.ch s.perstition5 =any of the pec.liar 8ehaviors of people .sing co/p.ter syste/s or co/plex ho.sehold appliances res.lt fro/ s.ch false coincidences5 When an action has no apparent res.lt6 yo. /ay concl.de that the action &as ineffective5 So yo. repeat it5 ,n earlier days6 &hen co/p.ter &ord processors did not al&ays sho& the res.lts of their operations6 people &o.ld so/eti/es atte/pt to change their /an.script6 8.t the lac7 of visi8le effect fro/ each action &o.ld /a7e the/ thin7 that their co//ands had not 8een exec.ted6 so they &o.ld repeat the co//ands6 so/eti/es over and over6 to their later astonish0 /ent and regret5 ,t is a poor design that allo&s either 7ind of false ca.sality to occ.r5 TWENTA T#O)SN* E-E$A*A T#,NGS There are an a/a>ing n./8er of everyday things6 perhaps t&enty tho.sand of the/5 re there really that /any@ Start 8y loo7ing a8o.t yo.5 There are light fixt.res6 8.l8s6 and soc7ets? &all plates and scre&s? cloc7s6 &atches6 and &atch8ands5 There are &riting devices C, co.nt t&elve in front of /e6 each different in f.nction6 color6 or styleD5 There are clothes6 &ith different f.nctions6 openings6 and flaps5 Notice the variety of /aterials and pieces5 Notice the variety of fasteners:8.t0 tons6 >ippers6 snaps6 laces5 Hoo7 at all the f.rnit.re and food .tensils: all those details6 each serving so/e f.nction for /an.fact.ra8ility6 .sage6 or appearance5 Consider the &or7 area: paper clips6 scissors6 pads of paper6 /aga>ines6 8oo7s6 8oo7/ar7s5 ,n the roo/ ,9/ &or7ing in6 , co.nted /ore than a h.ndred speciali>ed o84ects 8efore , tired5 Each is si/ple6 8.t each re<.ires its o&n /ethod of operation6 each has to 8e learned6 each does its o&n speciali>ed tas76 and each has to 8e designed separately5 (.rther/ore6 /any of the o84ects are /ade of /any parts5 des7 stapler has sixteen parts6 a ho.sehold iron fifteen6 the si/ple 8atht.80sho&er co/8ination t&enty0three5 Ao. can9t 8e0 lieve these si/ple o84ects have so /any parts@ #ere are the eleven 8asic parts to a sin7: drain6 flange Caro.nd the drainD6 pop0.p stopper6 8asin6 soap dish6 overflo& vent6 spo.t6 lift rod6 fittings6 hot0&ater handle6 and cold0&ater handle5 We can co.nt even /ore if &e start ta7ing the fa.cets6 fittings6 and lift rods apart5 O*E: The Psychopathology of Everyday Things 11 The 8oo7 ;hat's ;hat: % Hisual Ilossary of the Physical ;orld has /ore than fifteen h.ndred dra&ings and pict.res and ill.strates t&enty0 three tho.sand ite/s or parts of ite/s5 " ,rving ;ieder/an6 a psycholo0 gist &ho st.dies vis.al perception6 esti/ates that there are pro8a8ly 3!06000 readily discri/ina8le o84ects for the ad.lt53 ' Whatever the exact n./8er6 it is clear that the diffic.lties of everyday life are a/pli0 fied 8y the sheer prof.sion of ite/s5 S.ppose that each everyday thing ta7es only one /in.te to learn? learning 206000 of the/ occ.pies 206000 /in.tes:!!! ho.rs or a8o.t + forty0ho.r &or7 &ee7s5 (.r0 ther/ore6 &e often enco.nter ne& o84ects .nexpectedly6 &hen &e are really concerned &ith so/ething else5 We are conf.sed and distracted6 and &hat o.ght to 8e a si/ple6 effortless6 everyday thing interferes &ith the i/portant tas7 of the /o/ent5 #o& do people cope@ Part of the ans&er lies in the &ay the /ind &or7s:in the psychology of h./an tho.ght and cognition5 Part lies in the infor/ation availa8le fro/ the appearance of the o84ects:the psychology of everyday things5 nd part co/es fro/ the a8ility of the designer to /a7e the operation clear6 to pro4ect a good i/age of the operation6 and to ta7e advantage of other things people /ight 8e ex0 pected to 7no&5 #ere is &here the designer9s 7no&ledge of the psy0 chology of people co.pled &ith 7no&ledge of ho& things &or7 8eco/es cr.cial5 6NE$T7AL +6DEL% Consider the rather strange 8icycle ill.strated in fig.re 1515 Ao. 7no& it &on9t &or7 8eca.se yo. for/ a conceptual !odel of the device and /entally si/.late its operation5 Ao. can do the si/.lation 8eca.se the parts are visi8le and the i/plications clear5 Other cl.es to ho& things &or7 co/e fro/ their visi8le str.ct.re: in partic.lar fro/ affordances, constraints, and !appings. Consider a pair of scissors: even if yo. have never seen or .sed the/ 8efore6 yo. can see that the n./8er of possi8le actions is li/ited5 The holes are clearly there to p.t so/ething into6 and the only logical things that &ill fit are fingers5 The holes are affordances: they allo& the the fingers to 8e inserted5 The si>es of the holes provide constraints to li/it the possi8le fingers: the 8ig hole s.ggests several fingers6 the s/all hole only one5 The /apping 8et&een holes and fingers:the set of possi8le opera0 tions:is s.ggested and constrained 8y the holes5 =oreover6 the opera0 tion is not sensitive to finger place/ent: if yo. .se the &rong fingers6 12 The Design of Everyday Things 151 Carel/an9s Tande/ 3Convergent ;icycle C=odel for (iancesD53 Bac<.es Carel/an: 3Convergent ;icycle3 Copyright J 12I001I0+0 8y Bac<.es Carel/an and 5 *5 5 G5 P5 Paris5 (ro/ Bac<.es Carel/an6 atalog of 3nfinda#le O#/ects, ;alland6 edite.r6 Paris0(rance5 )sed 8y per/ission of the artist5 the scissors still &or75 Ao. can fig.re o.t the scissors 8eca.se their operating parts are visi8le and the i/plications clear5 The concept.al /odel is /ade o8vio.s6 and there is effective .se of affordances and constraints5 s a co.nterexa/ple6 consider the digital &atch6 one &i th t &o to fo.r p.sh 8.t t ons on the front or side5 What are those p.sh 8.tt ons for@ #o& &o.ld yo. set the ti/e@ There is no &ay to tell:no evident relationship 8et&een t he operating controls and t he f.nctions6 no con0 straints6 no apparent /appings5 Wi t h the scissors6 /oving the handle /a7es the 8lades /ove5 The &atch and t he Heit> slide pro4ector provide no visi8le relationship 8et&een the 8.t tons and the possi8le actions6 no discerni8le relationship 8et &een the actions and t he end res.lt5 Principles of *esign for )nderstanda8ility and )sa8ility We have no& enco.ntered the f.nda/ental principles of designing for people: C1D provide a good concept.al /odel and C2D /a7e things visi8le5 P$O-,*E GOO* CONCEPT)H =O*EH good concept.al /odel allo&s .s to predict the effects of o.r actions5 Wit ho.t a good /odel &e operate 8y rote6 8lindly? &e do operations as &e &ere told to do the/? &e can9 t f.lly appreciate &hy6 &hat effects to expect6 or &hat to do if things go &rong5 s long as things &or7 properly6 &e can /anage5 When things go &rong6 ho&ever6 or &hen O*E: The Psychopathology of Everyday Things 1! &e co/e .pon a novel sit.ation6 t hen &e need a deeper .nderst andi ng6 a good /odel 5 (or everyday things6 concept.al /odels need not 8e very co/plex5 fter all6 scissors6 pens6 and light s&itches are pret t y si/ple devices5 There is no need to .nderst and t he .nderlyi ng physics or che/istry of each device &e o&n6 si/ply t he relationship 8et&een t he controls and t he o.tco/es5 When t he /odel presented t o .s i s i nade<.at e or &rong Cor6 &orse6 nonexi stentD6 &e can have diffic.lties5 Het /e tell yo. a8o.t /y refrigerator5 5y house has an ordinary, t&o1co!part!ent refrigerator:nothing very fancy a#out it. The pro#le! is that I can't set the te!perature properly. There are only t&o things to do: ad/ust the te!perature of the free7er co!part!ent and ad/ust the te!perature of the fresh food co!part!ent. %nd there are t&o controls, one la#eled +free7er,+ the other +fresh food.+ ;hat's the pro#le!) (ou try it. "igure ..J sho&s the instruction plate fro! inside the refrigerator. *o&, suppose the free7er is too cold, the fresh food section /ust right. (ou &ant to !a$e the free7er &ar!er, $eeping the fresh food constant. Io on, read the instructions, figure the! out. 15+ =y $efrigerator5 T&o co/part/ents:fresh food and free>er:and t&o con0 trols Cin the fresh food .nitD5 The ill.stration sho&s the controls and instr.ctions5 Ao.r tas7: S.ppose the free>er is too cold6 the fresh food section 4.st right5 #o& &o.ld yo. ad4.st the controls so as to /a7e the free>er &ar/er and 7eep the fresh food the sa/e@ C(ro/ Nor/an6 12+I5D 1" The Design of Everyday Things NORMAL SETTINGS COLDER FRESH FOOD COLDEST FRESH FOOD COLDER FREEZER WARMER FRESH FOOD OFF (FRESH FD & FRZ) 1 SET BOTH CONTROLS 2 ALLOW 24 HOURS TO STABILIZE C AND 5 C AND 6-7 B AND 8- D AND 7-8 C AND 4-1 ! FRESH FOOD FREEZER (); T&o once"tual +odels for +y !efrigerator) The /odel % Ca8oveD is provided 8y the syste/ i/age of the refrigerator as gleaned fro/ the controls and instr.ctions? > C8elo&D is the correct concept.al /odel5 The pro8le/ is that it is i/possi8le to tell in &hich co/part/ent the ther/ostat is located and &hether the t&o controls are in the free>er and fresh food co/part/ent6 or vice versa5 O*E: The Psychopathology of Everyday Things (8 FREEZER Thermostat FREEZER CONTROL COOLING UNIT COLD AIR COOLING UNIT FRESH FOOD CONTROL COLD AIR FRESH FOOD Thermostat Thermostat (location not knon! FREEZER FRESH FOOD CONTROL " #AL#E COLD AIR COOLING UNIT CONTROL A Oh, perhaps I'd #etter &arn you. The t&o controls are not indepen1 dent. The free7er control affects the fresh food te!perature, and the fresh food control affects the free7er. %nd don't forget to &ait t&enty1 four hours to chec$ on &hether you !ade the right ad/ust!ent, if you can re!e!#er &hat you did. Control of the refrigerator is /ade diffic.lt 8eca.se the /an.fac0 t.rer provides a false concept.al /odel5 There are t&o co/part/ents and t&o controls5 The set.p clearly and .na/8ig.o.sly provides a si/ple /odel for the .ser: each control is responsi8le for the te/pera0 t.re of the co/part/ent that carries its na/e5 Wrong5 ,n fact6 there is only one ther/ostat and only one cooling /echanis/5 One control ad4.sts the ther/ostat setting6 the other the relative proportion of cold air sent to each of the t&o co/part/ents of the refrigerator5 This is &hy the t&o controls interact5 With the concept.al /odel provided 8y the /an.fact.rer6 ad4.sting the te/perat.res is al/ost i/possi8le and al&ays fr.strating5 Given the correct /odel6 life &o.ld 8e /.ch easier Cfig.re 152D5 Why did the /an.fact.rer present the &rong concept.al /odel@ ()(< once"tual +odels) The design !odel is the designer9s concept.al /odel5 The user's !odel is the /ental /odel developed thro.gh interaction &ith the syste/5 The syste! i!age res.lts fro/ the physical str.ct.re that has 8een 8.ilt Cincl.ding doc.0 /entation6 instr.ctions6 and la8elsD5 The designer expects the .ser9s /odel to 8e identical to the design /odel5 ;.t the designer doesn9t tal7 directly &ith the .ser:all co//.nication ta7es place thro.gh the syste/ i/age5 ,f the syste/ i/age does not /a7e the design /odel clear and consistent6 then the .ser &ill end .p &ith the &rong /ental /odel5 C(ro/ Nor/an6 10+I5D 1I The Design of Everyday Things DESIGN MODEL DESIGNER USER USER'S MODEL S$STE% SYSTEM IMAGE perhaps the designers tho.ght the correct /odel &as too co/plex6 that the /odel they &ere giving &as easier to .nderstand5 ;.t &ith the &rong concept.al /odel6 it is i/possi8le to set the controls5 nd even tho.gh , a/ convinced , no& 7no& the correct /odel6 , still cannot acc.rately ad4.st the te/perat.res 8eca.se the refrigerator design /a7es it i/possi8le for /e to discover &hich control is for the ther/o0 stat6 &hich control is for the relative proportion of cold air6 and in &hich co/part/ent the ther/ostat is located5 The lac7 of i//ediate feed8ac7 for the actions does not help: &ith a delay of t&enty0fo.r ho.rs6 &ho can re/e/8er &hat &as tried@ The topic of concept.al /odels &ill reappear in the 8oo75 They are part of an i/portant concept in design: !ental !odels, the /odels people have of the/selves6 others6 the environ/ent6 and the things &ith &hich they interact5 People for/ /ental /odels thro.gh experience6 training6 and instr.ction5 The /ental /odel of a device is for/ed largely 8y interpreting its perceived actions and its visi8le str.ct.re5 , call the visi8le part of the device the syste! i!age Cfig.re 1510D5 When the syste/ i/age is incoherent or inappropriate6 as in the case of the refrigerator6 then the .ser cannot easily .se the device5 ,f it is inco/0 plete or contradictory6 there &ill 8e tro.8le5 =%E T#,NGS -,S,;HE The pro8le/s ca.sed 8y inade<.ate attention to visi8ility are all neatly de/onstrated &ith one si/ple appliance: the /odern telephone5 I stand at the #lac$#oard in !y office, tal$ing &ith a student, &hen !y telephone rings. Once, t&ice it rings. I pause, trying to co!plete !y sentence #efore ans&ering. The ringing stops. +I'! sorry,+ says the student. +*ot your fault,+ I say. +>ut it's no pro#le!, the call no& transfers to !y secretary's phone. 8he'll ans&er it.+ %s &e listen &e hear her phone start to ring. Once, t&ice. I loo$ at !y &atch. 8i4 o'cloc$: it's late, the office staff has left for the day. I rush out of !y office to !y secretary's phone, #ut as I get there, it stops ringing. +%h,+ I thin$, +it's #eing transferred to another phone.+ 8ure enough, the phone in the ad/acent office no& starts ringing. I rush to that office, #ut it is loc$ed. >ac$ to !y office to get the $ey, out to the loc$ed door, fu!#le &ith the loc$, into the office, and to the no& -uiet phone. I hear a telephone do&n the hall start to ring. ould that still #e !y call, O*E: The Psychopathohgy of Everyday Things .1 !a$ing its &ay !ysteriously, &ith a predeter!ined lurching path, through the phones of the #uilding) Or is it /ust another telephone call coincidentally arriving at this ti!e) ,n fact6 , co.ld have retrieved the call fro/ /y office6 had , acted <.ic7ly eno.gh5 The /an.al states: 3Within yo.r pre0progra//ed pic70.p gro.p6 dial 1" to connect to inco/ing call5 Other&ise6 to an0 s&er any ringing extension6 dial ringing extension n./8er6 listen for 8.sy tone5 *ial + to connect to inco/ing call53 #.h@ What do those instr.ctions /ean@ What is a 3pre0progra//ed pic70.p gro.p63 and &hy do , even &ant to 7no&@ What is the extension n./8er of the ringing phone@ Can , re/e/8er all those instr.ctions &hen , need the/@ No5 Telephone chase is the ne& ga/e in the /odern office6 as the a.to0 /atic feat.res of telephones go a&ry:feat.res designed &itho.t proper tho.ght6 and certainly &itho.t testing the/ &ith their intended .sers5 There are several other ga/es6 too5 One ga/e is anno.nced 8y the plea6 3#o& do , ans&er this call@3 The <.estion is properly &hined in front of a ringing6 flashing telephone6 receiver in hand5 Then there is the paradoxical ga/e entitled 3This telephone doesn9t have a hold f.nction53 The acc.sation is directed at a telephone that act.ally does have a hold f.nction5 nd6 finally6 there is 3What do yo. /ean , called yo.6 yo. called /eE3 5any of the !odern telephone syste!s have a ne& feature that auto!atically $eeps trying to dial a nu!#er for you. This feature re1 sides under na!es such as auto!atic redialing or auto!atic call#ac$. I a! supposed to use this feature &henever I call so!eone &ho doesn't ans&er or &hose line is #usy. ;hen the person ne4t hangs up the phone, !y phone &ill dial it again. 8everal auto!atic call#ac$s can #e active at a ti!e. 6ere's ho& it &or$s. I place a phone call. There's no ans&er, so I activate the auto!atic call#ac$ feature. 8everal hours later !y telephone rings. I pic$ it up and say +6ello, +only to hear a ringing sound and then so!eone else saying +6ello.+ +6ello,+ . ans&er, +&ho is this)+ +;ho is this)+ . hear in reply, +you called !e.+ +*o,+ I say, +you called !e, !y phone /ust rang.+ 8lo&ly . reali7e that perhaps this is !y delayed call. *o&, let !e see, &ho &as I trying to call several hours ago) Did I have several call#ac$s in place) ;hy &as I !a$ing the call) 1+ The Design of Everyday Things The /odern telephone did not happen 8y accident: it &as caref.lly designed5 So/eone:/ore li7ely a tea/ of people:invented a list of feat.res tho.ght desira8le6 invented &hat see/ed to the/ to 8e pla.si0 8le &ays of controlling the feat.res6 and then p.t it all together5 =y .niversity6 foc.sing on cost and perhaps da>>led 8y the feat.res6 8o.ght the syste/6 spending /illions of dollars on a telephone installa0 tion that has proved vastly .npop.lar and even .n&or7a8le5 Why did the .niversity 8.y the syste/@ The p.rchase too7 several years of co//ittee &or7 and st.dies and presentations 8y co/peting telephone co/panies6 and piles of doc./entation and specification5 , /yself too7 part6 loo7ing at the interaction 8et&een the telephone syste/ and the co/p.ter net&or7s6 ens.ring that the t&o &o.ld 8e co/pati8le and reasona8le in price5 To /y 7no&ledge6 no8ody ever tho.ght of trying o.t the telephones in advance5 No8ody s.ggested installing the/ in a sa/ple office to see &hether .sers9 needs &o.ld 8e /et or &hether .sers co.ld .nderstand ho& to operate the phone5 The res.lt: disaster5 The /ain c.lprit:lac7 of visi8ility:&as co.pled &ith a secondary c.lprit:a poor concept.al /odel5 ny /oney saved on the installation and p.rchase is <.ic7ly disappearing in training costs6 /issed calls6 and fr.stration5 Aet fro/ &hat , have seen6 the co/peting phone syste/s &o.ld not have 8een any 8etter5 , recently spent six /onths at the pplied Psychology )nit in Ca/0 8ridge6 England5 B.st 8efore , arrived the ;ritish Teleco/ Co/pany had installed a ne& telephone syste/5 ,t had lots and lots of feat.res5 The telephone instr./ent itself &as .nre/ar7a8le Cfig.re 1511D5 ,t &as the standard t&elve08.tton6 p.sh08.tton phone6 except that it had an extra 7ey la8eled 3$3 off on the side5 C, never did find o.t &hat that 7ey did5D The telephone syste/ &as a standing 4o7e5 No8ody co.ld .se all the feat.res5 One person even started a s/all research pro4ect to record people9s conf.sions5 nother person &rote a s/all 3expert syste/s3 co/p.ter progra/6 one of the ne& toys of the field of artificial intelli0 gence? the progra/ can reason thro.gh co/plex sit.ations5 ,f yo. &anted to .se the phone syste/6 perhaps to /a7e a conference call a/ong three people6 yo. as7ed the expert syste/ and it &o.ld explain ho& to do it5 So6 yo.9re on the line &ith so/eone and yo. need to add a third person to the call5 (irst t.rn on yo.r co/p.ter5 Then load the expert syste/5 fter three or fo.r /in.tes Cneeded for loading the progra/D6 type in &hat yo. &ant to acco/plish5 Event.ally the co/0 p.ter &ill tell yo. &hat to do:if yo. can re/e/8er &hy yo. &ant to O*E: The Psychopathology of Everyday Things 12 ()(( British Telecom Tele"hone) This &as in /y office at the pplied Psychol0 ogy )nit in Ca/8ridge6 England5 ,t certainly loo7s si/ple6 doesn9t it@ ()(- T&o :ays to )se Hold on +odern Tele"hones) ,ll.stration % C8elo& leftD is the instr.ction /an.al page for ;ritish Teleco/5 The proced.re see/s especially co/plicated6 &ith three !0digit codes to 8e learned: I+16 I+26 and I+!5 ,ll.stration > C8elo& rightD sho&s the e<.ivalent instr.ctions for the Ericsson Single Hine nalog Telephone installed at the )niversity of California6 San *iego5 , find the second set of instr.ctions easier to .nderstand6 8.t one /.st still dial an ar8itrary digit: + in this case5 HOLD This &eat're allos (o' to hol) an e*istin+ call, then to re-lace the han)set o& to make another call. The hel) call ma( /e retrie0e) &rom the hol)in+ e*tension or &rom an( other e*tension ithin the s(stem. TO HOLD THE CALL RECALL %A1E ANOTHER CALL $o' ma( 'se (o'r e*tension normall( TO RETRIE#E THE CALL AT $OUR 2HONE $OU ARE CONNECTED TO THE HELDCALL TO RETRIE"E THE CALL AT SOMEONE ELSE#S $HONE $OU ARE CONNECTED TO THE HELDCALL CODE 68% $OUR E3TENSION NU%"ER CALL HOLD&CALL $AR' 4ith -art( on line 5 2ress R ke( 5 Listen &or recall )ial tone 6three /ee-s an) )ial tone! 5 Han+ '- han)set TO RETRIE#E FRO% SA%E 2HONE 5 Li&t han)set7 (o' are connecte) to the call TO RETRIE#E FRO% ANOTHER 2HONE 5 Li&t han)set 5 Dial e*tension here call as -arke)7 listen &or /'s( tone 5 Dial 87 (o' are connecte) to the call NOTE( Call ill remain -arke) &or 9 min'tes /e&ore re:rin+in+ LIFT HANDSET LIFT HANDSET CODE 682 RE$LACE HANDSET DIAL TONE CODE ;8< OR do it6 and if the person on the other end of the line is still aro.nd5 ;.t6 as it happens6 .sing the expert syste/ is a lot easier than reading and .nderstanding the /an.al provided &ith the telephone Cfig.re 1512D5 Why is that telephone syste/ so hard to .nderstand@ Nothing in it is concept.ally diffic.lt5 Each of the operations is act.ally <.ite si/ple5 fe& digits to dial6 that9s all5 The telephone doesn9t even loo7 co/pli0 cated5 There are only fifteen controls: the .s.al t&elve 8.ttons:ten la8eled 0 thro.gh 26 M6 and L:pl.s the handset itself6 the handset 8.tton6 and the /ysterio.s 3$3 8.tton5 ll except the 3$3 are the everyday parts of a nor/al /odern telephone5 Why &as the syste/ so diffic.lt@ designer &ho &or7s for a telephone co/pany told /e the follo&0 ing story: +. &as involved in designing the faceplate of so!e of those ne& !ultifunction phones, so!e of &hich have #uttons la#eled +E.+ The +E+ #utton is $ind of a vestigial feature. It is very hard to re!ove features of a ne&ly designed product that had e4isted in an earlier version. It's $ind of li$e physical evolution. If a feature is in the geno!e, and if that feature is not associated &ith any negativity 0i.e., no custo!ers gripe a#out it2, then the feature hangs on for generations. +It is interesting that things li$e the +E+ #utton are largely deter1 !ined through e4a!ples. 8o!e#ody as$s, ';hat is the +E+ #utton used for9' and the ans&er is to give an e4a!ple: '(ou can push +E+ to access loudspea$er paging.' If no#ody can thin$ of an e4a!ple, the feature is dropped. Designers are pretty #right people, ho&ever. They can co!e up &ith a plausi#le1sounding e4a!ple for al!ost anything. 6ence, you get features, !any !any features, and these features hang on for a long ti!e. The end result is co!ple4 interfaces for essentially si!ple things.+ ? s , pondered this pro8le/6 , decided it &o.ld /a7e sense to co/0 pare the phone syste/ &ith so/ething that &as of e<.al or greater co/plexity 8.t easier to .se5 So let .s te/porarily leave the diffic.lt telephone syste/ and ta7e a loo7 at /y a.to/o8ile5 , 8o.ght a car in E.rope5 When , pic7ed .p the ne& car at the factory6 a /an fro/ the co/pany sat in the car &ith /e and &ent over each control6 explaining its f.nction5 When he had gone thro.gh the controls once6 , said fine6 than7ed hi/6 and drove a&ay5 That &as all the instr.ction it too75 There are 112 controls inside the car5 This isn9t <.ite as 8ad as it O*E: The Psychopathology of Everyday Things 21 so.nds5 T&enty0five of the/ are on the radio5 nother 1 are the te/0 perat.re control syste/6 and 11 &or7 the &indo&s and s.nroof5 The trip co/p.ter has 1" 8.ttons6 each /atched &ith a specific f.nction5 So fo.r devices:the radio6 te/perat.re controls6 &indo&s6 and trip co/p.ter:have together KC controls6 or 4.st over '0 percent of the ones availa8le5 Why is the a.to/o8ile6 &ith all its varied f.nctions and n./ero.s controls6 so /.ch easier to learn and to .se than the telephone syste/6 &ith its /.ch s/aller set of f.nctions and controls@ What is good a8o.t the design of the car@ Things are visi8le5 There are good /ap0 pings6 nat.ral relationships6 8et&een the controls and the things con0 trolled5 Single controls often have single f.nctions5 There is good feed0 8ac75 The syste/ is .nderstanda8le5 ,n general6 the relationships a/ong the .ser9s intentions6 the re<.ired actions6 and the res.lts are sensi8le6 nonar8itrary6 and /eaningf.l5 What is 8ad a8o.t the design of the telephone@ There is no visi8le str.ct.re5 =appings are ar8itrary: there is no rhy/e or reason to the relationship 8et&een the actions the .ser /.st perfor/ and the res.lts to 8e acco/plished5 The controls have /.ltiple f.nctions5 There isn9t good feed8ac76 so the .ser is never s.re &hether the desired res.lt has 8een o8tained5 The syste/6 in general6 is not .nderstanda8le? its capa8ilities aren9t apparent5 ,n general6 the relationships a/ong the .ser9s intentions6 the re<.ired actions6 and the res.lts are co/pletely ar8itrary5 Whenever the n./8er of possi8le actions exceeds the n./8er of controls6 there is apt to 8e diffic.lty5 The telephone syste/ has t&enty0 fo.r f.nctions6 yet only fifteen controls:none of the/ la8eled for specific action5 ,n contrast6 the trip co/p.ter for the car perfor/s seventeen f.nctions &ith fo.rteen controls5 With /inor exceptions6 there is one control for each f.nction5 ,n fact6 the controls &ith /ore than one f.nction are indeed harder to re/e/8er and .se5 When the n./8er of controls e<.als the n./8er of f.nctions6 each control can 8e speciali>ed6 each can 8e la8eled5 The possi8le f.nctions are visi8le6 for each corresponds &ith a control5 ,f the .ser forgets the f.nctions6 the controls serve as re/inders5 When6 as on the telephone6 there are /ore f.nctions than controls6 la8eling 8eco/es diffic.lt or i/possi8le5 There is nothing to re/ind the .ser5 (.nctions are invisi8le6 hidden fro/ sight5 No &onder the operation 8eco/es /ysterio.s and diffic.lt5 The controls for the car are visi8le and6 thro.gh their location and /ode of operation6 8ear an intelligent relationship to their action5 -isi0 22 The Design of Everyday Things 8ility acts as a good re/inder of &hat can 8e done and allo&s the control to specify ho& the action is to 8e perfor/ed5 The good relation0 ship 8et&een the place/ent of the control and &hat it does /a7es it easy to find the appropriate control for a tas75 s a res.lt6 there is little to re/e/8er5 T#E P$,NC,PHE O( =PP,NG 5apping is a technical ter/ /eaning the relationship 8et&een t&o things6 in this case 8et&een the controls and their /ove/ents and the res.lts in the &orld5 Consider the /apping relationships involved in steering a car5 To t.rn the car to the right6 one t.rns the steering &heel cloc7&ise Cso that its top /oves to the rightD5 The .ser /.st identify t&o /appings here: one of the 112 controls affects the steering6 and the steering &heel /.st 8e t.rned in one of t&o directions5 ;oth are so/e0 &hat ar8itrary5 ;.t the &heel and the cloc7&ise direction are nat.ral choices: visi8le6 closely related to the desired o.tco/e6 and providing i//ediate feed8ac75 The /apping is easily learned and al&ays re/e/0 8ered5 Nat.ral /apping6 8y &hich , /ean ta7ing advantage of physical analogies and c.lt.ral standards6 leads to i//ediate .nderstanding5 (or exa/ple6 a designer can .se spatial analogy: to /ove an o84ect .p6 /ove the control .p5 To control an array of lights6 arrange the controls in the sa/e pattern as the lights5 So/e nat.ral /appings are c.lt.ral or 8iological6 as in the .niversal standard that a rising level represents /ore6 a di/inishing level6 less5 Si/ilarly6 a lo.der so.nd can /ean a greater a/o.nt5 /o.nt and lo.dness Cand &eight6 line length6 and 8rightnessD are additive di/ensions: add /ore to sho& incre/ental increases5 Note that the logically pla.si8le relationship 8et&een /.si0 cal pitch and a/o.nt does not &or7: Wo.ld a higher pitch /ean less or /ore of so/ething@ Pitch Cand taste6 color6 and locationD are s.80 stit.tive di/ensions: s.8stit.te one val.e for another to /a7e a change5 There is no nat.ral concept of /ore or less in the co/parison of different pitches6 or h.es6 or taste <.alities5 Other nat.ral /appings follo& fro/ the principles of perception and allo& for the nat.ral gro.ping or patterning of controls and feed8ac7 Csee fig.re 151!D5 =apping pro8le/s are a8.ndant6 one of the f.nda/ental ca.ses of diffic.lties5 Consider the telephone5 S.ppose yo. &ish to activate the call8ac7 on 3no reply3 f.nction5 To initiate this feat.re on one tele0 O*E: The Psychopathology of Everyday Things 2! ()(2 %eat Ad4ustment ontrol from a +ercedes,Ben3 Automo=ile) This is an excellent exa/ple of nat.ral /apping5 The control is in the shape of the seat itself: the /apping is straightfor&ard5 To /ove the front edge of the seat higher6 lift .p on the front part of the 8.tton5 To /a7e the seat 8ac7 recline6 /ove the 8.tton 8ac75 =ercedes0;en> a.to/o8iles are o8vio.sly not everyday things for /ost people6 8.t the principle doesn9t re<.ire great expense or &ealth5 The sa/e princi0 ple co.ld 8e applied to /.ch /ore co//on o84ects5 phone syste/6 press and release the 3recall3 8.tton Cthe 8.tton on the handsetD6 then dial #o, then dial the n./8er yo. called5 There are several pro8le/s here5 (irst6 the description of the f.nc0 tion is relatively co/plex:yet inco/plete: What if t&o people set .p call8ac7 at the sa/e ti/e@ What if the person does not co/e 8ac7 .ntil a &ee7 later@ What if yo. have /ean&hile set .p three or fo.r other f.nctions@ What if yo. &ant to cancel it@ Second6 the action to 8e perfor/ed is ar8itrary5 C*ial I05 Why ?0) Why not 1! or 21@ #o& does one re/e/8er an ar8itrary n./8er@D Third6 the se<.ence ends &ith &hat appears to 8e a red.ndant6 .nnecessary action: dialing the n./0 8er of the person to 8e called5 ,f the phone syste/ is s/art eno.gh to do all these other things6 &hy can9t it re/e/8er the n./8er that &as 4.st atte/pted? &hy /.st it 8e told all over again@ nd finally6 consider the lac7 of feed8ac75 #o& do , 7no& , did the right action@ =ay8e , disconnected the phone5 =ay8e , set .p so/e other special feat.re5 There is no visi8le or a.di8le &ay to 7no& i//ediately5 2" The Design of Everyday Things device is easy to .se &hen there is visi8ility to the set of possi8le actions6 &here the controls and displays exploit nat.ral /appings5 The principles are si/ple 8.t rarely incorporated into design5 Good design ta7es care6 planning6 tho.ght5 ,t ta7es conscio.s attention to the needs of the .ser5 nd so/eti/es the designer gets it right: Once, &hen I &as at a conference at I!unden, %ustria, a group of us &ent off to see the sights. I sat directly #ehind the driver of the #rand ne&, slee$, high1technology Ier!an tour #us. I ga7ed in &onder at the hundreds of controls scattered all over the front of the #us. +6o& can you ever learn all those controls)+ I as$ed the driver 0&ith the aid of a Ier!an1spea$ing colleague2. The driver &as clearly pu71 7led #y the -uestion. +;hat do you !ean)+ he replied. +Each control is /ust &here it ought to #e. There is no difficulty.+ % good principle, that. ontrols are &here they ought to #e. One function, one control. 6arder to do, of course, than to say, #ut essen1 tially this is the principle of natural !appings: the relationship #et&een controls and actions should #e apparent to the user. I return to this topic later in the #oo$, for the pro#le! of deter!ining the +natural1 ness+ of !appings is difficult, #ut crucial. ,9ve already descri8ed ho& /y car9s controls are generally easy to .se5 ct.ally6 the car has lots of pro8le/s5 The approach to .sa8ility .sed in the car see/s to 8e to /a7e s.re that yo. can reach everything and see everything5 That9s good6 8.t not nearly good eno.gh5 6ere is a si!ple e4a!ple: the controls for the loudspea$ers:a si!1 ple control that deter!ines &hether the sound co!es out of the front spea$ers, the rear, or a co!#ination 0figure ...@2. Eotate the &heel fro! left to right or right to left. 8i!ple, e4cept ho& do you $no& &hich &ay to rotate the control) ;hich direction !oves the sound to the rear, &hich to the front) If you &ant sound to co!e out of the front spea$er, you should #e a#le to !ove the control to the front. To get it out of the #ac$, !ove the control to the #ac$. Then the for! of the !otion &ould !i!ic the function and !a$e a natural !apping. >ut the &ay the control is actually !ounted in the car, for&ard and #ac$&ard get translated into left and right. ;hich direction is &hich) There is no natural relationship. ;hat's &orse, the control isn't even la#eled. Even the instruction !anual does not say ho& to use it. O*E: The Psychopathology of Everyday Things 2' ()(5 The Front>!ear %"eaker %elector of an Automo=ile !adio) $otating the 7no8 &ith the pict.res of the spea7er at either side /a7es the so.nd co/e entirely o.t of the front spea7ers C&hen the 7no8 is all the &ay over to one sideD6 entirely o.t of the rear spea7ers C&hen the 7no8 is all the &ay the other &ayD6 or e<.ally o.t of 8oth C&hen the 7no8 is /id&ayD5 Which &ay is front6 &hich rear@ Ao. can9t tell 8y loo7ing5 While yo.9re at it6 i/agine trying to /anip.late the radio controls &hile 7eeping yo.r eyes on the road5 The control should #e !ounted so that it !oves for&ard and #ac$1 &ard. If that can't #e done, rotate the control go+ on the panel so that it !oves vertically. 5oving so!ething up to represent for&ard is not as natural as !oving it for&ard, #ut at least it follo&s a standard convention. ,n fact6 &e see that 8oth the car and the telephone have easy f.nc0 tions and diffic.lt ones5 The car see/s to have /ore of the easy ones6 the telephone /ore of the diffic.lt ones5 =oreover6 &ith the car6 eno.gh of the controls are easy that , can do al/ost everything , need to5 Not so &ith the telephone: it is very diffic.lt to .se even a single one of the special feat.res5 The easy things on 8oth telephone and car have a lot in co//on6 as do the diffic.lt things5 When things are visi8le6 they tend to 8e easier The Design of Everyday Things than &hen they are not5 ,n addition6 there /.st 8e a close6 natural relationship 8et&een the control and its f.nction: a natural !apping. T#E P$,NC,PHE O( (EE*;C% (eed8ac7:sending 8ac7 to the .ser infor/ation a8o.t &hat action has act.ally 8een done6 &hat res.lt has 8een acco/plished:is a &ell0 7no&n concept in the science of control and infor/ation theory5 ,/ag0 ine trying to tal7 to so/eone &hen yo. cannot even hear yo.r o&n voice6 or trying to dra& a pict.re &ith a pencil that leaves no /ar7: there &o.ld 8e no feed8ac75 ,n the good old days of the telephone6 8efore the /erican tele0 phone syste/ &as divided a/ong co/peting co/panies6 8efore tele0 phones &ere fancy and had so /any feat.res6 telephones &ere de0 signed &ith /.ch /ore care and concern for the .ser5 *esigners at the ;ell Telephone Ha8oratories &orried a lot a8o.t feed8ac75 The p.sh 8.ttons &ere designed to give an appropriate feel:tactile feed8ac75 When a 8.tton &as p.shed6 a tone &as fed 8ac7 into the earpiece so the .ser co.ld tell that the 8.tton had 8een properly p.shed5 When the phone call &as 8eing connected6 clic7s6 tones6 and other noises gave the .ser feed8ac7 a8o.t the progress of the call5 nd the spea7er9s voice &as al&ays fed 8ac7 to the earpiece in a caref.lly controlled a/o.nt6 8eca.se the a.ditory feed8ac7 Ccalled 3sidetone3D helped the person reg.late ho& lo.dly to tal75 ll this has changed5 We no& have tele0 phones that are /.ch /ore po&erf.l and often cheaper than those that existed 4.st a fe& years ago:/ore f.nction for less /oney5 To 8e fair6 these ne& designs are p.shing hard on the paradox of technology: added f.nctionality generally co/es along at the price of added co/0 plexity5 ;.t that does not 4.stify 8ac7&ard progress5 Why are the /odern telephone syste/s so diffic.lt to learn and to .se@ ;asically6 the pro8le/ is that the syste/s have /ore feat.res and less feed8ac75 S.ppose all telephones had a s/all display screen6 not .nli7e the ones on s/all6 inexpensive calc.lators5 The display co.ld 8e .sed to present6 .pon the p.sh of a 8.tton6 a 8rief /en. of all the feat.res of the telephone6 one 8y one5 When the desired one &as enco.ntered6 the .ser &o.ld p.sh another 8.tton to indicate that it sho.ld 8e invo7ed5 ,f f.rther action &as re<.ired6 the display co.ld tell the person &hat to do5 The display co.ld even 8e a.ditory6 &ith speech instead of a vis.al display5 Only t&o 8.ttons need 8e added to the O*E: The Psychopathology of Everyday Things telephone: one to change the display6 one to accept the option on display5 Of co.rse6 the telephone &o.ld 8e slightly /ore expensive5 The tradeoff is cost vers.s .sa8ility5 1 Pity the Poor *esigner *esigning &ell is not easy5 The /an.fact.rer &ants so/ething that can 8e prod.ced econo/ically5 The store &ants so/ething that &ill 8e attractive to its c.sto/ers5 The p.rchaser has several de/ands5 ,n the store6 the p.rchaser foc.ses on price and appearance6 and perhaps on prestige val.e5 t ho/e6 the sa/e person &ill pay /ore attention to f.nctionality and .sa8ility5 The repair service cares a8o.t /aintaina0 8ility: ho& easy is the device to ta7e apart6 diagnose6 and service@ The needs of those concerned are different and often conflict5 Nonetheless6 the designer /ay 8e a8le to satisfy everyone5 % si!ple e4a!ple of good design is the = .L21inch !agnetic dis$ette for co!puters, a s!all circle of +floppy+ !agnetic !aterial encased in hard plastic. Earlier types of floppy dis$s did not have this plastic case, &hich protects the !agnetic !aterial fro! a#use and da!age. % sliding !etal cover protects the delicate !agnetic surface &hen the dis$ette is not in use and auto!atically opens &hen the dis$ette is inserted into the co!puter. The dis$ette has a s-uare shape: there are apparently eight possi#le &ays to insert it into the !achine, only one of &hich is correct. ;hat happens if I do it &rong) I try inserting the dis$ side1 &ays. %h, the designer thought of that. % little study sho&s that the case really isn't s-uare: it's rectangular, so you can't insert a longer side. I try #ac$&ard. The dis$ette goes in only part of the &ay. 8!all protru1 sions, indentations, and cutouts prevent the dis$ette fro! #eing in1 serted #ac$&ard or upside do&n: of the eight &ays one !ight try to insert the dis$ette, only one is correct, and only that one &ill fit. %n e4cellent design. Ta$e another e4a!ple of good design. 5y felt1tipped !ar$ing pen has ri#s along only one of its sidesD other&ise all sides loo$ identical. areful e4a!ination sho&s that the tip of the !ar$er is angled and !a$es the #est line if the !ar$er is held &ith the ri##ed side up, a natural result if the forefinger rests upon the ri#s. *o har! results if I hold the !ar$er another &ay, #ut the !ar$er &rites less &ell. The ri#s are a su#tle design cue:functional, yet visi#ly and aesthetically uno#1 trusive. 2+ The Design of Everyday Things The &orld is per/eated &ith s/all exa/ples of good design6 &ith the a/a>ing details that /a7e i/portant differences in o.r lives5 Each detail &as added 8y so/e person6 a designer6 caref.lly thin7ing thro.gh the .ses of the device6 the &ays that people a8.se things6 the 7inds of errors that can get /ade6 and the f.nctions that people &ish to have perfor/ed5 Then &hy is it that so /any good design ideas don9t find their &ay into prod.cts in the /ar7etplace@ Or so/ething good sho&s .p for a short ti/e6 only to fall into o8livion@ , once spo7e &ith a designer a8o.t the fr.strations of trying to get the 8est prod.ct o.t: It usually ta$es five or si4 atte!pts to get a product right. This !ay #e accepta#le in an esta#lished product, #ut consider &hat it !eans in a ne& one. 8uppose a co!pany &ants to !a$e a product that &ill perhaps !a$e a real difference. The pro#le! is that if the product is truly revolutionary, it is unli$ely that anyone &ill -uite $no& ho& to design it right the first ti!eD it &ill ta$e several tries. >ut if a product is introduced into the !ar$etplace and fails, &ell that is it. Perhaps it could #e introduced a second ti!e, or !ay#e even a third ti!e, #ut after that it is dead: everyone #elieves it to #e a failure. I as$ed hi! to e4plain. +(ou !ean,+ I said, +that it ta$es five or si4 tries to get an idea right)+ +(es,+ he said, +at least that.+ +>ut,+ I replied, +you also said that if a ne&ly introduced product doesn't catch on in the first t&o or three ti!es, then it is dead)+ +(up,+ he said. +Then ne& products are al!ost guaranteed to fail, no !atter ho& good the idea.+ +*o& you understand,+ said the designer. +onsider the use of voice !essages on co!ple4 devices such as ca!eras, soft1drin$ !a1 chines, and copiers. % failure. *o longer even tried. Too #ad. It really is a good idea, for it can #e very useful &hen the hands or eyes are #usy else&here. >ut those first fe& atte!pts &ere very #adly done and the pu#lic scoffed:properly. *o&, no#ody dares try it again, even in those places &here it is needed.+ The Paradox of Technology Technology offers the potential to /a7e life easier and /ore en4oya8le? each ne& technology provides increased 8enefits5 t the sa/e ti/e6 O*E: The Psychopathology of Everyday Things 22 added co/plexities arise to increase o.r diffic.lty and fr.stration5 The develop/ent of a technology tends to follo& a )0shaped c.rve of co/plexity: starting high? dropping to a lo&6 co/forta8le level? then cli/8ing again5 Ne& 7inds of devices are co/plex and diffic.lt to .se5 s technicians 8eco/e /ore co/petent and an ind.stry /at.res6 de0 vices 8eco/e si/pler6 /ore relia8le6 and /ore po&erf.l5 ;.t then6 after the ind.stry has sta8ili>ed6 ne&co/ers fig.re o.t ho& to add increased po&er and capa8ility6 8.t al&ays at the expense of added co/plexity and so/eti/es decreased relia8ility5 We can see the c.rve of co/plex0 ity in the history of the &atch6 radio6 telephone6 and television set5 Ta7e the radio5 ,n the early days6 radios &ere <.ite co/plex5 To t.ne in a station re<.ired several ad4.st/ents6 incl.ding one for the an0 tenna6 one for the radio fre<.ency6 one for inter/ediate fre<.encies6 and controls for 8oth sensitivity and lo.dness5 Hater radios &ere si/0 pler and had controls only to t.rn it on6 t.ne the station6 and ad4.st the lo.dness5 ;.t the latest radios are again very co/plex6 perhaps even /ore so than early ones5 No& the radio is called a t.ner6 and it is littered &ith n./ero.s controls6 s&itches6 slide 8ars6 lights6 displays6 and /eters5 The /odern sets are technologically s.perior6 offering higher <.ality so.nd6 8etter reception6 and enhanced capa8ility5 ;.t &hat good is the technology if it is too co/plex to .se@ The design pro8le/ posed 8y technological advances is enor/o.s5 Consider the &atch5 fe& decades ago6 &atches &ere si/ple5 ll yo. had to do &as set the ti/e and 7eep the/ &o.nd5 The standard con0 trol &as the ste/: a 7no8 at the side of the &atch5 T.rning the 7no8 &o.nd the spring that &or7ed the &atch5 P.lling the 7no8 o.t and t.rning it /ade the hands /ove5 The operations &ere easy to learn and easy to do5 There &as a reasona8le relation 8et&een the t.rning of the 7no8 and the res.lting t.rning of the hands5 The design even too7 into acco.nt h./an error: the nor/al position of the ste/ &as for &inding the spring6 so that an accidental t.rn &o.ld not reset the ti/e5 ,n the /odern digital &atch the spring is gone6 replaced 8y a /otor r.n 8y long0lasting 8atteries5 ll that re/ains is the tas7 of setting the &atch5 The ste/ is still a sensi8le sol.tion6 for yo. can go fast or slo&6 for&ard or 8ac7&ard6 .ntil the exact desired ti/e is reached5 ;.t the ste/ is /ore co/plex Cand therefore /ore expensiveD than si/ple p.sh08.tton s&itches5 ,f the only change in the transition fro/ the spring0&o.nd analog &atch to the 8attery0r.n digital &atch &ere in ho& the ti/e &as set6 there &o.ld 8e little diffic.lty5 The pro8le/ is that ne& technology has allo&ed .s to add /ore f.nctions to the !0 The Design of Everyday Things &atch: t he &atch can give t he day of t he &ee76 the /ont h6 and t he year? it can act as a stop &at ch C&hich itself has several f.nctionsD6 a co.nt 0 do&n ti/er6 and an alar/ cloc7 Cor t&oD? it has t he a8ility to sho& t he ti/e for different ti/e >ones? it can act as a co.nter and even as a calc.lator5 ;.t t he added f.nctions ca.se pro8le/s: #o& do yo. design a &at ch t hat has so /any f.nctions &hil e trying to li/it t he si>e6 cost6 and co/plexity of t he device@ #o& /any 8.t t ons does it ta7e to /a7e t he &at ch &or7a8l e and learna8le6 yet not t oo expensive@ There are no easy ans&ers5 Whenever t he n./8er of f.nctions and re<.ired opera0 tions exceeds t he n./8er of controls6 the design 8eco/es ar8itrary6 .nnat .ral 6 and co/plicated5 The sa/e t echnology that si/plifies life 8y providing /ore f.nctions in each device also co/plicates life 8y /a70 ing t he device harder to learn6 harder to .se5 This is t he paradox of technology5 The paradox of technology sho.ld never 8e .sed as an exc.se for poor design5 ,t is tr.e that as t he n./8er of options and capa8ilities of any device increases6 so too /.st t he n./8er and co/plexity of t he controls5 ;.t t he principles of good design can /a7e co/plexity /an0 agea8le5 ,n one of /y co.rses , gave as ho/e&or7 t he assign/ent to design a /.l tiple0f.nction cloc7 radio: (ou have #een e!ployed #y a !anufacturing co!pany to design their ne& product. The co!pany is considering co!#ining the follo&1 ing into one ite!: M %51"5 radio M assette player M D player M Telephone M Telephone ans&ering !achine M loc$ M %lar! cloc$ 0the alar! can turn on a tone, radio, cassette, or D2 M Des$ or #ed la!p The co!pany is trying to decide &hether to include a s!all 0t&o1 inch screen2 TH set and a s&itched electric outlet that can turn on a coffee !a$er or toaster. (our /o# is 0%2 to reco!!end &hat to #uild, then 0>2 to design the control panel, and finally 02 to certify that it is actually #oth &hat custo!ers &ant and easy to use. O*E: The Psychopathology of Everyday Things !1 8tate &hat you &ould do for the three parts of your /o#: %, >, and . E4plain ho& you &ould go a#out validating and /ustifying your reco!!endations. Dra& a rough s$etch of a control panel for the ite!s in the indented list, &ith a 8rief /ustification and analysis of the factors that &ent into the choice of design. There are several t hings , loo7ed for in t he ans&er5 C(ig.re l51' is an .naccepta8le sol.tion5D (irst6 ho& &ell did t he ans&er address t he 151' Possi8le Sol.tion to =y #o/e&or7 ssign/ent5 Co/pletely .naccept0 a8le5 CThan7s to ;ill Gaver for devising and dra&ing this sa/ple5D !2 The Design of Everyday Things real needs of the .ser@ , expected /y st.dents to visit the ho/es of potential .sers to see ho& their c.rrent devices &ere 8eing .sed and to deter/ine ho& the co/8ined /.ltip.rpose device &o.ld 8e .sed5 Next6 , eval.ated &hether all the controls &ere .sa8le and .nderstand0 a8le6 allo&ing all the desired f.nctions to 8e operated &ith /ini/./ conf.sion or error5 Cloc7 radios are often .sed in the dar76 &ith the .ser in 8ed and reaching overhead to grope for the desired control5 Therefore the .nit had to 8e .sa8le in the dar7 8y feel only5 ,t &as not s.pposed to 8e possi8le to /a7e a serio.s /ista7e 8y accidentally hitting the &rong control5 Clas6 /any existing cloc7 radios do not tolerate serio.s errors:for exa/ple6 the .ser /ay reset the ti/e 8y hitting the &rong 8.tton accidentally5D (inally6 the design &as ex0 pected to ta7e into acco.nt real iss.es in cost6 /an.fact.ra8ility6 and aesthetics5 The finished design had to pass /.ster &ith .sers5 The point of the exercise &as for the st.dent to reali>e the paradox of technology: added co/plexity and diffic.lty cannot 8e avoided &hen f.nctions are added6 8.t &ith clever design6 they can 8e /ini/i>ed5 O*E: The Psychopathology of Everyday Things !! T#E PSAC#OHOGA O( E-E$A*A CT, ONS C # P T E $ T WO %4 During !y fa!ily's stay in England, &e rented a furnished house &hile the o&ners &ere a&ay. One day, our landlady returned to the house to get so!e personal papers. 8he &al$ed over to her filing ca#inet and atte!pted to open the top dra&er. It &ouldn't open. 8he pushed it for&ard and #ac$&ard, right and left, up and do&n, &ithout success. I offered to help. I &iggled the dra&er. Then I t&isted the front panel, pushed do&n hard, and #anged the front &ith the pal! of one hand. The ca#inet dra&er slid open. +Oh,+ she said, +I'! sorry. I a! so #ad at !echanical things.+ (alsely ;la/ing Ao.rself , have st.died people /a7ing errors:so/eti/es serio.s ones:&ith /echanical devices6 light s&itches and f.ses6 co/p.ter operating sys0 te/s and &ord processors6 even airplanes and n.clear po&er plants5 ,nvaria8ly people feel g.ilty and either try to hide the error or 8la/e the/selves for 3st.pidity3 or 3cl./siness53 , often have diffic.lty get0 ting per/ission to &atch: no8ody li7es to 8e o8served perfor/ing 8adly5 , point o.t that the design is fa.lty and that others /a7e the sa/e errors5 Still6 if the tas7 appears si/ple or trivial6 then people 8la/e the/selves5 1 ,t is as if they ta7e perverse pride in thin7ing of the/0 selves as /echanically inco/petent5 I once &as as$ed #y a large co!puter co!pany to evaluate a #rand ne& product. I spent a day learning to use it and trying it out on various pro#le!s. In using the $ey#oard to enter data, it &as necessary to differentiate #et&een the the +return+ $ey and the +enter+ $ey. If the &rong $ey &as typed, the last fe& !inutes' &or$ &as irrevoca#ly lost. I pointed this pro#le! out to the designer, e4plaining that I !yself had !ade the error fre-uently and that !y analyses indicated that this &as very li$ely to #e a fre-uent error a!ong users. The designer's first response &as: +;hy did you !a$e that error) Didn't you read the !anual)+ 6e proceeded to e4plain the different functions of the t&o $eys. +(es, yes, +I e4plained, +I understand the t&o $eys, I si!ply confuse the!. They have si!ilar functions, are located in si!ilar locations on the $ey#oard, and as a s$illed typist, I often hit +return+ auto!atically, &ithout thought. ertainly others have had si!ilar pro#le!s.+ +*ope,+ said the designer. 6e clai!ed that I &as the only person &ho had ever co!plained, and the co!pany's secretaries had #een using the syste! for !any !onths. I &as s$eptical, so &e &ent together to so!e of the secretaries and as$ed the! &hether they had ever hit the +return+ $ey &hen they should have hit +enter.+ %nd did they ever lose their &or$ as a result) +Oh, yes,+ said the secretaries, +&e do that a lot.+ +;ell, ho& co!e no#ody ever said anything a#out it)+ &e as$ed the secretaries. %fter all, they &ere encouraged to report all pro#le!s &ith the syste!. The reason &as si!ple: &hen the syste! stopped &or$ing or did so!ething strange, the secretaries dutifully reported it as a pro#le!. >ut &hen they !ade the +return+ versus +enter+ error, they #la!ed the!selves. %fter all, they had #een told &hat to do. They had si!ply erred. Of co.rse6 people do /a7e errors5 Co/plex devices &ill al&ays re<.ire so/e instr.ction6 and so/eone .sing the/ &itho.t instr.ction sho.ld expect to /a7e errors and to 8e conf.sed5 ;.t designers sho.ld ta7e special pains to /a7e errors as cost0free as possi8le5 #ere is /y credo a8o.t errors: T;O: The Psychology of Everyday %ctions !' ,f an error is possi8le6 so/eone &ill /a7e it5 The designer /.st ass./e that all possi8le errors &ill occ.r and design so as to /ini/i>e the chance of the error in the first place6 or its effects once it gets /ade5 Errors sho.ld 8e easy to detect6 they sho.ld have /ini/al conse<.ences6 and6 if possi8le6 their effects sho.ld 8e reversi8le5 +isconce"tions of Everyday Life O.r lives are filled &ith /isconceptions5 This sho.ld not 8e s.rprising: &e /.st fre<.ently deal &ith .nfa/iliar sit.ations5 Psychologists love errors and /isconceptions6 for they give i/portant cl.es a8o.t the organi>ation and operation of o.r /inds5 =any everyday /is.nder0 standings are classified as 3naive3 or 3fol73 .nderstandings5 nd not 4.st plain fol7 hold these /isconceptions: ristotle developed an entire theory of physics that physicists find <.aint and a/.sing5 Aet ris0 totle9s theories correspond /.ch 8etter to co//on0sense6 everyday o8servations than do the highly refined and a8stract theories &e are ta.ght in school5 ristotle developed &hat &e /ight call naive physics5 ,t is only &hen yo. st.dy the esoteric &orld of physics that yo. learn &hat is 3correct3 and are a8le to .nderstand &hy the 3naive3 vie& is &rong5 $,STOTHE9S N,-E P#AS,CS (or exa/ple6 ristotle tho.ght that /oving o84ects 7ept /oving only if so/ething 7ept p.shing the/5 Today9s physicist says nonsense: a /oving o84ect contin.es to /ove .nless so/e force is exerted to stop it5 This is Ne&ton9s first la& of /otion6 and it contri8.ted to the develop/ent of /odern physics5 Aet anyone &ho has ever p.shed a heavy 8ox along a street or6 for that /atter6 hi7ed for /iles into the &ilderness6 7no&s that ristotle &as right: if yo. don9t 7eep on p.sh0 ing6 the /ove/ent stops5 Of co.rse6 Ne&ton and his s.ccessors ass./e the a8sence of friction and air5 ristotle lived in a &orld &here there &as al&ays friction and air resistance5 Once friction is involved6 then o84ects in /otion tend to stop .nless yo. 7eep p.shing5 ristotle9s theory /ay 8e 8ad physics6 8.t it descri8es reasona8ly &ell &hat &e can see in the real &orld5 Thin7 a8o.t ho& yo. /ight ans&er the follo&ing <.estions5 !I The Design of Everyday Things .. I ta$e a pistol and, carefully ai!ing it on a level, hori7ontal line, I fire a #ullet. ;ith !y other hand, I hold a #ullet so that the #ullet in the pistol and the one in !y hand are e4actly the sa!e distance fro! the ground. I drop the #ullet at the sa!e instant as I fire the pistol. ;hich #ullet hits the ground first) 2. I!agine so!eone running across a field carrying a #all. %s you &atch, the runner drops the #all. ;hich path 0a, #, or c in figure 2..2 does the #all ta$e as it falls to the ground) 2 The physicist says t he ans&er to t he 8.llet pro8le/ is trivial: 8ot h 8.llets hit t he gro.nd at the sa/e ti/e5 The fact that one 8.llet is traveling hori>ontally very rapidly has a8sol.tely no effect on ho& fast it falls do&n&ard5 Why sho.ld &e accept t hat ans&er@ Sho.l dn9 t t he speeding 8.llet develop so/e lift:sort of li7e an airplane:so that it &ill stay .p a 8it longer 8eca.se it is 7ept .p 8y t he air@ Who 7no&s@ The theory of physics is 8ased .pon a sit.ation &here there is no air5 The pop.l ar /isconception is that t he pistol 8.llet &ill hit t he gro.nd long after the dropped 8.llet? yet this naive vie& doesn9 t see/ so strange5 251 $.nning =an *rops a ;all5 Which path does the 8all ta7e as it falls to the gro.nd6 path 6 ;6 or C@ When this <.estion &as as7ed of sixth0grade st.dents in ;oston schools6 only ! percent ans&ered 6 the right ans&er? the others &ere evenly divided 8et&een ; and C5 Even high school st.dents did not do &ell: of forty0one st.dents &ho had 4.st st.died Ne&tonian /echanics for a /onth and a half6 only 20 percent got the right ans&er? the others &ere al/ost e<.ally divided 8et&een ; and C5 CThe st.dy &as perfor/ed 8y White N #or&it>6 12+15 The fig.re is reprinted fro/ Intuitive Physics 8y =cClos7ey5 Copyright J 10+! 8y 8cientific %!erican, ,nc5 ll rights reserved5D T;O: The Psychology of Everyday %ctions =C ,n the case of the falling 8all6 o.r prediction is that the 8all &ill drop straight do&n5 ,n fact6 the falling 8all follo&s tra4ectory Cfig.re 251D5 s it is carried 8y the r.nner6 it is set into hori>ontal /otion5 ,t then /aintains the sa/e for&ard speed .pon 8eing released6 even as it also falls to the gro.nd5 ! Naive physics:and naive vie&s of psychology and other fields:are often sensi8le6 even if &rong5 ;.t at ti/es they can get .s into tro.8le5 Aet &e /.st have a &ay to digest the .nfa/iliar6 for people are explan0 atory creat.res5 PEOPHE S EOPHNTO$A C$ET)$ES =ental /odels6 o.r concept.al /odels of the &ay o84ects &or76 events ta7e place6 or people 8ehave6 res.lt fro/ o.r tendency to for/ explana0 tions of things5 These /odels are essential in helping .s .nderstand o.r experiences6 predict the o.tco/es of o.r actions6 and handle .nex0 pected occ.rrences5 We 8ase o.r /odels on &hatever 7no&ledge &e have6 real or i/aginary6 naive or sophisticated5 =ental /odels are often constr.cted fro/ frag/entary evidence6 &ith 8.t a poor .nderstanding of &hat is happening6 and &ith a 7ind of naive psychology that post.lates ca.ses6 /echanis/s6 and relation0 ships even &here there are none5 So/e fa.lty /odels lead to the fr.s0 trations of everyday life6 as in the case of /y .nsetta8le refrigerator6 &here /y /ental /odel of its operation Cfig.re 152 %2 did not corre0 spond to reality Cfig.re 152 >2. (ar /ore serio.s are fa.lty /odels of s.ch co/plex syste/s as an ind.strial plant or passenger airplane5 =is.nderstanding there can lead to devastating accidents5 Consider the roo/ ther/ostat5 #o& does it &or7@ #ere is a device that offers al/ost no evidence of its operation except in a highly ro.nd0 a8o.t /anner5 We &al7 into a roo/ and feel too cold: so &e &al7 over to the ther/ostat and set it higher5 Event.ally &e feel &ar/er5 Note that the sa/e thing applies to the te/perat.re control for a coo7ing oven Cor a pottery 7iln6 or an air conditioner6 or al/ost any device &hose te/perat.re is to 8e reg.latedD5 Want to 8a7e a ca7e6 8.t the oven is off@ Set the oven ther/ostat and the oven gets to the desired te/perat.re5 ,s the roo/ too hot@ Set the ther/ostat on the air condi0 tioner5 (ine6 8.t ho& does the ther/ostat &or7@ If you are in a cold roo!, in a hurry to get &ar!, &ill the roo! heat !ore -uic$ly if you turn the ther!ostat all the &ay up) Or if you &ant !+ The Design of Everyday Things the oven to reach its &or$ing te!perature faster, should you turn the te!perature dial all the &ay to !a4i!u!, then turn it do&n once the desired te!perature is reached) Or to cool a roo! !ost -uic$ly, should you set the air conditioner ther!ostat to its lo&est te!perature setting) ,f yo. thin7 that the roo/ or oven &ill heat Cor coolD faster if the ther/ostat is t.rned all the &ay to the /axi/./ setting6 yo. are &rong5 Ao. hold a fol7 theory of ther/ostats5 There are t&o co//only held fol7 theories a8o.t ther/ostats: the ti/er theory and the valve theory5 The ti/er theory proposes that the ther/ostat si/ply controls the relative proportion of ti/e that the device stays on5 Set the ther/o0 stat /id&ay6 and the device is on a8o.t half the ti/e? set it all the &ay .p and the device is on all the ti/e5 #ence6 to heat or cool so/ething /ost <.ic7ly6 set the ther/ostat so that the device is on all the ti/e5 The valve theory proposes that the ther/ostat controls ho& /.ch heat Cor coldD co/es o.t of the device5 T.rn the ther/ostat all the &ay .p6 and yo. get /axi/./ heating or cooling5 " The correct story is that the ther/ostat is 4.st an on0off s&itch5 ,t treats the heater6 oven6 and air conditioner as all0or0nothing devices that can 8e either f.lly on or f.lly off6 &ith no in08et&een states5 The ther/ostat t.rns the heater6 oven6 or air conditioner co/pletely on:at f.ll po&er:.ntil the te/perat.re setting on the ther/ostat is reached5 Then it t.rns the .nit co/pletely off5 Setting the ther/ostat at one extre/e cannot affect ho& long it ta7es to reach the desired te/pera0 t.re5 ' The real point of the exa/ple is not that so/e people have erroneo.s theories? it is that everyone for/s theories C/ental /odelsD to explain &hat they have o8served5 ,n the case of the ther/ostat6 the design gives a8sol.tely no hint as to the correct ans&er5 ,n the a8sence of external infor/ation6 people are free to let their i/aginations r.n free as long as the /ental /odels they develop acco.nt for the facts as they per0 ceive the/5 ;la/ing the Wrong Ca.se +<oo$ at this9+ !y colleague e4clai!ed to !e, +5y co!puter ter!i1 nal is #ro$en. The li#rary did it9 Every ti!e I connect it to the li#rary catalog I have trou#le. *o& I can't even use the ter!inal to read !y co!puter !ail any!ore.+ +That doesn't !a$e sense,+ . replied. +(ou can't even turn on the T;O: The Psychology of Everyday %ctions !2 po&er to the ter!inal. 6o& could a co!puter progra! possi#ly do that $ind of da!age)+ +%ll I $no&,+ he said, +is that everything &as &or$ing fine until I tried to loo$ up an author in the li#rary catalog using that ne& li#rary progra!, and then !y ter!inal stopped &or$ing. I al&ays have trou#le &ith that progra!. %nd this is si!ply too !uch of a coincidence to #e anything else.+ ;ell, it &as a coincidence. It turns out that the po&er supply to the ter!inal had #urned out, a fact that had nothing to do &ith the co!1 puter progra!. oincidence is enough to set the causal &heels rolling. Earlier , s.ggested that people have a tendency to 8la/e the/selves for diffic.lties &ith technology5 ct.ally6 the point is a 8it /ore co/0 plicated5 People do tend to find ca.ses for events6 and 4.st &hat they assign as the ca.se varies5 ,n part people tend to assign a ca.sal relation &henever t&o things occ.r in s.ccession5 ,f , do so/e action % 4.st prior to so/e res.lt E, then , concl.de that % /.st have ca.sed E, even if6 as in the exa/ple a8ove6 there really &as no relationship 8et&een the t&o5 The story is /ore co/plex &hen &e intend an action to prod.ce a desired res.lt and fail6 and there are pro8le/s &hen &e have done the action thro.gh so/e inter/ediate /echanis/5 B.st &here do &e p.t the 8la/e for fail.re@ The ans&er is not clear5 The psychology of 8la/e Cor6 to 8e /ore acc.rate6 of attri8.tionD is co/plex and not f.lly .nderstood5 ,n part6 there see/s to have to 8e so/e perceived ca.sal relationship 8et&een the thing 8eing 8la/ed and the res.lt5 The &ord perceived is critical: the ca.sal relationship does not have to exist? the person si/ply has to thin7 it is there5 So/eti/es &e attri8.te the ca.se to things that had nothing to do &ith the action5 nd so/eti/es &e ignore the real c.lprit5 One /a4or aspect of the assign/ent of 8la/e is that &e fre<.ently have little infor/ation on &hich to /a7e the 4.dg/ent6 and &hat little &e have /ay 8e &rong5 s a res.lt6 8la/e or credit can 8e assessed al/ost independently of reality5 #ere is &here the apparent si/plicity of everyday o84ects ca.ses pro8le/s5 S.ppose , try to .se an everyday thing6 8.t , can9t: Where is the fa.lt6 in /y action or in the thing@ We are apt to 8la/e o.rselves5 ,f &e 8elieve that others are a8le to .se the device and if &e 8elieve that it is not very co/plex6 then &e concl.de that any diffic.lties /.st 8e o.r o&n fa.lt5 S.ppose the fa.lt really lies in the device6 so that lots of people have the sa/e pro8le/s5 ;eca.se everyone perceives the fa.lt to 8e his or her o&n6 no8ody &ants to The Design of Everyday Things ad/it to having tro.8le5 This creates a conspiracy of silence6 /aintain0 ing the feelings of g.ilt and helplessness a/ong .sers5 ,nterestingly eno.gh6 the co//on tendency to 8la/e o.rselves for fail.res &ith everyday o84ects goes against the nor/al attri8.tions people /a7e5 ,n general6 it has 8een fo.nd that people attri8.te their o&n pro8le/s to the environ/ent6 those of other people to their per0 sonalities5 6ere is a !ade1up e4a!ple. onsider To!, the office terror. Today To! got to &or$ late, sla!!ed the door to his office, and yelled at his colleagues. +%h,+ his colleagues and staff said, +there he goes again. 6e's so e4cita#le:al&ays gets !ad at the slightest thing.+ *o& consider To!'s point of vie&. +I really had a hard day,+ To! e4plains. +. &o$e up late #ecause &hen !y cloc$ radio turned on, I tried to hit the snoo7e #ar to give !e five !inutes' !ore sleepD instead I reset the ti!e so that I overslept for a &hole hour. That &asn't !y fault:the radio's #adly designed. I didn't even have ti!e for !y !orn 1 ing coffee. I couldn't find a close par$ing spot #ecause I &as late. %nd then #ecause I &as in such a rush I dropped !y papers all over the street and got the! dirty. Then &hen I &ent to get a cup of coffee fro! the office !achine, it &as all out. *one of this &as !y fault:I had a run of really #ad events. (es, I &as a #it curt &ith !y colleagues, #ut &ho &ouldn't #e under the sa!e circu!stances) 8urely they understand.+ >ut To!'s colleagues see a different picture. They don't have access to his inner thoughts or even to his !orning's activities. %ll they see is that To! yelled at the! si!ply #ecause the office coffee !achine &as e!pty. %nd this re!inds the! of another ti!e &hen the sa!e thing happened. +6e does that all the ti!e, +they conclude, +al&ays #lo&ing up over the !ost !inor events.+ The events are the sa!e events, #ut there are t&o different points of vie& and t&o different interpretations. The protagonist, To!, vie&s his actions as sensi#le responses to the trials of life. The onloo$er vie&s To!'s actions as a result of his e4plo1 sive, irasci#le personality. ,t see/s nat.ral for people to 8la/e their o&n /isfort.nes on the environ/ent5 ,t see/s e<.ally nat.ral to 8la/e other people9s /isfor0 t.nes on their personalities5 B.st the opposite attri8.tion6 8y the &ay6 is /ade &hen things go &ell5 When things go right6 people credit their o&n forcef.l personalities and intelligence: 3, really did a good 4o8 today? no &onder &e finished the pro4ect so &ell53 The onloo7ers do T;O: The Psychology of Everyday %ctions "1 the reverse5 When they see things go &ell for so/eone else6 they credit the environ/ent: 3Boan really &as l.c7y today? she 4.st happened to 8e standing there &hen the 8oss ca/e 8y6 so she got all the credit for the pro4ect &or75 So/e people have all the l.c753 ,n all cases6 &hether a person is inappropriately accepting 8la/e for the ina8ility to &or7 si/ple o84ects or attri8.ting 8ehavior to environ0 /ent or personality6 a fa.lty /ental /odel is at &or75 HE$NE* #EHPHESSNESS The pheno/enon called learned helplessness /ay help explain the self0 8la/e5 ,t refers to the sit.ation in &hich people experience fail.re at a tas76 often n./ero.s ti/es5 s a res.lt6 they decide that the tas7 cannot 8e done6 at least not 8y the/: they are helpless5 They stop trying5 ,f this feeling covers a gro.p of tas7s6 the res.lt can 8e severe diffic.lties coping &ith life5 ,n the extre/e case6 s.ch learned helpless0 ness leads to depression and to a 8elief that the person cannot cope &ith everyday life at all5 So/eti/es all that it ta7es to get s.ch a feeling of helplessness is a fe& experiences that accidentally t.rn o.t 8ad5 The pheno/enon has 8een /ost fre<.ently st.died as a prec.rsor to the clinical pro8le/ of depression6 8.t it /ight easily arise &ith a fe& 8ad experiences &ith everyday o84ects5 T)G#T #EHPHESSNESS *o the co//on technology and /athe/atics pho8ias res.lt fro/ a 7ind of learned helplessness@ Co.ld a fe& instances of fail.re in &hat appear to 8e straightfor&ard sit.ations generali>e to every technologi0 cal o84ect6 every /athe/atics pro8le/@ Perhaps5 ,n fact6 the design of everyday things Cand the design of /athe/atics co.rsesD see/s al/ost g.aranteed to ca.se this5 We co.ld call this pheno/enon taught helpless1 ness. With 8adly designed o84ects:constr.cted so as to lead to /is.nder0 standing:fa.lty /ental /odels6 and poor feed8ac76 no &onder people feel g.ilty &hen they have tro.8le .sing o84ects6 especially &hen they perceive Ceven if incorrectlyD that no8ody else is having the sa/e pro8le/s5 Or consider the nor/al /athe/atics c.rric.l./6 &hich con0 tin.es relentlessly on its &ay6 each ne& lesson ass./ing f.ll 7no&l0 "2 The Design of Everyday Things edge and .nderstanding of all that has passed 8efore5 Even tho.gh each point /ay 8e si/ple6 once yo. fall 8ehind it is hard to catch .p5 The res.lt: /athe/atics pho8ia5 Not 8eca.se the /aterial is diffic.lt6 8.t 8eca.se it is ta.ght so that diffic.lty in one stage hinders f.rther progress5 The pro8le/ is that once fail.re starts6 it soon generali>es 8y self08la/e to all of /athe/atics5 Si/ilar processes are at &or7 &ith technology5 The vicio.s cycle starts: if yo. fail at so/ething6 yo. thin7 it is yo.r fa.lt5 Therefore yo. thin7 yo. can9t do that tas75 s a res.lt6 next ti/e yo. have to do the tas76 yo. 8elieve yo. can9t so yo. don9t even try5 The res.lt is that yo. can9t6 4.st as yo. tho.ght5 Ao.9re trapped in a self0f.lfilling prophecy5 The Nat.re of #./an Tho.ght and Explanation ,t isn9t al&ays easy to tell 4.st &here the 8la/e for a pro8le/ sho.ld 8e placed5 n./8er of dra/atic accidents have co/e a8o.t6 in part6 fro/ the false assess/ent of 8la/e in a sit.ation5 #ighly s7illed6 &ell0 trained people are .sing co/plex e<.ip/ent &hen s.ddenly so/ething goes &rong5 They have to fig.re o.t &hat the pro8le/ is5 =ost ind.s0 trial e<.ip/ent is pretty relia8le5 When the instr./ents indicate that so/ething is &rong6 one has to consider the possi8ility that the instr.0 /ents the/selves are &rong5 Often this is the correct assess/ent5 ;.t &hen operators /ista7enly 8la/e the instr./ents for an act.al e<.ip0 /ent fail.re6 the sit.ation is ripe for a /a4or accident5 ,t is spectac.larly easy to find exa/ples of false assess/ent in ind.s0 trial accidents5 nalysts co/e in &ell after the fact6 7no&ing &hat act.ally did happen? &ith hindsight6 it is al/ost i/possi8le to .nder0 stand ho& the people involved co.ld have /ade the /ista7e5 ;.t fro/ the point of vie& of the person /a7ing decisions at the ti/e6 the se<.ence of events is <.ite nat.ral5 t the Three =ile ,sland n.clear po&er plant6 operators p.shed a 8.tton to close a valve? the valve had 8een opened CproperlyD to allo& excess &ater to escape fro/ the n.clear core5 ,n fact6 the valve &as deficient6 so it didn9t close5 ;.t a light on the control panel indicated that the valve position &as closed5 The light act.ally didn9t /onitor the valve6 only the electrical signal to the valve6 a fact 7no&n 8y the operators5 Still6 &hy s.spect a pro8le/@ The operators did loo7 at the te/perat.re in the pipe leading fro/ the valve: it &as high6 indicating that fl.id &as still flo&ing thro.gh the closed valve5 h6 8.t the opera0 T;O: The Psychology of Everyday %ctions "! tors 7ne& that the valve had 8een lea7y6 so the lea7 &o.ld explain the high te/perat.re? 8.t the lea7 &as 7no&n to 8e s/all6 and operators ass./ed that it &o.ldn9t affect the /ain operation5 They &ere &rong6 and the &ater that &as a8le to escape fro/ the core added significantly to the pro8le/s of that n.clear disaster5 , thin7 the operators9 assess0 /ent &as perfectly reasona8le: the fa.lt &as in the design of the lights and in the e<.ip/ent that gave false evidence of a closed valve5 Si/ilar /isinterpretations ta7e place all the ti/e5 , have st.died a n./8er of airline accidents5 Consider the flight cre& of the Hoc7heed H01011 flying fro/ =ia/i6 (lorida6 to Nassa.6 ;aha/as5 The plane &as over the tlantic Ocean6 a8o.t no /iles fro/ =ia/i6 &hen the lo& oil press.re light for one of the three engines &ent on5 The cre& t.rned off the engine and t.rned aro.nd to go 8ac7 to =ia/i5 Eight /in.tes later6 the lo& press.re lights for the re/aining t&o engines also &ent on6 and the instr./ents sho&ed >ero oil press.re and <.antity in all three engines5 What did the cre& do no&@ They didn9t 8elieve itE fter all6 the pilot correctly said later6 the li7elihood of si/.ltaneo.s oil exha.stion in all three engines &as 3one in /illions , &o.ld thin753 t the ti/e6 sitting in the airplane6 si/.ltaneo.s fail.re did see/ /ost .nli7ely5 Even the National Transportation Safety ;oard declared6 3The analysis of the sit.ation 8y the flightcre& &as logical6 and &as &hat /ost pilots pro8a8ly &o.ld have done if confronted 8y the sa/e sit.ation53 I ;hat happened) The second and third engines &ere indeed out of oil, and they failed. 8o there &ere no operating engines: one had #een turned off &hen its gauge registered lo&, the other t&o had failed. The pilots prepared the plane for an e!ergency landing on the &ater. The pilots &ere too #usy to instruct the flight cre& properly, so the passen1 gers &ere not prepared. There &as se!i1hysteria in the passenger ca#in. %t the last !inute, /ust as the plane &as a#out to ditch in the ocean, the pilots !anaged to restart the first engine and to land safely at 5ia!i. Then that engine failed at the end of the run&ay. ;hy did all three engines fail) Three !issing O1rings, one !issing fro! each of three oil plugs, allo&ed all the oil to seep out. The O1rings &ere put in #y t&o different people &ho &or$ed on the three engines 0one for the t&o plugs on the &ings, the other for the plug on the tail2. 6o& did #oth &or$ers !a$e the sa!e !ista$e) >ecause the nor!al !ethod #y &hich they got the oil plugs had #een changed that day. The &hole tale is very instructive, for there &ere four !a/or failures of "" The Design of Everyday Things different sorts, fro! the o!ission of the O1rings, to the inade-uacy of the !aintenance procedures, to the false assess!ent of the pro#le!, to the poor handling of the passengers. "ortunately, no#ody &as in/ured. The analysts of the *ational Transportation 8afety >oard got to &rite a fascinating report. ,9ve /isinterpreted signals6 as ,9/ s.re /ost people have5 =y fa/ily &as driving fro/ San *iego to =a//oth6 California6 a s7i area a8o.t K00 /iles north: a ten0 to t&elve0ho.r drive5 s &e drove6 &e noticed /ore and /ore signs advertising the hotels and ga/8ling casinos of Has -egas6 Nevada5 3Strange63 &e said6 3Has -egas al&ays did advertise a long &ay off:there is even a 8ill8oard in San *iego:8.t this see/s excessive6 advertising on the road to =a//oth53 We stopped for gaso0 line and contin.ed on o.r 4o.rney5 Only later6 &hen &e tried to find a place to eat s.pper6 did &e discover that &e had ta7en the &rong t.rn nearly t&o ho.rs earlier6 8efore &e had stopped for gasoline6 and that &e &ere on the road to Has -egas6 not the road to =a//oth5 We had to 8ac7trac7 the entire t&o0ho.r seg/ent6 &asting fo.r ho.rs of driv0 ing5 ,t9s h./oro.s no&? it &asn9t then5 (ind an explanation6 and &e are happy5 ;.t o.r explanations are 8ased on analogy &ith past experience6 experience that /ay not apply in the c.rrent sit.ation5 ,n the Three =ile ,sland incident6 past experi0 ence &ith the lea7y valve explained a&ay the discrepant te/perat.re reading? on the flight fro/ =ia/i to Nassa.6 the pilots9 lac7 of experi0 ence &ith si/.ltaneo.s oil press.re fail.re triggered their 8elief that the instr./ents /.st 8e fa.lty? in the driving story6 the prevalence of 8ill8oards for Has -egas see/ed easily explained5 Once &e have an explanation:correct or incorrect:for other&ise discrepant or p.>>ling events6 there is no /ore p.>>le6 no /ore discrepancy5 s a res.lt6 &e are co/placent6 at least for a &hile5 #o& People *o Things: The Seven Stages of ction I a! in Italy, at a conference. I &atch the ne4t spea$er atte!pt to thread a fil! onto a pro/ector that he has never used #efore. 6e puts the reel into place, then ta$es it off and reverses it. %nother person co!es to help. :ointly they thread the fii! through the pro/ector and hold the free end, discussing ho& to put it on the ta$eup reel. T&o T;O: The Psychology of Everyday %ctions "' !ore people co!e over to help, and then another. The voices gro& louder, in three languages: Italian, Ier!an, and English. One person investigates the controls, !anipulating each and announcing the result. onfusion !ounts. I can no longer o#serve all that is happening. The conference organi7er co!es over. %fter a fe& !o!ents he turns and faces the audience, &hich has #een &aiting patiently in the auditoriu!. +%he!, +he says, +is any#ody e4pert in pro/ectors)+ "inally, fourteen !inutes after the spea$er had started to thread the fil! 0and eight !inutes after the scheduled start of the session2 a #lue1coated techni1 cian appears. 6e sco&ls, then pro!ptly ta$es the entire fil! off the pro/ector, rethreads it, and gets it &or$ing. What /a7es so/ething:li7e threading the pro4ector:diffic.lt to do@ To ans&er this <.estion6 the central one of this 8oo76 &e need to 7no& &hat happens &hen so/eone does so/ething5 We need to exa/0 ine the str.ct.re of an action5 The 8asic idea is si/ple5 To get so/ething done6 yo. have to start &ith so/e notion of &hat is &anted:the goal that is to 8e achieved5 Then6 yo. have to do so/ething to the &orld6 that is6 ta7e action to /ove yo.rself or /anip.late so/eone or so/ething5 (inally6 yo. chec7 to see that yo.r goal &as /ade5 So there are fo.r different things to consider: the goal6 &hat is done to the &orld6 the &orld itself6 and the chec7 of the &orld5 The action itself has t&o /a4or aspects: doing so/ething and chec7ing5 Call these e4ecution and evaluation Cfig.re ..22. $eal tas7s are not <.ite so si/ple5 The original goal /ay 8e i/pre0 cisely specified:perhaps 3get so/ething to eat63 3get to &or763 3get dressed63 3&atch television53 Goals do not state precisely &hat to do:&here and ho& to /ove6 &hat to pic7 .p5 To lead to actions goals /.st 8e transfor/ed into specific state/ents of &hat is to 8e done6 state/ents that , call intentions. % goal is so/ething to 8e achieved6 often vag.ely stated5 n intention is a specific action ta7en to get to the goal5 Aet even intentions are not specific eno.gh to control actions5 8uppose I a! sitting in !y ar!chair, reading a #oo$. It is dus$, and the light has gotten di!!er and di!!er. I decide I need !ore light 0that is the goal: get !ore light2. 5y goal has to #e translated into the intention that states the appropriate action in the &orld: push the s&itch #utton on the la!p. There's !ore: I need to specify ho& to !ove !y #ody, ho& to stretch to reach the light s&itch, ho& to e4tend !y finger to push the #utton 0&ithout $noc$ing over the la!p2. The goal "I The Design of Everyday Things -)- The Action ycle Ca8ove leftD5 #./an action has t&o aspects6 exec.tion and eval.ation5 Exec.tion involves doing so/ething5 Eval.ation is the co/parison of &hat happened in the &orld &ith &hat &e &anted to happen Co.r goalD5 -)2 %tages of E'ecution Ca8ove rightD5 Start at the top &ith the goal, the state that is to 8e achieved5 The goal is translated into an intention to do so/e action5 The intention /.st 8e translated into a set of internal co//ands6 an action se-uence that can 8e perfor/ed to satisfy the intention5 The action se<.ence is still a /ental event: nothing happens .ntil it is e4ecuted, perfor/ed .pon the &orld5 -)5 %tages of Evaluation C8elo& leftD5 Eval.ation starts &ith o.r perception of the &orld5 This perception /.st then 8e interpreted according to o.r expectations and then co/pared 0evaluated2 &ith respect to 8oth o.r intentions Cfro/ fig.re 25!D and o.r goals5 -)8 %even %tages of Action C8elo& rightD5 The stages of exec.tion fro/ fig.re 25! Cintentions6 action se<.ence6 and exec.tionD are co.pled &ith the stages of eval.ation fro/ fig.re 2" Cperception6 interpretation6 and eval.ationD6 &it h goals co//on to 8oth stages5 Goals 4hat e ant to ha--en 4hat e )o to the orl) E0al'ation Com-arin+ hat ha--ene) ith hat e ante) to ha--en THE 4ORLD THE 4ORLD Goals An intention to act so as to achie0e the +oal The act'al se='ence o& actions that e -lan to )o The -h(sical e*ec'tion o& that action se='ence Goals E0al'ation o& the inter-retations ith hat e e*-ecte) to ha--en Inter-retin+ the -erce-tion accor)in+ to o'r e*-ectations 2ercei0in+ the state o& the orl) THE 4ORLD THE 4ORLD Goals Intention to act Se='ence o& actions E*ec'tion o& the action se='ence E0al'ation o& inter-retations Inter-retin+ the -erce-tion 2ercei0in+ the state o& the orl) has to #e translated into an intention, &hich in turn has to #e !ade into a specific action se-uence, one that can control !y !uscles. *ote that I could satisfy !y goal &ith other action se-uences, other intentions. If so!eone &al$ed into the roo! and passed #y the la!p, I !ight alter !y intention fro! pushing the s&itch #utton to as$ing the other per1 son to do it for !e. The goal hasn't changed, #ut the intention and resulting action se-uence have. The specific actions 8ridge t he gap 8et &een &hat &e &o.l d li7e to have done Co.r goals and intentionsD and all possi8le physical actions5 fter &e specify &hat actions to /a7e6 &e /.st act.ally do t he/:t he stage of exec.tion5 ll in all6 there are three stages that follo& fro/ t he goal: intention6 action se<.ence6 and exec.tion Cfig.re 25!D5 The eval.ation side of things6 chec7ing .p on &hat happened6 has three stages: first6 perceiving &hat happened in t he &orld? second6 trying to /a7e sense of it Cinterpreting itD? and6 finally6 co/paring &hat happened &i t h &hat &as &ant ed Cfig.re 25"D5 There &e have it5 Seven stages of action: one for goals6 three for exec.tion6 and three for eval.ation5 F (or/ing the goal F (or/ing the intention F Specifying an action F Exec.ting the action F Perceiving the state of the &orld F ,nterpreting the state of the &orld F Eval.ating the o.tco/e The seven stages for/ an appro4i!ate !odel, not a co/plete psycholog0 ical theory5 ,n partic.lar6 t he stages are al/ost certainly not discrete entities5 =ost 8ehavior does not re<.ire going t hro.gh all stages in se<.ence6 and /ost activities &ill not 8e satisfied 8y single actions5 There /.st 8e n./ero.s se<.ences6 and t he &hol e activity /ay last ho.rs or even days5 There is a contin.al feed8ac7 loop6 in &hich t he res.lts of one activity are .sed to direct f.rther ones6 in &hi ch goals lead to s.8goals6 intenti ons lead to s.8intentions5 There are activities in &hich goals are forgotten6 discarded6 or refor/.lated5 1 "or !any everyday tas$s, goals and intentions are not &ell specified: they are opport.nistic rather than planned. Opportunistic actions are "+ The Design of Everyday Things those in &hich the #ehavior ta$es advantage of the circu!stances. Eather than engage in e4tensive planning and analysis, the person goes a#out the day's activities and perfor!s the intended actions if the relevant opportunity arises. Thus, &e !ay not go out of our &ay to go to a shop, or to the li#rary, or to as$ a -uestion of a friend. Eather, &e go through the day's activities, and if &e find ourselves at the shop, near the li#rary, or encountering the friend, then &e allo& the opportu1 nity to trigger the relevant activity. Other&ise, the tas$ re!ains un1 done. Only in the case of crucial tas$s do &e !a$e special efforts to ensure that they get done. Opportunistic actions are less precise and certain than specified goals and intentions, #ut they result in less !en1 tal effort, less inconvenience, and perhaps !ore interest. The seven1stage process of action can #e started at any point. People do not al&ays #ehave as full, logical, reasoning organis!s, starting &ith high1level goals and &or$ing to achieve the!. Our goals are often ill1for!ed and vague. ;e !ay respond to the events of the &orld 0in &hat is called data1driven #ehavior2 rather than to thin$ out plans and goals. %n event in the &orld !ay trigger an interpretation and a result1 ing response. %ctions !ay #e e4ecuted #efore they are fully developed. In fact, so!e of us ad/ust our lives so that the environ!ent can control our #ehavior. "or e4a!ple, so!eti!es &hen I !ust do an i!portant tas$, I !a$e a for!al, pu#lic pro!ise to get it done #y a certain date. I !a$e sure that I &ill #e re!inded of the pro!ise. %nd then, hours #efore the deadline, I actually get to &or$ and do the /o#. This $ind of #ehavior is fully co!pati#le &ith the seven1stage analysis. The G.lfs of Exec.tion and Eval.ation $e/e/8er the /ovie pro4ector story@ People9s pro8le/s threading the pro4ector did not co/e fro/ a lac7 of .nderstanding of the goal or the tas75 ,t did not co/e fro/ deep6 s.8tle co/plexity5 The diffic.lty lay entirely in deter/ining the relationship 8et&een the intended actions and the /echanis/s of the pro4ector6 in deter/ining the f.nctions of each of the controls6 in deter/ining &hat specific /anip.lation of each control ena8led each f.nction6 and in deciding 8y the sights6 so.nds6 lights6 and /ove/ents of the pro4ector &hether the intended actions &ere 8eing done s.ccessf.lly5 The .sers had a pro8le/ &ith /appings and feed8ac76 as they &o.ld have &ith the pro4ector in fig.re 25I5 The pro4ector story is only an extre/e case of the diffic.lties faced in the cond.ct of /any tas7s5 (or a s.rprisingly large n./8er of every 0 T;O: The Psychology of Everyday %ctions "2 day tas7s6 the diffic.lty resides entirely in deriving the relationships 8et&een the /ental intentions and interpretations and the physical actions and states5 There are several gulfs that separate /ental states fro/ physical ones5 Each g.lf reflects one aspect of the distance 8e0 t&een the /ental representations of the person and the physical co/0 -)9 Threading the +ovie $ro4ector) The dar7 line at the right sho&s the path of the fil/5 This pict.re doesn9 t tell the &hole story6 for the several loops of fil/ have to 8e threaded 4.st right6 neither too loose nor too ta.t5 C(ro/ Pro/ectionist's !anual, *epart/ent of the r/y and the ir (orce6 =ay 12II5D '0 The Design of Everyday Things ponents and states of the environ/ent5 nd these g.lfs present /a4or pro8le/s for .sers5 + T#E G)H( O( EOEC)T,ON *oes the syste/ provide actions that correspond to the intentions of the person@ The difference 8et&een the intentions and the allo&a8le actions is the G.lf of Exec.tion5 One /eas.re of this g.lf is ho& &ell the syste/ allo&s the person to do the intended actions directly6 &ith0 o.t extra effort: *o the actions provided 8y the syste/ /atch those intended 8y the person@ onsider the !ovie pro/ector e4a!ple: one pro#le! resulted fro! the Iulf of E4ecution. The person &anted to set up the pro/ector. Ideally, this &ould #e a si!ple thing to do. >ut no, a long, co!ple4 se-uence &as re-uired. It &asn't at all clear &hat actions had to #e done to acco!plish the intentions of setting up the pro/ector and sho&ing the fil!. 8elf1threading pro/ectors do e4ist. These nicely #ridge the gulf. Or loo$ at HEs. They have the sa!e !echanical pro#le! as fil! pro/ec1 tors: the videotape has to #e threaded through their !echanis!. >ut the solution is to hide this part of the syste!, to put the tas$ on the !achine, not the person. 8o the !achinery #ridges the gulf. %ll the user has to do is to plop in the cartridge and push the start #utton. It's a pity the fil! co!panies are so far #ehind. ;ell, in a &hile it &on't !atter. There &on't #e any fil!, /ust videotape. T#E G)H( O( E-H)T,ON *oes the syste/ provide a physical representation that can 8e directly perceived and that is directly interpreta8le in ter/s of the intentions and expectations of the person@ The G.lf of Eval.ation reflects the a/o.nt of effort that the person /.st exert to interpret the physical state of the syste/ and to deter/ine ho& &ell the expectations and intentions have 8een /et5 The g.lf is s/all &hen the syste/ provides infor/ation a8o.t its state in a for/ that is easy to get6 is easy to interpret6 and /atches the &ay the person thin7s of the syste/5 In the !ovie pro/ector e4a!ple there &as also a pro#le! &ith the Iulf of Evaluation. Even &hen the fil! &as in the pro/ector, it &as T;O: The Psychology of Everyday %ctions '1 difficult to tell if it had #een threaded correctly. ;ith HEs all you have to $no& is &hether the cartridge is properly inserted into the !achine. If it isn't, usually it &on't fit right: it stic$s out o#viously, and you $no& that things are not right. >ut HEs aren't perfect, either. I re!e!#er a conference spea$er &ho pushed the start #utton on the HE and told the audience to &atch the screen. *o picture. 8he fiddled &ith the !achine, then called for help. One, then t&o, then three technicians appeared on the scene. They carefully chec$ed the po&er connections, the leads to the HE, the circuits. The audience &aited i!patiently, giggling. "inally the pro#le! &as found: there &asn't any tape in the HE. *o tape, no picture. The pro#le! &as that once the cartridge door to that particular HE &as shut, there &as no visi#le &ay to tell &hether it contained a tape. >ad design. That Iulf of Evaluation sun$ another user. The g.lfs are present to an a/a>ing degree in a variety of devices5 )s.ally the diffic.lties are .nre/ar7ed and invisi8le5 The .sers either ta7e the 8la/e the/selves Cin the case of things they 8elieve they sho.ld 8e capa8le of .sing6 s.ch as &ater fa.cets6 refrigerator te/pera0 t.re controls6 stove tops6 radio and television setsD or decide that they are incapa8le of operating the pes7y devices Cse&ing /achines6 &ash0 ing /achines6 digital &atches6 digital controls on ho.sehold appliances6 -C$s6 a.dio setsD5 These are indeed the gadgets of everyday ho.sehold .se5 None of the/ has a co/plex str.ct.re6 yet /any of the/ defeat the other&ise capa8le .ser5 The Seven Stages of ction as *esign ids The seven0stage str.ct.re can 8e a val.a8le design aid6 for it provides a 8asic chec7list of <.estions to as7 to ens.re that the G.lfs of Eval.a0 tion and Exec.tion are 8ridged Cfig.re 251D5 ,n general6 each stage of action re<.ires its o&n special design strate0 gies and6 in t.rn6 provides its o&n opport.nity for disaster5 ,t &o.ld 8e f.n6 &ere it not also so fr.strating6 to loo7 over the &orld and gleef.lly analy>e each deficiency5 On the &hole6 as yo. can see in fig.re 2516 the <.estions for each stage are relatively si/ple5 nd these6 in t.rn6 8oil do&n to the principles of good design introd.ced in chapter 15 F Hisi#ility. ;y loo7ing6 the .ser can tell the state of the device and the alternatives for action5 '2 The Design of Everyday Things 251 )sing the Seven Stages to s7 *esign P.estions H)* E+,-./ C+0 O01( Determine The F'nction o& the De0ice> Tell 4hat Actions Are 2ossi/le> Determine %a--in+ &rom Intention to 2h(sical %o0ement> 2er&orm the Action> Tell i& S(stem is in Desire) State> Determine %a--in+ &rom S(stem State to Inter-retation> Tell 4hat State the S(stem is In> F % good conceptual !odel. The designer provides a good concept.al /odel for the .ser6 &ith consistency in the presentation of operations and res.lts and a coherent6 consistent syste/ i/age5 F Iood !appings. ,t is possi8le to deter/ine the relationships 8et&een actions and res.lts6 8et&een the controls and their effects6 and 8e0 t&een the syste/ state and &hat is visi8le5 F "eed#ac$. The .ser receives f.ll and contin.o.s feed8ac7 a8o.t the res.lts of actions5 Each point provides s.pport for one or /ore of t he seven stages of action5 The next ti/e yo. can9 t i//ediat ely fi g.re o.t t he sho&er control in a /otel or &or7 an .nfa/iliar television set or stove6 re/e/0 8er t hat the pro8l e/ is in t he design5 nd t he next ti/e yo. pic7 .p an .nfa/iliar o84ect and .se it s/oothl y and effortlessly on t he first try6 stop and exa/ine it: t he ease of .se did not co/e a8o.t 8y accident5 So/eone designed t he o84ect caref.lly and &ell5 T;O: The Psychology of Everyday %ctions '! C # P T E $ T # $ E E %NOWHE*GE , N T#E #E* N* , N T#E WO$H* % friend $indly let !e #orro& his car. :ust #efore I &as a#out to leave, I found a note &aiting for !e: +I should have !entioned that to get the $ey out of the ignition the car needs to #e in reverse.+ The car needs to #e in reverse9 If I hadn't seen the note, I never could have figured that out. There &as no visi#le cue in the car: the $no&l1 edge needed for this tric$ had to reside in the head. If the driver lac$s that $no&ledge, the $ey stays in the ignition forever. ,t is easy to sho& the fa.lty nat.re of h./an 7no&ledge and /e/0 ory5 co//on classroo/ exercise in the )nited States de/onstrates that st.dents cannot recall the pairing of letters and n./8ers on their telephones5 One of /y grad.ate st.dents fo.nd that &hen professional typists &ere given caps for type&riter 7eys6 they co.ld not arrange the/ in the proper config.ration5 1 /erican st.dents dial telephones properly6 and all those typists co.ld type rapidly and acc.rately5 Why the apparent discrepancy 8et&een the precision of 8ehavior and the i/precision of 7no&ledge@ ;eca.se not all of the 7no&ledge re<.ired for precise 8ehavior has to 8e in the head5 ,t can 8e distri8.ted:partly in the head6 partly in the &orld6 and partly in the constraints of the '" &orld5 Precise 8ehavior can e/erge fro/ i/precise 7no&ledge for fo.r reasons5 .. Infor!ation is in the &orld. =.ch of the infor/ation a person needs to do a tas7 can reside in the &orld5 ;ehavior is deter/ined 8y co/8ining the infor/ation in /e/ory Cin the headD &ith that in the &orld5 25 Ireat precision is not re-uired. Precision6 acc.racy6 and co/pleteness of 7no&ledge are seldo/ re<.ired5 Perfect 8ehavior &ill res.lt if the 7no&ledge descri8es the infor/ation or 8ehavior s.fficiently to dis0 ting.ish the correct choice fro/ all others5 !5 *atural constraints are present. The &orld restricts the allo&ed 8ehav0 ior5 The physical properties of o84ects constrain possi8le operations: the order in &hich parts can go together and the &ays in &hich an o84ect can 8e /oved6 pic7ed .p6 or other&ise /anip.lated5 Each o84ect has physical feat.res:pro4ections6 depressions6 scre&threads6 appendages:that li/it its relationships to other o84ects6 operations that can 8e perfor/ed to it6 &hat can 8e attached to it6 and so on5 "5 ultural constraints are present. ,n addition to nat.ral6 physical con0 straints6 society has evolved n./ero.s artificial conventions that govern accepta8le social 8ehavior5 These c.lt.ral conventions have to 8e learned6 8.t once learned they apply to a &ide variety of circ./stances5 ;eca.se of these nat.ral and artificial constraints6 t he n./8er of alter0 natives for any partic.lar sit.ation is red.ced6 as are t he a/o.nt and specificity of 7no&l edge re<.ired &i t hi n h./an /e/ory5 ,n everyday sit.ations6 8ehavior is deter/ined 8y the co/8ination of internal 7no&ledge and external infor/ation and constraints5 People ro.tinely capitali>e on this fact5 They can /ini/i>e t he a/o.nt of /aterial t hey /.st learn or t he co/pleteness6 precision6 acc.racy6 or dept h of t he learning5 People can deli8erately organi>e the envi ron/ent to s.pport their 8ehavior5 So/e people &i t h 8rain da/age can f.nction so &ell that even their co0&or7ers /ay not 8e a&are of their handi cap5 Nonreaders have 8een 7no&n to fool others6 even in sit.ations &here their 4o8 pres./a8l y re<.ires reading s7ills5 They 7no& &hat is ex0 pected of t he/6 follo& t he 8ehavior of their co0&or7ers6 and set .p sit.ations so that t hey do not need to read or so that their co0&or7ers do the reading for t he/5 What is tr.e in these extre/e cases /.st certainly also 8e tr.e of T6EEE: ,no&ledge in the 6ead and in the ;orld KK ordinary people in ordinary sit.ations: it is only the a/o.nt of reliance .pon the external &orld that differs5 There is a tradeoff 8et&een the a/o.nt of /ental 7no&ledge and the a/o.nt of external 7no&ledge re<.ired in perfor/ing tas7s5 People are free to operate vario.sly in allo&ing for this tradeoff5 Precise ;ehavior fro/ ,/precise %no&ledge ,N(O$=T,ON ,S ,N T#E WO$H* Whenever infor/ation needed to do a tas7 is readily availa8le in the &orld6 the need for .s to learn it di/inishes5 (or exa/ple6 &e lac7 7no&ledge a8o.t co//on coins6 even tho.gh &e recogni>e the/ 4.st fine Cfig.re !51D5 Or consider typing5 =any typists have not /e/ori>ed the 7ey8oard5 )s.ally each letter is la8eled6 so nontypists can h.nt and pec7 letter 8y letter6 relying on 7no&ledge in the &orld and /ini/i>ing the ti/e re<.ired for learning5 The pro8le/ is that s.ch typing is slo& and diffic.lt5 With experience6 of co.rse6 h.nt0and0pec7 typists learn the positions of /any of the letters on the 7ey8oard6 even &itho.t instr.ction6 and typing speed increases nota8ly6 <.ic7ly s.rpassing hand&riting speeds and6 for so/e6 reaching <.ite respecta8le rates5 Peripheral vision and the feel of the 7ey8oard provide so/e infor/a0 tion a8o.t 7ey locations5 (re<.ently .sed 7eys 8eco/e co/pletely learned6 infre<.ently .sed 7eys are not learned &ell6 and the other 7eys are partially learned5 ;.t as long as the typist needs to &atch the 7ey8oard6 the speed is li/ited5 The 7no&ledge is still /ostly in the &orld6 not in the head5 ,f a person needs to type large a/o.nts of /aterial reg.larly6 f.rther invest/ent is &orth&hile: a co.rse6 a 8oo76 or an interactive co/p.ter progra/5 The i/portant thing is to learn the proper place/ent of fingers on the 7ey8oard6 to learn to type &itho.t loo7ing6 to get 7no&l0 edge a8o.t the 7ey8oard fro/ the &orld into the head5 ,t ta7es several ho.rs to learn the syste/ and several /onths to 8eco/e expert5 ;.t the payoff of all this effort is increased typing speed6 increased acc.racy6 and decreased /ental load and effort at the ti/e of typing5 There is a tradeoff 8et&een speed and <.ality of perfor/ance and /ental effort5 Th.s6 in finding yo.r &ay thro.gh a city6 locating ite/s in a store or ho.se6 or &or7ing co/plex /achinery6 the tradeoff can deter/ine &hat needs to 8e learned5 ;eca.se yo. 7no& that the infor0 K? The Design of Everyday Things !51 Which ,s the )5 S5 One Cent Coin:The Penny@ (e&er than half of the /erican college st.dents &ho &ere given this set of dra&ings and as7ed to select the correct one co.ld do so5 Pretty 8ad perfor/ance6 except that the st.dents6 of co.rse6 have no diffic.lty .sing the /oney: in nor/al life6 &e have to disting.ish 8et&een the penny and other )5S5 coins6 not 8et&een several versions of one deno/ination5 C(ro/ Nic7erson N da/s6 ognitive Psychology, .., N 12125 $e0 printed 8y per/ission of cade/ic Press5D /ation is availa8le in the environ/ent 6 the infor/ation yo. internally code in /e/ory need 8e precise eno.gh only to s.stain t he <.ality of 8ehavior yo. desire5 This is one reason people can f.nction &ell in their envi ron/ent and still 8e .na8l e to descri8e &hat they do5 (or exa/ple6 a person can travel acc.rately t hro.gh a city &i t ho.t 8eing a8le to descri8e the ro.t e precisely5 People f.nction t hro.gh their .se of t &o 7inds of 7no&ledge: 7no&ledge of and 7no&l edge ho&. %no&ledge of:&hat psychologists call declarative 7no&ledge:incl.des the 7no&ledge of facts and r.les5 3St op at red lights53 3Ne& Aor7 City lies on a parallel a 8it so.t h of =adrid6 San *iego9 s longit.de is east of $eno5 3 3To get the 7ey o.t of t he ignition6 t he car /.st 8e in reverse53 *eclarative 7no&ledge is easy to &rite do&n and to teach5 %no&ledge ho&O &hat psychologists call proced.ral 7no&ledge:is t he 7no&l edge that ena8les a person to perfor/ /.sic6 to stop a car s/oothly &i t h a flat tire on an icy road6 to ret.rn a serve in tennis6 or to /ove t he tong.e properly &hen saying the phrase 3frightening &i t ches5 3 Proced.ral 7no&ledge is diffic.lt or T6EEE: ,no&ledge in the 6ead and in the ;orld KC i/possi8le to &rite do&n and diffic.lt to teach5 ,t is 8est ta.ght 8y de/onstration and 8est learned thro.gh practice5 Even the 8est teach0 ers cannot .s.ally descri8e &hat they are doing5 Proced.ral 7no&ledge is largely s.8conscio.s5 %no&ledge fro/ the &orld is .s.ally easy to co/e 8y5 *esigners provide a large n./8er of /e/ory aids5 The letters on the type&riter 7ey8oard are one exa/ple5 The lights and la8els on controls act as external /e/ory aids6 re/inding the .ser of the p.rpose and state of the control5 ,nd.strial e<.ip/ent is replete &ith signal lights6 indica0 tors6 and other re/inders5 We /a7e extensive .se of &ritten notes5 We place ite/s in specific locations as re/inders5 ,n general6 people str.c0 t.re the environ/ent to provide a considera8le a/o.nt of the infor/a0 tion re<.ired for so/ething to 8e re/e/8ered5 5any people organi7e their lives in the &orld, creating a pile here, a pile there, each indicating so!e activity to #e done, so!e event in progress. Pro#a#ly every#ody uses such a strategy to so!e e4tent. <oo$ around you at the variety of &ays people structure their roo!s and des$s. 5any styles of organi7ation are possi#le, #ut the physical ar1 range!ent and visi#ility of the ite!s fre-uently convey infor!ation a#out relative i!portance. ;ant to do your friends a nasty turn) Do the! a favor:clean up their des$s or roo!s. Do this to so!e people and you can co!pletely destroy their a#ility to function. 2 G$ET P$EC,S,ON ,S NOT $EP),$E* Nor/ally6 people do not need precise /e/ory infor/ation5 People can re/e/8er eno.gh to disting.ish one fa/iliar coin fro/ another altho.gh they /ay 8e .na8le to re/e/8er the faces6 pict.res6 and &ords on the coins5 ! ;.t /a7e /ore precise /e/ory necessary and yo. get havoc5 Three co.ntries have rediscovered this fact in recent years: the )nited States6 &hen it introd.ced the S.san ;5 nthony one0dollar coin? Great ;ritain6 &hen it introd.ced the one0po.nd coin? and (rance6 &hen it introd.ced a ne& ten0franc coin5 The ne& )5S5 dollar coin &as conf.sed &ith the existing t&enty0five0cent piece Cthe <.arterD6 and the ;ritish po.nd coin &as conf.sed &ith the existing five0pence piece5 CThe one0po.nd coin has the sa/e dia/eter as the five0pence piece6 8.t is considera8ly thic7er and heavier5D #ere is &hat happened in (rance: '+ The Design of Everyday Things +P%EI8 . . .+ ;ith a good deal of fanfare, the "rench govern!ent released the ne& .01franc coin 0&orth a little !ore than P..K02 on Oct. 22 F.BJ?G. The pu#lic loo$ed at it, &eighed it, and #egan confusing it so -uic$ly &ith the half1franc coin 0&orth only J cents2 that a cre1 scendo of fury and ridicule fell on #oth the govern!ent and the coin. +"ive &ee$s later, 5inister of "inance Edouard >alladur suspended circulation of the coin. ;ithin another four &ee$s, he canceled it altogether. +In retrospect, the "rench decision see!s so foolish that it is hard to fatho! ho& it could have #een !ade. . . . %fter !uch study, designers ca!e up &ith a silver1colored coin !ade of nic$el and featuring a !odernistic dra&ing #y artist :oa-ui! :i!ene7 of a Iallic rooster on one side and of 5arianne, the fe!ale sy!#ol of the "rench repu#lic, on the other. The coin &as light, sported special ridges on its ri! for easy reading #y electronic vending !achines and see!ed tough to counterfeit. +>ut the designers and #ureaucrats &ere o#viously so e4cited #y their creation that they ignored or refused to accept the ne& coin's si!ilarity to the hundreds of !illions of silver1colored, nic$el1#ased half1franc coins in circulation . . . F&hoseG si7e and &eight &ere peri1 lously si!ilar.3 " The conf.sions pro8a8ly occ.rred 8eca.se the .sers of coins for/ed representations in their /e/ory syste/s that &ere s.fficiently precise only to disting.ish a/ong the coins that they act.ally had to .se5 ,t is a general property of /e/ory that &e store only partial descriptions of the things to 8e re/e/8ered6 descriptions that are s.fficiently pre0 cise to &or7 at the ti/e so/ething is learned6 8.t that /ay not &or7 later on6 &hen ne& experiences have also 8een enco.ntered and en0 tered into /e/ory5 The descriptions for/ed to disting.ish a/ong the old coins &ere not precise eno.gh to disting.ish 8et&een the ne& one and at least one of the old ones5 ' 8uppose I $eep all !y notes in a s!all red note#oo$. If this is !y only note#oo$, I can descri#e it si!ply as !y note#oo$. If I #uy several !ore note#oo$s, the earlier description &ill no longer &or$. *o& I !ust call the first one s!all or red, or !ay#e #oth s!all and red, &hichever allo&s !e to distinguish it fro! the others. >ut &hat if I ac-uire several s!all, red note#oo$s) *o& I !ust find so!e other !eans of descri#ing the first #oo$, adding to the richness of the de1 T6EEE: ,no&ledge in the 6ead and in the ;orld '2 scription and there#y to its a#ility to discri!inate a!ong the several si!ilar ite!s. Descriptions need discri!inate only a!ong the choices in front of !e, #ut &hat &or$s for one purpose !ay not for another. I THE $6:E! 6F 6N%T!A?NT% ;ac7 in the good old days of oral tradition Cand even today for so/e c.lt.resD6 perfor/ers traveled aro.nd reciting epic poe/s tho.sands of lines long5 #o& did they do it@ *o so/e people have h.ge a/o.nts of 7no&ledge in their heads@ Not really5 ,t t.rns o.t that external constraints exert po&erf.l control over the per/issi8le choice of &ords6 th.s dra/atically red.cing the /e/ory load5 Consider the constraints of rhy/ing5 ,f yo. &ish to rhy/e one &ord &ith another in English6 there are .s.ally ten to t&enty alternatives5 ;.t if yo. /.st have a &ord &ith a partic.lar /eaning to rhy/e &ith another6 there are .s.ally no candidates at all5 nd if there are any6 in /ost cases there is only one5 Co/8ining the t&o constraints of rhy/e and /eaning can therefore red.ce the infor/ation a8o.t the partic.lar &ord that /.st 8e 7ept in /e/ory to nothing? as long as the con0 straints are 7no&n6 the choice of &ord can 8e co/pletely deter/ined5 The learning of /aterial li7e poetry is greatly aided 8y these 7inds of constraints6 &hich &or7 on the general sche/a for the class of poe/6 /eter6 and topic5 6ere is an e4a!ple. I a! thin$ing of three &ords: one !eans +a !ythical #eing,+ the second is +the na!e of a #uilding !aterial,+ and the third is +a unit of ti!e.+ ;hat &ords do I have in !ind) %lthough you can pro#a#ly thin$ of three &ords that fit the descriptions, you are not li$ely to get the sa!e three that I have in !ind. There si!ply are not enough constraints. *o& try a second tas$, this ti!e loo$ing for rhy!ing &ords. . a! thin$ing of three &ords: one rhy!es &ith +post,+ the second &ith +eel,+ and the third &ith +ear.+ ;hat &ords a! I thin$ing of) 8uppose I no& tell you that the &ords I see$ are the sa!e in #oth tas$s: ;hat is a &ord that !eans a !ythical #eing and rhy!es &ith +post+) ;hat &ord is the na!e of a #uilding !aterial and rhy!es &ith +eel+) %nd &hat &ord is a unit of ti!e and rhy!es &ith +ear+) *o& the tas$ is easy: the /oint specification of the &ords co!pletely con1 strains the selection. I0 The Design of Everyday Things In the psychology la#oratory, people al!ost never got the correct !eanings or rhy!es for the first t&o tas$s, #ut they correctly ans&ered +ghost,+ +steel,+ and +year+ in the co!#ined tas$ al!ost al&ays. C The classic st.dy of /e/ory for epic poetry &as done 8y l8ert ;ates Hord5 #e &ent to A.goslavia and fo.nd people &ho still follo&ed the oral tradition5 #e de/onstrated that the 3singer of tales63 the person &ho learns epic poe/s and goes fro/ village to village reciting the/6 is really recreating the/6 co/posing poetry on the fly in s.ch a &ay that it o8eys the rhyth/6 the/e6 story line6 str.ct.re6 and other characteristics of the poe/5 This is a prodigio.s feat6 8.t it is not an exa/ple of rote /e/ory5 $ather6 the practice ill.strates the i//ense po&er of the /.ltiple constraints that allo& the singer to listen to another singer tell a lengthy tale once6 and then Cafter a delay of a fe& ho.rs or a dayD apparently recite 3the sa/e song6 &ord for &ord6 and line for line53 + ,n fact6 as Hord points o.t6 the original and ne& recita0 tions are not the sa/e &ord for &ord5 ;.t the listener &o.ld perceive the/ as the sa/e6 even if the second version &ere t&ice as long as the first5 They are the sa/e in the &ays that /atter to the listener: they tell the sa/e story6 express the sa/e ideas6 and follo& the sa/e rhy/e and /eter5 They are the sa/e in all senses that /atter to the c.lt.re5 Hord sho&s 4.st ho& the co/8ination of /e/ory for poetics6 the/e6 and style co/8ine &ith c.lt.ral str.ct.res into &hat he calls a for/.la for prod.cing an appropriate poe/6 perceived as identical to earlier recita0 tions5 The notion that so/eone sho.ld 8e a8le to recite &ord for &ord is relatively /odern5 S.ch a notion can 8e held only after printed texts 8eco/e availa8le? other&ise &ho co.ld 4.dge the acc.racy of a recita0 tion@ Perhaps /ore i/portant6 &ho &o.ld care@ ll this is not to detract fro/ the feat5 Hearning and reciting an epic poe/ s.ch as #o/er9s Odyssey o4 Iliad is clearly diffic.lt even if the singer is recreating it: there are 2C,000 lines of verse in the &ritten version5 2 =ost of .s do not learn epic poe/s5 ;.t &e do /a7e .se of strong constraints that serve to si/plify &hat /.st 8e retained in /e/ory5 Consider an exa/ple fro/ a co/pletely different do/ain: ta7ing apart and reasse/8ling a /echanical device5 Typical ite/s in the ho/e that an advent.reso/e person /ight atte/pt to repair incl.de a door loc76 toaster6 and &ashing /achine5 The device is apt to have tens of parts5 What has to 8e re/e/8ered in order to p.t the parts together again in proper order@ Not as /.ch as /ight appear fro/ an initial analysis5 ,n the extre/e case6 if there are ten parts6 there are 10E C10 factorial: 10 T6EEE: ,no&ledge in the 6ead and in the ;orld ?. O 2 O + 5 5 5D different &ays in &hich to reasse/8le the/:a little over !5' /illion alternatives5 ;.t never can all possi8le orderings 8e pro0 d.ced: there &ill 8e a n./8er of physical constraints on the ordering5 So/e pieces /.st 8e asse/8led 8efore it is even possi8le to asse/8le the others5 So/e pieces are physically constrained fro/ fitting into the spots reserved for others: 8olts /.st fit into holes of an appropriate dia/eter and depth? n.ts and &ashers /.st 8e paired &ith 8olts and scre&s of appropriate si>es? and &ashers /.st al&ays 8e p.t on 8efore n.ts5 There are even c.lt.ral constraints: &e t.rn scre&s cloc7&ise to tighten6 co.ntercloc7&ise to loosen? the heads of scre&s tend to go on the visi8le part Cfront or topD of a piece6 8olts on the less visi8le part C8otto/6 side6 or interiorD of a piece? &ood scre&s and /achine scre&s loo7 different and are inserted into different 7inds of /aterials5 ,n the end6 the apparently large n./8er of decisions is red.ced to only a fe& choices that sho.ld have 8een learned or other&ise noted d.ring the disasse/8ly5 The constraints 8y the/selves are often not s.fficient to deter/ine the proper reasse/8ly of the device:/ista7es do get /ade:8.t the constraints red.ce the a/o.nt that /.st 8e learned to a reasona8le <.antity5 =e/ory ,s %no&ledge in the #ead $e/e/8er the story of 9li ;a8a and the forty thieves@ 9li ;a8a dis0 covered the secret &ords that opened the thieves9 cave5 #is 8rother0 in0la&6 %asi/6 forced hi/ to reveal the secret5 %asi/ then &ent to the cave5 +;hen he reached the entrance of the cavern, he pronounced the &ords, Open 8i!si!9 +The door i!!ediately opened, and &hen he &as in, closed on hi!. In e4a!ining the cave he &as greatly astonished to find !uch !ore riches than he had e4pected fro! '%6 >a#a's relation. 6e -uic$ly lade at the door of the cavern as !any #ags of gold as his ten !ules could carry, #ut his thoughts &ere no& so full of the great riches he should possess, that he could not thin$ of the necessary &ords to !a$e the door open. Instead of Open 8i!si!9 he said Open >arley9 and &as !uch a!a7ed to find that the door re!ained shut. 6e na!ed several sorts of grain, #ut still the door &ould not open. +,asi! never e4pected such an incident, and &as so alar!ed at the I2 The Design of Everyday Things danger he &as in that the !ore he endeavoured to re!e!#er the &ord 8i!si! the !ore his !e!ory &as confounded, and he had as !uch forgotten it as if he had never heard it !entioned.+ %asi/ never got o.t5 The thieves ret.rned6 c.t off %asi/9 s head6 and <.artered his 8ody5 10 T#E 6N%$?!A@ A.A?N%T +E+6!@ =ost of .s &ill not get o.r heads c.t off if &e fail to re/e/8er a secret code6 8.t it can still 8e very hard to do5 ,t is one thing to have to /e/ori>e one or t &o secrets: a co/8i nation6 or a pass&ord6 or the secret to opening t he door5 ;.t &hen the n./8er of secret codes gets too large6 /e/ory fails5 There see/s to 8e a conspiracy6 one calc.lated to destroy o.r sanity 8y overloading o.r /e/ory5 Consider &hat &e are as7ed to re/e/8er in o.r 3conveni ent 3 &orld5 si/ple search t hro.gh /y o&n &allet and papers reveals t he follo&ing things5 F Postal codes ranging in the )nited States fro/ the 3short for/3 of five digits to the 3long for/3 of nine5 #./an short0ter/ /e/0 ory can co/forta8ly retain only a five0 to seven0digit n./8er6 yet here , a/ as7ed to .se nine5 , need to 7no& the code for &here , live6 the code for &here , &or76 the codes for /y parents and for /y children6 the codes for /y friends6 and the codes for anyone &ith &ho/ , correspond reg.larly5 /erican codes6 s.ch as 0201"0 I201? ;ritish codes6 s.ch as WC1N !;G? Canadian codes6 s.ch as =IP2-+5 ll for the sa7e of the /achinery6 and despite the fact that addresses are perfectly sensi8le and nor/ally .na/8ig.o.s5 ;.t /achines have tro.8le &ith addresses6 &hereas they can deal &ith si/ple postal codes5 F Telephone n./8ers6 so/eti/es &ith area codes and extensions5 seven0digit n./8er 8eco/es ten &hen the area code is added6 and then fo.rteen &hen there is a fo.r0digit extension5 ,nternational codes6 &ith co.ntry code and city code6 add /ore digits5 #o& /any telephone n./8ers /.st , 7no&@ =ore than , &ish to conte/plate5 ll /y personal contacts5 N./8ers for infor/ation6 ti/e6 and &eather? the special n./8er for e/ergencies5 nd , /.stn9 t forget to dial 2 Cor6 in so/e cases6 +D so that the call &ill go o.tside the instit.tion or co/pany5 T6EEE: ,no&ledge in the 6ead and in the ;orld I! F ccess n./8ers for telephone 8.dget cards6 so that &hen , /a7e a long distance call fro/ /y .niversity6 , can ca.se the correct ac0 co.nt to pay the 8ill: a five0digit n./8er for each acco.nt Cand , have fo.r of the/D5 *on9 t sho& these to anyone6 , a/ &arned5 %eep the/ hidden in a secret place5 F ccess n./8ers for telephone credit cards6 so &hen , travel , can have the 8ill a.to/atically p.t on /y ho/e telephone n./8er5 The codes consist of /y ho/e telephone n./8er pl.s fo.r secret digits5 The secret digits aren9 t even printed on the card: /e/ori>e and destroy5 ;.t , have six of the/ Ct&o ho/e phone acco.nts and fo.r different .niversity phone acco.ntsD5 ,f , &ant to dial a long distance n./8er fro/ a hotel .sing one of /y telephone credit cards6 , /.st dial as /any as thirty0six digits5 F Pass&ords or n./8ers for 8an7 a.to/atic teller /achines6 those clever /achines that let yo. p.t in a card6 type in yo.r secret pass0 &ord6 and get /oney5 T&o 8an7 acco.nts6 t&o secret pass&ords5 *on9 t &rite the/ do&n6 a thief /ight see the/5 =e/ori>e5 =e/o0 ri>e5 F Secret pass&ords for /y co/p.ter acco.nts: can9 t let people steal /y val.a8le data6 or perhaps change their co.rse grades6 or pee7 at the exa/ination <.estions5 =a7e the pass&ord at least six characters long6 &e are told5 nd no &ords:&ords are too easy for so/eone to discover:/a7e it nonsense5 C, cheat and /a7e all /y co/p.ter acco.nts .se the sa/e pass&ord5D F *river9s license n./8er5 When , lived 8riefly in Texas , co.ldn9 t do anything &itho.t /y driver9s license n./8er: not pay for food at the s.per/ar7et6 not pay the telephone 8ill6 not even open .p a 8an7 acco.nt5 That &as one letter6 seven digits5 Other states have longer n./8ers5 F Social sec.rity n./8ers for /e6 /y &ife6 and /y children5 Nine digits each5 F Passport n./8ers6 again for /y &hole fa/ily5 F =y e/ployee n./8er5 F Hicense plate n./8ers for o.r cars5 F ;irthdays5 F ges5 F Clothing si>es5 F ddresses5 The Design of Everyday Things F Credit card n./8ers5 F ;ah and h./8.g5 So /any of these n./8ers and codes /.st 8e 7ept secret5 ppar0 ently6 thieves are every&here6 4.st &aiting for /e to &rite do&n /y secret pass&ord or n./8er6 anxio.s to /a7e that phone call on /y acco.nt or to p.rchase ite/s &ith /y charge card5 There is no &ay that , can learn all those n./8ers5 nd they 7eep changing6 any&ay6 so/e of the/ ann.ally5 , even have tro.8le re/e/8ering ho& old , a/: it changes every year too5 CP.ic7: &hat /agic phrase &as %asi/ trying to re/e/8er to open the cavern door@D #o& can &e re/e/8er all these things@ =ost of .s can9t6 even &ith the .se of /ne/onics to /a7e so/e sense of nonsensical /aterial5 ;oo7s and co.rses on i/proving /e/ory can &or76 8.t the /ethods are la8orio.s to learn and need contin.ed practice to /aintain5 So &e p.t the /e/ory in the &orld6 &riting things do&n in 8oo7s6 on scraps of paper6 even on the 8ac7s of o.r hands5 ;.t &e disg.ise the/ to th&art &o.ld08e thieves5 That creates another pro8le/: #o& do &e disg.ise the ite/s6 ho& do &e hide the/6 and ho& do &e re/e/8er &hat the disg.ise &as or &here &e p.t the/@ h6 the foi8les of /e/ory5 Where sho.ld yo. hide so/ething so that no8ody else &ill find it@ ,n .nli7ely places6 right@ =oney is hidden in the free>er6 4e&elry in the /edicine ca8inet or in shoes in the closet5 The 7ey to the front door is hidden .nder the /at or 4.st 8elo& the &indo& ledge5 The car 7ey is .nder the 8./per5 The love letters are in a flo&er vase5 The pro8le/ is6 there aren9t that /any .nli7ely places in the ho/e5 Ao. /ay not re/e/8er &here the love letters or 7eys are hidden6 8.t yo.r 8.rglar &ill5 T&o psychologists &ho exa/ined the iss.e descri8ed the pro8le/ this &ay: +There is often a logic involved in the choice of unli$ely places. "or e4a!ple, a friend of ours &as re-uired #y her insurance co!pany to ac-uire a safe if she &ished to insure her valua#le ge!s. Eecogni7ing that she !ight forget the co!#ination to the safe, she thought carefully a#out &here to $eep the co!#ination. 6er solution &as to &rite it in her personal phone directory under the letter S ne4t to '5r. and 5rs. 8afe, 'as if it &ere a telephone nu!#er. There is a clear logic here: 8tore nu!erical infor!ation &ith other nu!erical infor!ation. 8he &as ap1 palled, ho&ever, &hen she heard a refor!ed #urglar on a dayti!e T6EEE: ,no&ledge in the 6ead and in the ;orld ?K television tal$ sho& say that upon encountering a safe, he al&ays headed for the phone directory #ecause !any people $eep the co!#i1 nation there.+ .. ll these n./8ers to re/e/8er add .p to .n&itting tyranny5 ,t is ti/e for a revolt5 T#E ST$)CT)$E O( =E=O$A +8ay aloud the nu!#ers ., C, @, 2, J. *e4t, &ithout loo$ing #ac$, repeat the!. Try again if you !ust, perhaps closing your eyes, the #etter to 'hear' the sound still echoing in !ental activity. 6ave so!e1 one read a rando! sentence to you. ;hat &ere the &ords) The !e!1 ory of the /ust present is availa#le i!!ediately, clear and co!plete, &ithout !ental effort. +;hat did you eat for dinner three days ago) *o& the feeling is different. It ta$es ti!e to recover the ans&er, &hich is neither as clear nor as co!plete a re!e!#rance as that of the /ust present, and the recovery is li$ely to re-uire considera#le !ental effort. Eetrieval of the past differs fro! retrieval of the /ust present. 5ore effort is re-uired, less clarity results. Indeed, the 'past' need not #e so long ago. ;ithout loo$ing #ac$, &hat &ere those digits) "or so!e people, this retrieval no& ta$es ti!e and effort. + .2 Psychologists disting.ish 8et&een t&o /a4or classes of /e/ory: short0ter/ /e/ory and long0ter/ /e/ory Ca88reviated ST= and HT=6 respectivelyD5 The t&o are <.ite different5 Short0ter/ /e/ory is the /e/ory of the 4.st present5 ,nfor/ation is retained in it a.to/ati0 cally and retrieved &itho.t effort? 8.t the a/o.nt of infor/ation that can 8e retained this &ay is severely li/ited5 So/ething li7e five to seven ite/s is the li/it of ST=6 &ith the n./8er going to ten or t&elve if a person also rehearses6 /entally repeating the ite/s to 8e retained5 Short0ter/ /e/ory is inval.a8le in the perfor/ance of everyday tas7s6 in letting .s re/e/8er &ords6 na/es6 phrases6 and parts of tas7s5 ,t acts as a &or7ing or te/porary /e/ory5 ;.t the /e/ory is <.ite fragile5 Get distracted 8y so/e other activity and6 poof6 the st.ff in ST= disappears5 ,t is capa8le of holding a five0digit postal code or seven0digit telephone n./8er fro/ the ti/e yo. loo7 the/ .p .ntil the ti/e they are .sed:as long as no distractions occ.r5 Nine0 or II The Design of Everyday Things ten0digit n./8ers give tro.8le6 and &hen the n./8er starts to exceed t hat :don9 t 8other5 Wri t e i t do&n5 Or divide the n./8er into several shorter seg/ents5 Hong0ter/ /e/ory is /e/ory for t he past5 s a r.le6 it ta7es ti/e to p.t st.ff a&ay in HT= and ti/e and effort to get it o.t again5 This is ho& &e /aintai n o.r experiences6 not as an exact recording of the events6 8.t as interpreted t hro.gh o.r .nderst andi ng of the/6 s.84ect to all t he distortions and changes t hat the h./an explanatory /echa0 nis/ i/poses .pon life5 #o& &ell &e can ever recover experiences and 7no&l edge fro/ HT= is highly dependent .pon ho& t he /aterial &as interpreted in t he first place5 What is stored in HT= .nder one i nterpre0 tation pro8a8l y cannot 8e fo.nd later on &hen so.ght .nder so/e other interpretation5 s for ho& large t he /e/ory is6 no8ody really 7no&s: 8illions of ite/s6 pro8a8ly5 One infor/ed scientist esti/ates the capacity as a 8illion C10 2 D 8its or a8o.t 100 /illion C10 + D ite/s5 1! What ever t he si>e6 it is so large as not to i/pose any practical li/it5 The diffic.lty &it h HT= is in organi>ation:in getting /aterial in and in fig.ring o.t ho& to retrieve it:not in capacity5 Storage and retrieval are easier &hen t he /aterial /a7es sense6 &hen it fits into &hat is already 7no&n5 When the /aterial /a7es no sense6 it &ill have to 8e &or7ed on6 str.ct.red6 and interpreted6 .nti l finally it can 8e retained5 #./an /e/ory is essentially 7no&l edge in t he head6 or internal 7no&ledge5 ,f &e exa/ine ho& people .se their /e/ories and ho& they retrieve infor/ation6 &e discover a n./8er of categories5 Three are i /port ant for .s no&: 15 5e!ory for ar#itrary things. The ite/s to 8e retained see/ ar8itrary6 &ith no /eaning and no partic.lar relationship to one other or to things already 7no&n5 25 5e!ory for !eaningful relationships. The ite/s to 8e retained for/ /eaningf.l relationships &ith the/selves or &ith other things al0 ready 7no&n5 !5 5e!ory through e4planation. The /aterial does not have to 8e re/e/0 8ered6 8.t rather can 8e derived fro/ so/e explanatory /echanis/5 +E+6!@ F6! A!B?T!A!@ TH?N.% r8itrary 7no&l edge can 8e classified as t he si/ple re/e/8ering of &hat is to 8e done6 &i t ho.t reliance on an .nderst andi ng of &hy or on internal str.ct.re5 This is ho& &e learned the alpha8et and ho& to tie T6EEE: ,no&ledge in the 6ead and in the ;orld ?C a shoelace5 ,t is even ho& &e learned the /.ltiplication ta8les6 that ! ti/es 2 is I6 altho.gh for that &e co.ld refer to an external str.ct.re5 This is ho& &e are expected to learn ar8itrary codes to operate the /odern6 /is8egotten telephone syste/5 ,t is also ho& &e are forced to learn /any proced.res re<.ired of /odern technology: 3To load this progra/6 p.t the floppy dis7ette into drive and type HT =O*E6 CONT$OH0S#,(T0O6 *EHETE53 This is rote learning6 the 8ane of /odern existence5 $ote learning creates pro8le/s5 (irst6 8eca.se &hat is 8eing learned is ar8itrary6 the learning is diffic.lt: it can ta7e considera8le ti/e and effort5 Second6 &hen a pro8le/ arises6 the /e/ori>ed se<.ence of actions gives no hint of &hat has gone &rong6 no s.ggestion of &hat /ight 8e done to fix the pro8le/5 ltho.gh so/e things are appropri0 ate to learn 8y rote Cthe letters of the alpha8et6 for exa/pleD6 /ost are not5 las6 it is still the do/inant /ethod of instr.ction in /any school syste/s6 and even for /.ch ad.lt training5 This is ho& so/e people are ta.ght to .se co/p.ters6 or to coo75 ,t is ho& &e have to learn to .se so/e of the ne& Cpoorly designedD gadgets of o.r technology5 =ost psychologists &o.ld arg.e that it is not really possi8le to learn ar8itrary associations or se<.ences5 Even &here there appears to 8e no str.ct.re6 people /an.fact.re so/e artificial and .s.ally rather .n0 satisfactory one6 &hich is &hy the learning is so 8ad5 (or o.r p.rposes it does not /atter &hether ar8itrary learning is i/possi8le or si/ply very diffic.lt6 the end res.lt is the sa/e: it is not the 8est &ay to go6 not if there is any choice in the /atter5 Th.s6 in teaching the alpha8et6 &e try to /a7e it into a t.ne6 .sing the nat.ral constraints of rhy/e and rhyth/ to si/plify the /e/ory load5 People &ho have learned to .se co/p.ters or coo7 8y rote are pro8a8ly not very good5 Since they do not .nderstand the reasons for their actions6 they /.st find tas7s ar8itrary and strange5 When so/ething goes &rong6 they don9t 7no& &hat to do C.nless they9ve /e/ori>ed sol.tionsD5 ltho.gh rote learn0 ing is at ti/es necessary or efficient:so that e/ergency proced.res for things li7e high0speed /ilitary 4et aircraft are handled <.ic7ly6 a.to0 /atically &hen the need arises:on the &hole6 it is /ost .nsatisfac0 tory5 +E+6!@ F6! +EAN?N.F7L !ELAT?6N%H?$% =ost things in the &orld have a sensi8le str.ct.re6 &hich tre/en0 do.sly si/plifies the /e/ory tas75 When things /a7e sense6 they correspond to 7no&ledge that &e already have6 so the ne& /aterial can I+ The Design of Everyday Things 8e .nderstood6 interpreted6 and integrated &ith previo.sly ac<.ired /aterial5 No& &e can .se r.les and constraints to help .nderstand &hat things go together5 =eaningf.l str.ct.re can organi>e apparent chaos and ar8itrariness5 $e/e/8er the disc.ssion of /ental /odels in chapter 2@ Part of the po&er of a good /ental /odel lies in its a8ility to provide /eaning to things5 Het9s loo7 at an exa/ple to sho& ho& a /eaningf.l interpreta0 tion transfor/s an apparently ar8itrary tas7 into a nat.ral one5 Note that the appropriate interpretation /ay not at first 8e o8vio.s? it6 too6 is 7no&ledge and has to 8e discovered5 % :apanese colleague, call hi! 5r. Tana$a, had difficulty re!e!#er1 ing ho& to use the turn1signal s&itch on his !otorcycle's left handle1 #ar. 5oving the s&itch for&ard signaled a right turn, #ac$&ard a left turn. The !eaning of the s&itch &as clear and una!#iguous, #ut the direction in &hich it should #e !oved &as not. Tana$a $ept thin$ing that #ecause the s&itch &as on the left handle#ar, pushing it for&ard should signal a left turn. That is, he &as trying to !ap the action +push the left s&itch for&ard+ to the intention +turn left,+ &hich &as &rong. %s a result, he had trou#le re!e!#ering &hich s&itch direction should #e used for &hich turning direction. 5ost !otorcycles have the turn1 signal s&itch !ounted differently, rotated B0Q, so that !oving it left signals a left turn, !oving it right a right turn. This !apping is easy to learn 0it is a natural !apping2. >ut the turn s&itch on Tana$a's !otorcycle !oved for&ard and #ac$, not left and right. 6o& could he learn it) 5r. Tana$a solved the pro#le! #y reinterpreting the action. on1 sider the &ay the handle#ars of the !otorcycle turn. "or a left turn, the left handle#ar !oves #ac$&ard. "or a right turn, the left handle#ar !oves for&ard. The re-uired s&itch !ove!ents e4actly paralleled the handle#ar !ove!ents. If the tas$ is reconceptuali7ed as signaling the direction of !otion of the handle#ars rather than the direction of the !otorcycle, the s&itch !otion can #e seen to !i!ic the desired !otionD finally &e have a natural !apping. %t first, the !otion of the s&itch see!ed ar#itrary, indirect, and difficult to re!e!#er. ;ith the proper interpretation, the s&itch !otion is direct and logical, and, as a result, easy to learn and to use. % !eaningful relationship can #e indispens1 a#le, #ut you have to have the right one. 1" Witho.t the proper interpretation6 it &as diffic.lt to re/e/8er the s&itch directions5 With it6 8oth the re/e/8ering and the perfor/ance T6EEE: ,no&ledge in the 6ead and in the ;orld ?g of the tas7 8eca/e trivial5 Note that Tana7a9s interpretation of the s&itch /ove/ent did not e4plain anything5 ,t si/ply let hi/ relate the proper direction to /ove the s&itch &ith the direction in &hich he &as t.rning the /otorcycle5 The interpretation is essential6 8.t it sho.ld not 8e conf.sed &ith .nderstanding5 +E+6!@ TH!67.H EA$LANAT?6N No& &e co/e to a different6 /ore po&erf.l for/ of internal /e/ory: .nderstanding5 People are explanatory creat.res6 as , sho&ed in chapter 25 Explanations and interpretations of events are f.nda/ental to h./an perfor/ance6 8oth in .nderstanding the &orld and in learning and re/e/8ering5 #ere /ental /odels play a /a4or role5 =ental /od0 els si/plify learning6 in part 8eca.se the details of the re<.ired 8ehav0 ior can 8e derived &hen needed5 They can 8e inval.a8le in dealing &ith .nexpected sit.ations5 Note that the .se of /ental /odels to re/e/8er Cin this case6 deriveD 8ehavior is not ideal for tas7s that /.st 8e done rapidly and s/oothly5 The derivation ta7es ti/e and re<.ires /ental reso.rces6 neither of &hich /ay 8e in great s.pply d.ring critical incidents5 =ental /odels let people derive appropriate 8ehavior for sit.ations that are not re/e/8ered Cor never 8efore enco.nteredD5 Peo0 ple pro8a8ly /a7e .p /ental /odels for /ost of the things they do5 This is &hy designers sho.ld provide .sers &ith appropriate /odels: &hen they are not s.pplied6 people are li7ely to /a7e .p inappropriate ones5 1' The se&ing !achine provides a good e4a!ple of the po&er of a !ental !odel. % se&ing !achine is a !ysterious #east, !anaging to loop an upper thread through a lo&er thread, even though each thread is al&ays connected to its spool or #o##in, respectively. The !ental !odel has to e4plain ho& the upper thread goes through the !aterial #eing se&n, dips under the surface plate, and then loops around the lo&er thread. The proper !odel, it turns out, is so!ething li$e this. Picture the lo&er #o##in held gently in the !achine #y a $ind of cup &ith sloping sides. The cup $eeps the #o##in sta#le, allo&ing it to rotate so its thread can #e un&ound. (et the cup is loose enough so that the upper thread can go inside the cup and around the #o##in:and therefore around the #otto! thread. ;hen the upper needle goes through the !ateriaG and under the plate, a rotating hoo$ gra#s its thread and 1o The Design of Everyday Things guides it #et&een the inner &alls of the cup and the outer &alls of the #o##in case. This helps e4plain &hy the !achine &on't &or$ properly if the #o##in is #ent, even if the #o##in still appears to fit and the #otto! thread unrolls properly. It e4plains &hy dirt on the #o##in or in the cup &ill !ess things up, and &hy certain $inds of upper thread !ight cause !ore trou#le than others. 0% thic$ upper thread, especially one that &as rough or stic$y, !ight not go s!oothly around the #o#1 #in.2 To #e honest, I don't $no& if anything I /ust said a#out the failures of #o##ins is true. I derived each e4a!ple fro! !y !ental !odel of a se&ing !achine. I can't se&. >ut &hen *ao!i 5iya$e did her re1 search for her doctoral thesis in !y la#oratory, she studied people's understanding of se&ing and of the !achines. The result &as t&ofold: a fine piece of research for her and a !ental !odel for !e. 8o no& I can derive &hat &ould happen, even if it has never happened to !e. The po&er of /ental /odels is that they let yo. fig.re o.t &hat &o.ld happen in novel sit.ations5 Or6 if yo. are act.ally doing the tas7 and there is a pro8le/6 they let yo. fig.re o.t &hat is happening5 ,f the /odel is &rong6 yo. &ill 8e &rong too5 / , right a8o.t the se&ing /achine@ *ecide for yo.rself: go loo7 at one5 %fter &ord got out that I &as collecting instances of design peculiari1 ties, a friend reported the follo&ing a#out the sunroof of his ne& car, an %udi. 8upposedly, if the ignition is not on, the sunroof cannot #e operated. 6o&ever, a !echanic e4plained that you could close the sunroof even &ithout the ignition $ey if you turned on the headlights and then 0.2 pulled #ac$ on the turn1signal stal$ 0&hich nor!ally s&itches the headlights to high #ea!2, and 022 pushed the close control for the sunroof. 5y friend said that it &as thoughtful of %udi to provide this over1 ride of the ignition $ey in case the sunroof &as open &hen it started raining. (ou could close it even if you didn't have your $ey. >ut &e #oth &ondered &hy the se-uence &as so peculiar. Ever s$eptical, I as$ed to see the !anual for the car. The !anual &as e4plicit: +(ou cannot &or$ the sunroof if the ignition is off. +% si!ilar state!ent appeared in the discussion of the electrically po&ered &in1 do&s. 5y friend's !ental !odel &as functional: it e4plained &hy you &ould &ant such a feature, #ut not ho& it &or$ed. If the feature &as so desira#le, &hy &as it not !entioned in the !anual) T6EEE: ,no&ledge in the 6ead and in the ;orld 11 ;e searched for another e4planation. Perhaps it &asn't a design feature, after all. Perhaps it &as an accident of design. Perhaps turning on the lights and pulling #ac$ on the stal$ connected the electrical po&er to the car, overriding the fact that the ignition $ey &as off. This &ould allo& the sunroof to &or$, #ut only as a #y1product of the &ay the lights &ere &ired. This !odel &as !ore specific. It e4plained &hat &as happening and allo&ed us to predict that all electrical ite!s should &or$. 8o &e chec$ed. Turning on the light s&itch &ithout engaging the ignition did not turn on the headlightsD only the par$ing lights &ent on. >ut &hen &e also pulled #ac$ on the turn1signal stal$, the headlights did turn on, even though the ignition &as off. ;ith the stal$ pulled #ac$, the sunroof &ould close and open. The &indo&s &ould close and open. The fan on the heating syste! &or$ed. 8o did the radio. This &as an effective !ental !odel. *o& &e could understand #etter &hat &as happening, predict ne& results, and !ore easily re!e!#er the peculiar set of operations re-uired for the tas$. =e/ory ,s lso %no&ledge in the World s &e have seen6 7no&ledge in the &orld6 external 7no&ledge6 can 8e very val.a8le5 ;.t it6 too6 has dra&8ac7s5 (or one6 it is availa8le only if yo. are there6 in the appropriate sit.ation5 When yo. are so/e&here else6 or if the &orld has changed /ean&hile6 the 7no&ledge is gone5 The critical /e/ory aids provided 8y the external infor/ation are a8sent6 and so the tas7 or ite/ /ay not 8e re/e/8ered5 fol7 saying capt.res this sit.ation &ell: +Out of sight, out of !ind. + $E=,N*,NG One of the /ost i/portant and interesting aspects of the role of exter0 nal /e/ory is re/inding6 a good exa/ple of the interplay 8et&een 7no&ledge in the head and in the &orld5 S.ppose a neigh8oring fa/ily as7s yo. to ta7e the/ to the airport5 Ao. agree to ta7e the/ next Sat.rday at !:!0 P5=5 NOW the 7no&ledge is in yo.r head6 8.t ho& are yo. going to re/e/8er it at the proper ti/e@ Ao. &ill need to 8e re/inded5 There are /any strategies for re/inding5 One is si/ply to 7eep the infor/ation in yo.r head5 ,f the event is i/portant eno.gh6 12 The Design of Everyday Things yo. co.nt on having it co/e repeatedly to /ind:&hat psychologists call rehearsal:so that yo. can si/ply ass./e that there &ill 8e no diffic.lty at all re/e/8ering &hen to leave on Sat.rday5 Ao. can 7eep the infor/ation in yo.r head especially &hen the event is of great personal i/portance: s.ppose yo. are catching the plane for yo.r first trip to Paris5 Ao. &on9t have any pro8le/ re/e/8ering5 ;.t 7eeping the 7no&ledge in yo.r head is not ordinarily a good re/inding tech0 ni<.e5 S.ppose the event is not personally i/portant6 it is several days a&ay6 and yo. are leading a very 8.sy life5 No& yo.9d 8etter transfer so/e of the 8.rden of re/e/8ering to the o.tside &orld5 #ere is &here yo. .se notes to yo.rself6 or poc7et and des7 calendars or diaries6 or electronic alar/ cloc7s that can 8e set for ti/e of day and date5 Or yo. can as7 a friend to re/ind yo.5 Those of .s &ith secretaries p.t the 8.rden on the/5 They6 in t.rn6 &rite notes6 enter events on calendars6 or set an alar/ on the co/p.ter syste/ Cif it is &ell eno.gh designed that they can fig.re o.t ho& to &or7 itD5 good re/inding /ethod is to p.t the 8.rden on the thing itself5 *o /y neigh8ors &ant /e to ta7e the/ to the airport@ (ine6 8.t they have to call /e .p the night 8efore and re/ind /e5 *o , &ant to re/e/8er to ta7e a 8oo7 to the .niversity to give to a colleag.e@ , p.t the 8oo7 so/eplace &here , cannot fail to see it &hen , leave the ho.se5 good spot is against the front door of the ho.se5 , can9t leave &itho.t tripping over the 8oo75 ,f , a/ at a friend9s ho.se and , 8orro& a paper or a 8oo76 , re/e/8er to ta7e it 8y p.tting /y car 7eys on it5 Then &hen , leave6 , a/ re/inded5 Even if , forget and go o.t to /y car6 , can9t drive a&ay &itho.t the 7eys5 There are t&o different aspects to a re!inder: the signal and the !essage. :ust as in doing an action &e can distinguish #et&een $no&1 ing &hat can #e done and $no&ing ho& to do it, in re!inding &e !ust distinguish #et&een $no&ing that so!ething is to #e re!e!#ered and re!e!#ering &hat it is. 5ost popular re!inding devices provide only one of these t&o critical aspects. The fa!ous +tie a string around your finger+ re!inder provides only the signal. It gives no hint of &hat is to #e re!e!#ered. ;riting a note to yourself provides only the !es1 sageD it doesn't re!ind you ever to loo$ at it. 0Tying a $not in your hand$erchiefOarel!an's device in figure =.2:provides neither sig1 nal nor !essage.2 The ideal re!inder has to have #oth co!ponents: the signal that so!ething is to #e re!e!#ered, the !essage of &hat it is. T6EEE: ,no&ledge in the 6ead and in the ;orld 1! 2)- arelman*s $reknotted Handkerchief) What an aid to the forgetf.l:except that the act of tying the 7not is pro8a8ly 4.st as .sef.l a /e/ory c.e as the 7not itself5 CBac<.es Carel/an: 3Pre7notted #and7erchief3 Copyright J 12I201I0+0 Bac<.es Carel/an and 5 *5 5 G5 P5 Paris5 (ro/ Bac<.es Carel/an6 atalog of 3nfinda#le O#/ects. ;alland6 edi0 te.r6 Paris0(rance5 )sed 8y per/ission of the artist5D The need for ti/ely re/inders has created loads of prod.cts that /a7e it easier to p.t the 7no&ledge in the &orld:alar/ cloc7s6 diaries6 calendars5 variety of sophisticated &atches and s/all6 calc.lator0 si>ed re/inding devices are starting to appear5 So far they are li/ited in po&er and diffic.lt to .se5 ;.t , 8elieve there is a need for the/5 They 4.st need /ore &or76 8etter technology6 and 8etter design5 ;ould you li$e a poc$et1si7e device that re!inded you of each appoint!ent and daily event) I &ould. I a! &aiting for the day &hen porta#le co!puters #eco!e s!all enough that I can $eep one &ith !e at all ti!es. I &ill definitely put all !y re!inding #urdens upon it. It has to #e s!all. It has to #e convenient to use. %nd it has to #e relatively po&erful, at least #y today's standards. It has to have a full, standard type&riter $ey#oard and a reasona#ly large display. It needs good graphics, #ecause that !a$es a tre!endous difference in usa#ility, and a lot of !e!ory:a huge a!ount, actually. %nd it should #e easy to hoo$ up to the telephoneD I need to connect it to !y ho!e and la#ora1 tory co!puters. Of course, it should #e relatively ine4pensive. ;hat I as$ for is not unreasona#le. The technology I need is availa1 #le today. It's /ust that the full pac$age has never #een put together, partly #ecause the cost in today's &orld &ould #e prohi#itive. >ut it &ill e4ist in i!perfect for! in five years, possi#ly in perfect for! in ten. 1" The Design of Everyday Things NAT7!AL +A$$?N.% The arrange/ent of 8.rners and controls on the 7itchen stove provides a good exa/ple of the po&er of nat.ral /appings to red.ce the need for infor/ation in /e/ory5 Witho.t a good /apping6 the .ser cannot readily deter/ine &hich 8.rner goes &ith &hich control5 Consider the standard stove &ith fo.r 8.rners6 arranged in the traditional rectangle5 ,f the fo.r controls &ere tr.ly ar8itrary6 as in fig.re !5!6 the .ser &o.ld have to learn each control separately: t&enty0fo.r possi8le arrange0 /ents5 Why t&enty0fo.r@ Start &ith the left/ost control: it co.ld &or7 any of the fo.r 8.rners5 That leaves three possi8ilities for the next left/ost5 So there are 12 C" O !D possi8le arrange/ents of the first t&o controls: fo.r for the first6 three for the second5 The third control co.ld &or7 either of the t&o re/aining 8.rners6 and then there is only one 8.rner left for the last control5 This /a7es t&enty0fo.r possi8le /appings 8et&een the controls and 8.rners: " O ! O 2 O 1 K 2"5 With the co/pletely ar8itrary arrange/ent6 the stove is .n&or7a8le .nless each control is f.lly la8eled to indicate &hich 8.rner it controls5 =ost stoves have controls arranged in a line6 even tho.gh the 8.rn0 ers are arranged rectang.larly5 Controls are not /apped nat.rally to 8.rners5 s a res.lt6 yo. have to learn &hich control goes &ith &hich 8.rner5 Consider ho& the .se of spatial analogies can relieve the /e/0 ory 8.rden5 Start &ith a partial /apping that is in co//on .se today: the controls are segregated into left and right halves6 as in fig.re !5"5 No& &e need 7no& only &hich left 8.rner each of the t&o left controls affects and &hich right 8.rner each right control affects:t&o alterna0 tives for each of the fo.r 8.rners5 The n./8er of possi8le arrange0 /ents is no& only fo.r:t&o possi8ilities for each side: <.ite a red.c0 tion fro/ the t&enty0fo.r5 ;.t the controls /.st still 8e la8eled6 &hich indicates that the /apping is still i/perfect5 Since so/e of the infor/a0 tion is no& in the spatial arrange/ent6 each control need only 8e la8eled 8ac7 or front? the left and right la8els are no longer needed5 What a8o.t a proper6 f.ll6 nat.ral /apping6 &ith the controls spa0 tially arranged in the sa/e pattern as the 8.rners6 as in fig.re !5'@ The organi>ation of the controls no& carries all the infor/ation re<.ired5 We 7no& i//ediately &hich control goes &ith &hich 8.rner5 S.ch is the po&er of nat.ral /apping5 We can see that the n./8er of possi8le se<.ences has 8een red.ced fro/ t&enty0fo.r to one5 1I ,f all possi8le T6EEE: ,no&ledge in the 6ead and in the ;orld 75 "ack Front "ack Front Ri+ht Le&t Le&t Ri+ht 09 BACK FRONT FRONT BACK 2)2 Ar=itrary Arrangement of %tove ontrols Ctop of opposite pageD5 Co.ple the .s.al rectang.lar arrange/ent of 8.rners &ith this ar8itrary ro& of controls6 and there is tro.8le: &hich control goes &ith &hich 8.rner@ Ao. don9 t 7no& .nless the controls are la8eled5 The /e/ory load for this arrange/ent is high: there are t&enty0fo.r possi8le arrange/ents6 and yo. have to re/e/8er &hich of the t&enty0fo.r this one is5 (ort.nately6 the controls are seldo/ arranged <.ite this ar8itrarily5 2)5 $aired %tove ontrols C8otto/ of opposite pageD5 This is the type of partial /apping of controls to 8.rners in co//on .se today5 The t&o controls on the left &or7 the left 8.rners6 and the t&o controls on the right &or7 the right 8.rners5 No& there are only fo.r possi8le arrange/ents Ct&o for each sideD5 Even so6 conf.sion is possi8le Cand6 , can ass.re yo.6 it occ.rs oftenD5 2)8 Full Natural +a""ing of ontrols and Burners C8elo&D5 T&o of the Possi0 8le Ways5 There is no a/8ig.ity6 no need for learning or re/e/8ering6 no need for la8els5 Why can9 t all stoves 8e li7e these@ 77 nat.ral /appings &ere applied in o.r lives6 t he c./.lative effect &o.l d 8e enor/o.s5 The pro8le/ of t he stove t op /ay see/ trivial6 8.t in fact it is a ca.se of great fr.stration for /any ho/eo&ners5 Why do stove designers insist on arranging t he 8.rners in a rectang.lar pat t ern and t he controls in a ro&@ We have 7no&n for forty years 4.st ho& 8ad s.ch an arrange0 /ent is5 So/eti/es the stove co/es &i t h clever little diagra/s to indicate &hi ch control &or7s &hi ch 8.rner5 So/eti/es there is a short la8el5 ;.t the proper nat .ral /appi ng re<.ires no diagra/s6 no la8els6 and no instr.ctions5 There is a si/ple design principle l.r7ing here: ,f a design depends .pon la8els6 it /ay 8e fa.lty5 Ha8els are i/por0 tant and often necessary6 8.t the appropriate .se of nat.ral /appings can /ini/i>e the need for the/5 Wherever la8els see/ necessary6 consider another design5 The sha/e a8o.t stove design is t hat it isn9 t hard to do right5 Text 0 8oo7s of ergono/ics6 h./an factors6 psychology6 and ind.strial engi 0 neering all sho& vario.s sensi8le sol.tions5 nd so/e stove /an.fac0 t.rers do .se good designs5 Oddl y6 so/e of t he very 8est and t he very &orst are /an.fact.red 8y t he sa/e co/panies and are ill.strated side 8y side in t he sa/e catalogs5 Why do designers insist on fr.strating .sers@ Why do .sers still p.rchase stoves t hat ca.se so /.ch tro.8le@ Why not revolt and ref.se to 8.y t he/ .nless t he controls have an intelligent relationship to t he 8.rners@ , 8o.ght a 8ad one /yself5 3sa#ility is not often thought of as a criterion during the purchasing process. 5oreover, unless you actually test a nu!#er of units in a realistic environ!ent doing typical tas$s, you are not li$ely to notice the ease or difficulty of use. If you /ust loo$ at so!ething, it appears straightfor&ard enough, and the array of &onderful features see!s to #e a virtue. (ou !ay not reali7e that you &on't #e a#le to figure out ho& to use those features. I urge you to test products #efore you #uy the!. Pretending to coo$ a !eal, or setting the channels on a video set, or atte!pting to progra! a HE &ill do. Do it right there in the store. Do not #e afraid to !a$e !ista$es or as$ stupid -uestions. Ee!e!#er, any pro#le!s you have are pro#a#ly the design's fault, not yours. % !a/or pro#le! is that often the purchaser is not the user. %ppli1 ances !ay #e in a ho!e &hen people !ove in. In the office, the pur1 chasing depart!ent orders e-uip!ent #ased upon such factors as price, The Design of Everyday Things personal relationships &ith the supplier, and perhaps relia#ility: us1 a#ility is seldo! considered. "inally, even &hen the purchaser is the end user, it is so!eti!es necessary to trade one desira#le feature for an undesira#le one. In the case of !y fa!ily's stove, &e did not li$e the arrange!ent of controls, #ut &e #ought the stove any&ay: &e traded off layout of the #urner controls for another feature that &as !ore i!portant to us and availa#le only fro! one !anufacturer. 0I return to these issues in chapter ?.2 The Tradeoff 8et&een %no&ledge in the World and in the #ead %no&ledge Cor infor/ationD in the &orld and in the head are 8oth essential in o.r daily f.nctioning5 ;.t to so/e extent &e can choose to lean /ore heavily on one or the other5 That choice re<.ires a trade0 !5I Tradeoffs 2RO2ERT$ 1NO4LEDGE IN THE 4ORLD 1NO4LEDGE IN THE HEAD Retrievability Learning Efficiency of use Ease of use at first encounter Aesthetics Retrie0a/le hene0er 0isi/le or a')i/le. Learnin+ not re='ire). Inter-retation s'/stit'tes &or learnin+. Ho eas( it is to inter-ret in&ormation in the orl) )e-en)s '-on ho ell it e*-loits nat'ral ma--in+s an) constraints. Ten)s to /e sloe) '- /( the nee) to &in) an) inter-ret the e*ternal in&ormation. Hi+h. Can /e 'naesthetic an) inele+ant, es-eciall( i& there is a nee) to maintain a lot o& in&ormation. This can lea) to cl'tter. In the en), aesthetic a--eal )e-en)s '-on the skill o& the )esi+ner. Not rea)il( retrie0a/le. Re='ires memor( search or remin)in+. Re='ires learnin+, hich can /e consi)era/le. Learnin+ is ma)e easier i& there is meanin+ o& str'ct're to the material (or i& there is a +oo) mental mo)el!. Can /e 0er( e&&icient. Lo. Nothin+ nee) /e 0isi/le, hich +i0es more &ree)om to the )esi+ner, hich in t'rn can lea) to /etter aesthetics. T6EEE: ,no&ledge in the 6ead and in the ;orld Cg off:gaining the advantages of 7no&ledge in the &orld /eans losing the advantages of 7no&ledge in the head Cfig.re !5ID5 %no&ledge in the &orld acts as its o&n re/inder5 ,t can help .s recover str.ct.res that &e other&ise &o.ld forget5 %no&ledge in the head is efficient: no search and interpretation of the environ/ent is re<.ired5 ,n order to .se 7no&ledge in the head &e have to get it there6 &hich /ight re<.ire considera8le a/o.nts of learning5 %no&ledge in the &orld is easier to learn6 8.t often /ore diffic.lt to .se5 nd it relies heavily .pon the contin.ed physical presence of the infor/ation? change the environ/ent and the infor/ation is changed5 Perfor/ance relies .pon the physical presence of the tas7 environ/ent5 $e/inders provide a good exa/ple of the relative tradeoffs 8et&een the roles of internal vers.s external 7no&ledge5 %no&ledge in the &orld is accessi8le5 ,t is self0re/inding5 ,t is al&ays there6 &aiting to 8e seen6 &aiting to 8e .sed5 That is &hy &e str.ct.re o.r offices and o.r places of &or7 so caref.lly5 We p.t piles of papers &here they can 8e seen6 or if &e li7e a clean des76 &e p.t the/ in standardi>ed loca0 tions and teach o.rselves C7no&ledge in the headD to loo7 in these standard places ro.tinely5 We .se cloc7s and calendars and notes5 %no&ledge in the /ind is ephe/eral: here no&6 gone later5 We can9t co.nt on so/ething 8eing present in /ind at any partic.lar ti/e6 .nless it is triggered 8y so/e external event or .nless &e deli8erately 7eep it in /ind thro.gh constant repetition C&hich then prevents .s fro/ having other conscio.s tho.ghtsD5 O.t of sight6 o.t of /ind5 11 +0 The Design of Everyday Things C # P T E $ ( O) $ %NOW, NG W#T TO *O +'. I read a ne&s ite! a#out a ne& videotape1 only player and re/oiced &hen the &riter too$ a healthy s&ipe at the inco!prehensi#le instruc1 tions that acco!pany HEs. I can't even set the ti!e of day on !ine9 +There are !any consu!ers out here li$e !e:th&arted #y an un1 fatho!a#le !achine and #affled #y senseless instructions. +Is there anyone, any&here &ho &ill translate OE give a short course in HE at play school level)+ . -ideo cassette recorders:-C$s:can 8e frightening to people &ho are .nfa/iliar &ith the/5 ,ndeed6 the n./8er of options6 8.ttons6 controls6 displays6 and possi8le co.rses of action is for/ida8le5 ;.t at least &hen &e have tro.8le operating a -C$ &e have so/ething to 8la/e: the /achine9s 8e&ildering appearance and the lac7 of cl.es to s.ggest &hat can 8e done and ho& to do it5 Even /ore fr.strating6 ho&ever6 is that &e often have tro.8le &or7ing devices that &e expect to 8e si/ple5 The diffic.lty of dealing &ith novel sit.ations is directly related to the n./8er of possi8ilities5 The .ser loo7s at the sit.ation and tries to discover &hich parts can 8e operated and &hat operations can 8e done5 +1 Pro8le/s occ.r &henever there is /ore than one possi8ility5 ,f there is only one part that can 8e operated and only one possi8le action to do6 there &ill 8e no diffic.lty5 Of co.rse6 if the designer has 8een too clever6 hiding all the visi8le cl.es6 the .ser /ay 8elieve there are no alternatives and not even 7no& ho& to 8egin5 When &e enco.nter a novel o84ect6 ho& can &e tell &hat to do &ith it@ Either &e have dealt &ith so/ething si/ilar in the past and transfer old 7no&ledge to the ne& o84ect6 or &e o8tain instr.ction5 ,n these cases6 the infor/ation &e need is in the head5 nother approach is to .se infor/ation in the &orld6 partic.larly if the design of the ne& o84ect has presented .s &ith infor/ation that can 8e interpreted5 #o& can design signal the appropriate actions@ To ans&er the <.es0 tion &e 8.ild .pon the principles disc.ssed in chapter !5 One i/por0 tant set of signals co/es thro.gh the nat.ral constraints of o84ects6 physical constraints that li/it &hat can 8e done5 nother set of signals co/es fro/ the affordances of o84ects6 &hich convey /essages a8o.t their possi8le .ses6 actions6 and f.nctions5 flat plate affords p.shing6 an e/pty container affords filling6 and so on5 ffordances can signal ho& an o84ect can 8e /oved6 &hat it &ill s.pport6 and &hether any0 thing &ill fit into its crevices6 over it6 or .nder it5 Where do &e gra8 it6 &hich parts /ove6 and &hich parts are fixed@ ffordances s.ggest the range of possi8ilities6 constraints li/it the n./8er of alternatives5 The tho.ghtf.l .se of affordances and constraints together in design lets a .ser deter/ine readily the proper co.rse of action6 even in a novel sit.ation5 Classification of Everyday Constraints To .nderstand the operation of constraints 8etter6 , did so/e si/ple experi/ents5 , as7ed people to p.t things together fro/ the parts given the/? they had never seen the finished str.ct.re6 and they &ere not even told &hat they sho.ld 8e constr.cting5 2 Het /e ill.strate &ith one of the exa/ples: 8.ilding a /otorcycle fro/ a Hego set Ca children9s constr.ction toyD5 The Hego /otorcycle Cfig.re "51D is a si/ple toy constr.cted of thirteen parts6 so/e rather speciali>ed5 Of the thirteen parts6 only t&o are ali7e:rectangles &ith the &ord police on the/5 One other piece is a 8lan7 rectangle of the sa/e si>e5 Three other pieces /atch in si>e and shape 8.t are different colors5 So there are t&o sets of three pieces in +2 The Design of Everyday Things 5)( Lego +otorcycle) The toy is sho&n asse/8led and in pieces5 The thirteen parts are so cleverly constr.cted that even an ad.lt can p.t the/ together5 The design exploits constraints to specify 4.st &hich pieces fit &here5 Physical con0 straints li/it alternative place/ents5 Se/antic and c.lt.ral constraints provide the necessary cl.es for f.rther decisions5 (or exa/ple6 se/antic constraints stop the .ser fro/ p.tting the head 8ac7&ard on the 8ody and c.lt.ral constraints dictate the place/ent of the three lights Cthe s/all rectangles6 &hich are red6 8l.e6 and yello&D5 "O3E: ,no&ing ;hat to Do B2 &hich any of the three pieces are interchangea8le6 except for the se0 /antic or c.lt.ral interpretation of the res.lting constr.ction5 ,t t.rns o.t that the appropriate role for every single piece of the /otorcycle is .na/8ig.o.sly deter/ined 8y a set of physical6 se/antic6 and c.lt.0 ral constraints5 This /eans that people co.ld constr.ct the /otorcycle &itho.t any instr.ctions or assistance6 altho.gh they had never seen it asse/8led5 ,n this case6 constr.ction is entirely nat.ral6 if the 8.ilder 7no&s a8o.t /otorcycles and a8o.t the c.lt.ral ass./ptions that serve to constrain the place/ent of parts5 ffordances of the pieces &ere i/portant in deter/ining 4.st ho& they fit together5 The cylinders and holes characteristic of Hego s.g0 gested the /a4or constr.ction r.le5 The si>es and shapes of the parts s.ggested their operation5 Physical constraints li/ited &hat parts &o.ld fit together5 Other types of constraints also operated? all in all there &ere fo.r different classes of constraints:physical6 se/antic6 c.lt.ral6 and logical5 These classes are apparently .niversal6 appearing in a &ide variety of sit.ations6 and s.fficient5 $H@%?AL 6N%T!A?NT% Physical li/itations constrain possi8le operations5 Th.s6 a large peg cannot fit into a s/all hole5 The /otorcycle &indshield &o.ld fit in only one place6 &ith only one orientation5 The val.e of physical con0 straints is that they rely .pon properties of the physical &orld for their operation? no special training is necessary5 With the proper .se of physical constraints there sho.ld 8e only a li/ited n./8er of possi8le actions:or6 at least6 desired actions can 8e /ade o8vio.s6 .s.ally 8y 8eing especially salient5 Physical constraints are /ade /ore effective and .sef.l if they are easy to see and interpret6 for then the set of actions is restricted 8efore anything has 8een done5 Other&ise6 the physical constraint prevents the &rong action fro/ s.cceeding only after it has 8een tried5 The Hego &indshield &as so/eti/es tried in the &rong orientation first? the design co.ld have /ade the correct position /ore visi8le5 The everyday door 7ey can 8e inserted into a vertical slot only if the 7ey is held vertically5 ;.t this still leaves t&o possi8le orientations5 &ell0de0 signed 7ey &ill either &or7 in 8oth orientations or provide a clear physical signal for the correct one5 Good a.to/o8ile door 7eys are /ade so that orientation doesn9t /atter5 poorly designed car 7ey can +" The Design of Everyday Things 8e yet another of those /inor fr.strations of everyday life:not so /inor6 perhaps6 &hen yo.9re standing o.tside the car in a stor/ &ith 8oth ar/s f.ll of pac7ages5 SE=NT,C CONST$,NTS Se/antic constraints rely .pon the /eaning of the sit.ation to control the set of possi8le actions5 ,n the case of the /otorcycle6 there is only one /eaningf.l location for the rider6 &ho /.st sit facing for&ard5 The p.rpose of the &indshield is to protect the rider9s face6 so it /.st 8e in front of the rider5 Se/antic constraints rely .pon o.r 7no&ledge of the sit.ation and of the &orld5 S.ch 7no&ledge can 8e a po&erf.l and i/portant cl.e5 C)HT)$H CONST$,NTS So/e constraints rely .pon accepted c.lt.ral conventions6 even if they do not affect the physical or se/antic operation of the device5 One c.lt.ral convention is that signs are /eant to 8e read? for the /otorcy0 cle6 the pieces &ith the &ord police on the/ have to 8e placed right side .p5 C.lt.ral constraints deter/ine the locations of the three lights6 &hich are other&ise physically interchangea8le5 $ed is the c.lt.rally defined standard for a stop light6 &hich is placed in the rear5 White or yello& Cin E.ropeD is the standard color for headlights6 &hich go in front5 nd a police vehicle often has a 8l.e flashing light on top5 Each c.lt.re has a set of allo&a8le actions for social sit.ations5 Th.s6 &e 7no& ho& to 8ehave in a resta.rant6 even one &e have never 8een to 8efore5 This is ho& &e /anage to cope &hen o.r host leaves .s alone in that strange roo/6 at that strange party6 &ith those strange people5 nd this is &hy &e so/eti/es feel fr.strated6 so incapa8le of action6 &hen &e are confronted &ith a resta.rant or gro.p of people fro/ an .nfa/iliar c.lt.re6 &here o.r nor/ally accepted 8ehavior is clearly inappropriate and fro&ned .pon5 C.lt.ral iss.es are at the root of of /any of the pro8le/s &e have &ith ne& /achines: there are as yet no accepted conventions or c.sto/s for dealing &ith the/5 Those of .s &ho st.dy these things 8elieve that g.idelines for c.lt.0 ral 8ehavior are represented in the /ind 8y /eans of sche/as6 7no&l0 edge str.ct.res that contain the general r.les and infor/ation neces0 "O3E: ,no&ing ;hat to Do +' sary for interpreting sit.ations and for g.iding 8ehavior5 ,n so/e stereotypical sit.ations Cfor exa/ple6 in a resta.rantD6 the sche/as /ay 8e very speciali>ed5 Cognitive scientists $oger Schan7 and ;o8 8el0 son have proposed that in these cases &e follo& 3scripts3 that can g.ide the se<.ence of 8ehavior5 The sociologist Ervin Goff/an calls the social constraints on accepta8le 8ehavior fra/es6 and he sho&s ho& they govern 8ehavior even &hen a person is in a novel sit.ation or novel c.lt.re5 *anger a&aits those &ho deli8erately violate the fra/es for a c.lt.re5 ! *e4t ti!e you are in an elevator, stand facing the rear. <oo$ at the strangers in the elevator and s!ile. Or sco&l. Or say hello. Or say, +%re you feeling &ell) (ou don't loo$ &ell.+ ;al$ up to rando! passers#y and give the! so!e !oney. 8ay so!ething li$e, +(ou !a$e !e feel good, so here is so!e !oney.+ In a #us or streetcar, give your seat to the ne4t athletic1loo$ing teenager you see. The act is especially effec1 tive if you are elderly, or pregnant, or disa#led. L6.?AL 6N%T!A?NT% ?n the case of the /otorcycle6 logic dictated that all the pieces sho.ld 8e .sed6 &ith no gaps in the final prod.ct5 The three lights of the Hego /otorcycle presented a special pro8le/ for /any people5 They co.ld .se the c.lt.ral constraint to fig.re o.t that the red &as the stop light and sho.ld go in the rear6 that the yello& &as the headlight and sho.ld go in the front6 8.t &hat a8o.t the 8l.e@ =any people had no c.lt.ral or se/antic infor/ation that &o.ld help the/ place the 8l.e light5 (or the/6 logic provided the ans&er: only one piece left6 only one possi8le place to go5 The 8l.e light &as logically constrained5 Nat.ral /appings &or7 8y providing logical constraints5 There are no physical or c.lt.ral principles here? rather there is a logical relation0 ship 8et&een the spatial or f.nctional layo.t of co/ponents and the things that they affect or are affected 8y5 ,f t&o s&itches control t&o lights6 the left s&itch sho.ld &or7 the left light6 the right s&itch the right light5 ,f the lights are /o.nted one &ay and the s&itches another6 the nat.ral /apping is destroyed5 ,f t&o indicators reflect the state of t&o different parts of a syste/6 the location and operation of the indicators sho.ld have a nat.ral relationship to the spatial or f.nctional layo.t of the syste/5 las6 nat.ral /appings are not often exploited5 +I The Design of Everyday Things pplying ffordances and Constraints to Everyday O84ects The characteristics of affordances and constraints can 8e applied to the design of everyday o84ects6 /.ch si/plifying o.r enco.nters &ith the/5 *oors and s&itches present interesting exa/ples6 for poor design ca.ses .nnecessary pro8le/s for their .sers5 Aet the co//on pro8le/s have si/ple sol.tions6 &hich properly exploit affordances and nat.ral constraints5 THE $!6BLE+ :?TH D66!% ,n chapter 1 &e enco.ntered the sad story of /y friend &ho &as trapped 8et&een sets of glass doors at a post office6 trapped 8eca.se there &ere no cl.es to the doors9 operation5 When &e approach a door6 &e have to find 8oth the side that opens and the part to 8e /anip.lated? in other &ords6 &e need to fig.re o.t &hat to do and &here to do it5 We expect to find so/e visi8le signal for the correct operation: a plate6 an extension6 a hollo&6 an indentation:so/ething that allo&s the hand to to.ch6 grasp6 t.rn6 or fit into5 This tells .s &here to act5 The next step is to fig.re o.t ho&: &e /.st deter/ine &hat operations are per/itted6 in part .sing the affordances6 in part g.ided 8y constraints5 *oors co/e in a/a>ing variety5 So/e open only if a 8.tton is p.shed6 and so/e don9t appear to open at all6 having neither 8.ttons6 nor hard&are6 nor any other sign of their operation5 The door /ight 8e operated &ith a foot pedal5 Or /ay8e it is voice operated6 and &e /.st spea7 the /agic phrase5 0+Open 8i!si!9+2 ,n addition6 so/e doors have signs on the/: p.ll6 p.sh6 slide6 lift6 ring 8ell6 insert card6 type pass0 &ord6 s/ile6 rotate6 8o&6 dance6 or6 perhaps6 4.st as75 So/eho&6 &hen a device as si/ple as a door has to co/e &ith an instr.ction /an.al: even a one0&ord /an.al:then it is a fail.re6 poorly designed5 %ppearances deceive. I have seen people trip and fall &hen they atte!pted to push open a door that &or$ed auto!atically, the door opening in&ard /ust as they atte!pted to push against it. On !ost su#&ay trains, the doors open auto!atically at each station. *ot so in Paris. I &atched so!eone on the Paris 5etro try to get off the train and fail. ;hen the train ca!e to his station, he got up and stood patiently "O3E: ,no&ing ;hat to Do +1 in front of the door, &aiting for it to open. It never opened. The train si!ply started up again and &ent on to the ne4t station. In the 5etro, you have to open the doors yourself #y pushing a #utton, or depressing a lever, or sliding the! 0depending upon &hich $ind of car you happen to #e on2. Consider the hard&are for an .nloc7ed door5 ,t need not have any /oving parts: it can 8e a fixed 7no86 plate6 handle6 or groove5 Not only &ill the proper hard&are operate the door s/oothly6 8.t it &ill also indicate 4.st ho& the door is to 8e operated: it &ill exhi8it the proper affordances5 S.ppose the door opens 8y 8eing p.shed5 The easiest &ay to indicate this is to have a plate at the spot &here the p.shing sho.ld 8e done5 plate6 if large eno.gh for the hand6 clearly and .na/8ig.0 o.sly /ar7s the proper action5 =oreover6 the plate constrains the pos0 si8le actions: there is little else that one can do &ith a plate except p.sh5 )nfort.nately6 even this si/ple cl.e is /is.sed5 *oors that sho.ld 8e p.lled or slid so/eti/es have plates Cfig.re "52D5 *oors that sho.ld 8e p.shed so/eti/es have 8oth plates and 7no8s or a handle and no plate5 The violation of the si/ple .se of constraints on doors can have serio.s i/plications5 Hoo7 at the door in fig.re "5! % : this fire exit door has a p.sh 8ar6 a good exa/ple of an .na/8ig.o.s signal to p.sh6 and a good design Cre<.ired 8y la& in the )nited StatesD 8eca.se it forces proper 8ehavior &hen panic7ed people press against a door as they atte/pt to flee a fire5 ;.t loo7 again5 On &hich side sho.ld yo. p.sh@ There is no &ay of 7no&ing5 dd so/e paint to the part that is to 8e p.shed6 or fasten a plate over it Cfig.re "5! >2: these provide strong c.lt.ral signals to g.ide the action properly5 P.sh 8ars offer strong physical constraints6 si/plifying the tas7 of 7no&ing &hat to do5 The .se of c.lt.ral constraints si/plifies the tas7 of fig.ring o.t &here to do it5 So/e hard&are cries o.t to 8e p.lled5 ltho.gh anything that can 8e p.lled can also 8e p.shed6 the proper design &ill .se c.lt.ral con0 straints so that the signal to p.ll &ill do/inate5 ;.t even this can 8e /essed .p5 , have seen doors &ith a /ixt.re of signals6 one i/plying p.sh6 the other p.ll5 , have &atched people passing thro.gh the door of fig.re "5! 0%2. nd they had tro.8le6 even people &ho &or7ed in the 8.ilding and &ho therefore .sed the door several ti/es every day5 Sliding doors see/ to present special diffic.lties5 ,n fact6 there are several good &ays to signal the operation of a sliding door .na/8ig.0 o.sly5 (or exa/ple6 a vertical slit in the door can 8e .sed in only one The Design of Everyday Things 5)- The Design of Doors) The doors at the left sho& t&o excellent exa/ples of design: different handles6 side 8y side on the sa/e a.to/o8ile6 each neatly signal0 ing its proper operation5 The vertical place/ent of the lever on the handle to the left ca.ses the hand to 8e held in a vertical plane6 signifying a slide5 The hor0 i>ontal place/ent of the lever on the door handle to the right6 co.pled &ith the overhang and indentation that neatly af0 ford entrance 8y the hand6 signifies a p.ll5 T&o different types of doors6 ad4a0 cent to one another6 and yet there is no conf.sion 8et&een the/5 The handle depicted at the left sho&s inappropriate signals5 This for/ of han0 dle clearly /ar7s grasp6 t&ist6 or p.ll: except that this partic.lar door slides: a classic case of inappropriate design5 t left and 8elo& are photographs of hard&are for doors that open 8y 8eing p.lled5 The large plates at the left are a signal to p.sh6 8.t in fact the door is s.pposed to 8e p.lled: no &onder the door needs the signs5 The si/ple )0 shaped 8rac7ets 8elo& is a /.ch 8etter design6 8.t they are a/8ig.o.s eno.gh that a sign still see/s to 8e needed5 Con0 trast &ith the t&o handles at the top6 nei0 ther of &hich needs a sign yet is al&ays operated properly5 ,f a door handle needs a sign6 then its design is pro8a8ly fa.lty5 20 The Design of Everyday Things "5! *oors in T&o Co//ercial ;.ildings5 P.shing the 8ar opens the door6 8.t on &hich side do yo. p.sh@ ;ar % Ca8oveD hides the signal6 /a7ing it i/possi8le to 7no& on &hich side to p.sh5 fr.strating door5 ;ar > C8elo&D has a flat plate /o.nted on the side that is to 8e p.shed? this is a nat.rally interpreted signal5 nice design6 no fr.stration for the .ser5 &ay: the fingers are inserted and the door slid5 The location of the slit specifies not only &here to exert the force 8.t also in &hich direction5 The critical signal is any depression in the door large eno.gh for the fingers to fit into6 8.t &itho.t an overhang5 Si/ilarly6 any pro4ection &ill also &or76 as long as it neither has an overhang nor is appropriate for 8eing grasped &ith the hand5 On a properly designed door6 the fingers can exert press.re along the sides of the depression or pro4ec0 tion:needed for sliding:8.t they can9t p.ll or t&ist5 , have seen elegant sliding doors6 aesthetically pleasing6 yet &ith clear signals to the .ser:in a conference roo/ in ,taly6 on a door on a =etro train in Paris6 on so/e Scandinavian f.rnit.re5 Aet /ore often6 it see/s6 sliding doors are 8.ilt &ith the &rong signals6 &ith cl./sy hard&are in posi0 tions that 4a/ the fingers5 Sliding doors so/eho& challenge the de0 signer to get the/ &rong5 So/e doors have appropriate hard&are6 &ell placed5 The o.tside door handles of /ost /odern a.to/o8iles are excellent exa/ples of design5 The handles are often recessed receptacles that si/.ltaneo.sly indicate the place and /ode of action: the receptacle cannot 8e .sed except 8y inserting the fingers and p.lling5 #ori>ontal slits g.ide the hand into a p.lling position? vertical slits signal a sliding /otion5 Strangely eno.gh6 the inside door handles for a.to/o8iles tell a dif0 ferent story5 #ere6 the designer has faced a different 7ind of pro8le/6 and the appropriate sol.tion has not yet 8een fo.nd5 s a res.lt6 altho.gh the o.tside door handles of cars are often excellent6 the inside ones are often diffic.lt to find6 hard to fig.re o.t ho& to operate6 and diffic.lt to .se5 )nfort.nately6 the &orst door hard&are is fo.nd &here &e spend /ost of o.r ti/e: at ho/e and in the office5 ,n /any cases6 the choice of hard&are appears hapha>ard6 .sed for convenience Cor profita8ilityD5 rchitects and interior designers see/ to prefer designs that are vis.0 ally elegant and &in pri>es5 This often /eans that a door and its hard&are are designed to /erge &ith the interior: the door /ay 8arely 8e visi8le6 the hard&are /erges &ith door6 and the operation is co/0 pletely o8sc.re5 (ro/ /y experience6 the &orst offenders are ca8inet doors5 ,t is so/eti/es not even possi8le to deter/ine &here the doors are6 let alone &hether and fro/ &here they are slid6 lifted6 p.shed6 or p.lled5 The foc.s on aesthetics /ay 8lind the designer Cand the p.r0 chaserD to the lac7 of .sa8ility5 % particularly frustrating design is that of the door that opens out1 &ard #y #eing pushed in&ard. The push releases the catch and ener1 "O38: ,no&ing ;hat to Do 21 gi7es a spring, so that &hen the hand is ta$en a&ay the door springs open. It's a very clever design, #ut !ost pu77ling to the first1ti!e user. % plate &ould #e the appropriate signal, #ut designers so!eti!es do not &ish to !ar the s!ooth surface of the door. I have such a latch in the glass door of the ca#inet in &hich I store phonograph records. (ou can see through the door, and it is o#vious that there is no roo! for the door to open in&ardD to push on the door see!s contradictory. *e& and infre-uent users of this door usually re/ect pushing and open it instead #y pulling, &hich often re-uires the! to use fingernails, $nife #lades, or !ore ingenious !ethods to pry it open. THE $!6BLE+ :?TH %:?THE% %t any lecture I give, !y first de!onstration needs no preparation. I can count on the light s&itches of the roo! or auditoriu! to #e un!anagea#le. +<ights please,+ so!eone &ill say. Then fu!#le, fu!1 #le, fu!#le. ;ho $no&s &here the s&itches are and &hich lights they control) The lights see! to &or$ s!oothly only &hen a technician is hired to sit in a control roo! so!e&here, turning the! on and off. The s&itch pro8le/s in an a.ditori./ are annoying6 8.t si/ilar pro8le/s in airplanes and n.clear po&er plants are dangero.s5 The controls all loo7 the sa/e5 #o& do the operators avoid the occasional /ista7e6 conf.sion6 or accidental 8./ping against the &rong control@ Or /isai/@ They don9t5 (ort.nately6 airplanes and po&er plants are pretty ro8.st5 fe& errors every ho.r are not i/portant:.s.ally5 One type of popular s!all airplane has identical1loo$ing s&itches for flaps and landing gear right ne4t to one another. (ou !ight #e surprised to learn ho& !any pilots, &hile on the ground, have decided to raise the flaps and instead raised the &heels. This very e4pensive error happened fre-uently enough that the *ational Transportation 8afety >oard &rote a report a#out it. The analysts politely pointed out that the proper design principles to avoid these errors have #een $no&n for thirty years. ;hy &ere those design errors still #eing !ade) ;asic s&itches and controls sho.ld 8e relatively si/ple to design &ell5 ;.t there are t&o f.nda/ental diffic.lties5 The first is the gro.p0 ing pro8le/6 ho& to deter/ine &hich s&itch goes &ith &hich f.nction5 22 The Design of Everyday Things The second is t he /appi ng pro8le/5 (or exa/ple6 &hen there are /any lights and an array of s&itches6 ho& can yo. det er/ine &hi ch s&itch controls &hi ch light@ The s&itch pro8le/ 8eco/es serio.s only &here there are /any of the/5 ,t isn9 t a pro8l e/ in sit.ations &i t h one s&itch6 and it is only a /i nor pro8le/ &here there are t &o s&itches5 ;.t t he diffic.lties /o.nt rapidly &i t h /ore t han t &o s&itches at the sa/e location5 =.ltiple s&itches are /ore li7ely to occ.r in offices6 a.ditori ./s6 and ind.strial locations t han in ho/es Cfig.re "5"D5 :H?H %:?TH 6NT!6L% :H?H F7NT?6NC S&itches for .nrelated f.nctions are often placed together6 .s.ally &i t h no disting.ishing /ar7s t o hel p t he .ser 7no& &hich s&itch controls &hi ch f.nction5 *esigners love ro&s of identical0loo7ing s&itches5 The s&itches loo7 good6 are easy to /o.nt 6 are inexpensive to 8.ild6 and please the aesthetic sensi8ilities of t he vie&er5 ;.t t hey "5" Typical .dio =ixing Control5 This pict.re &as ta7en in an a.ditori./ in England5 (ort.nately6 errors on panels li7e these are seldo/ serio.s6 often not even noted5 "O3E: ,no&ing ;hat to Do 2! 5)8 A lock !adioD "Human Engineered" to %im"lify 6"eration) Note the ro& of identical0loo7ing s&itches5 CCopyright Tandy Corporation5 )sed &ith per/is0 sion5D /a7e it easy to err5 With identical s&itches all in a ro&6 it is diffic.lt to disting.ish the s&itch for the coffee /a7er fro/ the s&itch to the central po&er for the co/p.ter5 Or the set0the0ti/e s&itch fro/ the t.rn0off0the0radio s&itch Cfig.re "5'D5 Or the landing gear s&itch fro/ the flap control s&itch5 onsider !y car radio: t&enty1five controls, !any apparently ar#i1 trary. %ll tiny 0so that they &ill fit the li!ited space availa#le2. I!agine trying to use the radio &hile driving at high speed, at night. Or in &inter &hen &earing gloves, so that the atte!pt to push one #utton succeeds in pushing t&o, or the atte!pt to turn the loudness control also ad/usts the tone control. (ou should #e a#le to use things in the dar$. % car radio should #e usa#le &ith a !ini!u! of visual cues. >ut the radio designers pro#a#ly designed it in the la#oratory, &ith little or no thought a#out the car, or the driver. "or all I $no& the design &on a pri7e for its visual aesthetics. It should go &ithout saying that controls that cause trou#le should not #e located &here they can #e operated #y accident, especially in the dar$, or &hen the person is trying to use the device &ithout loo$ing. It should go &ithout saying, #ut in fact, it is necessary to say it. There is a si/ple6 &ell07no&n sol.tion to the gro.ping pro8le/: set the s&itches for one set of f.nctions apart fro/ the s&itches that control other f.nctions5 nother sol.tion is to .se different types of s&itches5 The sol.tions can 8e co/8ined5 To solve the pro8le/ &ith the airplane flap and landing gear s&itches6 separate the s&itches and don9t line the/ .p in a ro&5 lso .se shape coding: a tire0shaped s&itch 2" The Design of Everyday Things can control the landing gear6 and the flap s&itch can 8e a long6 thin rectangle:the shape of a flap5 P.tting controls in different locations /a7es it less li7ely that a /isai/ed hand &ill thro& the &rong s&itch5 nd .sing shape coding /eans that a potential error /ay 8e ca.ght and that the correct s&itch can 8e fo.nd 8y feel alone Cfig.re "5ID5 That9s ho& to solve this first pro8le/6 no& let .s t.rn to the other one5 #OW $E T#E SW,TC#ES $$NGE*@ With the lights in a roo/6 yo. 7no& that all the s&itches control lights5 ;.t &hich s&itch controls &hich light@ $oo/ lights are .s.ally orga0 ni>ed in a t&o0di/ensional str.ct.re and they are .s.ally hori>ontal Cthat is6 they are on the ceiling or6 if they are la/ps6 they are placed along the floor or on ta8lesD5 ;.t s&itches are .s.ally arranged in a one0di/ensional ro& /o.nted on the &all6 a vertical s.rface5 #o& can a one0di/ensional ro& of s&itches /ap onto a t&o0di/ensional array of lights@ nd &ith the s&itches 8eing /o.nted on the &all and the "5I =a7e t he Controls Hoo7 and (eel *ifferent5 The control0roo/ operators in a n.clear po&er plant tried to overco/e the pro8le/ of si/ilar0loo7ing 7no8s 8y placing 8eer07eg handles over the/5 This is good design6 even if after the fact? the operators sho.ld 8e re&arded5 C(ro/ Se/inara6 Gon>ales6 N Parsons6 12115 Photo0 graph co.rtesy of Boseph H5 Se/inara5D "O3E: ,no&ing ;hat to Do 2' lights 8eing on the ceiling6 yo. have to do a /ental rotation of the s&itches to get the/ to confor/ to the lights5 The /apping pro8le/ is .nsolva8le &ith the c.rrent str.ct.re of s&itches5 Electricians .s.ally try to lay o.t the s&itches in the sa/e order as the lights they control6 8.t the /is/atch in the spatial arrange/ent of the lights and the s&itches /a7es it diffic.lt6 if not i/possi8le6 to prod.ce a f.ll nat.ral /apping5 Electricians have to .se standard co/0 ponents6 and the designers and /an.fact.rers of those standard co/0 ponents &orried only a8o.t fitting the proper n./8er of s&itches into the/ safely5 No8ody tho.ght a8o.t ho& the lights &ere to 8e arranged or ho& the s&itches o.ght to 8e laid o.t5 5y house &as designed #y t&o #rash young architects, a&ard &in1 ning, &ho, a!ong other things, li$ed neat ro&s of light s&itches. ;e got a hori7ontal ro& of four identical s&itches in the front hall, a vertical colu!n of si4 identical s&itches in the living roo!. +(ou &ill get used to it,+ the architects assured us &hen &e co!plained. ;e never did. "inally &e had to change the s&itches, !a$ing each one different. Even so &e !ade lots of !ista$es. In !y psychology la#oratory, the lights and their s&itches &ere located in !any different places, yet !ost people &anted to control the lights upon entering the area. The area is large, &ith three !a/or hall1 &ays and appro4i!ately fifteen roo!s. 5oreover, this floor of the #uilding has no &indo&s, so it is dar$ unless the lights are turned on. ,f light s&itches are placed on the &all6 there is no &ay they can exactly correspond in position to the place/ent of the lights5 Why place the s&itches flat against the &all@ Why not redo things@ Why not place the s&itches hori>ontally6 in exact analogy to the things 8eing controlled6 &ith a t&o0di/ensional layo.t so that the s&itches can 8e placed on a floorplan of the 8.ilding in exact correspondence to the areas that they control@ =atch the layo.t of the lights &ith the layo.t of the s&itches: the principle of nat.ral /apping5 ,n /y la8oratory6 as in /y ho/e6 the sol.tion &as to constr.ct a si/ple s&itchplate that /irrored the physical arrange/ent of the area6 &ith s/all light s&itches placed in relevant locations5 " (ig.re "51 sho&s the sit.ation at /y ho/e6 and fig.re "5+ sho&s &hat &e did at the la8oratory5 #o& &ell do the ne& s&itch arrange/ents &or7@ P.ite &ell6 , a/ happy to report5 One la8oratory .ser sent /e the follo&ing note: 2I The Design of Everyday Things "51 The vertical array of six s&itches at the right is &hat o.r architects provided to control the lights in o.r odd0shaped living roo/5 We co.ld never re/e/8er &hich s&itch did &hat5 The photograph 8elo& sho&s o.r sol.tion: s&itches arranged to /atch the roo/ lay0 o.t5 COne /ore s&itch6 for a pro4ection screen6 &ill 8e /o.nted on the vertical plate 4.st a8ove the light s&itches5 The s&itch panel &as constr.cted for the a.0 thor 8y *avid Wargo5D "O3E: ,no&ing ;hat to Do BC "5+ The original layo.t of s&itches in /y la8oratory had the light s&itches scattered5 We p.t all the s&itches in one convenient location6 arranged on a floor plan of the la8oratory5 CThe s&itch panel &as constr.cted 8y *avid Wargo5D +(ou $no&, I actually $ind of li$e those ne& s&itches no&:they see! easy to use, and it's nice to have all the s&itches in one location &hen you first &al$ in. (ou can /ust sort of s&ipe at the! on your &ay past and light up the area you &ant:very -uic$. 8o &hile I &as &orried they &ouldn't #e advantageous for the e4perienced user, I &as &rong.+ Can the ne& s&itches 8e .sed every&here@ Pro8a8ly not5 ;.t there is no reason they co.ldn9t 8e &idely adopted5 There are a series of technical pro8le/s still to 8e addressed: 8.ilders and electricians need standardi>ed co/ponents5 #o& a8o.t /a7ing .p standard light s&itch 8oxes6 /ade to 8e /o.nted on the &all Cinstead of in the &all as they are todayD6 &here the s&itches are /o.nted on the top of the 8ox6 on the hori>ontal s.rface5 nd on the top6 /a7e .p a /atrix of s.pports so that there can 8e free6 relatively .nrestricted place/ent of the s&itches in &hatever pattern 8est s.its the roo/5 )se s/aller s&itches 2+ The Design of Everyday Things if necessary5 =ay8e get rid of those standardi>ed light plates5 The /atrix design &o.l d re<.ire drilling holes differently for each roo/6 8.t if the s&itches &ere designed to fit into standard si>ed circ.lar or rectang.lar holes6 t he holes co.ld 8e drilled or p.nched <.ite easily5 =y s.ggestion re<.ires t hat the s&itch 8ox stic7 o.t fro/ the &all6 &hereas t oday9 s 8oxes are /o.nt ed so t hat t he s&itches are fl.sh &i t h t he &all5 So/e /ight consider /y sol.tion .gly5 Well6 t hen6 i ndent t he 8oxes6 placing t he/ in t he &all5 fter all6 if there is roo/ inside the &all for the existing s&itch 8oxes6 there is also roo/ for an indented hori>ontal s.rface5 Or /o.nt t he s&itches on a little pedestal6 or on a ledge5 -isi8ility and (eed8ac7 So far &e have concentrated .pon constraints and /appings5 ;.t for 7no&i ng &hat to do there are other relevant principles6 too6 especially visi8ility and feed8ac7: 15 Hisi#ility. =a7e relevant parts visi8le5 25 "eed#ac$. Give each action an i//ediate and o8vio.s effect5 When &e .se a novel o84ect6 a n./8er of <.estions g.ide o.r ac0 tions: F Which parts /ove? &hich are fixed@ F Where sho.ld the o84ect 8e grasped@ What part is to 8e /anip.0 lated@ What is to 8e held@ Where is the hand to 8e inserted@ ,f it is speech sensitive6 &here does one tal7@ F What 7ind of /ove/ent is possi8le: p.shing6 p.lling6 t.rning6 rotating6 to.ching6 stro7ing@ F What are the relevant physical characteristics of the /ove/ents@ With ho& great a force /.st the o84ect 8e /anip.lated@ #o& far can it 8e expected to /ove@ #o& can s.ccess 8e ga.ged@ F What parts of the o84ect are s.pporting s.rfaces@ #o& /.ch si>e and &eight &ill the o84ect s.pport@ The sa/e 7inds of <.estions arise &het her &e are trying to decide &hat to do or att e/pti ng to eval.ate the res.lts of an action5 ,n exa/0 ining t he o84ect6 &e have to decide &hi ch parts signify t he state of t he o84ect and &hi ch are solely decorative6 or nonf.nctional6 or part of t he "O3E: ,no&ing ;hat to Do 22 8ac7gro.nd or s.pports5 What things change@ What has changed over the previo.s state@ Where sho.ld &e 8e &atching or listening to detect any changes@ The i/portant things to &atch sho.ld 8e visi8le and clearly /ar7ed? the res.lts of any action sho.ld 8e i//ediately appar0 ent5 +AE?N. F?%?BLE THE ?NF?%?BLE The principle of visi8ility is violated over and over again in everyday things5 ,n n./ero.s designs cr.cial parts are caref.lly hidden a&ay5 #andles on ca8inets distract fro/ so/e design aesthetics6 and so they are deli8erately /ade invisi8le or left o.t5 The crac7s that signify the existence of a door can also distract fro/ the p.re lines of the design6 so these significant c.es are also /ini/i>ed or eli/inated5 The res.lt can 8e a s/ooth expanse of glea/ing /aterial6 &ith no sign of doors or dra&ers6 let alone of ho& those doors and dra&ers /ight 8e oper0 ated5 Electric s&itches are often hidden: /any electric type&riters have the onQoff s&itch hidden .nderneath? /any co/p.ters and co/p.ter ter/inals have the onQoff s&itch in the rear6 diffic.lt to find and a&70 &ard to .se? ' and the s&itches that control 7itchen gar8age disposal .nits are often hidden a&ay6 so/eti/es nearly i/possi8le to find5 =any syste/s are vastly i/proved 8y the act of /a7ing visi8le &hat &as invisi8le 8efore5 Consider the -C$5 +35PTEE*1D%(1 35PTEE*1EHE*T PEOIE%55I*I. >ecause ti!e1shifting is so popular, !anufacturers and retailers play up a HE's a#ility to record auto!atically. The typical HE can record four events 0video /argon for progra!s2 over a @1day span. . . . +It's one thing to $no& that a HE can record eight events in .@ days. It's -uite another to !a$e the !achine #ehave. (ou have to go through a tedious series of steps to tell the HE &hen to start record1 ing, &hat channel to record, ho& long to run the tape, and so on. +8o!e HE's are !uch easier to progra! than others. . . . >est of all, &e thin$, is a feature called on1screen progra!!ing. o!!ands that appear on the TH screen help you enter the ti!e, date, and channel of the progra! you &ant to tape. + ? s the <.otation fro/ onsu!er Eeports indicates6 the act of setting .p these .nits to do the recording is horri8ly co/plex and diffic.lt5 The sa/e article later &arns that if yo. are not caref.l in yo.r selection6 100 The Design of Everyday Things 3yo. co.ld &ind .p &ith a -C$ that 8rings o.t fear and loathing &henever yo. try to change the channel resets or set it .p to record a progra/ &hen yo. are a&ay53 ,t does not ta7e /.ch exa/ination to discover the reason for the diffic.lties: there is no vis.al feed8ac75 s a res.lt6 .sers C1D have tro.8le re/e/8ering their place in the lengthy se<.ence of re<.ired steps? C2D have tro.8le re/e/8ering &hat next needs to 8e done? and C!D cannot easily chec7 the infor/ation 4.st entered to see if it is &hat &as intended6 and then cannot easily change it6 if they decide it is &rong5 The g.lfs 8oth in exec.tion Cthe first t&o pro8le/sD and in eval.a0 tion Cthe last pro8le/D are significant for these -C$s5 ;oth can 8e 8ridged 8y the .se of a display5 *isplays often cost /oney and ta7e .p roo/6 &hich is &hy designers hesitate to .se the/6 8.t in the case of a -C$6 a display device is .s.ally already availa8le: the T- set5 nd6 indeed6 those -C$s that can 8e progra//ed thro.gh the .se of an on0screen T- display are /.ch easier to .se5 -isi8ility /a7es all the difference5 N6TH?N. %7EED% L?EE A .66D D?%$LA@ Over and over again &e find .n&arranted co/plexity that co.ld 8e avoided &ere the device to contain a good display5 With the /odern telephone Csee chapter 1D6 a display that co.ld pro/pt the .ser thro.gh the series of steps re<.ired for progra//ing &o.ld /a7e the difference 8et&een a val.a8le6 .sa8le syste/ and a next0to0.seless one5 So6 too6 &ith any device of co/plexity6 &hether it 8e the &ashing /achine6 /icro&ave oven6 or office copying /achine5 Nothing s.cceeds li7e vis.al feed8ac76 &hich in t.rn re<.ires a good vis.al display5 :HAT AN BE D6NEC Ne& technologies6 especially the inexpensive /icroprocessors availa0 8le today Cthe heart of the co/p.terD /a7e possi8le the incorporation of po&erf.l and intelligent syste/s even in si/ple6 everyday things6 fro/ toys to 7itchen appliances to office /achines5 ;.t ne& capa8ilities /.st 8e acco/panied 8y appropriate displays6 also no& relatively inexpensive5 , as7ed the st.dents in one of /y classes to generate so/e possi8ilities for adding visi8ility to everyday devices5 #ere are so/e of the/: F Display the song titles for co!pact discs. Why not ta7e advantage of the storage capacity of an a.dio co/pact disc CC*D and have it display "O3E: ,no&ing ;hat to Do 101 not only the n./8er of the song or trac7 Cas it no& doesD 8.t also the title@ Each title co.ld 8e acco/panied 8y other infor/ation6 s.ch as perfor/ers6 co/poser6 or playing ti/e5 Th.s6 in progra//ing the C*6 yo. co.ld select 8y na/e rather than 8y n./8er6 and yo. &o.ld al&ays 7no& &hat yo. &ere hearing5 F Display the na!es of television progra!s. ,f each television station &o.ld also 8roadcast its station identification and the title of the c.rrent progra/6 the vie&er &ho t.ned in d.ring the /iddle of a sho& co.ld easily find o.t &hat it &as5 The infor/ation co.ld 8e sent in co/0 p.ter0reada8le for/at d.ring the retrace interval Cthe ti/e that the 8ea/ is off the screenD5 F Print the coo$ing infor!ation for foods on the food pac$age in co!puter1reada#le for!. This is a sche/e for 8ypassing the need to /a7e things visi8le5 The coo7ing of fro>en foods often re<.ires several different coo7ing ti/es6 &aiting ti/es6 and heat settings5 The progra//ing is co/plex5 ,f the coo7ing infor/ation &ere on the pac7age in /achine0reada8le for/6 one co.ld p.t the food in the /icro&ave oven6 pass a scanner over the printed infor/ation6 and let the oven progra/ itself5 )S,NG SO)N* (O$ -,S,;,H,TA So/eti/es things can9 t 8e /ade visi8le5 Enter so.nd: so.nd can pro0 vide infor/ation availa8le in no other &ay5 So.nd can tell .s t hat thi ngs are &or7i ng properly or t hat t hey need /ai nt enance or repair5 ,t can even save .s fro/ accidents5 Consider t he infor/ation provided 8y: F The clic7 &hen the 8olt on a door slides ho/e F The 3>>>3 so.nd &hen a >ipper &or7s properly F The 3ti nny3 so.nd &hen a door doesn9 t sh.t right F The roaring so.nd &hen a car /.ffler gets a hole F The rattle &hen things aren9 t sec.red F The &histle of a tea 7ettle &hen the &ater 8oils F The clic7 &hen the toast pops .p F The increase in pitch &hen a vac../ cleaner gets clogged F The indescri8a8le change in so.nd &hen a co/plex piece of /a0 chinery starts to have pro8le/s =any devices do .se so.nd6 8.t only for signals5 Si/ple so.nds6 s.ch as 8.>>ers6 8ells6 or tones5 Co/p.t ers .se 8leeping6 &hi ni ng6 and 102 The Design of Everyday Things clic7ing so.nds5 This .se of so.nd is val.a8le and serves an i/portant f.nction6 8.t it is very li/ited in po&er? it is as if the .se of vis.al c.es &ere li/ited to different colored6 flashing lights5 We co.ld .se so.nd for /.ch /ore co//.nication than &e do5 These days co/p.ters prod.ce several so.nds6 and 7eypads6 /icro0 &ave ovens6 and telephones 8eep and 8.rp5 These are not nat.ralistic so.nds? they do not convey hidden infor/ation5 When .sed properly6 a 8eep can ass.re yo. that yo.9ve pressed a 8.tton6 8.t the so.nd is as annoying as infor/ative5 So.nds sho.ld 8e generated so as to give infor/ation a8o.t the so.rce5 They sho.ld convey so/ething a8o.t the actions that are ta7ing place6 actions that /atter to the .ser 8.t that &o.ld other&ise not 8e visi8le5 The 8.>>es6 clic7s6 and h./s that yo. hear &hile a telephone call is 8eing co/pleted are one good exa/ple: ta7e o.t those noises and yo. are less certain that the connection is 8eing /ade5 ;ill Gaver6 &ho has 8een st.dying .se of so.nd in /y la8oratory6 points o.t that real6 nat.ral so.nd is as essential as vis.al infor/ation 8eca.se so.nd tells .s a8o.t things &e can9t see6 and it does so &hile o.r eyes are occ.pied else&here5 Nat.ral so.nds reflect the co/plex interaction of nat.ral o84ects: the &ay one part /oves against another? the /aterial of &hich the parts are /ade:hollo& or solid6 /etal or &ood6 soft or hard6 ro.gh or s/ooth5 So.nds are generated &hen /aterials interact6 and the so.nd tells .s &hether they are hitting6 sliding6 8rea7ing6 tearing6 cr./8ling6 or 8o.ncing5 =oreover6 so.nds differ according to the characteristics of the o84ects6 according to their si>e6 solidity6 /ass6 tension6 and /aterial5 nd they differ &ith ho& fast things are going and ho& far a&ay fro/ .s they are5 ,f they are to 8e .sef.l6 so.nds /.st 8e generated intelligently6 &ith an .nderstanding of the nat.ral relationship 8et&een the so.nds and the infor/ation to 8e conveyed5 So.nds on artificial devices sho.ld 8e as .sef.l as so.nds in the real &orld5 Gaver has proposed that so.nd co.ld play an i/portant role in co/p.ter08ased applications5 #ere6 rich6 nat.ralistic so.nds co.ld serve as a.ditory icons6 caricat.res of nat.rally occ.rring so.nds that co.ld provide infor/ation a8o.t the concepts 8eing represented not easily conveyed in other &ays5 1 Ao. have to 8e very caref.l &ith so.nd6 ho&ever5 ,t easily 8eco/es c.te rather than .sef.l5 ,t can annoy and distract as easily as it can aid5 One of the virt.es of so.nds is that they can 8e detected even &hen attention is applied else&here5 ;.t this virt.e is also a deficit6 for so.nds are often intr.sive5 So.nds are diffic.lt to 7eep private .nless the intensity is lo& or earphones are .sed5 This /eans 8oth that neigh0 "O3E: ,no&ing ;hat to Do 10! 8ors /ay 8e annoyed and that others can /onitor yo.r activities5 The .se of so.nd to convey infor/ation is a po&erf.l and i/portant idea6 8.t still in its infancy5 B.st as the presence of so.nd can serve a .sef.l role in providing feed8ac7 a8o.t events6 the a8sence of so.nd can lead to the sa/e 7inds of diffic.lties &e have already enco.ntered fro/ a lac7 of feed8ac75 The a8sence of so.nd can /ean an a8sence of infor/ation6 and if feed8ac7 fro/ an action is expected to co/e fro/ so.nd6 silence can lead to pro8le/s5 I once stayed in the guest apart!ent of a technological institute in the *etherlands. The #uilding &as ne&ly co!pleted, &ith !any inter1 esting architectural features. The architect had gone to great lengths to $eep the noise level lo&D the ventilation syste! could not #e heard. In si!ilar fashion, the ventilation for the roo! ca!e and &ent through invisi#le slots in the ceiling 0so I a! toldD I never did find the!2. %ll &as fine until I too$ a sho&er. The #athroo! see!ed to have no ventilation at all, so everything #eca!e &et, then eventually cold and cla!!y. There &as a s&itch in the #athroo! that I thought !ight #e the control for an e4haust fan. ;hen I pushed the s&itch, a light on it ca!e on and stayed on. "urther pushing had no effect. I noticed that &henever I returned to the apart!ent after an a#sence, the light &ould #e off. 8o each ti!e I entered the apart!ent, I &ent into the #athroo! and pushed the #utton. >y listening closely, I could hear a slight +thu!p+ in the distance the first ti!e the #utton &as de1 pressed. I decided it &as so!e $ind of signal. Perhaps it &as a call #utton, su!!oning the !aid, or the /anitor, or !ay#e even the fire depart!ent 0though no one sho&ed up2. I did also consider that it !ight control a ventilation syste!, #ut I could hear no flo& of air. I e4a!ined the inside of the entire #athroo! &ith care, trying to find an air inlet. I even got a chair and a flashlight and e4a!ined the ceiling. *othing. %t the end of !y stay, the person driving !e to the airport, e41 plained that the #utton controlled the e4haust fan. The fan &as on as long as the light &as on, and it turned off, auto!atically, in a#out five !inutes. The architect &as very good at disguising the ventilation syste! and at $eeping the noise level do&n. 6ere is a case &here the architect &as too successful: the feed#ac$ &as clearly lac$ing. The light &as not enough:in fact, it &as -uite !isleading. *oise &ould have #een &elco!e. It &ould have signaled that there really &as ventilation. 10" The Design of Everyday Things C # P T E $ ( , - E TO E$$ ,S #)=N +<O*DO*:%n ine4perienced co!puter1operator pressed the &rong $ey on a ter!inal in early De1 ce!#er, causing chaos at the <ondon 8toc$ E41 change. The error at stoc$#ro$ers Ireen&ell 5ontagu led to syste!s staff &or$ing through the night in an atte!pt to cure the pro#le!. + . People /a7e errors ro.tinely5 #ardly a /in.te of a nor/al conversa0 tion can go 8y &itho.t a st./8le6 a repetition6 a phrase stopped /id0 &ay thro.gh to 8e discarded or redone5 #./an lang.age provides special /echanis/s that /a7e corrections so a.to/atic that the partici0 pants hardly ta7e notice? indeed6 they /ay 8e s.rprised &hen errors are pointed o.t5 rtificial devices do not have the sa/e tolerance5 P.sh the &rong 8.tton6 and chaos /ay res.lt5 Errors co/e in several for/s5 T&o f.nda/ental categories are slips and /ista7es5 Slips res.lt fro/ a.to/atic 8ehavior6 &hen s.8conscio.s actions that are intended to satisfy o.r goals get &aylaid en ro.te5 =ista7es res.lt fro/ conscio.s deli8erations5 The sa/e processes that /a7e .s creative and insightf.l 8y allo&ing .s to see relationships 8et&een apparently .nrelated things6 that let .s leap to correct concl.0 sions on the 8asis of partial or even fa.lty evidence6 also lead to error5 (<8 O.r a8ility to generali>e fro/ s/all a/o.nts of infor/ation helps tre/endo.sly in ne& sit.ations? 8.t so/eti/es &e generali>e too ra0 pidly6 classifying a ne& sit.ation as si/ilar to an old one &hen6 in fact6 there are significant discrepancies5 (alse generali>ations can 8e hard to discover6 let alone eli/inate5 The differences 8et&een slips and /ista7es are readily apparent in the analysis of the seven stages of action5 (or/ an appropriate goal 8.t /ess .p in the perfor/ance6 and yo.9ve /ade a slip5 Slips are al/ost al&ays s/all things: a /isplaced action6 the &rong thing /oved6 a desired action .ndone5 =oreover6 they are relatively easy to discover 8y si/ple o8servation and /onitoring5 (or/ the &rong goal6 and yo.9ve /ade a /ista7e5 =ista7es can 8e /a4or events6 and they are diffic.lt or even i/possi8le to detect:after all6 the action perfor/ed is appropriate for the goal5 Slips % colleague reported that he &ent to his car to drive to &or$. %s he drove a&ay, he reali7ed that he had forgotten his #riefcase, so he turned around and &ent #ac$. 6e stopped the car, turned off the engine, and un#uc$led his &rist&atch. (es, &rist&atch, instead of his seat #elt. =ost everyday errors are slips5 ,ntend to do one action6 find yo.rself doing another5 #ave a person say so/ething clearly and distinctly to yo.6 8.t 3hear3 so/ething <.ite different5 The st.dy of slips is the st.dy of the psychology of everyday errors:&hat (re.d called 3the psychopathology of everyday life53 So/e slips /ay indeed have hid0 den6 dar7er /eanings6 8.t /ost are acco.nted for 8y rather si/ple events in o.r /ental /echanis/s5 2 Slips sho& .p /ost fre<.ently in s7illed 8ehavior5 We don9t /a7e so /any slips in things &e are still learning5 ,n part6 slips res.lt fro/ a lac7 of attention5 On the &hole6 people can conscio.sly attend to only one pri/ary thing at a ti/e5 ;.t &e often do /any things at once5 We &al7 &hile &e tal7? &e drive cars &hile &e tal76 sing6 listen to the radio6 .se a telephone6 ta7e notes6 or read a /ap5 We can do /ore than one thing at a ti/e only if /ost of the actions are done a.to/atically6 s.8conscio.sly6 &ith little or no need for conscio.s attention5 *oing several things at once is essential even in carrying o.t a single tas75 To play the piano6 &e /.st /ove the fingers properly over the 7ey8oard &hile reading the /.sic6 /anip.lating the pedals6 and listen0 10I The Design of Everyday Things ing to the res.lting so.nds5 ;.t to play the piano &ell6 &e sho.ld do these things a.to/atically5 O.r conscio.s attention sho.ld 8e foc.sed on the higher levels of the /.sic6 on style6 and on phrasing5 So it is &ith every s7ill5 The lo&0level6 physical /ove/ents sho.ld 8e controlled s.8conscio.sly5 TAPES O( SH,PS So/e slips res.lt fro/ the si/ilarities of actions5 Or an event in the &orld /ay a.to/atically trigger an action5 So/eti/es o.r tho.ghts and actions /ay re/ind .s of .nintended actions6 &hich &e then perfor/5 We can place slips into one of six categories: capt.re errors6 description errors6 data0driven errors6 associative activation errors6 loss0of0activation errors6 and /ode errors5 A$T7!E E!!6!% +I &as using a copying !achine, and I &as counting the pages. . found !yself counting '., 2, =6 @, K6 ?, C, J, B, .0, :ac$, 'ueen, ,ing.' I have #een playing cards recently. + = Consider the co//on slip called the capt.re error6 in &hich a fre0 <.ently done activity s.ddenly ta7es charge instead of Ccapt.resD the one intended5 " Ao. are playing a piece of /.sic C&itho.t too /.ch attentionD and it is si/ilar to another C&hich yo. 7no& 8etterD? s.d0 denly yo. are playing the /ore fa/iliar piece5 Or yo. go off to yo.r 8edroo/ to change yo.r clothes for dinner and find yo.rself in 8ed5 CThis slip &as first reported 8y Willia/ Ba/es in 1+205D Or yo. finish typing yo.r tho.ghts on yo.r &ord processor or text editing progra/6 t.rn off the po&er6 and go off to other things6 neglecting to save any of yo.r &or75 Or yo. get into yo.r car on S.nday to go to the store and find yo.rself at the office5 The capt.re error appears &henever t&o different action se<.ences have their initial stages in co//on6 &ith one se<.ence 8eing .nfa/il0 iar and the other 8eing &ell practiced5 Seldo/6 if ever6 does the .n0 fa/iliar se<.ence capt.re the fa/iliar one5 DE%!?$T?6N E!!6!% % for!er student reported that one day he ca!e ho!e fro! /ogging, too$ off his s&eaty shirt, and rolled it up in a #all, intending to thro& "IHE: To Err Is 6u!an .01 it in the laundry #as$et. Instead he thre& it in the toilet. 0It &asn't poor ai!: the laundry #as$et and toilet &ere in different roo!s.2 ,n the co//on slip 7no&n as the description error6 the intended action has /.ch in co//on &ith others that are possi8le5 s a res.lt6 .nless the action se<.ence is co/pletely and precisely specified6 the intended action /ight fit several possi8ilities5 S.ppose that /y tired st.dent in the exa/ple for/ed a /ental description of his intended action so/ething li7e 3thro& the shirt into the opening at the top of the container53 This description &o.ld 8e perfectly .na/8ig.o.s and s.fficient &ere the la.ndry 8as7et the only open container in sight? 8.t &hen the open toilet &as visi8le6 its characteristics /atched the de0 scription and triggered the inappropriate action5 This is a description error 8eca.se the internal description of the intention &as not s.ffi0 ciently precise5 *escription errors .s.ally res.lt in perfor/ing the cor0 rect action on the &rong o84ect5 O8vio.sly6 the /ore the &rong and right o84ects have in co//on6 the /ore li7ely the errors are to occ.r5 *escription errors6 li7e all slips6 are /ore li7ely &hen &e are distracted6 8ored6 involved in other activities6 .nder extra stress6 or other&ise not inclined to pay f.ll attention to the tas7 at hand5 *escription errors occ.r /ost fre<.ently &hen the &rong and right o84ects are physically near each other5 People have reported a n./8er of description errors to /e5 T&o cler$s in a depart!ent store &ere #oth on the telephone to verify credit cards &hile si!ultaneously dealing &ith a custo!er and filling out a credit card for!. One sales cler$ had passed in #ac$ of the other to reach the charge for!s. ;hen this cler$ finished preparing the sales slip, she hung up the handset on the &rong telephone, there#y ter!inating the other cler$'s call. % person intended to put the lid on a sugar #o&l, #ut instead put it on a coffee cup 0&ith the sa!e si7e opening2. I had a report of so!eone &ho planned to to pour orange /uice into a glass #ut instead poured it into a coffee cup 0ad/acent to the glass2. %nother person told !e of intending to pour rice fro! a storage /ar into a !easuring cup, #ut instead pouring coo$ing oil into the !easur1 ing cup 0#oth the oil and the rice &ere $ept in glass containers on the counter2. So/e things see/ designed to ca.se slips5 Hong ro&s of identical s&itches are perfect set.ps for description errors5 ,ntend to flip one 10+ The Design of Everyday Things s&itch6 instead flip a si/ilar0loo7ing one5 ,t happens in ind.strial plants6 aircraft6 ho/es6 any&here5 When different actions have si/ilar descriptions6 there is a good chance of /ishap6 especially &hen the operator is experienced and &ell practiced and therefore not paying f.ll attention6 and if there are /ore i/portant things to do5 DATA,D!?FEN E!!6!% +I &as assigning a visitor a roo! to use. I decided to call the depart1 !ent secretary to tell her the roo! nu!#er. I used the telephone in the alcove outside the roo!, &ith the roo! nu!#er in sight. Instead of dialing the secretary's phone nu!#er:&hich I use fre-uently and $no& very &ell:I dialed the roo! nu!#er.+ =.ch h./an 8ehavior is a.to/atic6 for exa/ple6 8r.shing a&ay an insect5 .to/atic actions are data driven:triggered 8y the arrival of the sensory data5 ;.t so/eti/es data0driven activities can intr.de into an ongoing action se<.ence6 ca.sing 8ehavior that &as not intended5 A%%6?AT?FE AT?FAT?6N E!!6!% +5y office phone rang. I pic$ed up the receiver and #ello&ed 'o!e in' at it.+ K ,f external data can so/eti/es trigger actions6 so6 too6 can internal tho.ghts and associations5 The ringing of the telephone and 7noc7ing on the door 8oth signal the need to greet so/eone5 Other errors occ.r fro/ associations a/ong tho.ghts and ideas5 ssociative activation errors are the slips st.died 8y (re.d? yo. thin7 so/ething that o.ght not to 8e said and then6 to yo.r e/8arrass/ent6 yo. say it5 L6%%,6F,AT?FAT?6N E!!6!% +I have to go to the #edroo! #efore I start &or$ing in the dining roo!. I start going there and reali7e as I a! &al$ing that I have no idea &hy I a! going there. ,no&ing !yself, I $eep going, hoping that so!ething in the #edroo! &ill re!ind !e. . . . I get there #ut still cannot recall &hat I &anted. . . so I go #ac$ to the dining roo!. There I reali7e that !y glasses are dirty. ;ith great relief I go #ac$ to the #edroo!, get !y hand$erchief, and &ipe !y glasses clean.+ "IHE: To Err Is 6u!an 102 One of the /ore co//on slips is si/ply forgetting to do so/ething5 =ore interesting is forgetting part of the act6 re/e/8ering the rest6 as in the story a8ove &here the goal &as forgotten6 8.t the rest of the action contin.ed .ni/paired5 One of /y infor/ants &al7ed all the &ay thro.gh the ho.se to the 7itchen and opened the refrigerator door? then he &ondered &hy he &as there5 Hac70of0activation errors occ.r 8eca.se the pres./ed /echanis/:the 3activation3 of the goals:has decayed5 The less technical 8.t /ore co//on ter/ &o.ld 8e 3forget0 ting53 +6DE E!!6!% +I had /ust co!pleted a long run fro! !y university to !y ho!e in &hat I &as convinced &ould #e record ti!e. It &as dar$ &hen I got ho!e, so I could not read the ti!e on !y stop&atch. %s I &al$ed up and do&n the street in front of !y ho!e, cooling off, I got !ore and !ore an4ious to see ho& fast I had run. I then re!e!#ered that !y &atch had a #uilt1in light, operated #y the upper right1hand #utton. Elated, I depressed the #utton to illu!inate the reading, only to read a ti!e of 7ero seconds. I had forgotten that in stop&atch !ode, the sa!e #utton Fthat in the nor!al, ti!e1reading !ode &ould have turned on a lightG cleared the ti!e and reset the stop&atch.+ =ode errors occ.r &hen devices have different /odes of operation6 and the action appropriate for one /ode has different /eanings in other /odes5 =ode errors are inevita8le any ti/e e<.ip/ent is de0 signed to have /ore possi8le actions than it has controls or displays6 so the controls /.st do do.8le d.ty5 =ode errors are especially li7ely &here the e<.ip/ent does not /a7e the /ode visi8le6 so the .ser is expected to re/e/8er &hat /ode has 8een esta8lished6 so/eti/es for /any ho.rs5 =ode errors are co//on &ith digital &atches and co/p.ter syste/s Cespecially text editorsD5 Several accidents in co//ercial aviation can 8e attri8.ted to /ode errors6 especially in the .se of the a.to/atic pilots C&hich have a large n./8er of co/plex /odesD5 *ETECT,NG SH,PS ltho.gh slips are relatively easy to detect 8eca.se there is a clear discrepancy 8et&een goal and res.lt6 detection can only ta7e place if 110 The Design of Everyday Things there is feed8ac75 ,f t he res.lt of the action is not visi8le6 ho& can a /isaction 8e detected@ Even &hen a /is/atch is not ed6 the person /ay not 8elieve that t he error occ.rred5 So/e trail of the se<.ence of actions t hat &as perfor/ed is val.a8le5 Even &hen an error has 8een detected6 it /ay not 8e clear &hat the error &as5 +%lice+ &as driving a van and noticed that the rearvie& !irror on the passenger side &as not ad/usted properly. %lice !eant to say to the passenger on the right, +Please ad/ust the !irror,+ #ut instead said +Please ad/ust the &indo&.+ The passenger, +8ally,+ &as confused and as$ed, +;hat should I do) ;hat do you &ant)+ %lice repeated the re-uest: +%d/ust the &indo& for !e.+ The situation continued through several frustrating cycles of con1 versation and atte!pts #y the passenger to understand /ust &hat ad1 /ust!ents should #e !ade to the &indo&. The error1correction !echa1 nis! adopted #y the driver &as to repeat the erroneous sentence !ore and !ore loudly. ,n this exa/ple6 it &as easy to detect that so/ething &as &rong 8.t hard to discover &hat 5 lice 8elieved the pro8le/ &as t hat she co.ldn9 t 8e .nderst ood or heard5 She &as /onit oring t he &rong part of t he action se<.ence:she had a pro8le/ of level5 ctions can 8e specified at /any different levels5 S.ppose , &ere driving /y car to t he 8an75 t any given /o/ent 6 t he action 8eing perfor/ed co.ld 8e descri8ed at /any different levels: F *riving to the 8an7 F T.rning into the par7ing lot F =a7ing a right t.rn F $otating the steering &heel cloc7&ise F =oving /y left hand .p&ard and to the right and /y right hand do&n&ard F ,ncreasing the tension on the sternocostal portion of the pectoralis /a4or /.scle ll these levels are active at t he sa/e ti/e5 The /ost glo8al descrip0 tion Cthe one at t he top of t he listD6 is called t he high0level specification5 The /ore detailed descriptions6 t he ones at t he 8ot t o/ of t he list6 are called t he lo&0level specifications5 ny one of t he/ /ight 8e in error5 "IHE: To Err Is 6u!an ... ,t is often possi8le to detect that the res.lt of an action is not as planned6 8.t then not to 7no& at &hich level of specification the error has ta7en place5 Pro8le/s of level co//only th&art the correction of error5 =y collection of slips incl.des several exa/ples in &hich a person detects a pro8le/ 8.t atte/pts to correct it at the &rong level5 One fre-uent e4a!ple is the non1&or$ing $ey, reported to !e #oth for cars and ho!es. 8o!eone goes to his or her car and the $ey &on't &or$. The first response is to try again, perhaps holding the $ey !ore level or straight. Then the $ey is reversed, tried upside do&n. ;hen that fails, the $ey is e4a!ined and perhaps another tried in its stead. Then the door is &iggled, sha$en, hit. "inally, the person decides that the loc$ has #ro$en, and &al$s around the car to try the other door, at &hich point it is suddenly clear that this is the &rong car. ,n all the sit.ations , have exa/ined the error correction /echanis/ see/s to start at the lo&est possi8le level and slo&ly &or7s its &ay higher5 Whether this is .niversally tr.e , do not 7no&6 8.t the hypoth0 esis &arrants f.rther exa/ination5 DE%?.N LE%%6N% F!6+ THE %T7D@ 6F %L?$% T&o different 7inds of design lessons can 8e dra&n6 one for preventing slips 8efore they occ.r and one for detecting and correcting the/ &hen they do occ.r5 ,n general6 the sol.tions follo& directly fro/ the preced0 ing analyses5 (or exa/ple6 /ode errors are /ini/i>ed 8y /ini/i>ing /odes6 or at least 8y /a7ing /odes visi8le5 Cars provide a n./8er of exa/ples of ho& design relates to error5 variety of fl.ids are re<.ired in the engine co/part/ent of an a.to0 /o8ile: engine oil6 trans/ission oil6 8ra7e fl.id6 &indshield &asher sol.tion6 radiator coolant6 8attery &ater5 P.tting the &rong fl.id into a reservoir co.ld lead to serio.s da/age or even an accident5 .to/o0 8ile /an.fact.rers try to /ini/i>e these errors Ca co/8ination of de0 scription and /ode errorsD 8y /a7ing the different co/part/ents loo7 different:.sing different shapes and different0si>e openings:and 8y adding color to the fl.ids so that they can 8e disting.ished5 #ere design 8y and large prevents errors5 ;.t6 .nfort.nately6 designers see/ to prefer to enco.rage the/5 ((- The Design of Everyday Things I &as in a ta4i in %ustin, Te4as, ad!iring the large nu!#er of ne& devices in front of the driver. *o !ore si!ple radio. In its place &as a co!puter display, so that !essages fro! the dispatcher &ere no& printed on the screen. The driver too$ great delight in de!onstrating all the features to !e. On the radio trans!itter I sa& four identical1 loo$ing #uttons laid out in a ro&. +Oh,+ I said, +you have four different radio channels.+ +*ope, +he replied, +three. The fourth #utton resets all the settings. Then it ta$es !e thirty !inutes to get everything all set up properly again.+ +6!!,+ I said, +I #et you hit that every no& and then #y accident.+ +I certainly do,+ he replied 0in his o&n unprinta#le &ords2. ,n co/p.ter syste/s6 it is co//on to prevent errors 8y re<.iring confir/ation 8efore a co//and &ill 8e exec.ted6 especially &hen the action &ill destroy a file5 ;.t t he re<.est is ill ti/ed? it co/es 4.st after the person has initiated t he action and is still f.lly content &i t h the choice5 The standard interaction goes so/ething li7e this: )SE$: $e/ove file 3=y0/ost0i/portant0&or75 3 CO=P)TE$: re yo. certain yo. &ish to re/ove the file 3=y0/ost 0 i/portant0&or73@ )SE$: Aes5 CO=P)TE$: re yo. certain@ )SE$: Aes6 of co.rse5 CO=P)TE$: The file 3=y0/ost0i/portant0&or73 has 8een re/oved5 )SE$: Oops6 da/n5 The .ser has re<.ested deletion of the &rong file 8.t t he co/p.ter9 s re<.est for confir/ation is .nli7ely to catch the error? the .ser is confir/ing t he action6 not the file na/e5 Th.s as7ing for confir/ation cannot catch all slips5 ,t &o.l d 8e /ore appropriate to eli/inate irrever0 si8le actions: in this exa/ple6 t he re<.est to re/ove a file &o.l d 8e handled 8y t he co/p.t er9 s /ovi ng t he file t o so/e te/porary holding place5 Then t he .ser &o.l d have ti/e for reconsideration and recovery5 %t a research la#oratory I once directed, &e discovered that people &ould fre-uently thro& a&ay their records and notes, only to discover the ne4t day that they needed the! again. ;e solved the pro#le! #y getting seven trash cans and la#eling the! &ith the days of the &ee$. "IHE: TO Err Is 6u!an 11! Then the trash can la#eled ;ednesday &ould #e used only on ;ednesdays. %t the end of the day it &as safely stored a&ay and not e!ptied until the ne4t Tuesday, /ust #efore it &as to #e used again. People discovered that they $ept neater records and #oo$s #ecause they no longer hesitated to thro& a&ay things that they thought &ould pro#a#ly never #e used againD they figured it &as safe to thro& so!e1 thing a&ay, for they still had a &ee$ in &hich to change their !inds. >ut design is often a tradeoff. ;e had to !a$e roo! for the si4 reserve &aste1#as$ets, and &e had a never1ending struggle &ith the /anitorial staff, &ho $ept trying to e!pty all of the &aste1#as$ets every evening. The users of the co!puter center ca!e to depend upon the +soft+ nature of the &aste1#as$ets and &ould discard things that they other&ise !ight have $ept for a &hile longer. ;hen there &as an error:so!eti!es on the part of the /anitorial staff, so!eti!es on our part in cycling the &aste1#as$ets properly:then it &as a cala!ity. ;hen you #uild an error1tolerant !echanis!, people co!e to rely upon it, so it had #etter #e relia#le. =ista7e Errors of Tho. =ista7es res.lt fro/ the choice of inappropriate goals5 person /a7es a poor decision6 /isclassifies a sit.ation6 or fails to ta7e all the relevant factors into acco.nt5 =any /ista7es arise fro/ the vagaries of h./an tho.ght6 often 8eca.se people tend to rely .pon re/e/8ered experi0 ences rather than on /ore syste/atic analysis5 We /a7e decisions 8ased .pon &hat is in o.r /e/ory? /e/ory is 8iased to&ard overgen0 erali>ation and overreg.lari>ation of the co//onplace and overe/0 phasis on the discrepant5 SO=E =O*EHS O( #)=N T#O)G#T Psychologists have chronicled the fail.res of tho.ght6 the nonrational0 ity of real 8ehavior5 Even si/ple tas7s can so/eti/es thro& other&ise clever people into disarray5 Even tho.gh principles of rationality see/ as often violated as follo&ed6 &e still cling to the notion that h./an tho.ght sho.ld 8e rational6 logical6 and orderly5 =.ch of la& is 8ased .pon the concept of rational tho.ght and 8ehavior5 =.ch of econo/ic theory is 8ased .pon the /odel of the rational h./an &ho atte/pts 11" The Design of Everyday Things to opti/i>e personal 8enefit6 .tility6 or co/fort5 =any scientists &ho st.dy artificial intelligence .se the /athe/atics of for/al logic:the predicate calc.l.s:as their /a4or tool to si/.late tho.ght5 ;.t h./an tho.ght:and its close relatives6 pro8le/ solving and planning:see/ /ore rooted in past experience than in logical ded.c0 tion5 =ental life is not neat and orderly5 ,t does not proceed s/oothly and gracef.lly in neat6 logical for/5 ,nstead6 it hops6 s7ips6 and 4./ps its &ay fro/ idea to idea6 tying together things that have no 8.siness 8eing p.t together? for/ing ne& creative leaps6 ne& insights and con0 cepts5 #./an tho.ght is not li7e logic? it is f.nda/entally different in 7ind and in spirit5 The difference is neither &orse nor 8etter5 ;.t it is the difference that leads to creative discovery and to great ro8.stness of 8ehavior5 Tho.ght and /e/ory are closely related6 for tho.ght relies heavily .pon the experiences of life5 ,ndeed6 /.ch pro8le/ solving and deci0 sion /a7ing ta7es place thro.gh atte/pts to re/e/8er so/e previ0 o.s experience that can serve as a g.ide for the present5 There have 8een /any theories of h./an /e/ory5 (or exa/ple6 every /ethod of filing things has sho&n .p so/e&here along the line as a /odel for h./an /e/ory5 *o yo. file photographs neatly in a scrap8oo7@ One theory of /e/ory has post.lated that o.r experiences are neatly encoded and organi>ed6 as if in a photo al8./5 This theory is &rong5 #./an /e/ory is /ost definitely not li7e a set of photographs or a tape recording5 ,t /.shes things together too /.ch6 conf.ses one event &ith another6 co/8ines different events6 and leaves o.t parts of individ.al events5 nother theory is 8ased on the filing ca8inet /odel6 &herein there are lots of cross references and pointers to other records5 This theory has a good deal going for it6 and it is pro8a8ly a reasona8le characteri0 >ation of the /ost pro/inent approach today5 Of co.rse6 it is not called a file ca8inet theory5 ,t goes 8y the na/es of 3sche/a theory63 3fra/e theory63 or so/eti/es 3se/antic net&or7s3 and 3propositional encod0 ing53 The individ.al file folders are defined in the for/al str.ct.re of the sche/as or fra/es6 and the connections and associations a/ong the individ.al records /a7e the str.ct.re into a vast and co/plex net&or75 The essence of the theory consists of three 8eliefs6 all reasona8le and s.pported 8y considera8le evidence: C1D that there is logic and order to the individ.al str.ct.res Cthis is &hat the sche/a or fra/e is a8o.tD? C2D that h./an /e/ory is associative6 &ith each sche/a pointing and referring to /.ltiple others to &hich it is related or that help define the "IHE: To Err Is 6u!an 11' co/ponents Cth.s the ter/ 3net&or73D? and C!D that /.ch of o.r po&er for ded.ctive tho.ght co/es fro/ .sing the infor/ation in one sche/a to ded.ce the properties of another Cth.s the ter/ 3prepositional en0 coding3D5 I To ill.strate the third concept: once , learn that all living ani/als 8reathe6 , 7no& that any live ani/al , &ill ever /eet &ill 8reathe5 , don9t have to learn this separately for all ani/als5 We call this the 3defa.lt val.e53 )nless told other&ise6 anything , learn for a gen0 eral concept applies to all of its instances 8y defa.lt5 *efa.lt val.es do not have to apply to everything:, can learn exceptions6 s.ch as that all 8irds fly except for peng.ins and ostriches5 ;.t defa.lts hold tr.e .nless an exception sho&s other&ise5 *ed.ction is a /ost .sef.l and po&erf.l property of h./an /e/ory5 T#E CONNECT,ON,ST PP$OC# We still are a long &ay fro/ .nderstanding h./an /e/ory and cogni0 tion5 Today6 in the developing field of cognitive science6 t&o different vie&s are e/erging5 The traditional vie& considers tho.ght to 8e ratio0 nal6 logical6 and orderly? this approach .ses /athe/atical logic as the scientific /eans to explain tho.ght5 dherents of this approach have pioneered the develop/ent of sche/as as the /echanis/ of h./an /e/ory5 ne&er approach is rooted in the &or7ing of the 8rain itself5 Those of .s &ho follo& this ne& approach call it 3connectionis/63 8.t it also goes .nder the na/es of 3ne.ral nets63 3ne.ral /odels63 and 3parallel distri8.ted processing53 ,t is an atte/pt to /odel the &ay in &hich the 8rain itself is str.ct.red6 &ith 8illions of 8rain cells con0 nected into gro.ps6 /any cells connected to tens of tho.sands of oth0 ers6 /any all &or7ing at the sa/e ti/e5 This approach follo&s the r.les of ther/odyna/ics /ore than it does the r.les of logic5 Connectionis/ is still tentative6 still .nproven5 , 8elieve that it has the potential to explain /.ch of &hat p.>>led .s 8efore6 8.t part of the scientific co//.nity thin7s that it is f.nda/entally fla&ed5 1 The 8rain consists of 8illions of nerve cells:ne.rons:each con0 nected to tho.sands of other cells5 Each ne.ron sends si/ple signals to the ne.rons to &hich it is connected6 each signal atte/pting to increase or decrease the activity of its recipient5 The connectionist approach to the st.dy of tho.ght /i/ics these connections5 Each connectionist .nit is connected to /any other .nits5 The signals are either positive in val.e Ccalled 3activation3 signalsD or negative in val.e Ccalled 3inhi8i0 11I The Design of Everyday Things tion3D5 Each .nit adds .p the total infl.ence of the signals that it receives and then sends along its o.t&ard connections a signal &hose val.e is a f.nction of that s./5 That9s a8o.t all there is to it5 The ele/ents are all si/ple: the co/plexity and po&er co/e fro/ the fact that there are a large n./8er of interconnected .nits trying to infl.ence the activities of the others5 ll this interconnection leads to /assive interaction a/ong the .nits6 &ith the signals so/eti/es leading to fights and conflicts6 so/eti/es to cooperation and sta8ility5 fter a &hile6 ho&ever6 the syste/ of interconnected .nits &ill event.ally settle do&n to a sta8le state that represents a co/pro/ise a/ong the opposing forces5 Tho.ghts are represented 8y sta8le patterns of activity5 Ne& tho.ghts are triggered &henever there is so/e change in the syste/6 oftenti/es 8eca.se so/e ne& infor/ation arrives at the senses and changes the pattern of activation and inhi8ition5 We can thin7 of the interactions as the co/p.tational part of tho.ght: &hen one set of .nits sends signals activating another6 this can 8e interpreted as offering s.pport for a cooperative interpretation of events? &hen one set of .nits sends signals s.ppressing another6 it is 8eca.se the t&o .s.ally offer co/peting interpretations5 The res.lt of all this s.pport and co/0 petition is a co/pro/ise: not the correct interpretation6 si/ply one that is as consistent as possi8le &ith all possi8ilities .nder active considera0 tion5 This approach s.ggests that /.ch of tho.ght res.lts fro/ a 7ind of pattern /atching syste/6 one that forces its sol.tions to 8e analo0 go.s to past experiences6 and one that does not necessarily follo& the for/al r.les of logical inference5 The relaxation of interacting connectionist str.ct.res into patterns happens relatively <.ic7ly and a.to/atically6 8elo& the s.rface of conscio.sness5 We are conscio.s only of the end states6 not of the /eans for getting there5 s a res.lt6 in this vie& of the /ind6 o.r explanations of o.r o&n 8ehavior are al&ays s.spect6 for they a/o.nt to stories /ade .p after the fact to explain the tho.ghts that &e already have5 =.ch of o.r 7no&ledge is hidden 8eneath the s.rface of o.r /inds6 inaccessi8le to conscio.s inspection5 We discover o.r o&n 7no&ledge pri/arily thro.gh o.r actions5 We can also find o.t 8y testing o.r0 selves6 8y trying to retrieve exa/ples fro/ /e/ory:self0generated exa/ples5 Thin7 of an exa/ple6 then thin7 of another exa/ple5 (ind a story that explains the/5 Then &e 8elieve that story and call it the reason or explanation for o.r 8ehavior5 The pro8le/ is that the story "IHE: To Err Is 6u!an ..1 changes dra/atically depending .pon &hat exa/ples &e select5 nd the exa/ples &e select depend .pon a large set of factors6 so/e .nder o.r control6 so/e not5 The connectionist approach to /e/ory /ight also 8e called the 3/.ltiple0expos.re3 theory of /e/ory5 8uppose, un#e$no&nst to you, your ca!era #ro$e so that the fil! &ouldn't &ind. Every picture you too$ &ent right on top of all the others. If you had ta$en pictures of different scenes, you !ight still #e a#le to !a$e out the individual parts. >ut suppose you had ta$en a picture of a high1school graduating class, one person at a ti!e. Each person too$ a turn sitting in the chair in front of the fi4ed ca!eraD each s!iledD each had a picture ta$en. %fter&ard, &hen you developed the fil!, you &ould find /ust one picture, a co!posite of all those faces. %ll the individual records &ould still #e there, #ut on top of one another, difficult to separate out. (ou'd have the average high1school graduate. Thro& everything into /e/ory on top of one another5 That is a cr.de approxi/ation of the connectionist approach to /e/ory5 ct.0 ally6 things aren9t thro&n together .ntil after a lot of processing has gone on5 nd /e/ory isn9t really li7e a /.ltiple expos.re5 Still6 this is not a 8ad characteri>ation of the connectionist approach5 Consider &hat happens &hen t&o si/ilar events are experienced: they /erge together to for/ a 7ind of average6 a 3prototypical event53 This prototype governs interpretations and actions related to any other event that see/s si/ilar5 What happens &hen so/ething really dis0 crepant occ.rs@ ,f it is <.ite different fro/ the prototype6 it still /an0 ages to /aintain its identity &hen thro&n into /e/ory5 ,t stands o.t 8y itself5 ,f there &ere a tho.sand si/ilar events6 &e &o.ld tend to re/e/8er the/ as one co/posite prototype5 ,f there &ere 4.st one discrepant event6 &e &o.ld re/e/8er it6 too6 for 8y 8eing discrepant it didn9t get s/.dged .p &ith the rest5 ;.t the res.lting /e/ory is al/ost as if there had 8een only t&o events: the co//on one and the discrepant one5 The co//on one is a tho.sand ti/es /ore li7ely6 8.t not to the /e/ory? in /e/ory there are t&o things6 and the discrepant event hardly see/s less li7ely than the everyday one5 So it is &ith h./an /e/ory5 We /.sh together details of things that are si/ilar6 and give .nd.e &eight to the discrepant5 We relish discrepant and .n.s.al /e/ories5 We re/e/8er the/6 tal7 a8o.t 11+ The Design of Everyday Things the/6 and 8ias 8ehavior to&ard the/ in &holly inappropriate &ays5 What has this to do &ith everyday tho.ght@ lot5 Everyday tho.ght see/s to 8e 8ased .pon past experiences6 .pon o.r a8ility to retrieve an event fro/ the past and .se it to /odel the present5 This event0 8ased reasoning is po&erf.l6 yet f.nda/entally fla&ed5 ;eca.se tho.ght is 8ased on &hat can 8e recalled6 the rare event can predo/i0 nate5 Thin7 a8o.t it5 Thin7 of yo.r experiences &ith co/p.ters6 or -C$s6 or ho/e appliances? &hat pro8a8ly co/e to /ind are the .n.s.al experiences6 things that are discrepant5 ,t doesn9t /atter that yo. /ay have .sed the device a h.ndred ti/es s.ccessf.lly:it is the one ti/e yo. got e/8arrassed that &ill co/e to /ind5 + The li/itations of h./an tho.ght processes have i/portant i/0 plications for everyday activities6 and in fact can 8e called in to distin0 g.ish everyday activities fro/ others5 The Str.ct.re of Tas7s Everyday activities are concept.ally si/ple5 We sho.ld 8e a8le to do /ost things &itho.t having to thin7 a8o.t &hat &e9re doing5 The si/plicity lies in the nat.re of the str.ct.re of the tas7s5 :?DE AND DEE$ %T!7T7!E% Consider the ga/e of chess6 an activity that is neither everyday nor si/ple6 at least6 not for /ost of .s5 When it is /y t.rn to play6 , have a n./8er of possi8le /oves5 (or each of /y /oves6 /y opponent has a n./8er of possi8le responses5 nd for each of /y opponent9s re0 sponses6 , have a n./8er of possi8le co.nterresponses5 The se<.ences can 8e represented on a decision tree6 a diagra/ that in this case ta7es the c.rrent 8oard position as a starting point and sho&s each of /y possi8le /oves6 each of the possi8le co.nter/oves6 each possi8le co.nter0co.nter /ove6 each possi8le co.nter0co.nter0co.nter /ove6 and so on6 as deep as ti/e and energy per/it5 The si>e of the tree for chess is i//ense6 for the n./8er of choices increases exponentially5 S.ppose that at each spot there are + possi8le /oves5 t that spot , /.st consider + initial /oves for /e6 + O + K I" replies of /y opponent6 I" O + K '12 replies , can /a7e6 '12 O + K "602I possi8le replies 8y /y opponent6 and then "602I O + K !261I+ /ore possi8ili0 "IHE: To Err Is 6u!an 112 8)' :ide and Dee" Decision Tree) The ga/e of tic0tac0toe Cna.ghts and crossesD5 The tree starts at the top6 &ith the initial state6 then deepens as each s.ccessive layer considers all the alternative /oves 8y each player5 ltho.gh this diagra/ loo7s a 8it co/plex6 it is a pretty si/ple str.ct.re as these things go5 (irst of all6 this pict.re is /.ch si/plified5 Only one possi8le first /ove 8y 0 is sho&n6 and the sy//etry of the 8oard is .sed to red.ce the n./8er of alternatives 8eing considered5 COnly t&o first /oves 8y O need 8e considered: the eight possi8ilities are really e<.ivalent to the t&o sho&n 8eca.se of the sy//etry5D ,n the f.ll ga/e6 there are nine possi8le first /oves for 06 eight possi8le replies 8y O6 seven second /oves 8y 06 and so on6 .p to the third /ove 8y 06 &hich is the first possi8le ti/e for the ga/e to 8e &on? there are 1'6120 possi8le se<.ences .p to that point5 Even this si/ple ga/e leads to s.ch a &ide and deep decision tree that it is not possi8le to &or7 o.t all the possi8ilities in the head5 Expert players ta7e advantage of si/ple strategies and /e/ori>ed /ove se<.ences5 C(ro/ 6u!an Infor!ation Processing, Sec0 ond Edition6 8y Peter #5 Hindsay and *onald 5 Nor/an6 copyright J 1211 8y #arco.rt ;race Bovanovich6 ,nc5 $eprinted 8y per/ission of the p.8lisher5D (-< The Design of Everyday Things ties for /e5 s yo. can see6 the decision tree gets large rapidly: loo7ing ahead five /oves /eans considering over =0,000 possi8ilities5 The tree is characteri>ed 8y a vast6 spreading net&or7 of possi8ilities5 There isn9t space here for the decision tree for chess5 ;.t even a si/ple ga/e li7e tic0tac0toe Cor na.ghts and crossesD has a si/ilar str.ct.re6 sho&n in fig.re '515 That decision tree for chess is even &ider and deeper:&ide in the sense that at each point in the tree there are /any alternatives6 so that the tree spreads o.t over a considera8le area? deep in the sense that /ost 8ranches of the tree go on for a considera8le distance5 Everyday activities don9t re<.ire the 7ind of co/plex analyses re0 <.ired for so/ething li7e chess5 ,n /ost everyday activities6 &e need only exa/ine the alternatives and act5 Everyday str.ct.res are either shallo& or narro&5 2 S#HHOW ST$)CT)$ES The /en. of an ice crea/ store provides a good exa/ple of a shallo& str.ct.re Cfig.re '52D5 There are /any alternative actions6 8.t each is si/ple? there are fe& decisions to /a7e after the single top0level choice5 The /a4or pro8le/ is to decide &hich action to do5 *iffic.lties arise fro/ co/peting alternatives6 not fro/ any prolonged search6 pro8le/ solving6 or trial and error5 ,n shallo& str.ct.res6 there9s no pro8le/ of planning or depth of analysis5 N$$OW ST$)CT)$ES coo78oo7 recipe is a good exa/ple of a narro& str.ct.re Cfig.re K.=2. narro& str.ct.re arises &hen there are only a s/all n./8er of alternatives6 perhaps one or t&o5 ,f each possi8ility leads to only one or t&o f.rther choices6 then the res.lting tree str.ct.re can 8e said to 8e narro& and deep5 B.st as the ice crea/ store /en. is an exa/ple of a shallo& str.ct.re6 the /.ltico.rse6 fixed /en. /eal can serve as an exa/ple of a deep str.ct.re5 ltho.gh there /ay 8e /any co.rses6 for each co.rse the diner is either a.to/atically served the relevant dish or offered the choice of one or t&o dishes5 The only action re<.ired is to accept one or to ref.se: no deep tho.ght is re<.ired5 "IHE: To Err Is 6u!an 121 '52 Wide and Shallo& *ecision Tree5 lot of alternatives6 8.t after the first decision6 fe& or no f.rther decisions5 ,n this /en. fro/ an ice crea/ parlor6 there are /any choices6 8.t once the flavor has 8een chosen6 the re/aining decisions are si/ple:&hat 7ind of cone6 ho& /any scoops6 and &hat 7ind of topping5 CPhoto0 graph 8y the a.thor of a sign at a ;as7in0$o88ins store5D not her exa/ple is t he se<.ence of steps re<.ired to start a car5 Ao. /.st go to t he car6 select t he proper 7ey6 insert it in t he door loc76 t .rn t he 7ey6 open t he door6 re/ove t he 7ey6 get int o t he car6 close t he door6 p.t on t he seat8elt6 insert t he proper 7ey into t he ignition6 /a7e s.re 122 The Design of Everyday Things 203 C+45-..) S1+ B+,, Sa'te onion an) +arlic. Heat ? /ottles o& /eer to /oilin+. 2lace sea /ass in -an. 2o'r /eer o0er &ish. A)) onion, +arlic, an) m'shrooms. A)) @ hole +arlic clo0es, 'n-eele) A)) cilantro. 2oach &or <A min'tes (a--ro*.! Remo0e &ish &rom -an. Re)'ce stock o0er hi+h heat. 2't /ron rice on ser0in+ -late. 2lace &ish o0er rice. Co0er &ish ith stock an) Bn) Cale-eno sa'ce. 8)2 Dee" and Narro& Decision Tree) (e& decisions need 8e /ade at any level6 8.t to co/plete the tas76 /any steps ClevelsD /.st 8e follo&ed5 This decision str.ct.re is characteristic of any tas7 that has a large n./8er of steps6 each of &hich is relatively straightfor&ard5 n exa/ple is the steps re<.ired to follo& a recipe6 s.ch as /y favorite fish recipe5 the car is not in gear6 start the engine6 and so on5 This is a deep str.ct.re6 8.t it is narro&5 There is a long series of steps6 8.t at each point6 there are fe&6 if any6 alternatives to consider5 ny tas7 that involves a se<.ence of activities &here the action to 8e done at any point is deter/ined 8y its place in the se<.ence is an exa/ple of a narro& str.ct.re5 The /odern s.perhigh&ay offers the driver a series of exits5 The driver either starts on the road &ith a predeter/ined exit in /ind or else /.st decide at each exit &hether to stay on the road or not5 ,n fact6 road designers atte/pt to lineari>e and si/plify the decision0/a7ing tas7s of the driver: the relevant infor/ation is fed slo&ly and se<.en0 tially to the driver to /ini/i>e the /ental &or7load and the need for overlapping processing5 "ree&ay design is #y no& a science, &ith a &ell1defined set of procedures and &ith societies, #oo$s, and /ournals devoted to it. Dif1 ferent countries of the &orld have reached different solutions to the pro#le! of guiding the driver. % rather co!plete analysis &as done in >ritain for the design of the = series !otor&ays. Each !otor&ay e4it has a carefully progra!!ed se-uence of si4 signs. The first precedes the e4it #y one !ile and is 203 6+.1710) S+891 Cho- < lar+e onion. 2eel an) cho- ; tomatillos. Slice ? Cala-eno chiles len+thise. 2eel an) ='arter ? tomatoes. 2lace onion, tomatillos, chile, an) tomatoes in sa'ce -an. Co0er ith < c'- re) ine. Simmer &or <D min'tes to ? ho'rs (the lon+er the mil)er!. A)) cilantro. Ser0e. "IHE: To Err Is 6u!an (-2 intended to serve an alerting function, as &ell as to present route nu!#er infor!ation. The second precedes the e4it #y a half !ile and gives the !a/or to&ns reached #y the e4it 0#ut no route nu!#er infor1 !ation2. The third precedes the e4it #y a -uarter !ile and adds the +for&ard destination+ 0&here you eventually get to if you don't e4it2. The fourth sign is at the e4it and provides !a/or route nu!#ers and a fe& to&n na!es. The fifth sign is on the !otor&ay #eyond the e4itD it is intended to play a +confir!atory+ role: it displays the for&ard destinations and their distances. The si4th sign is on the e4it ra!p, in colors the reverse of all the preceding signsD it sho&s all the local destinations, usually on a !ap of the rounda#out 0traffic circle2 found at !ost e4its. 10 THE NAT7!E 6F EFE!@DA@ TA%E% =ost tas7s of daily life are ro.tine6 re<.iring little tho.ght or plan0 ning:things li7e 8athing and dressing6 8r.shing teeth6 eating at the ta8le6 getting to &or76 /eeting &ith friends6 going to the theater5 These are the daily activities that occ.py /ost of o.r ti/e6 and there are /any of the/5 Aet each6 8y itself6 is relatively si/ple: either shallo& or narro&5 What are not everyday activities@ Those &ith &ide and deep str.c0 t.res6 the ones that re<.ire considera8le conscio.s planning and tho.ght6 deli8erate trial and error: trying first this approach6 then that:8ac7trac7ing5 )n.s.al tas7s incl.de &riting a long doc./ent or letter6 /a7ing a /a4or or co/plex p.rchase6 co/p.ting inco/e tax6 planning a special /eal6 arranging a vacation trip5 nd don9t forget intellect.al ga/es: 8ridge6 chess6 po7er6 cross&ord p.>>les6 and so on5 The tas7s /ost fre<.ently st.died 8y psychologists are not everyday tas7s5 They are things li7e chess or alge8raic p.>>les6 &hich re<.ire /.ch tho.ght and effort? 8.t indeed6 these p.rs.its have 4.st the sort of &ide and deep str.ct.res that do not characteri>e everyday activi0 ties5 ,n general6 &e find &ide and deep str.ct.res in ga/es and leis.re activities6 &here the str.ct.re is devised so as to occ.py the /ind or to /a7e the tas7 deli8erately Cand artificiallyD diffic.lt5 fter all6 &hat challenge &o.ld there 8e if ga/es s.ch as chess or 8ridge &ere concep0 t.ally si/ple@ #o& &o.ld interest in a /ystery novel:or any novel for that /atter:8e s.stained if the plot &ere straightfor&ard and the 12" The Design of Everyday Things ans&ers readily ded.cti8le@ $ecreational activities should 8e &ide and deep6 for &e do the/ &hen &e have the ti/e and &ish to expend the effort5 ,n the everyday &orld6 &e &ant to get on &ith the i/portant things of life6 not spend o.r ti/e in deep tho.ght atte/pting to open a can of food or dial a telephone n./8er5 Everyday activities /.st .s.ally 8e done relatively <.ic7ly6 often si/.ltaneo.sly &ith other activities5 Neither ti/e nor /ental reso.rces /ay 8e availa8le5 s a res.lt6 everyday activities str.ct.re the/selves so as to /ini/i>e conscio.s /ental activity6 &hich /eans they /.st /ini/i>e planning Cand especially any planning &ith extensive loo7ing ahead and 8ac7ing .pD and /ental co/p.tation5 These characteristics restrict everyday tas7s to those that are shallo& Chaving no need for extensive loo7ing ahead and 8ac7ing .pD and those that are narro& Chaving fe& choices at any point6 and therefore re<.iring little plan0 ningD5 ,f the str.ct.re is shallo&6 &idth is not i/portant5 ,f the str.ct.re is narro&6 depth is not i/portant5 ,n either case6 the /ental effort re<.ired for doing the tas7 is /ini/i>ed5 Conscio.s and S.8conscio.s ;ehavior =.ch h./an 8ehavior is done s.8conscio.sly6 &itho.t conscio.s a&areness and not availa8le to inspection5 The exact relationship 8e0 t&een conscio.s and s.8conscio.s tho.ght is still .nder great de8ate5 The res.lting scientific p.>>les are co/plex and not easily solved5 S.8conscio.s tho.ght /atches patterns5 ,t operates6 , 8elieve6 8y finding the 8est possi8le /atch of one9s past experience to the c.rrent one5 ,t proceeds rapidly and a.to/atically6 &itho.t effort5 S.80 conscio.s processing is one of o.r strengths5 ,t is good at detecting general trends6 at recogni>ing the relationship 8et&een &hat &e no& experience and &hat has happened in the past5 nd it is good at generali>ing6 at /a7ing predictions a8o.t the general trend 8ased on fe& exa/ples5 ;.t s.8conscio.s tho.ght can find /atches that are inappropriate6 or &rong6 and it /ay not disting.ish the co//on fro/ the rare5 S.8conscio.s tho.ght is 8iased to&ard reg.larity and str.c0 t.re6 and it is li/ited in for/al po&er5 ,t /ay not 8e capa8le of sy/0 8olic /anip.lation6 of caref.l reasoning thro.gh a se<.ence of steps5 Conscio.s tho.ght is <.ite different5 ,t is slo& and la8ored5 #ere is &here &e slo&ly ponder decisions6 thin7 thro.gh alternatives6 co/pare different choices5 Conscio.s tho.ght ponders first this approach6 then "IHE: To Err Is 6u!an 12' that:co/paring6 rationali>ing6 finding explanations5 (or/al logic6 /athe/atics6 decision theory: these are the tools of conscio.s tho.ght5 ;oth conscio.s and s.8conscio.s /odes of tho.ght are po&erf.l and essential aspects of h./an life5 ;oth can provide insightf.l leaps and creative /o/ents5 nd 8oth are s.84ect to errors6 /isconceptions6 and fail.res5 Conscio.s tho.ght tends to 8e slo& and serial5 Conscio.s processing see/s to involve short0ter/ /e/ory and is there8y li/ited in the a/o.nt that can 8e readily availa8le5 Try conscio.sly to solve the children9s ga/e called tic0tac0toe or na.ghts and crosses and yo. &ill discover that yo. can9t6 not if yo. try to explore all the alternatives5 #o& can , clai/ that a trivial children9s ga/e cannot 8e done in the head@ ;eca.se yo. don9t really play 8y thin7ing it thro.gh? yo. play 8y /e/ori>ing the patterns6 8y transfor/ing the ga/e into so/ething si/pler5 Try playing the follo&ing ga/e: 8tart &ith the nine nu!#ers ., 2, =6 @, K, ?, C, J, and B. (ou and your opponent alternate turns, each ti!e ta$ing a nu!#er. Each nu!#er can #e ta$en only once, so if your opponent has selected a nu!#er, you cannot also ta$e it. The first person to have any three nu!#ers that total .K &ins the ga!e. This is a difficult ga!e. (ou &ill find it is very hard to play &ithout &riting it do&n. >ut this ga!e is identical to tic1tac1toe. ;hy should it #e hard if tic1tac1toe is easy) To see the relationship #et&een the ga!e of .K and tic1tac1toe, si!ply arrange the nine digits into the follo&ing pattern: J . ? = K C @ B 2 *o& you can see the connection: any three nu!#ers that solve the .K pro#le! also solve tic1tac1toe. %nd any tic1tac1toe solution is also a solution to .K. 8o &hy is one easy and the other hard) >ecause tic1tac1 toe ta$es advantage of perceptual a#ilities, and #ecause you si!plify tic1tac1toe #y changing it in several &ays, #y ta$ing advantage of sy!!etries, and #y !e!ori7ing 0+learning+2 the #asic opening !oves and their appropriate responses. In the end, unless so!eone !a$es a slip, t&o players &ill al&ays dra&, neither one &inning. The transfor!ations of tic1tac1toe have !ade a co!ple4 tas$ into an 12I The Design of Everyday Things everyday one5 The everyday version doesn9t re<.ire /.ch /ental ef0 fort6 it does not re<.ire planning and thin7ing6 and it is 8oring5 Which is exactly &hat everyday tas7s o.ght to 8e:8oring6 so that &e can p.t o.r conscio.s attention on the i/portant things of life6 not the ro.tine5 Conscio.s tho.ght is severely li/ited 8y the s/all capacity of short0 ter/ /e/ory5 (ive or six ite/s is all that can 8e 7ept availa8le at any one /o/ent5 ;.t s.8conscio.s tho.ght is one of the tools of the conscio.s /ind6 and the /e/ory li/itation can 8e overco/e if only an appropriate organi>ational str.ct.re can 8e fo.nd5 Ta7e fifteen .n0 related things and it is not possi8le to 7eep the/ in conscio.s /e/ory at once5 Organi>e the/ into a str.ct.re and it is easy6 for only that one str.ct.re has to 8e 7ept in conscio.s /e/ory5 s a res.lt of this po&er of organi>ation to overco/e the li/its of &or7ing /e/ory6 explana0 tion and .nderstanding 8eco/e essential co/ponents of conscio.s tho.ght: &ith .nderstanding and explanation6 the n./8er of things that can 8e 7ept conscio.sly in /ind expands enor/o.sly5 No& consider ho& /ista7es /ight 8e /ade: 8y /is/atch? 8y ta7ing the c.rrent sit.ation and falsely /atching it &ith so/ething in the past5 ltho.gh &e are really good at finding exa/ples fro/ the past to /atch the present6 these exa/ples are 8iased in one of t&o &ays: to&ard the reg.larities of the past:the prototypical sit.ation:or to0 &ard the .ni<.e6 discrepant event5 ;.t s.ppose the c.rrent event is different fro/ all that has 8een experienced 8efore: it is neither co/0 /on nor .ni<.e6 it is si/ply rare5 We &on9t deal &ell &ith it: &e are apt to classify the rare &ith either the co//on or the .ni<.e6 and either of these choices is &rong5 The sa/e po&ers that /a7e .s so good at dealing &ith the co//on and the .ni<.e lead to severe error &ith the rare5 EA$LA?N?N. A:A@ E!!6!% % refor!ed thief, telling of his success, put it this &ay: +I'! telling you . . . if I had a hundred dollars for every ti!e I heard a dog o&ner tell their dog to 'shut up... go lie do&n,' &hile I &as right outside their &indo&, I'd #e a !illionaire.+ .. =ista7es6 especially &hen they involve /isinterpreting the sit.a0 tion6 can ta7e a very long ti/e to 8e discovered5 (or one thing6 the interpretation is <.ite reasona8le at the ti/e5 This is a special pro8le/ "IHE: To Err Is 6u!an (-0 in a novel sit.ation5 The sit.ation /ay loo7 very /.ch li7e others &e9ve 8een in? &e tend to conf.se the rare event &ith the fre<.ent one5 #o& /any ti/es have yo. heard a strange noise &hile driving yo.r car6 only to dis/iss it as not relevant6 or .ni/portant@ #o& /any ti/es does yo.r dog 8ar7 in the night6 ca.sing yo. to get .p and yell o.t6 3;e <.ietE3 nd &hat if the car t.rns o.t to 8e 8ro7en6 and yo.r /ista7e has increased the da/age@ Or there really is a 8.rglar o.tside6 8.t yo.9ve silenced the dog@ This pro8le/ is nat.ral5 There are lots of things &e co.ld pay atten0 tion to or &orry a8o.t? /ost &o.ld 8e false alar/s6 irrelevant /inor events5 t the other extre/e6 &e can ignore everything6 rationally explain each apparent ano/aly5 #ear a noise that so.nds li7e a pistol shot and explain it a&ay: 3=.st 8e a car9s exha.st 8ac7firing53 #ear so/eone yell o.t and thin76 Why can9t /y neigh8ors 8e <.iet@ =ost of the ti/e &e are correct5 ;.t &hen &e9re not6 o.r explanations see/ st.pid and hard to 4.stify5 When there is a devastating accident6 people9s explaining a&ay the signs of the i/pending disaster al&ays see/s i/pla.si8le to others5 fter&ard6 there is a tendency to read a8o.t &hat has ta7en place and to critici>e: 3#o& co.ld those people 8e so st.pid@ (ire the/5 Pass a la& against it5 $edo the training53 Hoo7 at the n.clear po&er accidents5 Operators at Three =ile ,sland /ade n./ero.s errors and /isdiag0 noses6 8.t each one &as logical and .nderstanda8le at the ti/e5 The n.clear plant disaster at Cherno8yl in the Soviet )nion &as triggered 8y a &ell0intentioned atte/pt to test the safety feat.res of the plant5 The actions see/ed logical and sensi8le to the operators at the ti/e6 8.t no& their 4.dg/ents can 8e seen to have 8een erroneo.s5 12 Explaining a&ay errors is a co//on pro8le/ in co//ercial acci0 dents5 =ost /a4or accidents follo& a series of 8rea7do&ns and errors6 pro8le/ after pro8le/6 each /a7ing the next /ore li7ely5 Seldo/ does a /a4or accident occ.r &itho.t n./ero.s fail.res: e<.ip/ent /alf.nc0 tions6 .n.s.al events6 a series of apparently .nrelated 8rea7do&ns and errors that c.l/inate in /a4or disaster? yet no single step has appeared to 8e serio.s5 ,n /any of these cases6 the people involved noted the pro8le/ 8.t explained it a&ay6 finding a logical explanation for the other&ise deviant o8servation5 The contrast in our understanding #efore and after an event can #e dra!atic. The psychologist >aruch "ischhoff has studied e4planations given in hindsight, &here events see! co!pletely o#vious and predict1 a#le after the fact #ut co!pletely unpredicta#le #eforehand. 1! 12+ The Design of Everyday Things "ischhoff presented people &ith a nu!#er of situations and as$ed the! to predict &hat &ould happen: they &ere correct only at the chance level. 6e then presented the sa!e situation along &ith the actual outco!e to another group of people, as$ing the! to state ho& li$ely the outco!e &as: &hen the actual outco!e &as $no&n, it ap1 peared to #e plausi#le and li$ely, &hereas the others appeared unli$ely. ;hen the actual outco!e &as not $no&n, the various alternatives had -uite different plausi#ility. It is a lot easier to deter!ine &hat is o#vi1 ous after it has happened. SOC,H P$ESS)$E N* =,ST%ES s.8tle iss.e that see/s to fig.re in /any accidents is social press.re5 ltho.gh it /ay not at first see/ to 8e relevant in design6 it has strong infl.ence on everyday 8ehavior5 ,n ind.strial settings social press.res can lead to /isinterpretation6 /ista7es6 and accidents5 (or .nderstand0 ing /ista7es6 social str.ct.re is every 8it as essential as physical str.c0 t.re5 Hoo7 at airline accidents6 not everyday activities for /ost of .s6 8.t s.84ect to the sa/e principles5 ,n 12+!6 %orean ir flight 001 strayed over the Soviet )nion and got shot do&n6 pro8a8ly 8eca.se of an error in progra//ing the flight path into the inertial navigation syste/ C,NSD5 ltho.gh each chec7point &as discrepant6 apparently the devia0 tions &ere easily explained a&ay if the cre& s.8stit.ted for each point the chec7point reading for the previo.s ,NS point5 ;.t there &ere significant social press.res operating as &ell5 The cre& of flight 001 pro8a8ly /isprogra//ed the ,NS6 8.t the ,NS co.ldn9t 8e reprogra//ed in flight: if an error &ere detected the aircraft &o.ld have to go 8ac7 to the original airport6 land C4ettisoning f.el to get to a safe landing &eightD6 and then reset the ,NS and ta7e off again:an expensive proposition5 Three %orean ir flights had re0 t.rned to their airport in the six /onths preceding the flight 001 incident6 and the airline had told its pilots that the next pilot &ho ret.rned &o.ld 8e p.nished5 Was this a factor in the accident@ ,t9s hard to 7no&6 8.t the design of the ,NS so.nds 8adly deficient5 The social press.res on the cre& not to find Cor ad/it toD an error in the ,NS &ere clearly strong5 ;.t p.nish/ent for follo&ing a safety proced.re is never &ise5 The proper approach &o.ld 8e to redesign either the ,NS9s or the proced.res for .sing the/5 1" The real c.lprit6 al/ost al&ays6 is the design5 *esign that /a7es it "IHE: To Err Is 6u!an 122 easy to /a7e &rong settings6 or to /isread an instr./ent6 or to /isclas0 sify an event5 *esign of the social str.ct.re that /a7es false reporting of danger p.nisha8le5 T.rn a n.clear po&er plant off 8y /ista7e and yo. cost the co/pany h.ndreds of tho.sands of dollars? yo.9ll pro8a0 8ly lose yo.r 4o85 (ail to t.rn it off &hen there is a real incident6 and yo. /ight lose yo.r life5 ,f yo. ref.se to fly a cro&ded airliner 8eca.se the &eather loo7s 8ad6 the co/pany loses lots of /oney and the pas0 sengers get very angry5 Ta7e off .nder those sit.ations and /ost of the ti/e it &or7s o.t fine6 &hich enco.rages ris7 ta7ing5 ;.t every so often there is a disaster5 Tenerife, the anary Islands, in .BCC. % ,<5 >oeing C@C that &as ta$ing off crashed into a Pan %!erican C@C that &as ta4iing on the run&ay, $illing KJ= people. The ,<5 plane should not have tried to ta$e off then, #ut the &eather &as starting to get #ad, and the cre& had already #een delayed for too long 0even #eing on the anary Islands &as a diversion fro! the scheduled flight:they had to land there #ecause #ad &eather had prevented the! fro! landing at their sched1 uled destination2D they had not received clearance to ta$e off. %nd the Pan %!erican flight should not have #een on the run&ay, #ut there &as considera#le !isunderstanding #et&een the pilots and the air traffic controllers. "urther!ore, the fog &as co!ing in so neither plane could see the other. There &ere ti!e pressures and econo!ic pressures acting together. The Pan %!erican pilots -uestioned their orders to ta4i on the run &ay, #ut they continued any&ay. The co1pilot of the ,<5 flight voiced !inor o#/ections to the pilot, suggesting that they &ere not yet cleared for ta$eoff. %ll in all, a tragedy occurred due to a co!ple4 !i4ture of social pressures and logical e4plaining a &ay of discrepant o#servations. The %ir "lorida flight fro! *ational %irport, ;ashington, D.., crashed at ta$eoff into the .@th 8treet #ridge over the Poto!ac Eiver, $illing seventy1eight people, including four &ho &ere on the #ridge. The plane should not have ta$en off #ecause there &as ice on the &ings, #ut it had already #een delayed over an hour and a halfD this and other factors +!ay have predisposed the cre& to hurry.+ The accident occurred despite the first officer's 0the co1pilot's2 concern: +%lthough the first officer e4pressed concern that so!ething '&as not right' to the captain four ti!es during the ta$eoff, the captain too$ no action to re/ect the ta$eoff. +%gain &e see social pressures coupled &ith ti!e and econo!ic forces. 1' 1!0 The Design of Everyday Things *esigning for Error Error is often t ho.ght of as so/ething to 8e avoided or so/ething done 8y .ns7illed or .n/ot i vat ed people5 ;.t everyone /a7es errors5 *e0 signers /a7e the /ista7e of not ta7ing error into acco.nt5 ,nadvert0 ently6 they can /a7e it easy to err and diffic.lt or i/possi8le to discover error or to recover fro/ it5 Consider the Hondon stoc7 /ar7et story t hat opened this chapter5 The syste/ &as poorly designed5 ,t sho.ld not 8e possi8le for one person6 &i t h one si/ple error6 to ca.se s.ch &i de0 spread da/age5 #ere is &hat designers sho.ld do: 15 )nderstand the ca.ses of error and design to /ini/i>e those ca.ses5 25 =a7e it possi8le to reverse actions:to 3.ndo3 the/:or /a7e it harder to do &hat cannot 8e reversed5 !5 =a7e it easier to discover the errors that do occ.r6 and /a7e the/ easier to correct5 "5 Change the attit.de to&ard errors5 Thin7 of an o84ect9s .ser as atte/pting to do a tas76 getting there 8y i/perfect approxi/ations5 *on9 t thin7 of the .ser as /a7ing errors? thin7 of the actions as approxi/ations of &hat is desired5 When so/eone /a7es an error6 there .s.ally is good reason for it5 ,f it &as a /ista7e6 t he infor/ation availa8le &as pro8a8l y inco/plete or /isleading5 The decision &as pro8a8ly sensi8le at t he ti/e5 ,f it &as a slip6 it &as pro8a8l y d.e to poor design or distraction5 Errors are .s.ally .nderst anda8l e and logical6 once yo. t hi n7 t hro.gh their ca.ses5 *on9 t p.ni sh t he person for /a7i ng errors5 *on9 t ta7e offense5 ;.t /ost of all6 don9 t ignore it5 Try to design t he syste/ to allo& for errors5 $eali>e that nor/al 8ehavior isn9 t al&ays acc.rate5 *esign so that errors are easy to discover and corrections are possi8le5 H6: T6 DEAL :?TH E!!6!GAND H6: N6T T6 Consider t he error of loc7ing yo.r 7eys int o yo.r car5 So/e cars have /ade this error /.ch less li7ely5 Ao. si/ply can9 t loc7 t he doors Cnot easily6 any&ayD except 8y .sing the 7ey5 So yo.9 re prett y /.ch forced "IHE: To Err Is 6u!an 1!1 to have t he 7eys &i t h yo.5 , call this 7ind of design a forcing function. C=ore on this topic in the next section5D ,n the )nited States6 cars are re<.ired to 8e designed so t hat if the door is opened &hil e the 7eys are in t he ignition6 a &arni ng so.nd co/es on5 ,n theory6 if yo. &al7 a&ay fro/ yo.r car6 leaving t he 7eys in the ignition6 t he 8.>>er &ill call yo. 8ac75 Aet t he signal /.st 8e ignored as often as it /.st 8e at t ended to5 ,t /.st 8e ignored &hen yo. open the door of yo.r car &hile the engine is r.nni ng so yo. can hand so/eone so/ething5 On these occasions it is annoying? yo. 7no& the door is open5 nd so/eti/es yo. &ant to or need to leave t he 7eys in the car5 There goes t he 8.>>er:it can9 t disting.ish deli8erate actions fro/ erroneo.s ones5 Warni ng signals are .s.ally not the ans&er5 Consider t he control roo/ of a n.clear po&er plant or t he coc7pit of a co//ercial aircraft5 Tho.sands of inst r./ent s6 each designed 8y so/eone &ho t ho.ght it &as necessary to p.t in a &arni ng signal for it5 =any of t he signals so.nd t he sa/e5 =ost can 8e ignored any&ay 8eca.se t hey tell t he operator a8o.t so/ethi ng t hat is already 7no&n5 nd &hen a real e/ergency happens6 all t he &arni ng signals see/ to go on at once5 Each co/petes &it h t he others to 8e heard6 preventing t he person fro/ concentrating .pon t he pro8le/5 1I ;.ilt0in &arni ng feat.res are 8ypassed for several reasons5 One is that they can go off in error6 disr.pting perfectly sensi8le6 proper 8e0 havior5 not her is t hat t hey often conflict6 and t he res.lting cacophony is distracting eno.gh to ha/per perfor/ance5 (inally6 t hey are often inconvenient5 Ao. can9 t sit in t he car on a &ar/ day6 open t he door to get so/e air6 and listen to t he radio5 The 7ey /.st 8e in t he ignition to /a7e t he radio &or76 8.t t hen the door 8.>>es all t he ti/e5 So &e disconnect those &arni ng signals6 tape t he/ over6 silence t he 8ell6 .nscre& the li ght 8.l 8s5 Warni ngs and safety /et hods /.st 8e .sed &i t h care and intelligence6 ta7ing into acco.nt t he tradeoffs for the people &ho are affected5 F6!?N. F7NT?6N% (orcing f.nctions are a for/ of physical constraint: sit.ations in &hi ch the actions are constrained so t hat fail.re at one stage prevents t he next step fro/ happening5 Starting a car has a forcing f.nction associated &it h it:yo. /.st p.t t he ignition 7ey into t he ignition s&itch5 So/e (2- The Design of Everyday Things "IHE: To Err Is 6u!an 1!! The ;orn Hoser6 =ay 116 12+I5 Copyright J 12+I NE ,nc5 ti/e ago6 the 8.tton that activated the starter /otor &as separate fro/ the ignition 7ey6 so that it &as possi8le to atte/pt to start the car &itho.t the 7eys? the error &as /ade fre<.ently5 ,n /ost /odern a.to/o8iles6 the starter s&itch is activated 8y t.rning the 7ey:an effective forcing f.nction that /a7es yo. .se the 7ey to do the opera0 tion5 There is no analogo.s forcing f.nction for re/oving the 7ey .pon leaving the a.to/o8ile5 s &e have already seen6 those a.to/o8iles that have door loc7s that can 8e operated only 8y a 7ey Cfro/ o.tside the vehicleD do introd.ce a forcing f.nction: if yo. &ant to loc7 the door yo. can9t leave the 7ey in the car5 ,f a forcing f.nction is really desired6 it is .s.ally possi8le to find one6 altho.gh at so/e cost for nor/al 8ehavior5 ,t is i/portant to thin7 thro.gh the i/plications of that cost:to decide &hether people &ill deli8erately disa8le the forc0 ing f.nction5 The history of seat#elts in autos provides a good e4a!ple. Despite all the evidence that seat#elts are an effective !eans of saving lives, so!e people disli$e the! enough that they refuse to &ear the!, pro#a1 #ly #ecause the perceived ris$ is so !uch less than the actual, statistical ris$. "or a short period, the 3nited 8tates tried a forcing function on seat#elts: a special interloc$ &as installed on each ne& car. If the driver's and passengers' #elts &ere not fastened, the car &ould not start 0and a #u77er &ould sound2. This forcing function &as so disli$ed that !ost drivers had their !echanics disconnect it. The la& &as -uic$ly changed. There see!ed to #e three pro#le!s. "irst, !any people did not &ant to &ear seat#elts, and they resented the !echanical forcing function. 8econd, the forcing function couldn't distinguish legiti!ate cases in &hich the seat#elt should not #e #uc$led fro! illegiti!ate ones. Thus, if you &anted to carry a pac$age in the passenger's seat, the &eight1 sensing ele!ent in the seat registered a person, so the car &ouldn't start unless the passenger seat's #uc$le &as fastened. Third, the !echanis!s &ere not relia#le, so they often failed:#u77ing, stopping the engine, and #eing an overall nuisance. Those people &ho couldn't figure out ho& to disconnect the forcing function si!ply #uc$led the #elts per1 !anently, fastening the #uc$le &hen the seat &as unoccupied and stuffing it under the seat. 8o if a passenger really &anted to use the #elt, it couldn't #e done. 5oral: it isn't easy to force un&anted #ehavior upon people. %nd if you are going to use a forcing function, !a$e sure 1!" The Design of Everyday Things it &or$s right, is relia#le, and distinguishes legiti!ate violations fro! illegiti!ate ones. (orcing f.nctions are the extre/e case of strong constraints that /a7e it easy to discover erroneo.s 8ehavior5 Not every sit.ation allo&s s.ch strong constraints to operate6 8.t the general principle can 8e extended to a &ide variety of sit.ations5 ,n the field of safety engineer0 ing6 forcing f.nctions sho& .p .nder other na/es6 in partic.lar as speciali>ed /ethods for the prevention of accidents5 Three s.ch /eth0 ods are interloc$s, loc$ins, and loc$outs. n interloc$ forces operations to ta7e place in proper se<.ence Cfig.re '5"D5 =icro&ave ovens and television sets .se interloc7s as forcing f.nctions to prevent people fro/ opening the door of the oven or ta7ing off the 8ac7 of the television set &itho.t first t.rning off the electric po&er: the interloc7 disconnects the po&er the instant the door is opened or the 8ac7 re/oved5 The pin on a fire exting.isher or hand grenade and the safety on a rifle are other exa/ples of interloc7s? these forcing f.nctions prevent the accidental .se of the devices5 loc$in 7eeps an operation active6 preventing so/eone fro/ pre/a0 t.rely stopping it5 The sad stories of those &ho t.rn off &ord proces0 sors &itho.t first saving their &or7 co.ld 8e avoided &ith the .se of a loc7in5 S.ppose the on0off s&itch &ere a 3soft3 s&itch6 not really disconnecting the po&er6 8.t sending a signal to the progra/ to <.it6 chec7ing that all files had 8een saved6 and then6 after all the appropriate ho.se7eeping operations had 8een co/pleted6 t.rning off the po&er5 COf co.rse6 a nor/al po&er s&itch sho.ld also exist as an override for special sit.ations or for &hen a soft&are pro8le/ ca.ses the soft s&itch to fail5D loc$out device is one that prevents so/eone fro/ entering a place that is dangero.s6 or prevents an event fro/ occ.rring5 good exa/ple of a loc7o.t occ.rs in stair&ays of p.8lic 8.ildings6 at least in the )nited States Cfig.re K.K2. ,n cases of fire6 people have a tendency to flee in panic6 do&n the stairs6 do&n6 do&n6 do&n6 past the gro.nd floor and into the 8ase/ent6 &here they are trapped5 The sol.tion Cre<.ired 8y the fire la&sD is not to allo& si/ple passage fro/ the gro.nd floor to the 8ase/ent5 In the #uilding in &hich I &or$, at the ground floor the stairs see! to end, leading directly to the #uilding's e4it door. To go do&n further re-uires finding a different door, opening it, and proceeding do&n the "IHE: TO Err Is 6u!an 1!' .=? The Design of Everyday Things 8)5 7se of an ?nterlock) The Nissan Stan>a van &as constr.cted &ith the access door for its f.el tan7 right in the path of the sliding passenger door Ca8oveD5 ,t co.ld 8e dangero.s for the door to 8e opened &hile so/eone &as f.eling the car5 To overco/e the pro8le/6 Nissan added a forcing f.nction6 a 8ar that prevented the sliding door fro/ opening &henever the f.el tan7 &as 8eing filled5 The 8ar is constr.cted in the for/ of an interloc7: the cap to the f.el tan7 cannot 8e re/oved .nless the 8ar is /oved to its safety position C8elo&D5 (.rther/ore6 the f.el door cannot 8e sh.t again .nless the 8ar is ret.rned to its nor/al position5 (inally6 &arning signals &ere added6 so that if so/eone atte/pts to open the door d.ring f.eling6 a 8.>>er so.nds5 ll in all6 a lot of effort &as p.t into these forcing f.nctions:&hich &ere needed only 8eca.se of an .nfort.nate place/ent of the f.el tan7 access in the first place5 5.5 Lockout) for/ of forcing f.nction that prevents people fro/ going do&n the stairs6 past the gro.nd floor6 and into the 8ase/ent5 ltho.gh in nor/al ti/es this is a n.isance6 in ti/es of fire6 &hen people flee do&n the stairs in panic6 the forcing f.nction can save lives 8y preventing a /ad dash into the 8ase/ent5 The 8ar enco.rages people to stop at the gro.nd floor and leave the 8.ilding5 stairs. This safety feature is usually a nuisance: &e have never had a fire, yet . fre-uently !ust go fro! a higher floor into the #ase!ent. It's a !inor nuisance, ho&ever, and it is &orth the cost if it can save lives &hen there is a fire. (orcing f.nctions al/ost al &ays are a n.isance in nor/al .sage5 The clever designer has to /ini/i>e t he n.isance val.e &hile retaining t he safety6 forcing0f.nction /echanis/6 to g.ard against t he occasional tragedy5 There are other .sef.l devices t hat /a7e .se of a forcing f.nction5 ,n so/e p.8lic rest0roo/s there9 s a pac7age shelf inconvenient ly placed on the &all 4.st 8ehi nd t he c.8icle door6 held in a vertical position 8y a spring5 Ao. lo&er t he shelf to t he hori>ontal position6 and t he &eight of a pac7age 7eeps it there5 Why not s.pply a per/anent shelf6 al&ays hori>ontal6 placed so t hat it &o.l dn9 t interfere &it h t he opening of t he door@ There is roo/5 little t ho.ght reveals t he ans&er: the shelf9s position is a forcing f.nction5 When the shelf is lo&ered6 it 8loc7s the "IHE: To Err Is 6u!an (20 door5 So to get o.t of t he c.8icle6 yo. have to re/ove &hat ever is on the shelf and raise it o.t of t he &ay5 nd t hat forces yo. to re/e/8er yo.r pac7ages5 Clever design5 ,t is co//on to forget ite/s5 Exa/ples spring readily to /i nd: F =a7ing copies of a doc./ent6 8.t leaving the original inside the /achine and &al7ing off &ith only the copy5 F )sing a 8an7 or credit card to &ithdra& /oney fro/ an a.to/atic teller /achine6 then &al7ing off &itho.t the card5 This &as a fre0 <.ent eno.gh error that /any /achines no& have a forcing f.nction: yo. /.st re/ove the card 8efore the /oney &ill 8e delivered5 Of co.rse6 yo. then can &al7 off &itho.t yo.r /oney6 8.t this is less li7ely than forgetting the card 8eca.se /oney is the goal of .sing the /achine5 The possi8ility exists so the forcing f.nction isn9 t perfect5 F Heaving a child 8ehind at a rest stop d.ring a car trip5 , also heard a8o.t a ne& /other &ho left her infant in the dressing roo/ of a depart/ent store5 F Hosing a pen 8eca.se it &as ta7en o.t to &rite a note or a chec7 in so/e p.8lic location6 then p.t do&n for a /o/ent &hile doing so/e other tas7:s.ch as giving the chec7 to the salesperson5 The pen is forgotten in the activities of p.tting a&ay the chec78oo76 pic7ing .p the goods6 tal7ing to the salesperson or friends6 and so on5 Or the reverse: 8orro&ing a pen6 .sing it6 and then p.tting it a&ay in poc7et or p.rse6 even tho.gh it is so/eone else9s? this slip is an exa/ple of a capt.re error5 (orcing f.nctions don9 t al&ays sho& .p &here t hey sho.ld5 So/e0 ti/es their a8sence ca.ses all sorts of .nnecessary conf.sion5 $ead t he ca.tion stat e/ent fro/ t he ga/e instr.ctions sho&n in fig.re K.?. ll those excla/ation /ar7sE nd t he ca.tion is repeated t hro.gh0 o.t t he instr.ction /an.al 5 ,t &on9 t do any good5 The Ni nt endo Enter0 t ai n/ent Syste/ i s /eant to 8e .sed 8y children5 The instr.ction /an.al pro8a8l y &on9 t 8e aro.nd5 Even if it is6 a gro.p of active children6 anxio.s to try a different ga/e6 &on9 t 8ot her &i t h it5 , &at ched /y o&n child follo& t he instr.ction faithf.lly for several days6 t hen fail &hen as7ed to stop playing and co/e to dinner5 , forgot on t he fe& att e/pt s , /ade to /aster t he ga/e5 The only possi8le virt.e of t he &arni ng is to protect t he /an.fact.rer: &hen t he children repeatedly 8.rn o.t t he electronic circ.its6 t he co/pany can disclai/ lia8ility6 asserting that t he children violated the instr.ctions5 1!+ The Design of Everyday Things 5 TO START 2LA$ <. T'rn (o'r tele0ision on to Channel 9. NoteE I& Channel 9 is /roa)castin+ in (o'r area an) inter&erin+ ith the +ame, set the sitch on the /ack o& the Control Deck to Channel @. ?. I& (o'r T# has an a'tomatic &ine t'nin+ control (AFC!, t'rn it o&&. (Use the man'al &ine t'ne )ial to a)B'st the -ict're a&ter insertin+ the +ame -ak as )escri/e) /elo.! NoteE I& (o' ha0e a color T# that t'rns /lack an) hite hen the AFC is t'rne) o&&, lea0e the AFC on. 9. %ake s're that the -oer sitch on the Control Deck is o&&. CAUTION FF AL4A$S %A1E SURE THAT THE 2O4ER S4ITCH ON THE CONTROL DEC1 IS OFF "EFORE INSERTING OR RE%O#ING A GA%E 2A1 IF @. O-en the Cham/er Li) Insert a Game 2ak into 2ress Don on the Game on the Control Deck. the Cham/er (La/el Fa: 2ak 'ntil it locks into cin+ '-! an) 2'sh it all -lace an) close the the a( in. Cham/er Li). 5.6 The Nintendo hildren*s Toy) This ho/e video ga/e set is intended for .se 8y children5 #o&ever6 it has a co/plex safety instr.ction6 one al/ost g.aranteed to 8e ignored5 To .se the syste/6 one inserts a 3ga/e pa73 cartridge into the 3cha/8er53 The po&er s&itch sho.ld 8e off &hen inserting or re/oving the car0 tridge5 ,n the a8sence of any forcing f.nction6 the instr.ction is al/ost .niversally disregarded Cif anyone even 7no&s a8o.t itD5 ,f order is i/portant6 there sho.ld 8e a forcing f.nction5 ,f order does not /atter6 the instr.ction sho.ld 8e dropped5 C(ro/ the Nintendo instr.ction /an.al5 NintendoR and Nintendo Entertain/ent Syste/R are trade/ar7s of Nintendo of /erica ,nc5 J 12+I Nintendo5D @. O2ERATING $OUR NES (2; Proper design calls for a forcing f.nction here5 There are several via8le sche/es5 The cover over t he ga/e pac7 co/part/ent co.ld control an interloc76 so t hat it a.to/atically t .rned off t he po&er &henever it &as opened5 Or t he po&er s&itch co.ld /ove a lever 8loc7ing the top of t he ga/e pac7 co/part /ent 6 so that t he pac7s co.ld not 8e re/oved or inserted .nless the lever &ere o.t of t he &ay6 t.rning off t he po&er5 There are other possi8ilities5 =y point is6 of co.rse6 that t he design sho.l d have incl.ded one? &i t ho.t t he forcing f.nction6 fail.re to heed t he &arni ng is al/ost g.aranteed5 *esign Philosophy There are lots of &ays for a designer to deal &i t h errors5 11 The critical thing6 ho&ever6 is to approach t he topic &i t h t he proper phi losophy5 The designer sho.l dn9 t t hi n7 of a si/ple di chot o/y 8et &een errors and correct 8ehavior? rather6 t he entire interaction sho.ld 8e treated as a cooperative endeavor 8et &een person and /achi ne6 one i n &hi ch /i s0 conceptions can arise on either side5 Thi s phi l osophy is /.ch easier to i/pl e/ent on so/ething li7e a co/p.ter &hich has t he a8ility to /a7e decisions on its o&n t han on things li7e doors and po&er plants6 &hi ch do not have s.ch intelligence5 ;.t t he phi l osophy of .ser0centered syste/ design still hol ds5 Thi n7 of t he .ser9 s point of vie&5 ss./e t hat every possi8le /i shap &ill happen6 so protect against it5 =a7e actions reversi8le5 Try to /a7e t he/ less costly5 ll t he re<.ired princi0 ples have 8een t horo.ghl y disc.ssed in this 8oo75 F P.t the re<.ired 7no&ledge in the &orld5 *on9 t re<.ire all the 7no&ledge to 8e in the head5 Aet do allo& for /ore efficient opera0 tion &hen the .ser has learned the operations6 has gotten the 7no&l 0 edge in the head5 F )se the po&er of nat.ral and artificial constraints: physical6 logical6 se/antic6 and c.lt.ral5 )se forcing f.nctions and nat.ral /appings5 F Narro& the g.lfs of exec.tion and eval.ation5 =a7e things visi8le6 8oth for exec.tion and eval.ation5 On the exec.tion side6 /a7e the options readily availa8le5 On the eval.ation side6 /a7e the res.lts of each action apparent5 =a7e it possi8le to deter/ine the syste/ state readily6 easily6 and acc.rately6 and in a for/ consistent &ith the person9s goals6 intentions6 and expectations5 1"0 The Design of Everyday Things (5( They #egan &or$ at once, and #y the ne4t 8ep1 te!#er the first Ftype&riterG !achine &as fin1 ished, and letters &ere &ritten &ith it. It &or$ed successfully so far as to &rite rapidly and cor1 rectly, #ut trial and e4perience sho&ed it to #e far short of an accept1 a#le, practica#le &riting !achine. . . . One device after another &as conceived and developed till t&enty1 five or thirty e4peri!ental instru!ents &ere !ade, each succeeding one a little different fro! and a little #etter than the one preceding. They &ere put into the hands of stenographers, practical persons &ho &ere presu!ed to $no& #etter than anyone else &hat &ould #e needed and satisfactory. Of these, :a!es O. lephane, of ;ashington, D.., &as one. 6e tried the instru!ents as no one else had tried the!D he destroyed the!, one after another, as fast as they could #e !ade and sent hi!, till the patience of 5r. 8holes Fthe inventorG &as e4hausted. >ut 5r. Dens!ore insisted that this &as the very salvation of the enterpriseD that it sho&ed the &ea$ spots and defects, and that the !achine !ust #e !ade so that any#ody could use it, or all efforts !ight as &ell #e a#andonedD that such a test &as a #lessing and not a !isfor1 tune, for &hich the enterprise should #e than$ful. . T#E *ES,GN C#HHENGE C # P T E$ S, O The Nat.ral Evol.tion of *esign =.ch good design evolves: the design is tested6 pro8le/ areas are discovered and /odified6 and then it is contin.ally retested and re/odified .ntil ti/e6 energy6 and reso.rces r.n o.t5 This nat.ral de0 sign process is characteristic of prod.cts 8.ilt 8y craftspeople6 espe0 cially fol7 o84ects5 With hand/ade o84ects s.ch as r.gs6 pottery6 hand tools6 or f.rnit.re6 each ne& o84ect can 8e /odified slightly fro/ the previo.s one6 eli/inating s/all pro8le/s6 /a7ing s/all i/prove/ents6 or testing ne& ideas5 Over ti/e6 this process res.lts in f.nctional6 aesthetically pleasing o84ects5 ,/prove/ents can ta7e place thro.gh nat.ral evol.tion as long as each previo.s design is st.died and the crafts0person is &illing to 8e flexi8le5 The 8ad feat.res have to 8e identified5 The fol7 artists change the 8ad feat.res and 7eep the good ones .nchanged5 ,f a change /a7es /atters &orse6 &ell6 it 4.st gets changed again on the next go0aro.nd5 Event.ally the 8ad feat.res get /odified into good ones6 &hile the good ones are 7ept5 The technical ter/ for this pro0 cess is 3hill0cli/8ing63 analogo.s to cli/8ing a hill in the dar75 =ove yo.r foot in one direction5 ,f it is do&nhill6 try another direction5 ,f the direction is .phill6 ta7e one step5 %eep doing this .ntil yo. have reached a point &here all steps &o.ld 8e do&nhill? then yo. are at the top of the hill:or at least at a local pea75 2 (O$CES T#T WO$% G,NST E-OH)T,ON$A *ES,GN Nat.ral design does not &or7 in every sit.ation: there /.st 8e eno.gh ti/e for the process to 8e carried o.t6 and the ite/ /.st 8e si/ple5 =odern designers are s.84ect to /any forces that do not allo& for the slo&6 caref.l crafting of an o84ect over decades and generations5 =ost of today9s ite/s are too co/plex6 &ith too /any varia8les6 for this slo& sifting of i/prove/ents5 ;.t si/ple i/prove/ents o.ght to 8e possi0 8le5 Ao. &o.ld thin7 that o84ects s.ch as a.to/o8iles6 appliances6 or co/p.ters6 &hich periodically co/e o.t in ne& /odels6 co.ld 8enefit fro/ the experience of the previo.s /odel5 las6 the /.ltiple forces of a co/petitive /ar7et see/ not to allo& this5 1"2 The Design of Everyday Things One negative force is the de/ands of ti/e: ne& /odels are already into their design process 8efore the old ones have even 8een released to c.sto/ers5 =oreover6 /echanis/s for collecting and feeding 8ac7 the experiences of c.sto/ers seldo/ exist5 nother force is the pres0 s.re to 8e distinctive6 to stand o.t6 to /a7e each design loo7 different fro/ &hat has gone 8efore5 ,t is the rare organi>ation that is content to let a good prod.ct stand or to let nat.ral evol.tion perfect it slo&ly5 No6 each year a 3ne&6 i/proved3 /odel /.st co/e o.t6 .s.ally incor0 porating ne& feat.res that do not .se the old as a starting point5 ,n far too /any instances6 the res.lts spell disaster for the cons./er5 There is yet another pro8le/: the c.rse of individ.ality5 *esigners have to /a7e an individ.al sta/p6 their /ar76 their signat.re5 nd if different co/panies /an.fact.re the sa/e type of ite/6 each /.st do it differently to allo& its prod.ct to 8e disting.ished fro/ others95 /ixed c.rse6 individ.ality6 for thro.gh the desire to 8e different co/e so/e of o.r 8est ideas and innovations5 ;.t in the &orld of sales6 if a co/pany &ere to /a7e the perfect prod.ct6 any other co/pany &o.ld have to change it:&hich &o.ld /a7e it &orse:in order to pro/ote its o&n innovation6 to sho& that it &as different5 #o& can nat.ral design &or7 .nder these circ./stances@ ,t can9t5 Consider the telephone5 The early telephone evolved slo&ly6 over several generations5 ,t once &as a /ost a&7&ard device6 &ith handset and /icrophone6 one held &ith each hand5 Ao. had to t.rn a cran7 to generate a signal that &o.ld ring the 8ell at the other end of the line5 -oice trans/ission &as poor5 Over the years i/prove/ents &ere slo&ly /ade in si>e and shape6 relia8ility6 and feat.res that si/plified its .se5 The instr./ent &as heavy and ro8.st: drop it on the floor6 and not only did it still &or7 8.t yo. seldo/ lost the telephone connection5 The layo.t of the dial or the p.sh 8.ttons res.lted fro/ caref.l ex0 peri/entation in the la8oratory5 The si>e and spacing of the 7eys &ere caref.lly selected to &or7 for a &ide variety of the pop.lation6 incl.d0 ing the very yo.ng and the very old5 The so.nds of the telephone &ere also caref.lly designed to prod.ce feed8ac75 P.sh a 8.tton and yo. heard a tone in the earphone5 Spea7 into the /icrophone6 and a care0 f.lly deter/ined percentage of yo.r o&n voice &as fed 8ac7 into the earphone6 the 8etter to help yo. reg.late ho& lo.dly yo. &ere tal7ing5 The clic7s6 8.>>es6 and other noises yo. heard &hile a connection &as 8eing esta8lished provided .sef.l indications of progress5 ll these /inor aspects of the telephone &ere arrived at slo&ly6 over years of develop/ent protected 8y the /onopoly stat.s of /ost na0 si4: The Design hallenge 1"! 1"" The Design of Everyday Things I51 *esign S.8tleties5 ,n the older ;ell Syste/ instr./ent6 the prongs that held the receiver also prevented the s&itch hoo7 fro/ 8eing accidentally depressed5 =ore recent telephones often lac7 s.ch niceties5 tional telephone syste/s5 ,n today9s &ildly co/petitive /ar7et6 there is a fierce desire to 8ring o.t a prod.ct that appeals to a &ide 8ody of people and that is distinctive and different:the /ar7et de/ands speed and novelty5 =any of the /ost .sef.l refine/ents are 8eing lost5 P.sh 8.ttons are apt to 8e arranged hapha>ardly6 &ith the 7eys oversi>e or tiny5 The so.nds have 8een ta7en a&ay5 =any telephones don9t even give feed8ac7 &hen the 8.ttons are p.shed5 ll the fol7lore of design has 8een lost &ith the 8rash ne& engineers &ho can9t &ait to add yet the latest electronic gi//ic7ry to the telephone6 &hether needed or not5 One si/ple detail can /a7e the point: the ridge of plastic next to the s&itch hoo7:the 8.tton .nder the receiver that6 &hen depressed6 hangs .p the call5 Ever 7noc7 the telephone off the ta8le and onto the floor &hile yo. &ere tal7ing@ Wasn9t it nice &hen yo. didn9t get disconnected6 fr.strating &hen yo. did@ The /onopolistic ;ell Syste/ designers explicitly recogni>ed this pro8le/ and designed &ith it in /ind5 They /ade the telephone heavy and st.rdy eno.gh to &ithstand the fall5 nd they protected the critical 8.tton &ith a shield that prevents the s&itch hoo7 fro/ hitting the gro.nd5 Hoo7 caref.lly at fig.re I51: see that on the one telephone the 8.ttons cannot reach the gro.nd and so are not depressed5 s/all feat.re6 8.t an i/portant one5 Econo/ic press.res have /ade the ne&er telephones lighter6 less ex0 pensive6 and less st.rdy:thro&a&ay phones6 they are often called5 nd the protective shield@ Often as not6 there is none:in this case not 8eca.se of cost6 8.t 8eca.se the ne& designers pro8a8ly never tho.ght of it6 pro8a8ly never reali>ed its f.nction5 The res.lt@ This scenario6 repeated in office over office5 5ar$ is sitting at his des$ &hen the phone rings. +6ello,+he an1 s&ers. +(eah, I can help you:let !e get out the !anual. +6e reaches, pulling the telephone &ith hi!. >ang9 rash9 The phone falls on the floor, hanging itself up. +Da!n,+ !utters 5ar$, +I don't even $no& &ho that &as.+ T#E TAPEW$,TE$: CSE #,STO$A ,N T#E E-OH)T,ON O( *ES,GN +%!ong all the !echanical inventions for &hich the age is noted, none, perhaps, has !ore rapidly co!e into general use than the type1 &riter. . . . The ti!e is co!ing &hen it &ill al!ost, or -uite as !uch, supersede the steel pen as that has the good, gray goose -uill. + = The history of the type&riter is the story of dedicated inventors in /any co.ntries6 each striving to develop a /achine for rapid &riting5 They tried /any versions in their str.ggle to get the one that fit all the constraints:that &or7ed6 co.ld 8e /an.fact.red at reasona8le cost6 and co.ld 8e .sed5 Consider the type&riter 7ey8oard6 &ith its ar8itrary6 diagonally sloping arrange/ent of 7eys and its even /ore ar8itrary arrange/ent of letters on the 7eys5 The c.rrent standard 7ey8oard &as designed 8y Charles Hatha/ Sholes in the 1+10s5 The design is called the 3<&erty3 7ey8oard C8eca.se in the /erican version the top ro& of letters 8egins &ith 3<&erty3D6 or so/eti/es the Sholes 7ey8oard5 The Sholes type&riter &as not the first6 8.t it &as the /ost s.ccessf.l of the early versions? it event.ally 8eca/e the $e/ington type&riter6 the /odel .pon &hich /ost /an.al type&riters &ere constr.cted5 Why s.ch a &eird 7ey8oard@ si4: The Design hallenge 1"' The design of the 7ey8oard has a long and pec.liar history5 Early type&riters experi/ented &ith a &ide variety of layo.ts6 .sing three 8asic the/es5 One &as circ.lar6 &ith the letters laid o.t alpha8etically? the operator &o.ld find the proper spot and depress a lever6 lift a rod6 or do &hatever other /echanical operation the device re<.ired5 n0 other pop.lar layo.t &as li7e the piano 7ey8oard6 &ith the letters laid o.t in a long ro&? so/e of the early 7ey8oards6 incl.ding an early version 8y Sholes6 even had 8lac7 and &hite 7eys5 ;oth the circ.lar layo.t and the piano 7ey8oard proved a&7&ard5 ,n the end6 a third arrange/ent &as adopted 8y all: a rectang.lar arrange/ent of 7eys6 still in alpha8etical order5 The levers /anip.lated 8y the 7eys &ere large and .ngainly6 and the si>e6 spacing6 and arrange/ent of the 7eys &ere dictated 8y these /echanical considerations6 not 8y the character0 istics of the h./an hand5 Why did the alpha8etical ordering change@ To overco/e a /echani0 cal pro8le/5 When the typist &ent too <.ic7ly the type8ars &o.ld collide6 4a//ing the /echanis/5 The sol.tion &as to change the loca0 tions of the 7eys: letters s.ch as i and e that &ere often typed in s.ccession &ere placed on opposite sides of the /achine so that their 8ars &o.ld not collide5 " Other type&riting technologies did not follo& the <&erty arrange/ent5 Typesetting /achines Cs.ch as the Hinotype /achineD .se a co/pletely different layo.t? the Hinotype 7ey8oard is called 3shrdl.63 after the pattern of 7eys it follo&s6 and is /odeled after the relative fre<.ency of letters in English5 This &as ho& hand printers arranged the letters that they &o.ld re/ove fro/ 8ins and insert /an.ally into the printing for/s5 h6 yes6 the nat.ral evol.tion of design5 Not all early 7ey8oards had a 8ac7space6 and the 3ta8.lation3 7ey C3ta83 on /odern 7ey8oardsD &as a revol.tionary 8rea7thro.gh5 The first type&riters co.ld print only .pper case letters5 The addition of lo&er case letters &as6 at first6 acco/plished 8y adding a ne& 7ey for each lo&er case letter6 so in effect there &ere t&o separate 7ey8oards5 So/e early type&riters organi>ed the 7eys for .pper case differently than for lo&er case5 ,/agine ho& diffic.lt it &o.ld 8e to learn that 7ey8oardE ,t too7 years to develop the shift 7ey so that 8oth .pper and lo&er case letters co.ld share the sa/e 7ey5 This &as a nontrivial invention6 co/8ining /echanical ingen.ity &ith a d.al0faced type8ar5 ,n the end6 the 7ey8oard &as designed thro.gh an evol.tionary process6 8.t the /ain driving forces &ere /echanical5 =odern 7ey0 8oards do not have the sa/e pro8le/s? 4a//ing isn9t a possi8ility &ith 1"I The Design of Everyday Things electronic 7ey8oards and co/p.ters5 Even the style of typing has changed5 ,n the early years6 people 7ept their eyes on the 7ey8oard and typed &ith one or t&o fingers of each hand5 Then one co.rageo.s person6 (ran7 =cG.rrin of Salt Ha7e City6 /e/ori>ed the 7ey locations and learned to type &ith all his fingers6 &itho.t loo7ing at the 7ey0 8oard5 #is s7ills &ere not recogni>ed at first? it too7 a national contest held in Cincinnati6 Ohio6 in 1+11 to prove that this /ethod &as indeed s.perior5 ' ,n the end6 the <&erty 7ey8oard &as adopted thro.gho.t the &orld &ith 8.t /inor variations5 We are co//itted to it6 even tho.gh it &as designed to satisfy constraints that no longer apply6 &as 8ased on a style of typing no longer .sed6 and is diffic.lt to learn5 Tin7ering &ith 7ey8oard design is a pop.lar pasti/e Cfig.re I52D5 So/e sche/es 7eep the existing /echanical layo.t of the 7eys6 8.t arrange the assign/ents of letters /ore efficiently5 Others i/prove the physical layo.t as &ell6 arranging the 7eys to acco//odate the /irror0 i/age sy//etry of the hands and the varied spacing and agility of the fingers5 Still others red.ce the n./8er of 7eys dra/atically 8y having patterns of 7eys:chords:represent the letters6 per/itting one0 handed or faster t&o0handed typing5 ;.t none of these innovations ta7es hold 8eca.se the <&erty 7ey8oard6 &hile deficient6 is good eno.gh5 ltho.gh its anti4a//ing arrange/ent no longer has /echan0 ical 4.stification6 it does p.t /any co//on letter pairs on opposing hands? one hand can 8e getting ready to type its letter &hile the other is finishing6 so typing is speeded .p5 What a8o.t alpha8etical 7ey8oards Cfig.re I5!D@ Wo.ldn9t they at least these 8e easier to learn@ Nope5 I ;eca.se the letters have to 8e laid o.t in ro&s6 4.st 7no&ing the alpha8et isn9t eno.gh5 Ao. also have to 7no& &here the ro&s 8rea75 Even if yo. co.ld learn that6 it &o.ld still 8e easier to scan the 7ey8oard than to co/p.te &here a 7ey /ight 8e5 Then yo. are 8etter off if co//on letters are located &here yo. are apt to find the/ 8y scanning:a property that the <&erty 7ey8oard pro0 vides5 ,f yo. don9t 7no& any 7ey8oard6 there is little difference in typing speed a/ong a <&erty 7ey8oard6 an alpha8etic 7ey8oard6 and even a rando/ arrange/ent of 7eys5 ,f yo. 7no& even a little of the <&erty6 that is eno.gh to /a7e it 8etter than the others5 nd for expert typists6 the alpha8etical arrange/ents are al&ays slo&er than <&erty5 There is a 8etter &ay:the *vora7 7ey8oard:painsta7ingly devel0 oped 8y Cand na/ed afterD one of the fo.nders of ind.strial engineer0 ing5 ,t is easier to learn and allo&s for a8o.t 10 percent faster typing6 8.t that is si/ply not eno.gh of an i/prove/ent to /erit a revol.tion si4: The Design hallenge 1"1 A B C D E (5B 9)- Ty"e&riter Eey=oards) The standard /erican layo.t of 7eys :the Sholes or <&erty 7ey8oard5 The /erican Si/plified %ey8oard Coften called S%D6 a si/plified version of the original *vora7 7ey8oard? on the original6 the n./erals and p.nct.ation 7eys are arranged differently5 =ost alpha8etically organi>ed 7ey0 8oards arrange the alpha8et along hori0 >ontal ro&s6 as sho&n Cand in the 7ey8oards of fig.re I5!D5 This alpha8etical arrange/ent is s.pe0 rior6 ho&ever: &ith its diagonal ar0 range/ent6 letters increase syste/0 atically .p the alpha8et fro/ left to right &itho.t /a4or 8rea7s5 The 7ey8oard at left has rando/ly arranged letters5 ;eginners s.cceed a8o.t the sa/e on all these 7ey8oards: alpha8etical &or7s 8arely 8etter than rando/5 (or experts6 S% is 8est6 follo&ed 8y <&erty: alpha0 8etical 7ey8oards are <.ite inferior5 =oral: *on9 t 8other &ith alpha8etical 7ey8oards5 9)2 $roducts &ith Al"ha=etical Eey=oards) Even t ho.gh several experi/ents sho& that these are of no .se to novices and detri/ental to experts6 every year designers pl.nge ahead and foist yet another alpha8etical 7ey8oard on .s5 Even if yo. /anage to learn one6 yo. &ill not have learned to .se all the different ones5 si4: The Design hallenge (5; in the 7ey8oard5 =illions of people &o.ld have to learn a ne& style of typing5 =illions of type&riters &o.ld have to 8e changed5 The severe constraints of existing practice prevent change6 even &here the change &o.ld 8e an i/prove/ent5 1 Co.ldn9t &e at least do 8etter &ith t&o hands at once@ Aes6 &e co.ld5 Co.rt stenographers can o.ttype anyone else5 They .se chord 7ey8oards6 typing sylla8les directly onto the page:sylla8les6 not let0 ters5 Chord 7ey8oards have very fe& 7eys:as fe& as five or six6 8.t .s.ally ten to fifteen5 =any chord 7ey8oards allo& yo. to type single letters or &hole &ords &ith one depression of the hand on several 7eys5 ,f yo. .se all ten fingers at the sa/e ti/e6 then there are 1602! possi8le co/8inations5 That is eno.gh for all the letters and n./8ers6 lo&er case and .pper case6 pl.s a lot of &ords:if only yo. can learn the patterns5 Chord 7ey8oards have a horri8le disadvantage: they are very hard to learn and very hard to retain? all the 7no&ledge has to 8e in the head5 Wal7 .p to any reg.lar 7ey8oard and yo. can .se it right a&ay5 B.st search for the letter yo. &ant and p.sh the 7ey5 With a chord 7ey8oard6 yo. have to press several 7eys si/.ltaneo.sly5 There is no &ay to la8el the 7eys properly and no &ay to 7no& &hat to do 4.st 8y loo7ing5 So/e chord 7ey8oards are incredi8ly clever and re0 /ar7a8ly easy to learn6 considering5 , tried to learn one of the easier ones5 Thirty /in.tes9 practice6 and , 7ne& the alpha8et5 ;.t if , didn9t .se the 7ey8oard for a &ee76 , forgot the chords5 The gain did not see/ &orth the effort5 What a8o.t one0handed chord 7ey8oards@ Wo.ldn9t it 8e &orth a lot of ti/e and effort to 8e a8le to type &ith one hand@ Perhaps6 if yo. are flying a 4et aircraft &ith one hand and need to enter data into yo.r co/p.ter &ith the other5 ;.t not for the rest of .s5 + ll this 8rings .p an i/portant lesson in design5 Once a satisfactory prod.ct has 8een achieved6 f.rther change /ay 8e co.nterprod.ctive6 especially if the prod.ct is s.ccessf.l5 Ao. have to 7no& &hen to stop5 (ou can o#serve the design iterations and e4peri!ents &ith the co!puter $ey#oard. The layout of the #asic $ey#oard is no& standard1 i7ed through international agree!ent. >ut co!puter $ey#oards need e4tra $eys, and these are not standardi7ed. 8o!e $ey#oards have an e4tra $ey #et&een the shift $ey and the +7+ $ey. The return $ey ta$es on different shapes and locations. The special $eys of the co!puter $ey1 #oard:for e4a!ple, control, escape, #rea$, delete 0not to #e confused &ith #ac$space2, and the +arro&+ or cursor control $eys:vary in loca1 tion &ith the phases of the year, varying even a!ong the products of a single !anufacturer. 5uch confusion and strong e!otions result. 1'0 The Design of Everyday Things *ote, too, that the co!puter allo&s for fle4i#le letter arrange!ents. It is a si!ple !atter on so!e co!puters to s&itch the interpretation of the $eys fro! -&erty to Dvora$: one co!!and and the change is done. >ut unless the Dvora$ fan also pries off and rearranges the $eycaps, the Dvora$ fan has to ignore the la#els on the $eys and rely on !e!ory. 8o!eday $ey la#eling &ill #e done #y electronic displays on each $ey, so changing the la#els &ill also #eco!e trivial. 8o co!puter technology !ay li#erate users fro! forced standardi7ation. Everyone could select the $ey#oard of personal choice. Why *esigners Go stray +F"ran$ <loydG ;right evidently &asn't very sy!pathetic a#out co!plaints. ;hen 6er#ert ". :ohnson, the late president of 8. .:ohn1 son, Inc., in Eacine, ;is., called ;right to say that his roof &as lea$ing all over a dinner guest, the architect is said to have responded, 'Tell hi! to !ove his chair.' + B ,f everyday design &ere r.led 8y aesthetics6 life /ight 8e /ore pleasing to the eye 8.t less co/forta8le? if r.led 8y .sa8ility6 it /ight 8e /ore co/forta8le 8.t .glier5 ,f cost or ease of /an.fact.re do/i0 nated6 prod.cts /ight not 8e attractive6 f.nctional6 or d.ra8le5 Clearly6 each consideration has its place5 Tro.8le occ.rs &hen one do/inates all the others5 *esigners go astray for several reasons5 (irst6 the re&ard str.ct.re of the design co//.nity tends to p.t aesthetics first5 *esign collec0 tions feat.re pri>e0&inning cloc7s that are .nreada8le6 alar/s that cannot easily 8e set6 can openers that /ystify5 Second6 designers are not typical .sers5 They 8eco/e so expert in .sing the o84ect they have designed that they cannot 8elieve that anyone else /ight have pro80 le/s? only interaction and testing &ith act.al .sers thro.gho.t the design process can forestall that5 Third6 designers /.st please their clients6 and the clients /ay not 8e the .sers5 $7TT?N. AE%THET?% F?!%T 3,t pro8a8ly &on a pri>e3 is a disparaging phrase in this 8oo75 Why@ ;eca.se pri>es tend to 8e given for so/e aspects of a design6 to the si4: The Design hallenge 1'1 neglect of all others:.s.ally incl.ding .sa8ility5 Consider the follo&0 ing exa/ple6 in &hich a .sa8le6 liva8le design &as penali>ed 8y the design profession5 The assign/ent &as to design the Seattle offices of the (ederal viation d/inistration C(D5 The /ost note&orthy fea0 t.re of the design process &as that those &ho &o.ld &or7 in the 8.ilding had a /a4or say in the planning5 One of the /e/8ers of the design tea/6 $o8ert So//er6 descri8es the process as follo&s: +%rchitect 8a! 8loan coordinated a pro/ect in &hich e!ployees ... &ere a#le to select their o&n office furniture and plan office layout. This represented a !a/or departure fro! prevailing practices in the federal services &here such !atters &ere decided #y those in authority. 8ince #oth the 8eattle and <os %ngeles #ranches of the "%% &ere scheduled to !ove into ne& #uildings at a#out the sa!e ti!e, the client for the pro/ect, the Ieneral 8ervices %d!inistration, agreed &ith archi1 tect 8loan's proposal to involve e!ployees in the design process in 8eattle, &hile leaving the <os %ngeles office as a control condition &here traditional !ethods of space planning &ould #e follo&ed. + .0 So there really &ere t&o designs: one in Seattle6 &ith heavy participa0 tion 8y the .sers6 and one in Hos ngeles6 designed in the conventional /anner 8y architects5 Which design do the .sers prefer@ Why the Seattle one6 of co.rse5 Which one got the a&ard@ Why the Hos ngeles one6 of co.rse5 #ere is So//er9s description of the o.tco/e: +8everal !onths follo&ing the !ove into the ne& #uildings, surveys #y the research tea! &ere !ade in <os %ngeles and 8eattle. The 8eattle &or$ers &ere !ore satisfied &ith their #uilding and &or$ areas than &ere the <os %ngeles e!ployees. . . . It is note&orthy that the <os %ngeles #uilding has #een given repeated a&ards #y the %!erican Institute of %rchitects &hile the 8eattle #uilding received no recogni1 tion. One !e!#er of the %I% /ury /ustified his denial of an a&ard to the 8eattle #uilding on the #asis of its 'residential -uality' and 'lac$ of discipline and control of the interiors,' &hich &as &hat the e!ployees li$ed the !ost a#out it. This reflects the &ell1docu!ented differences in preferences #et&een architects and occupants The director of the 8eattle office ad!itted that !any visitors &ere surprised that this is a federal facility. E!ployees in #oth locations rated their satisfaction &ith their /o# perfor!ance #efore and after the !ove into the ne& #uilding. There &as no change in the <os %ngeles office and a C percent i!prove!ent in rated /o# perfor!ance in the 8eattle office.+ .. 1'2 The Design of Everyday Things esthetics6 not s.rprisingly6 co/es first at /.se./s and design cen0 ters5 , have spent /.ch ti/e in the science /.se./ of /y o&n city6 San *iego6 &atching visitors try o.t the displays5 The visitors try hard6 and altho.gh they see/ to en4oy the/selves6 it is <.ite clear that they .s.ally /iss the point of the display5 The signs are highly decorative? 8.t they are often poorly lit6 diffic.lt to read6 and have lots of g.shing lang.age &ith little explanation5 Certainly the visitors are not enlight0 ened a8o.t science C&hich is s.pposed to 8e the point of the exhi8itD5 Occasionally , help o.t &hen , see 8e&ildered faces 8y explaining the scientific principles 8eing de/onstrated 8y the exhi8it Cafter all6 /any of the exhi8its in this sort of /.se./ are really psychology de/onstra0 tions6 /any of &hich , explain in /y o&n introd.ctory classesD5 , a/ often re&arded &ith s/iles and nods of .nderstanding5 , too7 one of /y grad.ate classes there to o8serve and co//ent? &e all agreed a8o.t the inade<.acy of the signs6 and6 /oreover6 &e had .sef.l s.ggestions5 We /et &ith a /.se./ official and tried to explain &hat &as happen0 ing5 #e didn9t .nderstand5 #is pro8le/s &ere the cost and d.ra8ility of the exhi8its5 3re the visitors learning anything@3 &e as7ed5 #e still didn9t .nderstand5 ttendance at the /.se./ &as high5 ,t loo7ed attractive5 ,t had pro8a8ly &on a pri>e5 Why &ere &e &asting his ti/e@ =any /.se./s and design centers /a7e pri/e exa/ples of pretty displays and signs co.pled &ith illegi8le and .ninfor/ative la8els5 =ostly6 , s.spect6 it9s 8eca.se these 8.ildings are 4.dged as places of art6 &here the exhi8its are /eant to 8e ad/ired6 not to 8e learned fro/5 , /ade several trips to the *esign Centre in Hondon to collect /aterial for this 8oo75 , hoped it &o.ld have a good li8rary and 8oo7shop Cit didD and good exhi8its6 de/onstrating the proper principles for co/0 8ining aesthetics6 econo/ics6 .sa8ility6 and /an.fact.ra8ility5 , fo.nd the Hondon *esign Centre itself to 8e an exercise in poor design5 Ta7e the cafeteria: 4.st a8o.t i/possi8le to .se5 ;ehind the co.nter6 the fo.r &or7ers contin.ally get in each other9s &ay5 The layo.t of the 8ac70 co.nter facilities see/s &itho.t str.ct.re or f.nction5 (ood is caref.lly heated for the c.sto/er6 8.t it gets cold 8y the ti/e the c.sto/er gets thro.gh the line5 The cafeteria has tiny ro.nd ta8les6 &hich are also too high5 There are elegant ro.nd stools to sit on5 The set .p is i/possi8le to .se if yo. are elderly or yo.ng or have yo.r hands f.ll of pac7ages5 Of co.rse6 the design /ay have 8een a deli8erate atte/pt to disco.rage .se of the cafeteria5 Consider this scenario5 The cafeteria is &ell designed, &ith spacious ta#les and co!forta#le chairs. >ut it then #eco!es too popular, interfering &ith the true pur1 si4: The Design hallenge 1'! pose of the Design entre, &hich is to encourage good design a!ong >ritish !anufacturers. The popularity of the entre and its cafeteria to tourists is une4pected. The Design entre decides to discourage people fro! using the cafeteria. They ta$e out the original ta#les and chairs and replace the! &ith dysfunctional, unco!forta#le ones, all in the na!e of good design:the goal in this case #eing to discourage people fro! using the cafeteria and lingering. %ctually, restaurants often in1 stall unco!forta#le chairs for /ust this reason. "ast1food places often have no chairs or ta#les. 8o !y co!plaints provide evidence that the design criteria &ere !et, that the design &as successful. 12 ,n Hondon , visited the ;oiler&or7s6 a part of the -ictoria and l8ert =.se./6 to loo7 at a special exhi8it called 3nat.ral design53 The exhi8it itself &as one of the 8est exa/ples of .nnat.ral design , have ever &itnessed5 Pretty6 tastef.l signs near each display5 *ra/atically stri7ing layo.t of the o84ects5 ;.t yo. co.ldn9t tell &hich sign &ent &ith &hich exhi8it6 or &hat the text /eant5 las6 this see/s typical of /.se./s5 /a4or part of the design process o.ght to 8e the st.dy of 4.st ho& the o84ects 8eing designed are to 8e .sed5 ,n the case of the cafeteria at the Hondon *esign Centre6 the designers sho.ld i/agine a cro&d of people in line6 i/agine &here the line &ill start and end6 and st.dy &hat effect the line &ill have on the rest of the /.se./5 St.dy the &or7 patterns of the cafeteria e/ployees: consider the/ responding to c.sto/er re<.ests5 Where &ill they have to /ove@ What o84ects &ill they have to reach@ ,f there are several e/ployees6 &ill they get in each other9s &ay@ nd then consider the c.sto/ers5 Grandparents &ith heavy coats6 ./8rellas6 pac7ages6 and perhaps three s/all children: ho& &ill they pay for their p.rchases@ ,s there a place for the/ to p.t do&n their pac7ages so they can open their &allets or p.rses and get o.t their /oney@ Can this 8e done in a &ay that /ini/i>es the disr.p0 tion for the next people in line and i/proves the speed and efficiency of the cashier@ nd finally6 consider the c.sto/ers at the ta8les5 Str.g0 gling to get .p on a high stool to eat off a tiny ta8le5 nd don9t 4.st i/agine: go o.t and loo7 at the c.rrent design6 or at other cafeterias5 ,ntervie& potential c.sto/ers6 intervie& the cafeteria e/ployees5 ,n the case of science /.se./s6 st.dies have to 8e /ade on people &ho are the sa/e as the intended a.dience5 The designers and e/0 ployees already 7no& too /.ch: they can no longer p.t the/selves into the role of the vie&er5 1'" The Design of Everyday Things <et !e #e positive for a change: there are science !useu!s and e4hi#its that &or$ &ell. The science !useu!s in >oston and in Toronto, the 5onterey %-uariu!, the E4ploratoriu! in 8an "rancisco. There are pro#a#ly !any others that I do not $no& a#out. onsider the E4ploratoriu!. It is dar$ and grungy on the outside, located in a re!odeled, left1over #uilding. Hery little is devoted to slee$ness or aesthetics. The e!phasis is on using and understanding the e4hi#its. The staff is interested in e4plaining things. It is possi#le to do things right. :ust don't let the focus on cost, or dura#ility, or aesthetics destroy the !a/or point of the !useu!: to #e used, to #e understood. The pro#le! of focus, I call this. *ES,GNE$S $E NOT TAP,CH )SE$S *esigners often thin7 of the/selves as typical .sers5 fter all6 they are people too6 and they are often .sers of their o&n designs5 Why don9t they notice6 &hy don9t they have the sa/e pro8le/s as the rest of .s@ The designers , have spo7en &ith are tho.ghtf.l6 concerned people5 They do &ant to do things properly5 Why6 then6 are so /any failing@ ll of .s develop an everyday psychology:professionals call it 3fol7 psychology3 or6 so/eti/es6 3naive psychology3:and it can 8e as erroneo.s and /isleading as the naive physics that &e exa/ined in chapter 25 Worse6 act.ally5 s h./an 8eings6 &e have access to o.r conscio.s tho.ghts and 8eliefs 8.t not to o.r s.8conscio.s ones5 Con0 scio.s tho.ghts are often rationali>ations of 8ehavior6 explanations after the fact5 We tend to pro4ect o.r o&n rationali>ations and 8eliefs onto the actions and 8eliefs of others5 ;.t the professional sho.ld 8e a8le to reali>e that h./an 8elief and 8ehavior are co/plex and that the individ.al is in no position to discover all the relevant factors5 There is no s.8stit.te for interaction &ith and st.dy of act.al .sers of a proposed design5 3Steve Wo>nia76 the &hi>07id co0fo.nder of pple Co/p.ter offered the first p.8lic gli/pse of CO$E6 his latest 8rainchild5 3CO$E6 &hich stands for controller of re/ote electronics6 is a single device that allo&s cons./ers to f.lly operate their ho/e e<.ip/ent 8y re/ote control as long as the e<.ip/ent is all in one roo/5 5 5 5 si4: The Design hallenge 1'' 3CO$E co/es &ith a "00page .ser /an.al5 ;.t Wo>nia7 says .sers of his gi>/o 5 5 5 &on9t 8e da.nted 8eca.se6 initially6 /ost &ill 8e 9techies59 3 1! There is a 8ig difference 8et&een the expertise re<.ired to 8e a designer and that re<.ired to 8e a .ser5 ,n their &or76 designers often 8eco/e expert &ith the device they are designing5 )sers are often expert at the tas$ they are trying to perfor/ &ith the device5 1" Steve Wo>nia7 designs a device to help people li7e hi/self6 people &ho co/plain that their ho.se is cl.ttered &ith too /any re/ote control devices for their electronic co/ponents5 So he prod.ces a single controller that replaces the /any5 ;.t the tas7 is co/plex6 the instr.c0 tion /an.al thic75 Not a pro8le/6 &e are told6 the initial .sers &ill 8e 3techies53 B.st li7e Wo>nia76 pres./a8ly5 ;.t ho& acc.rate is that characteri>ation@ *o &e even 7no& that the technically a/8itio.s6 the 3techies63 &ill really 8e a8le to .nderstand and .se the device@ The only &ay to find o.t is to test the designs on .sers:people as si/ilar to the event.al p.rchaser of the prod.ct as possi8le5 (.rther/ore6 the designer9s interaction &ith potential .sers /.st ta7e place fro/ the very 8eginning of the design process6 for it soon 8eco/es too late to /a7e f.nda/ental changes5 Professional designers are .s.ally a&are of the pitfalls5 ;.t /ost design is not done 8y professional designers6 it is done 8y engineers6 progra//ers6 and /anagers5 One designer descri8ed the iss.es to /e this &ay: +People, generally engineers or !anagers, tend to feel that they are hu!ans, therefore they can design so!ething for other hu!ans /ust as &ell as the trained interface e4pert. It's really interesting to &atch engineers and co!puter scientists go a#out designing a product. They argue and argue a#out ho& to do things, generally &ith a sincere desire to do the right thing for the user. >ut &hen it co!es to assessing the tradeoffs #et&een the user interface and internal resources in a product, they al!ost al&ays tend to si!plify their o&n lives. They &ill have to do the &or$, they try to !a$e the internal !achine architecture as si!ple as possi#le. Internal design elegance so!eti!es !aps to user interface elegance, #ut not al&ays. Design tea!s really need vocal advocates for the people &ho &ill ulti!ately use the interfaceL' .K *esigners have 8eco/e so proficient &ith the prod.ct that they can no longer perceive or .nderstand the areas that are apt to ca.se dif0 1'I The Design of Everyday Things c.ities5 Even &hen designers 8eco/e .sers6 their deep .nderstanding and close contact &ith the device they are designing /eans that they operate it al/ost entirely fro/ 7no&ledge in the head5 The .ser6 espe0 cially the first0ti/e or infre<.ent .ser6 /.st rely al/ost entirely on 7no&ledge in the &orld5 That is a 8ig difference6 f.nda/ental to the design5 ,nnocence lost is not easily regained5 The designer si/ply cannot predict the pro8le/s people &ill have6 the /isinterpretations that &ill arise6 and the errors that &ill get /ade5 nd if the designer cannot anticipate errors6 then the design cannot /ini/i>e their occ.rrence or their ra/ifications5 THE DE%?.NE!*% L?ENT% +A@ N6T BE 7%E!% *esigners /.st please their clients6 &ho are often not the end .sers5 Consider /a4or ho.sehold appliances s.ch as stoves6 refrigerators6 dish&ashers6 and clothes &ashers and dryers? and fa.cets and ther/o0 stats for heating and air conditioning syste/s5 They are often p.r0 chased 8y ho.sing developers or landlords5 ,n 8.siness6 p.rchasing depart/ents /a7e decisions for large co/panies and o&ners or /anag0 ers /a7e decisions in s/all co/panies5 ,n all these cases6 the p.rchaser is pro8a8ly interested pri/arily in price6 perhaps in si>e or appearance6 al/ost certainly not in .sa8ility5 nd once devices are p.rchased and installed6 the p.rchaser has no f.rther interest in the/5 The /an.fac0 t.rer is pri/arily concerned a8o.t these decision /a7ers6 its i//ediate c.sto/ers6 not the event.al .sers5 ,n so/e sit.ations cost /.st 8e p.t first6 especially in govern/ent or ind.stry5 ,n /y .niversity6 copying /achines are p.rchased 8y the Printing and *.plicating Center6 then dispersed to the vario.s depart0 /ents5 The copiers are p.rchased after a for/al 3re<.est for proposals3 has gone o.t to /an.fact.rers and dealers of /achines5 The selection is al/ost al&ays 8ased solely on price6 pl.s a consideration of the cost of /aintenance5 )sa8ility@ Not considered5 The state of California re<.ires 8y la& that .niversities p.rchase things on a price 8asis? there are no legal re<.ire/ents regarding .nderstanda8ility or .sa8ility of the prod.ct5 That is one reason &e get .n.sa8le copying /achines and telephone syste/s5 ,f .sers co/plained strongly eno.gh6 .sa8ility co.ld 8eco/e a re<.ire/ent in the p.rchasing specifications6 and that si4: The Design hallenge 1'1 de/and co.ld tric7le 8ac7 to the designers5 ;.t &itho.t this feed8ac76 designers /.st often design the cheapest possi8le prod.cts 8eca.se those are &hat sell5 *esigners face a to.gh tas75 They ans&er to their clients6 and it /ay 8e hard to find o.t &ho the act.al .sers are5 So/eti/es they are even prohi8ited fro/ contacting the .sers for fear they &ill incidentally reveal co/pany plans for ne& prod.cts or /islead .sers into 8elieving that ne& prod.cts are a8o.t to 8e developed5 The design process is a captive of corporate 8.rea.cracy6 &ith each stage in the process adding its o&n assess/ent and dictating the changes it 8elieves essential for its concerns5 The design is al/ost certainly altered as it leaves the designers and proceeds thro.gh /an.fact.ring and /ar7eting5 ll par0 ticipants are &ell intentioned6 and their partic.lar concerns are legiti0 /ate5 The factors sho.ld all 8e considered si/.ltaneo.sly6 ho&ever6 and not s.84ect to the accidents of ti/e se<.ence or the realities of corporate ran7 and clo.t5 One designer &rote /e this a8o.t his pro80 le/s: +5ost designers live in a &orld &here the gulf of evaluation is infinite. True, &e often $no& the product too &ell to envision ho& people &ill use it, yet &e are separated fro! the end users #y !ultiple layers of corporate #ureaucracy, !ar$eting, custo!er services, etc. These people #elieve they $no& &hat custo!ers &ant and feed#ac$ fro! the real &orld is li!ited #y >iters they i!pose. If you accept the pro#le! definition 0product re-uire!ents2 fro! these outside sources &ithout personal investigation you &ill design an inferior product regardless of your #est intentions. If this initial hurdle is overco!e you are only half&ay ho!e. The #est design ideas are often ruined #y the develop!ent1!anufacturing process that ta$es place &hen they leave the design studio. ;hat this really points out is that the process #y &hich &e design is fla&ed, pro#a#ly !ore so than our conception of ho& to create -uality designs. + .? The Co/plexity of the *esign Process +Design is the successive application of constraints until only a uni-ue product is left. + .C 1'+ The Design of Everyday Things Ao. /ight thin7 that a &ater fa.cet &o.ld 8e pretty easy to design5 fter all6 yo. /erely &ant to start or stop the flo& of &ater5 ;.t consider so/e of the pro8le/s5 S.ppose the fa.cets are for .se in p.8lic places6 &here .sers /ay fail to t.rn the/ off5 Ao. can /a7e a spring0operated fa.cet6 &hich operates only as long as the handle is held5 This a.to/atically t.rns the fa.cet off? 8.t it is diffic.lt for .sers to hold the handle &hile &etting their hands5 O76 so yo. add a ti/er? then one p.sh on the fa.cet handle yields five or ten seconds of &ater flo&5 ;.t the extra co/plexity of the fa.cet design adds to the cost and lo&ers the relia8ility of the fa.cet5 (.rther/ore6 it is diffic.lt to decide ho& long the &ater sho.ld stay on5 So/eho& it never see/s li7e long eno.gh for the .ser5 #o& a8o.t a foot0operated fa.cet6 &hich overco/es the pro8le/s of springs and ti/ers 8eca.se the &ater stops as soon as the foot leaves the pedal Cfig.re I5" %D@ This sol.tion re<.ires slightly /ore ela8orate pl./8ing6 again raising the cost5 ,t also /a7es the control invisi8le6 violating a /a4or design principle and /a7ing it diffic.lt for a ne& .ser to find the control5 #o& a8o.t a high0technology sol.tion6 &ith a.to0 /atic sensors that t.rn on the &ater as soon as a hand is placed in the sin76 t.rning it off as soon as it leaves Cfig.re I5" 'D@ This sol.tion has several pro8le/s5 (irst6 it is expensive5 Second6 it /a7es the controls invisi8le6 ca.sing diffic.lty for ne& .sers5 nd third6 it is not easy to see ho& the .ser co.ld control either the vol./e of &ater or the te/perat.re5 =ore on this fa.cet later5 Not all fa.cets are designed .nder the constraints of p.8lic fa.cets5 t ho/e6 aesthetic considerations tend to do/inate5 Styles often reflect the social and econo/ic class of the .ser5 nd different 7inds of .sers have different re<.ire/ents5 The sa/e considerations hold tr.e for /ost everyday things5 The variety of possi8le sol.tions to the .s.al pro8le/s is enor/o.s5 The range of expression per/itted the designer is vast5 =oreover6 the n./0 8er of tiny details that /.st 8e acco.nted for is asto.nding5 Pic7 .p al/ost any /an.fact.red ite/ and exa/ine its details &ith care5 The little &iggly 8ends on a hairpin are essential in 7eeping it fro/ slipping o.t of the hair: so/eone had to thin7 of that6 then design special e<.ip/ent to create the 8ends5 The felt0tip pen , a/ exa/ining as , &rite has six different si>es on the pen 8ody6 t&o different si>es on the cap5 The pen changes its taper at n./ero.s spots6 each change serving so/e f.nction5 (o.r different s.8stances co/prise the pen 8ody Cand , a/ not co.nting the in76 the container that holds the in76 or the felt si4: The Design hallenge 1'2 I5" Nonst andard (a.cets5 There are often good reasons for .sing non0 standard /eans for operating fa.cets6 8.t the res.lt is that the .ser is apt to need help to operate the/5 % Ca8oveD sho&s the fa.cet and operating in0 str.ctions fro/ the sin7 in a ;ritish train5 > CrightD sho&s an advertise0 /ent for an a.to/atic fa.cet: si/ply p.t the hand .nder it and the &ater co/es o.t at a preset te/perat.re and rate of flo&5 Convenient6 8.t only for those &ho 7no& the secret5 1I0 tipD5 The cap is /ade of t&o 7inds of plastic and one 7ind of /etal5 The inside of the cap has a n./8er of s.8tle indentations and internal str.ct.res that clearly /atch .p &ith corresponding parts of the pen 8ody6 8oth to hold the cap on fir/ly and to prevent the felt tip fro/ drying o.t5 There are /ore parts and varia8les than , &o.ld ever have i/agined5 The pen9s designer /.st 8e a&are of h.ndreds of re<.ire/ents5 =a7e the pen too thin6 and it &ill not 8e strong eno.gh to stand .p to the hard .se of schoolchildren5 =a7e the /iddle section too thic76 and it can neither 8e grasped properly 8y the fingers nor controlled &ith eno.gh precision5 Aet people &ith arthritic hands /ay need a thic7 8ody 8eca.se they can9t close their fingers entirely5 Heave o.t the tiny hole near the tip6 and press.re changes in the at/osphere &ill ca.se the in7 to lea7 o.t5 nd &hat of those &ho .se the pen as a /eas.ring device or as a /echanical i/ple/ent to pry6 po7e6 sta86 and t&ist@ (or exa/ple6 the instr.ctions for the cloc7 in /y a.to/o8ile say to set it 8y depressing the recessed 8.tton &ith the tip of a 8all0point pen5 #o& co.ld the pen designer have 7no&n a8o.t this@ What o8liga0 tion does the designer have to consider varied and o8sc.re .ses@ DE%?.N?N. F6! %$E?AL $E6$LE There is no s.ch thing as the average person5 This poses a partic.lar pro8le/ for the designer6 &ho .s.ally /.st co/e .p &ith a single design for everyone? the tas7 is diffic.lt &hen all sorts of people are expected to .se the ite/5 The designer can cons.lt hand8oo7s &ith ta8les that sho& average ar/ reach and seated height6 ho& far the average person can stretch 8ac7&ard &hile seated6 and ho& /.ch roo/ is needed for average hips6 7nees6 and el8o&s5 Physical anthropo/etry the field is called5 With the data the designer can try to /eet the si>e re<.ire/ents for al/ost everyone6 say for the 20th6 2'th6 or even the 22th percentile5 S.ppose yo. design a prod.ct for the 2'th percentile6 that is6 for everyone except the ' percent of people &ho are s/aller or larger5 Ao.9re leaving o.t a lot of people5 ,f the )nited States has 2'0 /illion people6 ' percent is 125' /illion5 Even if yo. design for the 22th percentile yo.9ll leave o.t 1 percent of the pop.lation:25' /il0 lion5 Consider typists5 Typists need to have their hands co/forta8ly poised a8ove the 7ey8oard5 ;eca.se of the thic7ness of type&riters6 si4: The Design hallenge 1I1 typi ng ta8les are designed to 8e lo&er t han &or7 ta8les5 Of co.rse6 &hat /atters is not the ta8le height or the 7ey8oard thic7ness6 8.t t he distance fro/ t he nor/al position of the typist9 s hands to t he 7ey0 8oard6 &hich is deter/ined 8y several factors: F #o& 8ig the typist is: legs6 chest6 hands F #o& high the ta8le is F #o& thic7 the 7ey8oard is F #o& high the chair is What can t he designer do@ One sol.tion is to /a7e everyt hing ad4.sta8le: chair height6 height and angle of the typi ng ta8le5 ,n fact6 good t yping ta8les have several parts: a part for the 7ey8oard6 a part for the co/p.ter screen6 a part that hol ds &or7ing papers5 Het each part 8e separately ad4.sta8le in height and angle5 Then everyone can 8e acco//odated5 So/e pro8le/s are not solved 8y ad4.st/ents5 Heft0handed people6 for exa/ple6 present special pro8le/s5 Si/ple ad4.st/ents &on9 t &or76 nor &ill averages: average a left0hander &ith a right 0hander and &hat do yo. get@ #ere is &here special prod.cts help:left0handed scissors and 7nives6 left0handed r.lers Cfig.re ?.K2. These special0p.rpose devices don9 t al&ays &or76 of co.rse6 not &hen one device is to 8e .sed 8y /any6 or &here t he ite/s are too large or expensive for each person to o&n or to carry aro.nd5 ,n s.ch cases the only sol.tion is to /a7e the device itself a/8idext ro.s6 even if that /a7es it a 8it less efficient for each person5 Consider the special pro8le/s of t he aged and infir/6 the handi 0 capped6 t he 8lind or near08lind6 the deaf or hard of hearing6 t he very short or very tall6 or the foreign5 Wheelchairs6 for exa/ple6 cannot easily /ani p.l at e c.r8s6 stairs6 or narro& aisles5 s &e age6 o.r physical agility decreases6 o.r reaction ti/e slo&s6 o.r vis.al s7ills deteriorate6 9)8 Left,handed !uler) Writing fro/ left to right &ith the left hand /eans that yo. cover &hat yo. &rite6 /a7ing r.lers hard to .se6 s/earing the in75 left0 handed pen is a pen &ith fast0drying in75 This r.ler for left0handers has the n./8ers going fro/ right to left5 One sol.tion to the pro8le/ of diversity a/ong individ.als is to prod.ce speciali>ed o84ects5 1I2 The Design of Everyday Things and o.r a8ility to attend to several things at once or to s&itch rapidly a/ong co/peting events decreases5 #igh0speed high&ays pose special pro8le/s for the aged5 n a.to0 /o8ile traveling at high speed on a cro&ded high&ay at d.s7 is already p.shing the li/it of the driver9s capa8ilities5 The elderly are p.shed 8eyond their li/it5 The sol.tion adopted 8y /any elderly drivers is to travel very slo&ly6 to ad4.st their speed to &hat their processing can handle co/forta8ly5 )nfort.nately6 the slo& driver poses a ha>ard to other drivers: on high0speed high&ays6 things are considera8ly safer if everyone travels at approxi/ately the sa/e speed5 , see no si/ple sol.tion to this pro8le/5 ,n /any cities6 especially in the )nited States6 there is no easy &ay to get fro/ one place to another except 8y private a.to/o8ile5 Aet the elderly can9t 8e expected to stay ho/e5 The sol.0 tion has got to 8e either increased p.8lic transportation6 or s.pplied drivers6 or perhaps special streets or high&ay lanes &ith slo&er speed li/its5 .to/ated cars6 the drea/ of science fiction &riters and city planners6 /ay still one day co/e a8o.t? they &o.ld ta7e care of this pro8le/5 Those of yo. &ho are yo.ng6 do not s/ir75 O.r a8ilities 8egin to deteriorate relatively early6 starting in o.r /id0t&enties5 ;y o.r /id0 forties o.r eyes can no longer ad4.st s.fficiently to foc.s over the entire range of distances6 so /ost of .s need reading glasses or 8ifocals5 ;ifocals /a7e it harder to do fine &or76 harder to .se co/p.ter ter/i0 nals C&hose screens see/ to 8e designed for t&enty0year0oldsD5 I type these &ords seated in front of !y co!puter ter!inal, head tilted up&ard at an unco!forta#le angle so that I can see the screen out of the #otto! half of !y eyeglasses. I can't figure out ho& to get co!forta#le. <o&er the screen and it gets in the &ay of !y typing. 3se special +co!puter+ glasses ad/usted for screen si7e and distance, and I can't read all the notes and outlines scattered a#out !e at various distances. "ortunately, I can change the si7e of the type that appears on the screen. I use a t&elve1point font, one &hose letters are co!forta1 #ly large. %las, this is a tradeoff, for the larger the letters on the screen, the less !aterial can fit. hange to nine1point font and I can see CJ percent !ore !aterial 0== percent !ore lines, each &ith == percent !ore &ords2: a non1trivial difference &hen I'! trying to &rite long sections. >ut the letters are == percent s!aller, !a$ing it harder #oth to read and to correct the!. %t least !y co!puter allo&s fle4i#ility in type si7eD !ost do not. si4: The Design hallenge .?= ;y the ti/e &e9re sixty6 eno.gh stray /aterial has scattered a8o.t in o.r eyes that vis.al contrast is di/inished6 eno.gh to 8e one of the /a4or reasons that airline pilots are forced to retire at this age5 t the age of sixty a person is still in good /ental and physical shape6 and the acc./.lated &isdo/ of the years leads to s.perior perfor/ance in /any tas7s5 ;.t physical strength is lessened6 the agility of the 8ody decreased6 and the speed of so/e operations lessened5 ,n a &orld &here the average age is increasing6 sixty is still relatively yo.ng: /ost sixty0 year0olds have another t&enty years to live6 /any have forty5 We need to design &ith these people in /ind:thin7 of it as designing &ith o.r f.t.re selves in /ind5 There is no si/ple sol.tion6 no one si>e fits all5 ;.t designing for flexi8ility helps5 (lexi8ility in the si>e of the i/ages on co/p.ter screens6 in the si>es6 heights6 and angles of ta8les and chairs5 (lexi8ility on o.r high&ays6 perhaps /a7ing s.re there are alternative ro.tes &ith different speed li/its5 (ixed sol.tions &ill invaria8ly fail &ith so/e people? flexi8le sol.tions at least offer a chance for those &ith special needs5 %ELET?FE ATTENT?6N: THE $!6BLE+ 6F F67% The a8ility of conscio.s attention is li/ited: foc.s on one thing and yo. red.ce yo.r attention to others5 Psychologists call the pheno/e0 non 3selective attention53 Excessive foc.s leads to a 7ind of t.nnel vision6 &here peripheral ite/s are ignored5 I &atched a consu!er sho& on >ritish television on toasters that caught Ere &hen the #read &as too dry. The consu!er representatives pointed out that people often inserted their fingers, a for$, or a $nife into the toaster to e4tract the toast. This &as very dangerous 0even !ore dangerous in >ritain than in the 3nited 8tates #ecause the voltage is 2@0 volts, not the .20 of the 3nited 8tates2. (et so!e toasters had e4posed &ires very close to the top, -uite reacha#le #y the finger or the !etal utensil. The consu!er representatives argued that !anufacturers should not have placed the &ires so close to the opening. The !anufacturers denied that their toasters &ere dangerous. +;hy,+ they as$ed, +&ould so!eone stic$ their fingers or a $nife into a toaster)+ ertainly the instructions &arned the! not to. ertainly they !ust $no& it is dangerous. To the designer, such an action is so unthin$a#le that prevention did not enter into the design considera1 tions. 1I" The Design of Everyday Things onsider the !atter fro! the user's point of vie&. The person sees a pro#le!:stuc$ or #urning toast:and focuses on the solution:to e4tract it. The danger does not co!e to !ind. To !y o&n surprise, I did the sa!e thing the very ne4t day. . inserted t&o cru!pets into the toasterD a fe& !inutes later, s!o$e &as pouring out. 'uic$, I ran over to the toaster, popped up the cru!pets as far as they &ould go, and then -uic$ly 0#ut carefully)2 inserted a $nife #lade into the toaster, do&n the side, to lift the! out. ;hat &as I doing) 8elective attention: attend to the i!!ediate pro#le!, forget the rest. 8ure I &as #eing careful, #ut that is pro#a#ly &hat the people &ho electrocuted the!selves also #elieved. It /ust didn't see! dangerous, that's all. The sa/e story is repeated over and over again5 )nder&ater divers foc.s so /.ch on str.ggling to the s.rface that they fail to release the lead &eights Con a special easy0to0release 8eltD that are 7eeping the/ .nder&ater5 People &ho are fleeing a fire p.sh hard against a door6 harder and harder6 failing to recogni>e that the door opens 8y p.lling5 So/eone is trapped 8ehind a door6 p.shing against the left side &hen it opens fro/ the right5 =otorcyclists have their hel/ets strapped to their 8i7e6 not their head5 People don9t .se seat8elts6 or they drive too fast6 8eca.se it is inconvenient to do other&ise and 8eca.se they don9t see the danger5 When there is a pro8le/6 people are apt to foc.s on it to the excl.0 sion of other factors5 The designer /.st design for the pro8le/ case6 /a7ing other factors /ore salient6 or easier to get to6 or perhaps less necessary5 That9s &hat the forcing f.nctions of chapter ' &ere all a8o.t5 =a7e the po&er c.toff s&itch of the toaster a forcing f.nction6 so that a person can9t stic7 so/ething into the toaster &itho.t flipping a po&er c.toff s&itch C&hich sho.ld 8e easy to get to and .seD5 Or change the design of the &iring and heating ele/ents so that lethal ele/ents cannot 8e reached fro/ o.tside6 no /atter &hat flesh or /etal gets p.t into the toaster5 corollary principle is that designers /.st g.ard against the pro80 le/s of foc.s in their o&n design5 *id their attention to one set of varia8les ca.se the/ to neglect another@ *id safety s.ffer for .sa8ility@ )sa8ility for aesthetics@ esthetics for /an.fact.ra8ility@ si4: The Design hallenge 1I' The (a.cet: Case #istory of *esign *iffic.lties It !ay #e hard to #elieve that an everyday &ater faucet could need an instruction !anual. I sa& one, this ti!e at the !eeting of the >ritish Psychological 8ociety in 8heffield, England. The participants stayed in dor!itories. 3pon chec$ing into one of these, the Ean!oor 6ouse, a guest &as given a pa!phlet that gave useful infor!ation: &here the churches &ere, the ti!es of !eals, the location of the post office, and ho& to &or$ the taps 0faucets2. +The taps on the &ashhand #asin are operated #y pushing do&n gently.+ ;hen it &as !y turn to spea$ at the conference, I as$ed the audience a#out those taps. 6o& !any had trou#le using it) Polite, restrained titterings fro! the audience. 6o& !any tried to turn the handle) % large sho& of hands. 6o& !any had to see$ help) % fe& honest fol$s raised their hands. %fter&ard, one &o!an ca!e up to !e and said that she had given up and had to &al$ up and do&n the halls until she found so!eone &ho could e4plain the taps to her. % si!ple sin$, a si!ple1loo$ing faucet. >ut it loo$s li$e it should #e turned, not pushed 0figure ?.? %2. If you &ant the faucet to #e pushed, !a$e it loo$ li$e it should #e pushed. It can #e done: the airlines do it right 0figure ?.? >2. Pity the poor house porters, al&ays getting calls for help a#out the faucets. 8o instructions &ere put in the orientation sheet. ;ho &ould ever thin$ of having to read instructions #efore using a faucet) %t least put the! on the faucets, &here they can't #e !issed. >ut &hen si!ple things need instructions, it is a certain sign of poor design. Why are fa.cets so hard to get right@ Het .s ta7e a closer loo7 at the t&o /a4or varia8les Cthey &ill give .s <.ite eno.gh to doD5 The person &ho .ses the fa.cets cares a8o.t t&o things: the &ater te/perat.re and vol./e5 T&o things to control5 We sho.ld 8e a8le to do that &ith t&o controls6 one for each5 Except that &ater co/es in t&o pipes6 hot and cold6 and so the t&o things that are easiest to control:vol./e of hot &ater and vol./e of cold &ater:are not the t&o things &e &ant to have controlled5 #ence the designer9s dile//a5 There are three pro8le/s? t&o relate to the /apping of intentions to actions6 and the third is the pro8le/ of eval.ation: 1II The Design of Everyday Things 9)9 ontrasting Designs for "$ush" Faucets) The fa.cets % Ca8oveD in the $an/oor dor/itory at the )niversity of Sheffield give little cl.e to their /ode of operation5 s a res.lt6 occ.pants /.st 8e s.pplied &ith the instr.ction sheet for 3the taps35 The fa.cets > C8elo&D on the sin7 of a co//ercial airline are designed properly5 P.shing is clearly indicated5 No instr.ction /an.al is re<.ired5 si4: The Design hallenge .?C ?.C -ertical (a.cets5 The &orld standard is that hot is on the left6 cold on the right5 What do yo. do here@ Why &o.ld anyone drea/ .p this sche/e@ F Which fa.cet controls the hot6 &hich the cold@ F What do yo. do to the fa.cet to /a7e it increase or decrease the &ater flo&@ F #o& do yo. deter/ine if the vol./e or te/perat.re is correct@ The t &o /appi ng pro8le/s are solved t hro.gh c.lt.ral convent ions6 or constraints5 ,t is a &orl d&i de convention that the left fa.cet sho.ld 8e hot 6 t he right cold5 ,t is also a .niversal conventi on that scre& threads are /ade to tighten &i t h cloc7&ise t .rni ng6 loosen &i t h co.ntercloc7&ise5 Ao. t .rn off a fa.cet 8y t ighteni ng a scre& t hread Ctightening a &asher against its seatD6 there8y sh.t t i ng off t he flo& of &ater5 So cloc7&ise t .rni ng sh.ts off t he &ater6 co.ntercloc7&ise t.rns it on5 )nfort.nately6 t he constraints do not al&ays hold5 =ost of t he English people , as7ed &ere not a&are t hat l eft Q hot6 ri ght Q col d &as a convention? it is violated too often to 8e considered a convent ion in England5 ;.t the conventi on isn9 t .niversal in the )nit ed States5 Hoo7 at t he pict.re of a sho&er control fro/ /y o&n .niversit y Cfig.re ?.C2. #ere &e have vertical fa.cets5 -ertical@ ,f left is t he standard for hot6 ho& does that translate to vertical arrange/ents@ ,s hot t he top or t he 8ot to/@ Weird5 1I+ The Design of Everyday Things So/eti/es a designer /esses &ith the convention on p.rpose5 The h./an 8ody has a /irror0i/age sy//etry6 says this pse.dopsycholo0 gist5 So if the left hand /oves cloc7&ise6 &hy6 the right hand sho.ld /ove co.ntercloc7&ise5 Watch o.t6 yo.r pl./8er or architect /ay install a 8athroo/ fixt.re &here cloc7&ise rotation t.rns the hot &ater off and the cold &ater on5 Or is it the other &ay aro.nd@ No /atter6 as yo. try to control the &ater te/perat.re6 soap r.nning do&n over yo.r eyes6 groping to change the &ater control &ith one hand6 soap or sha/poo cl.tched in the other6 yo. are g.aranteed to get it &rong5 The &ater is free>ing6 so yo. try to increase the a/o.nt of hot5 Ao. &ill pro8a8ly t.rn on the sho&er6 or the 8ath6 or open the drain Cor sh.t itD6 or t.rn off the hot &ater co/pletely6 or scald yo.rself5 ;hoever invented that !irror1i!age nonsense should #e forced to ta$e a sho&er. (es, there is so!e logic to it. To #e a #it fair to the inventor of the sche!e, it does &or$ reasona#ly &ell as long as you al&ays use the faucets #y placing #oth hands on the! at the sa!e ti!e, ad/usting #oth controls si!ultaneously. It fails !isera#ly, ho&ever, &hen one hand is used to alternate #et&een the t&o controls. Then you cannot re!e!#er &hich direction does &hat. What a8o.t the eval.ation pro8le/@ (eed8ac7 in the .se of /ost fa.cets is rapid and direct6 so t.rning the/ the &rong &ay is easy to discover and correct:the eval.ate0action cycle is easy to traverse5 s a res.lt6 the discrepancy fro/ nor/al r.les is often not noticed5 )nless yo. are in the sho&er and the feed8ac7 occ.rs &hen yo. scald yo.rself5 Older sin7s have t&o separate spo.ts5 #ere eval.ation is diffic.lt5 Ao. can &ave yo.r hand rapidly 8ac7 and forth 8et&een the spo.ts6 hoping there8y to get a good /ix of te/perat.res6 or yo. can fill .p the 8asin6 ad4.sting the a/o.nt of hot and cold &ater so that the acc./.lating /ixt.re reaches the desired te/perat.re5 )s.ally yo. settle for anything in the neigh8orhood5 Each pro8le/ alone isn9t a 8ig deal5 ;.t the total s./ of all the trivial /al0design .nnecessarily adds to the tra./a of everyday life5 No& consider the /odern single0spo.t6 single0control fa.cet5 Tech0 nology to the resc.e5 =ove the control one &ay6 it ad4.sts te/perat.re5 =ove it another6 it ad4.sts vol./e5 #.rrahE We control exactly the varia8les of interest6 and the /ixing spo.t solves the eval.ation pro80 le/5 Aes6 these ne& fa.cets are 8ea.tif.l5 Slee76 elegant6 pri>e &inning5 si4: The Design hallenge 1I2 )n.sa8le5 They solved one set of pro8le/s only to create yet another5 The /appi ng pro8le/s no& predo/i nate5 F Which control is associated &ith &hich action@ F What operations do yo. apply to the controls@ The pro8le/ is that it is very diffic.lt to fig.re o.t &hich part of t he slee7 fa.cet is t he control5 nd even if yo. fig.re that o.t6 it is hard to fig.re o.t in &hich direction it /oves5 nd once yo. fig.re that o.t6 it is hard to fig.re o.t &hich direction controls &hi ch action5 nd &hen these fancy6 /.lti p.rpose6 slee7 designs also control the 8asin pl.g and t he diversion of &ater to sho&er or 8at h6 disaster a&aits5 There are t &o pro8le/s here5 (irst6 in t he na/e of elegance6 t he /oving parts so/eti/es /eld invisi8ly into the fa.cet str.ct.re6 /a70 ing it nearly i/possi8le even to find t he controls6 let alone fig.re o.t &hi ch &ay t hey /ove or &hat t hey control5 Second6 in the na/e of novelty6 the ne& designs have forfeited the po&er of c.lt.ral con0 stancy5 )sers don9 t &ant each ne& design to .se a different /et hod for controlling t he &ater5 )sers need standardi>ation5 ,f all /a7ers of fa.0 cets co.ld agree on a standard set of /ot ions to control a/o.nt and te/perat .re Cho& a8o.t .p and do&n to control a/o.nt :.p /eaning increase:and left and right to control te/perat.re:left /eaning hot@D6 t hen &e co.ld all learn the st andards once6 and forever after&ard .se t he 7no&l edge for every ne& fa.cet &e enco.ntered5 ,f yo. can9t p.t the 7no&ledge on the device6 then develop a c.lt.ral constraint: standardi>e &hat has to 8e 7ept in the head5 There co.ld 8e s/all variations in the standard5 S.ppose a designer &ant ed t e/perat .re t o 8e controlled 8y a 7no8 t hat t.rned rather t han a lever that /oved left and right5 (ort.nately6 there is a nat.ral /ap0 ping that relates t.rning to direction: a cloc7&ise t .rni ng is t he sa/e as /oving to the right:getting colder:and a co.ntercloc7&ise t .rn0 ing is the sa/e as /oving to the left:hotter5 Technological develop/ent never ceases5 There is yet another sol.0 tion to t he control pro8le/6 one t hat has a slight virt.e over the others: it is cheaper5 One control t .rns the &ater on or off and lets yo. ad4.st either te/perat .re or vol./e6 8.t not 8ot h Cfig.re I5+D5 ll yo. have to do is to locate the control and operate it5 Thi n7 of all the /ental energy and conf.sion yo. have 8een saved5 We finally have a control that is tr.ly easy to .se5 S.ccess5 110 The Design of Everyday Things si4: The Design hallenge l 0 l 6.8 %im"ler Faucets) ,n % Ca8oveD the /apping pro8le/ is solved:the fa.cet is pres./ed to 8e easy to .se5 The pro8le/ is that yo. cannot control the a/o.nt of &ater5 On top of that6 once the 7no8 has 8een t.rned 1+0S6 it is no longer clear &hich &ay to t.rn it in order to /a7e the &ater hotter or colder5 (a.cet > C8elo&D co.ldn9t 8e si/pler5 ,t certainly is easy to .se5 Of co.rse6 yo. can only t.rn it on? yo. get a fixed te/perat.re and a fixed vol./e of &ater5 Wait6 &e really do &ant to control 8oth a/o.nt and te/perat.re independently5 This sol.tion gives .s only one control5 So &e can ad4.st te/perat.re6 8.t &e get o.t &hatever a/o.nt of &ater the designer tho.ght &as good for .s5 Or &e can ad4.st the a/o.nt &hile getting an ar8itrary te/perat.re5 The story of progress5 8o!e variants on this faucet control only on or off: you have control over neither volu!e nor te!perature. 8o!eti!es there is no visi#le !eans to turn on the &ater. 6o& does the novice user reali7e that one is supposed to &ave the hands under the faucet) There is no sign of the re-uired operation, no relevant infor!ation in the &orld. Perhaps you have a #ig sign: +Do not ad/ust controls, si!ply place hand under spout.+ The sign ruins the elegance, doesn't it) Interesting choice:understanda#ility or elegance. Of course, if such faucets #e1 ca!e co!!on, then people &ould $no& ho& to use the! and the signs could co!e do&n. 8o!eday. T&o *eadly Te/ptations for the *esigner Het9s ret.rn to the designer9s pro8le/s5 ,9ve /entioned the ti/e and econo/ic press.res on the/5 No& let /e tell yo. of t&o deadly te/p0 tations that a&ait the .n&ary6 te/ptations that lead to&ard prod.cts that are overly co/plex6 prod.cts that drive .sers to distraction:, call these creeping feat.ris/ and the &orshipping of false i/ages5 C$EEP,NG (ET)$,S= I recently attended a de!onstration of a ne& &ord processing pro1 gra!, held in a large, cro&ded auditoriu!. % representative fro! the co!pany sat in front of the co!puter, a video pro/ector putting a large i!age of the co!puter screen onto the !ovie screen. The audience &as s$eptical: they &ere e4perts and $ne& the li!itations of such pro1 gra!s. The de!onstrator &as s!ooth and convincing, co!posing an outline, e4panding it into te4t, indenting the paragraphs, nu!#ering the!, changing their styles, flipping into a dra&ing progra!, dra&ing a figure, inserting the dra&ing into the te4t &ith the te4t flo&ing neatly around the dra&ing. +(ou &ant t&o colu!ns)+ as$ed the de!onstra1 .C2 The Design of Everyday Things tor. +6ere it is. Three colu!ns) "our) :ust na!e it.+ The screen flo&ed: three colu!ns of te4t neatly lined up, illustrations /ust &here they ought to #e, page headers, footers, paragraph nu!#ers, #oldface italics. <arge type, s!all type, footnotes neatly displayed at the end of col1 u!ns. (ou could even highlight /ust the things that had #een changed in the last revision. (ou could leave notes for yourself or a co1author, notes that &ould appear on the screen #ut need not #e printed in the final te4t. The audience applauded. They called out for their favorite features. 3sually the de!onstrator &ould say, +(es, I a! glad you as$ed, here it is,+ and &hi7, #ang, &ave of hands, clic$ of $eys, s&ish of the !ouse, and the screen &ould display the latest called1for feature. 8o!eti!es the de!onstrator &ould say, +*ot yet, it &ill #e in the second release: in a fe& !onths.+ Creeping feat.ris/ is the tendency to add to the n./8er of feat.res that a device can do6 often extending the n./8er 8eyond all reason5 There is no &ay that a progra/ can re/ain .sa8le and .nderstanda8le 8y the ti/e it has all of those special0p.rpose feat.res5 The &ord processor , .se on /y ho/e co/p.ter co/es &ith a !"00page reference /an.al6 pl.s a 1'00page introd.ctory /an.al intended for first0ti/e .sers C&ho pro8a8ly can9t .nderstand the reference /an.al .ntil they have first read the learning /an.alD5 E=CS6 the text editor , .se on /y .niversity co/p.ter6 co/es &ith a 2'00page /an.al6 &hich &o.ld 8e longer if yo. &eren9t ass./ed to 8e expert at /any things5 #o& can .sers cope@ #o& can .sers protect the/selves fro/ the/0 selves@ fter all6 as the story of the de/onstration ill.strates6 it is the .sers &ho re<.est the feat.res? the designers are si/ply o8liging the/5 ;.t each ne& set of feat.res adds i//eas.ra8ly to the si>e and co/0 plexity of the syste/5 =ore and /ore things have to 8e /ade invisi8le6 in violation of all the principles of design5 No constraints6 no afford0 ances? invisi8le6 ar8itrary /appings5 nd all 8eca.se the .sers have de/anded feat.res5 Creeping feat.ris/ is a disease6 fatal if not treated pro/ptly5 There are so/e c.res6 8.t6 as .s.al6 the 8est approach is to practice preventive /edicine5 The pro8le/ is that the disease co/es so nat.rally6 so inno0 cently5 naly>e a tas76 and yo. see ho& it can 8e /ade easier5 Why6 adding feat.res see/s so virt.o.s6 follo&ing the very preachings of this 8oo76 si/ply trying to /a7e life easier for everyone5 ;.t &ith extra feat.res co/es extra co/plexity5 Each ne& feat.re adds yet another si4: The Design hallenge .C= control6 or display6 or 8.tton6 or instr.ction5 Co/plexity pro8a8ly increases as the s<.are of the feat.res: do.8le the n./8er of feat.res6 <.adr.ple the co/plexity5 Provide ten ti/es as /any feat.res6 /.lti0 ply the co/plexity 8y one h.ndred5 There are t&o paths to treating feat.ris/5 One is avoidance6 or at the least6 great restraint5 Aes6 allo& feat.res that see/ a8sol.tely neces0 sary6 8.t steel yo.rself to the rigors of doing &itho.t the rest5 Once a device has /.ltiple f.nctions6 there is no &ay to avoid having /.ltiple controls and operations6 /.ltiple pages of instr.ctions6 /.ltiple dif0 fic.lties and conf.sions5 The second path is organi>ation5 Organi>e6 /od.lari>e6 .se the strat0 egy of divide and con<.er5 S.ppose &e ta7e each set of feat.res and hide the/ a&ay in separate locations6 perhaps &ith dividing 8arriers 8et&een sets5 The technical &ord is !odulari7ation. Create separate f.nc0 tional /od.les6 each &ith a li/ited set of controls6 each speciali>ed for so/e different aspect of the tas75 The virt.e is that each separate /od.le has li/ited properties6 li/ited feat.res5 Aet the s./ total of feat.res in the device is .nchanged5 The proper division of a co/plex set of controls into /od.les allo&s yo. to con<.er co/plexity Cas can 8e seen in fig.re I52D5 THE :6!%H?$$?N. 6F FAL%E ?+A.E% The designer:and .ser:/ay f.rther 8e te/pted to &orship co/plex0 ity5 So/e of /y st.dents did a st.dy of office copying /achines5 They discovered that the /ost expensive6 /ost feat.re0laden /achines &ere 8est sellers a/ong la& fir/s5 *id the fir/s need the extra feat.res of the /achines@ No5 ,t t.rns o.t that they li7ed to p.t the/ in the front offices &here clients &ere &aiting:i/pressive /achines6 &ith flashing lights and pretty displays5 The fir/ gained an a.ra of 8eing /odern and .p to date6 capa8le of dealing &ith the rigors of /odern high technol0 ogy5 The fact that the /achines &ere too co/plex to 8e /astered 8y /ost of the people in the fir/s &as irrelevant: the copiers did not even have to 8e .sed:appearance alone did the 4o85 h6 yes6 the &orship0 ping of false i/ages6 in this case6 8y the c.sto/ers5 % colleague told !e of her difficulties &ith her ho!e audioLtelevi1 sion set. It &as co!prised of separate co!ponents, each alone not too co!ple4. >ut the co!#ination &as so over&hel!ing that she could not 11" The Design of Everyday Things 9); 6vercoming om"le'ity through 6rgani3ation) The re/ote control device % Ca8oveD for the ;ang N Ol.fsen a.dio set Cthere are no controls on the set itselfD serves n./ero.s feat.res and options5 The controls are /ade si/ple thro.gh several principles5 (irst6 the 8.ttons are gro.ped into logical6 f.nctional /od.les5 Second6 the display on the re/ote gives good feed8ac7 a8o.t the operation5 Third6 infre<.ently .sed controls are hidden 8eneath a panel > C8elo&D6 &hich red.ces the vis.al co/plexity in nor/al .se 8.t is availa8le &hen needed5 (08 use it. 6er solution &as to &or$ through each of the operations she &ished to perfor! and &rite e4plicit instructions for herself 0figure ?..02. %nd even &ith these instructions, operation &as not easy. 6ere the culprit clearly is the interactions a!ong co!ponents. I!agine hav1 ing to &rite several pages of instructions in order to use your o&n audio set9 ,n the case of the overly co/plex a.dioQtelevision set6 the co/po0 nents &ere fro/ different /an.fact.rers5 Nonetheless6 they &ere in0 tended to 8e p.rchased and .sed individ.ally5 , have seen e<.al co/0 plexity in co/ponents fro/ a single /an.fact.rer5 So/e salespeople try to create the i/pression that this is ho& it has to 8e6 that anyone &ith any technical co/petence can /anage to &or7 the devices5 No6 9)(< A $ersonal ?nstruction +anual) =y colleag.e had to &rite o.t three pages of instr.ctions to help herself set .p any desired config.ration of her a.dioQvideo co/ponents5 Too /any interacting parts6 too /.ch co/plexity5 .C? The Design of Everyday Things that attit.de &on9t &or75 The e<.ip/ent is si/ply too co/plex6 the interaction 8et&een co/ponents too over&hel/ing5 There &as noth0 ing partic.larly ela8orate a8o.t /y colleag.e9s e<.ip/ent5 This person &as reasona8ly sophisticated in technical things:she has a Ph5*5 in co/p.ter science:8.t &as 8affled 8y an everyday a.dio set5 One of the pro8le/s &ith a.dioQvideo e<.ip/ent is that even if each co/ponent has 8een designed &ith care6 the interaction 8et&een co/ponents ca.ses pro8le/s5 The t.ner6 cassette dec76 television6 -C$6 C* player6 and so on6 all see/ to 8e designed in relative isolation5 P.t the/ all together and there is chaos: an a/a>ing proliferation of controls6 lights6 /eters6 and interconnections that can defeat even the /ost talented5 ,n this case6 the false i/age is appearance of technical sophistication5 This is the sin responsi8le for the extra co/plexity of /any of o.r devices6 fro/ telephones and televisions to dish&ashers and &ashing /achines6 fro/ a.to/o8ile dash8oards to a.diovis.al sets5 There is no re/edy except thro.gh ed.cation5 Ao. /ight arg.e that this is a vic0 ti/less sin6 h.rting only those &ho practice it6 8.t this is not tr.e5 =an.fact.rers and designers prod.ce prod.cts for &hat they perceive as their /ar7et de/ands? therefore6 if eno.gh people sin in this &ay: and the evidence is that they do:then all the rest of .s /.st pay for the pleas.res of a fe&5 We pay in fancy6 colorf.l0loo7ing e<.ip/ent that is nearly i/possi8le to .se5 The (oi8les of Co/p.ter Syste/s No& t.rn to the co/p.ter6 an area &here all the /a4or diffic.lties of design can 8e fo.nd in prof.sion5 ,n this real/ the .ser is seldo/ considered5 There is nothing partic.larly special a8o.t the co/p.ter? it is a /achine6 a h./an artifact6 4.st li7e the other sorts of things &e have loo7ed at6 and it poses fe& pro8le/s that &e haven9t enco.ntered already5 ;.t designers of co/p.ter syste/s see/ partic.larly o8livio.s to the needs of .sers6 partic.larly s.scepti8le to all the pitfalls of design5 The professional design co//.nity is seldo/ called in to help &ith co/p.ter prod.cts5 ,nstead6 design is left in the hands of engi0 neers and progra//ers6 people &ho .s.ally have no experience6 and no expertise in designing for people5 The a8stract nat.re of the co/p.ter poses a partic.lar challenge for the designer5 The co/p.ter &or7s electronically6 invisi8ly6 &ith no sign of the actions it is perfor/ing5 nd it is instr.cted thro.gh an si4: The Design hallenge .CC a8stract lang.age6 one that specifies the internal flo& of control and /ove/ent of infor/ation6 8.t one that is not partic.larly s.ited for the needs of the .ser5 Speciali>ed progra//ers &or7 in these lang.ages to instr.ct the syste/ to perfor/ its operations5 The tas7 is co/plex6 and progra//ers /.st have a variety of s7ills and talents5 The design of a progra/ re<.ires a co/8ination of expertise6 incl.ding technical s7ills6 7no&ledge of the tas76 and 7no&ledge of the needs and a8ilities of the .sers5 Progra//ers sho.ld not 8e responsi8le for the co/p.ter9s inter0 action &ith the .ser? that is not their expertise6 nor sho.ld it 8e5 =any existing progra/s for .ser applications are too a8stract6 re<.iring ac0 tions that /a7e sense for the de/ands of the co/p.ter and to the co/p.ter professional 8.t that are not cohesive6 sensi8le6 necessary6 or .nderstanda8le to the everyday .ser5 To /a7e the syste/ easier to .se and to .nderstand re<.ires a large a/o.nt of extra &or75 , sy/pathi>e &ith the pro8le/s of the progra//er6 8.t , cannot exc.se the general lac7 of concern for the .sers5 #OW TO *O T#,NGS W$ONG Ever sit do&n to a typical co!puter) If so, you have encountered +the tyranny of the #lan$ screen.+ The person sits in front of the co!puter screen, ready to #egin. >egin &hat) 6o&) The screen is either co!pletely #lan$ or contains noninfor!ative sy!#ols or &ords that give no hint of &hat is e4pected. There is a type&riterli$e $ey1 #oard, #ut there is no reason to suppose that one $ey is prefera#le to any other. %ny&ay, isn't it true that one &rong $eystro$e can #lo& up the !achine) Or destroy valua#le data) Or accidentally get connected to so!e top1secret data #an$ and then #e investigated #y the 8ecret 8ervice) ;ho $no&s &hat danger lur$s in the $eypress) It is al!ost as frightening as #eing ta$en to a party filled &ith strange people, #eing led to the center of the roo! and let go. (our host disappears, saying: +5a$e yourself at ho!e. I'! sure there are lots of people you can tal$ to. +*ot !e. I retreat to the fringes and try to find so!ething to read. What is the pro8le/@ Nothing special6 4.st /ore of everything5 The special po&ers of the co/p.ter can a/plify all the .s.al pro8le/s to ne& levels of diffic.lty5 ,f yo. set o.t to /a7e so/ething diffic.lt to .se6 yo. co.ld pro8a8ly do no 8etter than to copy the designers of 11+ The Design of Everyday Things /odern co/p.t er syste/s5 *o yo. &ant to do things &rong@ #ere is &hat to do: F =a7e things invisi8le5 Widen the G.lf of Exec.tion: give no hints to the operations expected5 Esta8lish a G.lf of Eval.ation: give no feed8ac76 no visi8le res.lts of the actions 4.st ta7en5 Exploit the tyranny of the 8lan7 screen5 F ;e ar8itrary5 Co/p.ters /a7e this easy5 )se nono8vio.s co/0 /and na/es or actions5 )se ar8itrary /appings 8et&een the in0 tended action and &hat /.st act.ally 8e done5 F ;e inconsistent: change the r.les5 Het so/ething 8e done one &ay in one /ode and another &ay in another /ode5 This is especially effective &here it is necessary to go 8ac7 and forth 8et&een the t&o /odes5 F =a7e operations .nintelligi8le5 )se idiosyncratic lang.age or a80 8reviations5 )se .ninfor/ative error /essages5 F ;e i/polite5 Treat erroneo.s actions 8y the .ser as 8reaches of contract5 Snarl5 ,ns.lt5 =./8le .nintelligi8le ver8iage5 F =a7e operations dangero.s5 llo& a single erroneo.s action to destroy inval.a8le &or75 =a7e it easy to do disastro.s things5 ;.t p.t &arnings in the /an.al? then6 &hen people co/plain6 yo. can as76 3;.t didn9 t yo. read the /an.al@3 This list is getting depressing6 so let .s t .rn to t he good side5 The co/p.ter has vast potential 6 /ore t han eno.gh to overco/e all its pro8le/s5 ;eca.se it has .nli/i ted po&er6 8eca.se it can accept al/ost any 7i nd of control6 and 8eca.se it can create al/ost any 7i nd of pict.re or so.nd6 it has t he potential to 8ridge the g.lfs6 to /a7e life easier5 ,f designed properly6 syste/s can 8e tailored for Cand 8yD each of .s5 ;.t &e /.st insist t hat t he co/p.ter developers &or7 for .s:not for the technology6 not for the/selves5 Progra/s and syste/s do exist t hat have sho&n .s t he potential? they t a7e t he .ser into acco.nt6 and they /a7e it easier for .s to do o.r tas7s:pleas.ra8le6 even5 This is ho& it o.ght to 8e5 Co/p.t ers have t he po&er not only to /a7e everyday tas7s easier6 8.t to /a7e t he/ en4oya8le as &ell5 ,T9S N6T T66 LATE T6 D6 TH?N.% !?.HT Co/p.t er technology is still yo.ng6 still exploring its potential5 The notion lingers t hat if yo. have not passed t he secret rites of initiation si4: The Design hallenge .79 into progra//ing s7ills6 yo. sho.ld not 8e allo&ed into the society of co/p.ter .sers5 ,t is li7e the early days of the a.to/o8ile: only the 8rave6 the advent.ro.s6 and the /echanically sophisticated need apply5 Co/p.ter scientists have so far &or7ed on developing po&erf.l progra//ing lang.ages that /a7e it possi8le to solve the technical pro8le/s of co/p.tation5 Hittle effort has gone to&ard devising the lang.ages of interaction5 Every st.dent progra//er ta7es co.rses on the co/p.tational aspect of co/p.ters5 ;.t there are very fe& co.rses on the pro8le/s faced 8y the .ser? s.ch co.rses are .s.ally not re0 <.ired6 and they are not easy to fit into the already cro&ded sched.le of the fledgling co/p.ter scientist5 s a res.lt6 /ost progra//ers fl.ently &rite co/p.ter progra/s that do &onderf.l things 8.t that are .n.sa8le 8y the non0professional5 =ost progra//ers have never tho.ght of the pro8le/s faced 8y the .sers5 They are s.rprised to discover that their creations tyranni>e the .ser5 There is no longer any exc.se for this5 ,t is not that diffic.lt to develop progra/s that /a7e visi8le their actions6 that allo& the .ser to see &hat is going on6 that /a7e the set of possi8le actions visi8le6 that display the c.rrent state of the syste/ in a /eaningf.l and clear &ay5 1+ Het /e give so/e exa/ples of excellent &or76 syste/s that do ta7e into acco.nt the needs of the .ser5 (irst6 there is the spreadsheet6 an acco.nting progra/ that has changed the face of office 8oo77eeping5 The first spreadsheet progra/6 -isicalc6 &as so i/pressive that people 8o.ght co/p.ters 4.st so they co.ld .se this one progra/5 That is a strong arg./ent for its .sa8ility5 Spreadsheets have their pro8le/s? 8.t on the &hole6 they allo& people to &or7 &ith n./8ers in a conve0 nient &ay6 &ith i//ediately visi8le res.lts5 What did people li7e a8o.t the spreadsheet@ The &ay it loo7ed5 Ao. didn9t see/ to 8e .sing a co/p.ter:yo. &ere &or7ing on yo.r pro80 le/5 Ao. organi>ed the pro8le/ 4.st the &ay yo. al&ays &o.ld6 except no& it &as easy to /a7e changes6 easy to see the res.lts5 Change one n./8er and everything that depended on that n./8er changed along &ith it6 in 4.st the proper &ay5 What a painless &ay to do 8.dget pro4ections5 ll the 8enefits of the co/p.ter6 &itho.t the technical i/pedi/ents5 ,n fact6 the 8est co/p.ter progra/s are the ones in &hich the co/p.ter itself 3disappears63 in &hich yo. &or7 directly on the pro8le/ &itho.t having to 8e a&are of the co/p.ter5 %ctually, Hisicalc had nu!erous pro#le!s. The concept &as #ril1 liant, #ut the e4ecution &as fla&ed. I'! not co!plaining a#out the 1+0 The Design of Everyday Things designers, for they &ere li!ited #y the po&er of an earlier generation of personal co!puters. Today's personal co!puters are !uch !ore po&erful, and the spreadsheet progra!s are !uch easier to use. >ut the progra! esta#lished the !odel: it felt as if you &ere &or$ing directly on the pro#le!, not on a co!puter. ,t is not easy to develop effective and .sa8le co/p.ter syste/s5 (or one thing6 it is expensive5 Consider the principles descri8ed in this 8oo7: visi8ility6 constraints6 affordances6 nat.ral /appings6 feed8ac75 pplied to co/p.ter syste/s6 these /ean that6 a/ong other things6 the co/p.ter /.st 8e capa8le of /a7ing things visi8le Cor a.di8leD6 &hich re<.ires large and high <.ality vis.al displays6 a variety of inp.t de0 vices6 and plenty of co/p.ter /e/ory5 These re<.ire faster6 /ore po&erf.l co/p.ter circ.its5 nd all this adds .p to /ore expensive syste/s: /ore cost to /an.fact.re6 /ost cost to the cons./er5 ,t /ay not 8e i//ediately clear that the everyday .sers of co/p.ter syste/s are the ones &ho re<.ire the /ost po&erf.l syste/s6 &ith the /ost /e/ory and the 8est displays5 Professional progra//ers can get 8y &ith less6 for they 7no& ho& to deal &ith /ore co/plex interactions and less effective displays5 The first proper atte/pt to 8.ild an effective syste/ &as not a co//ercial s.ccess5 This &as the Oerox Star6 a 8rainchild of the Oerox Corporation9s Palo lto $esearch Center5 The developers recogni>ed the i/portance of large6 highly detailed display screens &ith plenty of graphics? they gave the /achine the a8ility to have several different doc./ents on the screen at the sa/e ti/e? and they introd.ced a pointing device:in this case6 the 3/o.se3:for the .ser to specify a &or7 area on the screen5 The Oerox Star co/p.ter &as a 8rea7thro.gh in .sa8le design5 12 ;.t the syste/ &as too expensive and too slo&5 )sers li7ed the po&er and the ease of operation6 8.t they needed 8etter perfor/ance5 The 8enefits of easy to .se co//ands &ere co/pletely o.t&eighed 8y the slo& response speed5 The display co.ld not al&ays 7eep .p &ith typing6 and re<.ests for explanation Cthe 3help3 syste/D so/eti/es too7 so long that a .ser co.ld go for a c.p of coffee &hile &aiting for an ans&er to even the si/plest <.estion5 Oerox sho&ed the &ay 8.t s.ffered a co//on fate of pioneers: the spirit &as &illing 8.t the i/ple/entation &ea75 "ortunately for the consu!er, the %pple o!puter o!pany has follo&ed through on Rero4's ideas, using the philosophy developed for si4: The Design hallenge 1+1 the Rero4 8tar 0and hiring a&ay so!e of Rero4's people2 to produce first the %pple <isa 0also too slo& and e4pensive and a failure in the !ar$etplace2 and then the 5acintosh, a success story. The approach follo&ed #y Rero4 has #een &ell docu!ented. 20 The !a/or goal &as consistency of operations, to !a$e things visi#le so that the availa#le options could al&ays #e deter!ined, and to test each idea &ith users at every step of the develop!ent process. These are all the i!portant characteristics of good syste! design. pple9s =acintosh co/p.ter /a7es extensive .se of vis.al displays5 These eli/inate the 8lan7 screen: the .ser can see &hat alternative actions are possi8le5 The co/p.ter also /a7es the actions relatively easy to do6 and it standardi>es proced.res so that /ethods learned for one progra/ apply to /ost other progra/s5 There is good feed0 8ac75 =any actions are done 8y /oving a /o.se:a s/all6 hand0held pointing device that ca.ses a /ar7er to /ove to the appropriate loca0 tion on the screen5 The /o.se provides good /apping of action to res.lt6 and the .se of /en.s:choices spelled o.t on the screen:/a7es the operations easy to perfor/5 The G.lf of Exec.tion and the G.lf of Eval.ation are 8oth sec.rely 8ridged5 The 5acintosh fails #adly at !any things, especially those for &hich it uses o#scure co!#inations of $eypresses to acco!plish so!e tas$. 5any of the pro#le!s arise fro! the use of the !ouse. The !ouse has one #utton, &hich si!plifies its use #ut !eans that so!e actions !ust #e specified #y clic$ing the #utton several ti!es or #y si!ultaneously holding do&n various co!#inations of $eys on the $ey#oard and clic$1 ing the !ouse #utton. These actions violate the #asic design philoso1 phy. They are difficult to learn, difficult to re!e!#er, and difficult to do. %h, the #uttons1on1the1!ouse pro#le!. 6o& !any #uttons should the !ouse have) Harious !odels use one, t&o, or three, three #eing the !ost co!!on nu!#er. %ctually, so!e !ice have !ore #uttonsD one design even has a chord $ey#oard on it. "ierce argu!ents rage over the correct nu!#er. The ans&er, of course, is that there is no correct an1 s&er. It is a tradeoff. Increase the nu!#er of #uttons and you si!plify so!e operations, #ut you also increase the co!ple4ity of the !apping pro#le!. Even t&o #uttons lead to an inconsistent !apping of func1 tions to #uttons. Eeduce to one #utton and the !apping pro#le! goes a&ay, #ut so, too, does so!e of the functionality. 1+2 The Design of Everyday Things The =aci nt osh provides an exa/pl e of &hat co/p.ter syste/s co.ld 8e li7e5 The design e/phasi>es visi8ility and feed8ac75 ,ts 3h./an interface g.ideli nes3 and its internal 3t ool 8ox3 provide st an0 dards for t he /any progra//ers &ho design for it5 ,t has e/phasi>ed consideration for t he .ser5 Aes6 there are several serio.s dra&8ac7s to the =acintosh: it is far fro/ perfect5 nd it isn9 t .ni <.e5 Still6 for its relative s.ccess in /a7i ng .sa8ility and .nderst andi ng i nto pri/ary design o84ectives6 ,9d give t he pple =acint osh a pri>e5 ,f only , tho.ght /ore of pri>es5 6+$7TE! A% HA+ELE6N The co/p.ter is .n.s.al a/ong /achines in t hat its shape6 for/6 and appearance are not fixed: t hey can 8e anyt hi ng t he designer &ishes the/ to 8e5 The co/p.ter can 8e li7e a cha/eleon6 changing shape and o.t&ard appearance to /atch the sit.ation5 The operations of t he co/p.ter can 8e soft6 8eing done in appearance rather t han s.8stance5 nd the appearance can 8e reversed &i t h a change of /i nd 8y t he .ser5 s .sers6 &e can create explora8le syste/s that can 8e learned thro.gh experi/entation6 &i t ho.t fear of fail.re or da/age5 (.rther/ore6 the co/p.ter can ta7e on t he appearance of t he tas7? it can disappear 8ehind a facade Cits syste/ i/ageD5 EA$L6!ABLE %@%TE+%: ?NF?T?N. EA$E!?+ENTAT?6N One i/portant /et hod of /a7ing syste/s easier to learn and to .se is to /a7e the/ explora8le6 to enco.rage t he .ser to experi/ent and learn the possi8ilities t hro.gh active exploration5 This is ho& /any people learn a8o.t ho/e appliances6 or a8o.t a ne& stereo syste/6 television set6 or video ga/e5 Wor 7 t he 8.t t ons &hile listening and loo7ing to see &hat happens5 The sa/e can 8e tr.e &i t h co/p.ter syste/s5 There are three re<.ire/ents for a syste/ to 8e explora8le5 15 ,n each state of the syste/6 the .ser /.st readily see and 8e a8le to do the allo&a8le actions5 The visi8ility acts as a s.ggestion6 re0 /inding the .ser of possi8ilities and inviting the exploration of ne& ideas and /ethods5 25 The effect of each action /.st 8e 8oth visi8le and easy to inter0 pret5 This property allo&s .sers to learn the effects of each action6 to si4: The Design hallenge 1+! develop a good /ental /odel of the syste/6 and to learn the ca.sal relationships 8et&een actions and o.tco/es5 The syste/ i/age plays a critical role in /a7ing s.ch learning possi8le5 !5 ctions sho.ld 8e &itho.t cost5 When an action has an .ndesir0 a8le res.lt6 it /.st 8e readily reversi8le5 This is especially i/portant &ith co/p.ter syste/s5 ,n the case of an irreversi8le action6 the syste/ sho.ld /a7e clear &hat effect the conte/plated action &ill have prior to its exec.tion? there sho.ld 8e eno.gh ti/e to cancel the plan5 Or the action sho.ld 8e diffic.lt to do6 nonexplora8le5 =ost actions sho.ld 8e cost0free6 explora8le6 discovera8le5 T:6 +6DE% 6F 6+$7TE! 7%A.E Co/pare t &o different &ays of getting a tas7 done5 One &ay is to iss.e co//ands to so/eone else &ho does t he act.al &or7: call this 3co/0 /and /ode3 or 3t hi rd0 person3 interaction5 The other &ay i s t o do t he operations yo.rself: call this 3direct /anip.lati on /ode3 or 3first0 person3 interaction5 The difference 8et &een these t &o is li7e t he dif0 ference 8et &een 8eing driven 8y a cha.ffe.r and driving an a.to/o8il e yo.rself5 These t &o different /odes exist &i t h co/p.ters5 21 =ost co/p.ter syste/s offer co//and /ode6 t hi rd0person inter0 actions5 To .se the co/p.ter6 yo. t ype co//ands to it6 .si ng a special 3co//and l ang.age3 that yo. have to learn5 So/e co/p.t er syste/s offer direct /anip.lation6 first0person interactions6 good exa/ples 8eing t he driving6 flying6 and sports ga/es t hat are co//onplace in arcades and on ho/e /achines5 ,n these ga/es6 t he feeling of direct control over the actions is an essential part of t he tas75 This feeling of directness is also possi8le &i t h everyday co/p.t er tas7s6 s.ch as &ri t 0 ing or 8oo77eeping5 Spreadsheet progra/s and /any text editors and &ord processing progra/s are good exa/ples of direct /ani p.l ation syste/s .sed in 8.siness5 ;oth for/s of interaction are needed5 Thi rd0person interaction is &ell s.ited for sit.ations in &hi ch the 4o8 is la8orio.s or repetitive6 as &ell as those in &hich yo. can tr.st t he syste/ Cor other personD to do t he 4o8 for yo. properly5 So/eti/es it is nice to have a cha.ffe.r5 ;.t if t he 4o8 is critical6 novel6 or ill0specified6 or if yo. do not yet 7no& exactly &hat is to 8e done6 t hen yo. need direct6 first0person i nt er0 action5 No& direct control is essential? an inter/ediary gets in t he &ay5 ;.t direct /anip.lation6 first0person syste/s have their dra&8ac7s5 l t ho.gh t hey are often easy to .se6 f.n6 and entertaining6 it is often 1+" The Design of Everyday Things diffic.lt to do a really good 4o8 &ith the/5 They re<.ire the .ser to do the tas7 directly6 and the .ser /ay not 8e very good at it5 Colored pencils and /.sical instr./ents are good exa/ples of direct /anip.la0 tion syste/s5 ;.t ,6 for one6 a/ not a good artist or /.sician5 When , &ant good art or good /.sic6 , need professional assistance5 So6 too6 &ith /any direct /anip.lation co/p.ter syste/s5 , find that , often need first0person syste/s for &hich there is a 8ac7.p inter/ediary6 ready to ta7e over &hen as7ed6 availa8le for advice &hen needed5 When , .se a direct /anip.lation syste/:&hether for text editing6 dra&ing pict.res6 or creating and playing ga/es:, do thin7 of /yself not as .sing a co/p.ter 8.t as doing the partic.lar tas75 The co/p.ter is6 in effect6 invisi8le5 The point cannot 8e overstressed: /a7e the co/p.ter syste/ invisi8le5 This principle can 8e applied &ith any for/ of syste/ interaction6 direct or indirect5 THE ?NF?%?BLE 6+$7TE! 6F THE F7T7!E Consider &hat the co/p.ter of the f.t.re /ight loo7 li7e5 S.ppose , told yo. it &o.ldn9t even 8e visi8le6 that yo. &o.ldn9t even 7no& yo. &ere .sing one@ What do , /ean@ Well6 this is already tr.e: yo. .se co/p.ters &hen yo. .se /any /odern a.to/o8iles6 /icro&ave ovens6 and ga/es5 Or C* players and calc.lators5 Ao. don9t notice the co/p.ter 8eca.se yo. thin7 of yo.rself as doing the tas76 not as .sing the co/p.ter5 22 ,n the sa/e sense6 yo. don9t go to the 7itchen to .se an electric /otor? yo. go to .se the refrigerator6 or the 8lender6 or the dish&asher5 The /otors are part of the tas76 even in the case of the 8lender6 /ixer6 or food processor6 &hich are essentially p.re /otors and the speciali>ed attach/ents they drive5 The co!puter of the future is perhaps #est illustrated #y !y i!agi1 nary perfect calendar. 8uppose I a! ho!e one evening, deciding &hether to accept an invitation to attend a conference ne4t 5ay. I pic$ up !y appoint!ent calendar and turn to the appropriate page. I tenta1 tively decide that I can attend and pencil in the topic. The calendar flashes at !e and displays a note re!inding !e that the university &ill still #e in session during that period and that the trip overlaps !y &ife's #irthday. I decide that the conference is i!portant, so I !a$e a note to chec$ &hether I can get so!eone to ta$e over !y classes and to see &hether I can leave the conference early for the #irthday. I close the si4: The Design hallenge 1+' calendar and get #ac$ to other things. The ne4t day, &hen I arrive at !y office I find t&o notes on !y !essage screen: one to find a su#sti1 tute for !y classes ne4t 5ay, the other to chec$ &ith the conference organi7ers to see if I can leave early. This i!aginary calendar loo$s li$e a calendar. It's a#out the si7e of a standard pad of paper, it opens up to display dates. >ut it really is a co!puter, so it can do things that today's appoint!ent calendar cannot. It can, for e4a!ple, present its infor!ation in different for!ats: it can display the pages co!pressed so that a &hole year fits on one pageD it can e4pand the display so that I see a single day in thirty1 !inute intervals. >ecause I fre-uently use !y calendar in con/unction &ith !y travels, the calendar is also an address #oo$, notepad, and e4pense account record. 5ost i!portant, it can also connect itself to !y other syste!s 0via a &ireless infrared or electro!agnetic channel2. Thus, &hatever I enter into the calendar gets trans!itted to !y office and ho!e syste!s so that they are al&ays in synchrony. If I !a$e an appoint!ent or change so!eone's address or telephone nu!#er on one syste!, the others get told. ;hen I finish a trip, the e4pense record can #e transferred to the e4pense account for!. The co!puter is invisi#le, hidden #eneath the surfaceD only the tas$ is visi#le. %lthough I !ay actually #e using a co!puter, I feel as if I a! using !y appoint!ent calendar. 1+I The Design of Everyday Things )SE$0CENTE$E* *ES, GN OFF THE LEASH B/ W:B: $+5; GDarn these hoo0esF I hit the ron+ sitch a+ainF 4ho )esi+ns these instr'ment -anels, raccoons>G (B0 The point of POET is to advocate a .ser0centered design6 a phi loso0 phy 8ased on the needs and interests of t he .ser6 &i t h an e/phasis on /a7ing prod.cts .sa8le and .nderst anda8l e5 ,n this chapter , s.//a0 ri>e t he /ai n principles6 disc.ss so/e i/plications6 and offer s.gges0 tions for t he design of everyday things5 *esign sho.ld: F =a7e it easy to deter/ine &hat actions are possi8le at any /o/ent C/a7e .se of constraintsD5 F =a7e things visi8le6 incl.ding the concept.al /odel of the syste/6 the alternative actions6 and the res.lts of actions5 F =a7e it easy to eval.ate the c.rrent state of the syste/5 F (ollo& nat.ral /appings 8et&een intentions and the re<.ired ac0 tions? 8et&een actions and the res.lting effect? and 8et&een the infor/ation that is visi8le and the interpretation of the syste/ state5 ,n other &ords6 /a7e s.re t hat C1D t he .ser can fig.re o.t &hat to do6 and C2D the .ser can tell &hat is going on5 *esign sho.ld /a7e .se of the nat .ral properties of people and of t he &orld: it sho.ld exploit nat.ral relationships and nat.ral con0 straints5 s /.ch as possi8le6 it sho.l d operate &i t ho.t instr.ctions or la8els5 ny necessary instr.ction or training sho.ld 8e needed only once? &i t h each explanation t he person sho.l d 8e a8le to say6 3Of co.rse63 or 3Aes6 , see53 si/ple explanation &ill s.ffice if t here is reason to t he design6 if everything has its place and its f.nction6 and if t he o.tco/es of actions are visi8le5 ,f t he explanation leads t he person to t hi n7 or say6 3#o& a/ , going to re/e/8er t hat @3 t he design has failed5 Seven Principles for Transfor/ing *iffic.lt Tas7s into Si/ple Ones #o& does t he designer go a8o.t t he tas7@ s ,9ve arg.ed in POET6 the principles of design are straightfor&ard5 15 )se 8oth 7no&ledge in the &orld and 7no&ledge in the head5 25 Si/plify the str.ct.re of tas7s5 !5 =a7e things visi8le: 8ridge the g.lfs of Exec.tion and Eval.ation5 "5 Get the /appings right5 1++ The Design of Everyday Things '5 Exploit the po&er of constraints6 8oth nat.ral and artificial5 I5 *esign for error5 15 When all else fails6 standardi>e5 )SE ;OT# %NOWHE*GE ,N T#E WO$H* N* %NOWHE*GE ,N T#E #E* , have arg.ed that people learn 8etter and feel /ore co/forta8le &hen the 7no&ledge re<.ired for a tas7 is availa8le externally:either expli0 cit in the &orld or readily derived thro.gh constraints5 ;.t 7no&ledge in the &orld is .sef.l only if there is a nat.ral6 easily interpreted relationship 8et&een that 7no&ledge and the infor/ation it is intended to convey a8o.t possi8le actions and o.tco/es5 Note6 ho&ever6 that &hen a .ser is a8le to internali>e the re<.ired 7no&ledge:that is6 to get it into the head:perfor/ance can 8e faster and /ore efficient5 Therefore6 the design sho.ld not i/pede action6 especially for those &ell0practiced6 experienced .sers &ho have inter0 nali>ed the 7no&ledge5 ,t sho.ld 8e easy to go 8ac7 and forth6 to co/8ine the 7no&ledge in the head &ith that in the &orld5 Het &hich0 ever is /ore readily availa8le at the /o/ent 8e .sed &itho.t interfer0 ing &ith the other6 and allo& for /.t.al s.pport5 TH!EE 6NE$T7AL +6DEL% The operation of any device:&hether it 8e a can opener6 a po&er generating plant6 or a co/p.ter syste/:is learned /ore readily6 and the pro8le/s are trac7ed do&n /ore acc.rately and easily6 if the .ser has a good concept.al /odel5 This re<.ires that the principles of opera0 tion 8e o8serva8le6 that all actions 8e consistent &ith the concept.al /odel6 and that the visi8le parts of the device reflect the c.rrent state of the device in a &ay consistent &ith that /odel5 The designer /.st develop a concept.al /odel that is appropriate for the .ser6 that cap0 t.res the i/portant parts of the operation of the device6 and that is .nderstanda8le 8y the .ser5 Three different aspects of /ental /odels /.st 8e disting.ished: the design !odel, the user's !odel, and the syste! i!age Cfig.re 151D5 The design /odel is the concept.ali>ation that the designer has in /ind5 The .ser9s /odel is &hat the .ser develops to explain the operation of the syste/5 ,deally6 the .ser9s /odel and the design /odel are e<.ivalent5 #o&0 8EHE*: 3ser1entered Design 1+2 151 Three spects of =ental =odels5 The design /odel6 the .ser9s /odel6 and the syste/ i/age5 C(ro/ Nor/an6 12+I5D 120 The Design of Everyday Things ever6 the .ser and designer co//.nicate only thro.gh the syste/ itself: its physical appearance6 its operation6 the &ay it responds6 and the /an.als and instr.ctions that acco/pany it5 Th.s the syste! i!age is critical: the designer /.st ens.re that everything a8o.t the prod.ct is consistent &ith and exe/plifies the operation of the proper concep0 t.al /odel5 ll three aspects are i/portant5 The .ser9s /odel is essential6 of co.rse6 for that deter/ines &hat is .nderstood5 ,n t.rn6 it is .p to the designer to start &ith a design /odel that is f.nctional6 learna8le6 and .sa8le5 The designer /.st ens.re that the syste/ reveals the appropri0 ate syste/ i/age5 Only then can the .ser ac<.ire the proper .ser9s /odel and find s.pport for the translation of intentions into actions and syste/ state into interpretations5 $e/e/8er6 the .ser ac<.ires all 7no&ledge of the syste/ fro/ that syste/ i/age5 THE !6LE 6F +AN7AL% The syste/ i/age incl.des instr.ction /an.als and doc./entation5 5anuals tend to #e less helpful than they should #e. They are often &ritten hastily, after the product is designed, under severe ti!e pres1 sures and &ith insufficient resources, and #y people &ho are over1 &or$ed and underappreciated. In the #est of &orlds, the !anuals &ould #e &ritten first, then the design &ould follo& the !anual. ;hile the product &as #eing designed, potential users could si!ultaneously DE8II* 5ODE< DESIGNER S$STE% 8(8TE5 I5%IE USER 38EE'8 5ODE< test the !anuals and !oc$1ups of the syste!, giving i!portant design feed#ac$ a#out #oth. %las, even the #est !anuals cannot #e counted onD !any users do not read the!. O#viously it is &rong to e4pect to operate co!ple4 devices &ithout instruction of so!e sort, #ut the designers of co!ple4 devices have to deal &ith hu!an nature as it is. S,=PH,(A T#E ST$)CT)$E O( TS%S Tas7s sho.ld 8e si/ple in str.ct.re6 /ini/i>ing t he a/o.nt of pl an0 ning or pro8le/ solving t hey re<.ire5 )nnecessarily co/plex tas7s can 8e restr.ct.red6 .s.ally 8y .sing technological i nnovati ons5 #ere is &here t he designer /.st pay attention to t he psychology of the person6 to t he li/its on ho& /.ch a person can hold in /e/ory at one ti/e6 to the li/its on ho& /any active t ho.ght s can 8e p.rs.ed at once5 These are t he li/itations of short 0t er/ and l ong0t er/ /e/ory and of attenti on5 The li/itations of short 0t er/ /e/ory CST=D are s.ch that a person sho.ld not 8e re<.ired to re/e/8er /ore t han a8o.t five .nrelated ite/s at one ti/e5 ,f necessary6 t he syste/ sho.ld provide technological assistance for any te/porary /e/ory re<.ire/ent s5 The li/itations of l ong0t er/ /e/ory CHT=D /ean that infor/ation is 8et 0 ter and /ore easily ac<.ired if it /a7es sense6 if it can 8e integrated into so/e concept.al fra/e&or75 =oreover6 retrieval fro/ HT= is apt to 8e slo& and to contai n errors5 #ere is &here infor/ation in t he &orld is i /port ant 6 to re/ind .s of &hat can 8e done and ho& to do it5 Hi/itations on attention are also severe? t he syst e/ sho.ld help 8y /ini/i>ing interr.pti on6 8y providing aids to allo& for recovery of t he exact stat.s of t he operations that &ere int err.pted5 /a4or role of ne& technology sho.ld 8e to /a7e tas7s si/pler5 tas7 can 8e restr.ct.red t hro.gh technology6 or technology /i ght pr o0 vide aids to red.ce t he /ent al load5 Technological aids can sho& t he alternative co.rses of action? help eval.ate i/plications? and port ray o.tco/es in a /ore co/plete6 /ore easily interpreta8le /anner5 These aids can /a7e the /appi ngs /ore visi8le or6 8etter6 /a7e t he /appings /ore nat.ral5 (o.r /a4or technological approaches can 8e follo&ed: F %eep the tas7 /.ch the sa/e6 8.t provide /ental aids5 F )se technology to /a7e visi8le &hat &o.ld other&ise 8e invisi8le6 th.s i/proving feed8ac7 and the a8ility to 7eep control5 8EHE*: 3ser1entered Design 121 F .to/ate6 8.t 7eep the tas7 /.ch the sa/e5 F Change the nat.re of the tas75 Het .s loo7 separately at each of these possi8ilities5 EEE$ THE TA%E +7H THE %A+ED B7T $!6F?DE +ENTAL A?D% *on9t .nderesti/ate the po&er or i/portance of si/ple /ental aids5 Consider6 for exa/ple6 the val.e of si/ple6 everyday notes to o.r0 selves5 Witho.t the/6 &e /ight fail5 Or si/ple notepads for telephone n./8ers6 na/es6 addresses:for the facts that are essential to everyday f.nctioning6 8.t that &e cannot tr.st o.r o&n /e/ory str.ct.res to provide5 So/e /ental aids are also technological advances? these in0 cl.de &atches6 ti/ers6 calc.lators6 poc7et dictating /achines6 co/p.ter notepads6 and co/p.ter alar/s5 So/e aids are still to co/e: the poc7et co/p.ter &ith a po&erf.l display6 &hich &ill 7eep o.r notes6 re/ind .s of o.r appoint/ents6 and s/ooth o.r passage thro.gh the sched.les and interactions of life5 7%E TEHN6L6.@ T6 +AEE F?%?BLE :HAT :67LD 6THE!:?%E BE ?NF?%?BLED TH7% ?+$!6F?N. FEEDBAE AND THE AB?L?T@ T6 EEE$ 6NT!6L The instr./ents in the a.to/o8ile or aircraft do not change the tas76 8.t they do /a7e visi8le the state of the engine and the other parts of the vehicle6 even tho.gh yo. cannot physically get access to the/5 Si/ilarly6 the /icroscope and telescope6 television set6 ca/era6 /icro0 phone6 and lo.dspea7er all provide &ays of getting infor/ation a8o.t a re/ote o84ect6 /a7ing visi8le Cor a.di8leD &hat is happening6 /a7ing possi8le tas7s and p.rs.its that &o.ld other&ise not 8e possi8le5 With /odern co/p.ters and their po&erf.l graphic displays6 &e no& have the po&er to sho& &hat is really happening6 to provide a good6 co/0 plete i/age that /atches the person9s /ental /odel of the tas7: there8y si/plifying 8oth .nderstanding and perfor/ance5 Today6 co/p.ter graphics are .sed /ore for sho& than for legiti/ate p.r0 poses5 Their po&ers are &asted5 ;.t there exists great potential to /a7e visi8le &hat sho.ld 8e visi8le Cand to 7eep hidden &hat is irrelevantD5 These first t&o approaches to !ental aids $eep the !ain tas$s un1 changed. They act as re!inders. They reduce !e!ory load #y provid1 122 The Design of Everyday Things ing e4ternal !e!ory devices 0providing $no&ledge in the &orld rather than re-uiring it to #e in the head2. They supple!ent our perceptual a#ilities. 8o!eti!es they enhance hu!an s$ills sufficiently so that a /o# that &as not possi#le #efore, or &as possi#le only for the !ost highly s$illed perfor!ers, #eco!es availa#le to !any. Don't these so1called advances also cause us to lose valua#le !ental s$ills) Each technological advance that provides a !ental aid also #rings along critics &ho decry the loss of the hu!an s$ill that has #een !ade less valua#le. "ine, I say: if the s$ill is easily auto!ated, it &asn't essential. I prefer to re!e!#er things #y &riting the! on a pad of paper rather than spending hours of study on the art of !e!ory. I prefer using a poc$et calculator to spending hours of pencil pushing and grinding, usually only to !a$e an arith!etic !ista$e and not discover it until after the har! has #een done. I prefer prerecorded !usic to no !usic, even if I ris$ #eco!ing co!placent a#out the po&er and #eauty of the rare perfor!ance. %nd I prefer &riting on a te4t editor or &ord proces1 sor so that I can concentrate on the ideas and the style, not on !a$ing !ar$s on the paper. Then I can go #ac$ later and correct ideas, redo the gra!!ar. %nd &ith the aid of !y all1i!portant spelling correction progra!, I can #e confident of !y presentation. Do I fear that I &ill lose !y a#ility to spell as a result of overreliance on this technological crutch) ;hat a#ility) %ctually, !y spelling is i!proving through the use of this spelling corrector that continually points out !y errors and suggests the correction, #ut &on't !a$e a change unless I approve. It is certainly a lot !ore patient than !y teachers used to #e. %nd it is al&ays there &hen I need it, day or night. 8o I get continual feed#ac$ a#out !y errors, plus useful advice. 5y typing does see! to #e deteriorating #ecause I can no& type even !ore sloppily, confident that !y !ista$es &ill #e detected and corrected. In general, I &elco!e any technological advance that reduces !y need for !ental &or$ #ut still gives !e the control and en/oy!ent of the tas$. That &ay lean e4ert !y !ental efforts on the core of the tas$, the thing to #e re!e!#ered, the purpose of the arith!etic or the !usic. I &ant to use !y !ental po&ers for the i!portant things, not fritter the! a&ay on the !echanics. A7T6+ATED B7T EEE$ THE TA%E +7H THE %A+E There are dangers in si/plification: .nless &e are caref.l6 the a.to0 /ation can har/ as &ell as help5 Consider one i/pact of a.to/ation5 8EHE*: 3ser1entered Design 12! s 8efore6 the tas7 &ill stay essentially the sa/e6 8.t parts of it &ill disappear5 ,n so/e cases the change is confir/ed as a .niversal 8less0 ing5 , don9t 7no& of anyone &ho /isses the a.to/atic spar7 advance in a.to/o8iles or cran7ing the engine to get it started5 B.st a fe& people /iss having /an.al control over the a.to/o8ile cho7e5 On the &hole6 this type of a.to/ation has res.lted in .sef.l advances6 replacing tedio.s or .nnecessary tas7s and red.cing &hat /.st 8e /onitored5 The a.to/atic controls and instr./ents of ships and air0 craft have 8een great i/prove/ents5 So/e a.to/ation is /ore pro80 le/atic5 .to/atic shift on a car: *o &e lose so/e control6 or does it help lighten the /ental 8.rden of driving@ fter all6 &e drive to get to a destination6 so the need to /onitor engine speed and gearshift position &o.ld see/ <.ite irrelevant5 ;.t so/e people ta7e pleas.re in perfor/ing the tas7 itself? for the/6 part of driving is .sing the engine &ell6 8elieving that they can operate /ore efficiently than can the a.to/atic device5 What a8o.t the a.to/atic pilot of an aircraft6 or the a.to/atic navigation syste/s that have eli/inated the sextant and lengthy co/0 p.tations@ Or &hat a8o.t fro>en6 precoo7ed /eals@ *o the changes destroy the essence of the tas7@ #ere there9s /ore de8ate5 ,n the 8est of &orlds &e &o.ld 8e a8le to choose a.to/ation or f.ll control5 HAN.E THE NAT7!E 6F THE TA%E When a tas7 see/s inherently co/plex 8eca.se of the /an.al s7ill re<.ired6 certain technological aids can dra/atically change &hich type of s7ill is re<.ired 8y restr.ct.ring the tas75 ,n general6 technology can help transfor/ deep6 &ide str.ct.res into narro&er6 shallo&er ones5 Tying a shoelace is one of the standard6 everyday tas7s that is act.0 ally <.ite diffic.lt to learn5 d.lts /ay have forgotten ho& long it too7 the/ to learn C8.t they &ill 8e re/inded if their fingers stiffen &ith in4.ry6 age6 or diseaseD5 The introd.ction of ne& fastening /aterials: for exa/ple6 -elcro hoo70and0loop fasteners:has eli/inated the need for a co/plex se<.ence of s7illed /otor actions 8y changing the tas7 to one that is considera8ly si/pler6 one that re<.ires less s7ill5 The tas7 has 8eco/e possi8le for 8oth yo.ng children and infir/ ad.lts5 The exa/ple of shoelaces /ay see/ trivial6 8.t it isn9t? li7e /any everyday activities6 it is diffic.lt for a large seg/ent of the pop.lation and its diffic.lties can 8e overco/e thro.gh the restr.ct.ring provided 8y a si/ple technology5 12" The Design of Everyday Things The hoo$1and1loop fasteners provide another e4a!ple of design tradeoffs 0figure C.22. 6oo$1and1loop fasteners dra!atically si!plify shoe fastening for the young and infir!. >ut they add to the pro#le!s of parents and teachers, for children delight in fastening and unfasten1 ing their shoesD so a fastener that is !ore difficult to &or$ has certain virtues. %nd for sports for &hich precise support of the foot is re-uired, the #est solution still appears to #e the shoelace, &hich can #e ad/usted so as to offer different tensions at different parts of the foot. The current generation of hoo$1and1loop fasteners does not have the fle41 i#ility of laces. *igital &atches represent another exa/ple of ho& a ne& technology can s.pplant an old one? it has delayed or eli/inated t he need for children to learn t he /appi ng of the analog hands of t he traditional cloc7face ont o t he ho.rs6 /i n.t es6 and seconds of the day5 *igital ti/epieces are controversial: in changing t he representation of ti/e6 t he 152 #oo70and0Hoop (astener5 With the .se of hoo70and0loop fasteners6 the act of tying shoes is /.ch si/plified: a good exa/ple of the po&er of technology to change the nat.re of the tas75 ;.t there is a cost5 Children find the tas7 so easy they gleef.lly .ntie their shoes5 nd these fasteners are not yet as flexi8le as shoelaces for the s.pport needed for sports5 8EHE*: 3ser1entered Design 12' po&er of t he analog for/ has 8een lost6 and it has 8eco/e /ore dif0 fic.lt to /a7e <.ic7 4.dg/ent s a8o.t ti/e5 The digital display /a7es it easier to deter/i ne t he exact ti/e6 8.t harder to /a7e esti/ates or to see approxi/at ely ho& /.ch ti/e has passed since an earlier read0 ing5 This /ight serve as a .sef.l re/inder t hat tas7 si/plification6 8y itself6 is not necessarily a virt.e5 I do not &ant to argue for digital ti!epieces, #ut let !e re!ind you ho& difficult and ar#itrary the analog ti!epiece really is. %fter all, it, too, &as an ar#itrary i!position of a notational sche!e, i!posed upon the &orld #y the early technologists. Today, #ecause &e can no longer re!e!#er the origins, &e thin$ of the analog syste! as necessary, virtuous, and proper. It presents a horrid, classic e4a!ple of the !ap1 ping pro#le!. (es, the notion that ti!e should #e represented #y the distance a hand !oves around a circle is a good one. The pro#le! is that &e use t&o or three different hands !oving around the sa!e circle, each one !eaning so!ething different and operating on a different scale. ;hich hand is &hich) 0Do you re!e!#er ho& hard it is to teach a child the difference #et&een the little hand and the #ig hand, and not to confuse the second hand:&hich is so!eti!es #ig, so!eti!es little:&ith the !inute hand or the hour hand)2 Do I e4aggerate) Eead &hat ,evin <ynch says a#out this in his delightful #oo$ on city planning, What ti/e is this place@ 3Telling ti/e is a si/ple technical pro8le/6 8.t .nfort.nately the cloc7 is a rather o8sc.re percept.al device5 ,ts first &idespread .se in the thirteenth cent.ry &as to ring the ho.rs for clerical devotions5 The cloc7face &hich translated ti/e into spatial alteration6 ca/e later5 That for/ &as dictated 8y its &or7s6 not 8y any principle of perception5 T&o Cso/eti/es threeD s.peri/posed cycles give d.pli0 cate readings6 according to ang.lar displace/ent aro.nd a finely /ar7ed ri/5 Neither /in.tes nor ho.rs nor half days correspond to the nat.ral cycles of o.r 8odies or the s.n5 nd so teaching a child to read a cloc7 is not a childish .nderta7ing5 When as7ed &hy a cloc7 had t&o hands6 a fo.r0year0old replied6 9God tho.ght it &o.ld 8e a good idea59 3 %ircraft designers started using !eters that loo$ed li$e cloc$faces to represent altitude. %s airplanes &ere a#le to fly higher and higher, the !eters needed !ore hands. Iuess &hat) Pilots !ade errors:seri1 ous errors. 5ultihanded analog alti!eters have #een largely a#an1 doned in favor of digital ones #ecause of the prevalence of reading 12I The Design of Everyday Things errors. Even so, !any conte!porary alti!eters !aintain a !i4ed !ode: infor!ation a#out rate and direction of altitude change is deter!ined fro! a single analog hand, &hile precise /udg!ents of height co!e fro! the digital display, D6N*T TAEE A:A@ 6NT!6L .to/ation has its virt.es6 8.t a.to/ation is dangero.s &hen it ta7es too /.ch control fro/ the .ser5 3Overa.to/ation3:too great a degree of a.to/ation:has 8eco/e a technical ter/ in the st.dy of a.to/ated aircraft and factories5 2 One pro8le/ is that overreliance on a.to/ated e<.ip/ent can eli/inate a person9s a8ility to f.nction &itho.t it6 a prescription for disaster if6 for exa/ple6 one of the highly a.to/ated /echanis/s of an aircraft s.ddenly fails5 second pro8le/ is that a syste/ /ay not al&ays do things exactly the &ay &e &o.ld li7e6 8.t &e are forced to accept &hat happens 8eca.se it is too diffic.lt Cor i/possi8leD to change the operation5 third pro8le/ is that the person 8eco/es a servant of the syste/6 no longer a8le to control or infl.ence &hat is happening5 This is the essence of the asse/8ly line: it deper0 sonali>es the 4o86 it ta7es a&ay control6 it provides6 at 8est6 a passive or third0person experience5 ll tas7s have several layers of control5 The lo&est level is the details of the operation6 the ni/8le finger &or7 of se&ing or playing the piano6 the ni/8le /ental &or7 of arith/etic5 #igher levels of control affect the overall tas76 the direction in &hich the &or7 is going5 #ere &e deter/ine6 s.pervise6 and control the overall str.ct.re and goals5 .to0 /ation can &or7 at any level5 So/eti/es &e really &ant to /aintain control at the lo&er level5 (or so/e of .s6 it is the ni/8le exec.tion of the finger or /ind that /atters5 So/e of .s &ant to play /.sic &ith s7ill5 Or &e li7e the feel of tools against &ood5 Or &e en4oy &ielding a paint8r.sh5 ,n cases li7e these6 &e &o.ld not &ant a.to/ation to interfere5 t other ti/es &e &ant to concentrate on higher level things5 Perhaps o.r goal is to listen to /.sic6 and &e find the radio /ore effective for .s than the piano? perhaps o.r artistic s7ill can9t get .s as far as can a co/p.ter progra/5 =%E T#,NGS -,S,;HE: ;$,*GE T#E G)H(S O( EOEC)T,ON N* E-H)T,ON This has 8een a focal the/e of POET5 =a7e things visi8le on the exec.tion side of an action so that people 7no& &hat is possi8le and 8EHE*: 3ser1entered Design .BC ho& actions sho.ld 8e done? /a7e things visi8le on the eval.ation side so that people can tell the effects of their actions5 There is /ore5 The syste/ sho.ld provide actions that /atch in0 tentions5 ,t sho.ld provide indications of syste/ state that are readily perceiva8le and interpreta8le and that /atch intentions and expectations5 nd6 of co.rse6 the syste/ state sho.ld 8e visi8le Cor a.di8leD and readily interpreta8le5 =a7e the o.tco/es of an action o8vio.s5 8o!eti!es the &rong things are visi#le. % friend of !ine, a profes1 sor of co!puter science at !y university, proudly sho&ed !e his ne& D player and its associated re!ote control. 8lee$, functional. The re!ote control unit had a little !etal loop protruding fro! one end. ;hen I as$ed &hat it &as for, !y friend told a story. ;hen he first got the set, he assu!ed that the loop &as an antenna for the re!ote unit, so he al&ays ai!ed it at the D player. It didn't see! to &or$ &ellD he had to stand &ithin a fe& feet of the D &hile using the re!ote. 6e !u!#led to hi!self that he had #ought a poorly designed unit. ;ee$s later he discovered that the !etal hoo$ &as /ust a hoo$ for hanging up the device. 6e had #een ai!ing the re!ote at his o&n #ody. ;hen he turned the re!ote around, it &or$ed fro! far across the roo!. 6ere is a case of natural !appings that fails. The hoo$ provided a natural !apping for function: it indicated &hich side of the re!ote control device should #e pointed at the D set. 3nfortunately, it pro1 vided erroneous infor!ation. In !a$ing things visi#le, it is i!portant to !a$e the correct things visi#le. Other&ise people for! e4planations for the things they can see, e4planations that are li$ely to #e false. %nd then they find so!e reason for poor perfor!ance:in this e4a!ple, that the re!ote &as not very po&erful. People are very good at for!ing e4planations, at creating !ental !odels. It is the designer's tas$ to !a$e sure that they for! the correct interpretations, the correct !ental !odels: the syste! i!age plays the $ey role. Ee!ote trans!itter units that need to #e pointed at a receiver should have so!e visi#le evidence of the trans!itting !echanis!. 5ode! units carefully hide any indication of the signaling !ethod, violating the rules of visi#ility. 5y friend searched hard for so!e clue of the direction to point the device in, and he found one: the hoo$. %nd, no, the instruction !anual did not say &hich end of the unit should #e pointed at the D player. 12+ The Design of Everyday Things GET T#E =PP,NGS $,G#T Exploit nat .ral /appings5 =a7e s.re t hat t he .ser can deter/i ne t he relationships: F ;et&een intentions and possi8le actions F ;et&een actions and their effects on the syste/ F ;et&een act.al syste/ state and &hat is perceiva8le 8y sight6 so.nd6 or feel F ;et&een the perceived syste/ state and the needs6 intentions6 and expectations of the .ser Nat.ral /appi ngs are the 8asis of &hat has 8een called 3response co/pati8ility3 &i t hi n the fields of h./an factors and ergono/ics5 The /a4or re<.i re/ent of response co/pati8ility is t hat t he spatial rela0 tionship 8et &een t he positioning of controls and t he syste/ or o84ects .pon &hi ch t hey operat e sho.ld 8e as direct as possi8le6 &i t h t he controls either on t he o84ects the/selves or arranged to have an anal og0 ical relationship to t he/5 ,n si/ilar fashion6 t he /ove/ent of t he controls sho.ld 8e si/ilar or analogo.s to t he expected operation of the syste/5 *iffic.lties arise &herever t he positioning and /ove/ent s of the controls deviate fro/ strict proxi/ity6 /i/icry6 or analogy to t he things 8eing controlled5 The sa/e arg./ent s apply to t he relationship of syste/ o.t p.t to expectations5 critical part of an action is t he eval.ation of its effects5 This re<.ires ti/ely feed8ac7 of t he res.lts5 The feed8ac7 /.st pro0 vide infor/ation t hat /at ches t he .ser9 s intentions and /.st 8e in a for/ t hat i s easy to .nderst and5 =any syste/s o/it t he relevant visi8le o.tco/es of actions? even &hen infor/ation a8o.t t he syste/ state is provided6 i t /ay not 8e easy to interpret5 The easiest &ay to /a7e things .nderstanda8l e is to .se graphics or pict.res5 =odern syste/s Cespecially co/p.t er syste/sD are <.i t e capa8le of this6 8.t t he need see/s not to have 8een recogni>ed 8y designers5 EOPHO,T T#E POWE$ O( CONST$,NTS6 ;OT# NT)$H N* $T,(,C,H )se constraints so that t he .ser feels as if there is only one possi8le thing to do:t he right thing6 of co.rse5 ,n chapter " , .sed t he exa/ple 8EHE*: 3ser1entered Design 122 of the Hego toy /otorcycle6 &hich co.ld 8e correctly p.t together 8y people &ho had never 8efore seen it5 ct.ally6 the toy is not si/ple5 ,t &as caref.lly designed5 ,t exploits a variety of constraints5 ,t is a good exa/ple of the po&er of nat.ral /appings and constraints6 constraints that red.ce the n./8er of alternative actions at each step to at /ost a fe&5 DE%?.N F6! E!!6! ss./e that any error that can 8e /ade &ill 8e /ade5 Plan for it5 Thin7 of each action 8y the .ser as an atte/pt to step in the right direction? an error is si/ply an action that is inco/pletely or i/properly specified5 Thin7 of the action as part of a nat.ral6 constr.ctive dialog 8et&een .ser and syste/5 Try to s.pport6 not fight6 the .ser9s responses5 llo& the .ser to recover fro/ errors6 to 7no& &hat &as done and &hat happened6 and to reverse any .n&anted o.tco/e5 =a7e9 it easy to reverse operations? /a7e it hard to do irreversi8le actions5 *esign ex0 plora8le syste/s5 Exploit forcing f.nctions5 :HEN ALL EL%E FA?L%D %TANDA!D?HE When so/ething can9t 8e designed &itho.t ar8itrary /appings and diffic.lties6 there is one last ro.te: standardi>e5 Standardi>e the actions6 o.tco/es6 layo.t6 displays5 =a7e related actions &or7 in the sa/e &ay5 Standardi>e the syste/6 the pro8le/? create an international stan0 dard5 The nice thing a8o.t standardi>ation is that no /atter ho& ar8i0 trary the standardi>ed /echanis/6 it has to 8e learned only once5 People can learn it and .se it effectively5 This is tr.e of type&riter 7ey8oards6 traffic signs and signals6 .nits of /eas.re/ent6 and calen0 dars5 When follo&ed consistently6 standardi>ation &or7s &ell5 There are diffic.lties5 ,t /ay 8e hard to o8tain an agree/ent5 nd ti/ing is cr.cial: it is i/portant to standardi>e as soon as possi8le:to save everyone tro.8le:8.t late eno.gh to ta7e into acco.nt advanced technologies and proced.res5 The shortco/ings of early standardi>a0 tion are often /ore than /ade .p for 8y the increase in ease of .se5 ! )sers have to 8e trained to the standards5 The very conditions that re<.ire standardi>ation re<.ire training6 so/eti/es extensive training Cthat is O%: it ta7es /onths to learn the alpha8et6 or to type6 or to drive -<< The Design of Everyday Things 15! The ;ac7&ard Cloc75 C*ra&ing 8y Eileen Con&ay5D a carD5 $e/e/8er6 standardi>ation is essential only &hen all the neces0 sary infor/ation cannot 8e placed in the &orld or &hen nat.ral /ap0 pings cannot 8e exploited5 The role of training and practice is to /a7e the /appings and re<.ired actions /ore availa8le to the .ser6 overco/0 ing any shortco/ings in the design6 /ini/i>ing the need for planning and pro8le/ solving5 Ta$e the everyday cloc$. It's standardi7ed. onsider ho& !uch trou#le you &ould have telling ti!e &ith a #ac$&ard cloc$, &here the hands revolved countercloc$&ise. 8uch cloc$s do e4ist 0figure C.=2. They !a$e effective conversation pieces. *ot so good for telling the ti!e, though. ;hy not) There is nothing illogical a#out a cloc$ that goes countercloc$&ise. It's /ust as logical as one that goes cloc$&ise. The reason &e disli$e it is that &e have standardi7ed on a different sche!e, on the very definition of the ter! +cloc$&ise.+ ;ithout such standardi7ation, cloc$ reading &ould #e !ore difficult: you'd al&ays have to figure out the !apping. %TANDA!D?HAT?6N AND TEHN6L6.@ ,f &e exa/ine the history of advances in all technological fields6 &e see that so/e i/prove/ents nat.rally co/e thro.gh technology6 others co/e thro.gh standardi>ation5 The early history of the a.to/o8ile is a good exa/ple5 The first cars &ere very diffic.lt to operate5 They re<.ired strength and s7ill 8eyond the a8ilities of /any5 So/e pro80 8EHE*: 3ser1entered Design 201 le/s &ere solved t hro.gh a.to/at ion: t he cho7e6 t he spar7 advance6 and the starter engine5 r8itrary aspects of cars and driving had to 8e standardi>ed: F Which side of the road people drove on F Which side of the car the driver sat on F Where the essential co/ponents &ere: steering &heel6 8ra7e6 cl.tch pedal6 and accelerator Cin so/e early cars it &as on a hand leverD Standardi>ation is si/ply another aspect of c.lt.ral constraints5 Wi t h standardi>ation6 once yo. have learned to drive one car6 yo. feel 4.stifia8ly confident t hat yo. can drive any car6 any place in t he &orld5 Today9 s co/p.t ers are still poorly designed6 at least fro/ t he .ser9 s point of vie&5 ;.t one pro8le/ is si/ply that t he technology is still very pri/itive:li7e t he 120I a.to:and there is no standardi>ation5 Standardi>ation is t he sol.tion of last resort6 an ad/ission t hat &e cannot solve t he pro8le/s in any other &ay5 So &e /.st at least all agree to a co//on sol.tion5 When &e have standardi>ation of o.r 7ey8oard layo.ts6 o.r i np.t and o.t p.t for/ats6 o.r operating sys0 te/s6 o.r text editors and &ord processors6 and t he 8asic /eans of operating any progra/6 t hen s.ddenl y &e &ill have a /a4or 8rea70 t hro.gh in .sa8ility5 " THE T?+?N. 6F %TANDA!D?HAT?6N Standardi>e and yo. si/plify lives: everyone learns t he syste/ only once5 ;.t don9 t standardi>e too soon? yo. /ay 8e loc7ed int o a pri/i 0 tive technology6 or yo. /ay have introd.ced r.les that t .rn o.t to 8e grossly inefficient6 even error0ind.cing5 Standardi>e too late and there /ay already 8e so /any &ays of doing t he tas7 t hat no international standard can 8e agreed on? if there is agree/ent on an old0fashioned technology6 it /ay 8e too expensive to change5 The /etric syste/ is a good exa/ple: it is a far si/pler and /ore .sa8le sche/e for repre0 senting distance6 &eight6 vol ./e6 and t e/perat.re than the older6 ;rit0 ish syste/ Cfeet6 po.nds6 seconds6 degrees on t he (ahrenheit scaleD5 ;.t ind.strial nations &i t h a heavy co//i t /ent to t he old /eas.re/ent standards clai/ they cannot afford t he /assive costs and conf.sion of conversion5 So &e are st.c7 &i t h t &o standards6 at least for a fe& /ore decades5 202 The Design of Everyday Things ;ould you consider changing ho& &e specify ti!e) The current syste! is ar#itrary. The day is divided into t&enty1four rather ar#i1 trary units:hours. >ut &e tell ti!e in units of t&elve, not t&enty1 four, so there have to #e t&o cycles of t&elve hours each, plus the special convention of %.5. and P.5. so &e $no& &hich cycle &e are tal$ing a#out. Then &e divide each hour into si4ty !inutes and each !inute into si4ty seconds. ;hat if &e s&itched to !etric divisions: seconds divided into tenths, !illiseconds, and !icroseconds) ;e &ould have days, !illidays, and !icrodays. There &ould have to #e a ne&hour, !inute, and second: call the! the ne&hour, the ne&!inute, and the ne&second. It &ould #e easy: ten ne&hours to the day, one hundred ne&!inutes to the ne&hour, one hundred ne&seconds to the ne&!inute. Each ne&hour &ould last e4actly 2.@ ti!es an old hour: .@@ old !inutes. 8o the old one1hour period of the schoolroo! or television progra! &ould #e replaced &ith a half1ne&hour period:only 20 per1 cent longer than the old. Each ne&!inute &ould #e -uite si!ilar to the current !inute: 0.C of an old !inute, to #e e4act 0each ne&!inute &ould #e a#out @2 old seconds2. %nd each ne&second &ould #e slightly shorter than an old second. The differences in durations could #e gotten used toD they aren't that large. %nd co!putations &ould #e so !uch easier. I can hear the everyday conversations no&: +I'll !eet you at noon:K ne&hours. Don't #e late, it's only a half hour fro! no&, K0 ne&!inutes, O,)+ +;hat ti!e is it) C.JK:1' !inutes to the evening ne&s.+ ;hat do I thin$ of it) I &ouldn't go near it. *eli8erately =a7ing Things *iffic.lt +6o& can good design 0design that is usa#le and understanda#le2 #e #alanced &ith the need for 'secrecy' or privacy, or protection) That is, so!e applications of design involve areas &hich are sensitive and ne1 cessitate strict control over &ho uses and understands the!. Perhaps &e don't &ant any user1in1the1street to understand enough of a sys1 te! to co!pro!ise its security. ouldn't it #e argued that so!e things sho.ldn9t #e designed &ell) an't things #e left cryptic, so that only those &ho have clearance, e4tended education, or &hatever, can !a$e use of the syste!) 8ure, &e have pass&ords, $eys, and other types of 8EHE*: 3ser1entered Design 20! 15" School *oor6 *eli8er0 ately =ade *iffic.lt to )se5 The school is for handicapped children? the school officials did not &ant children to 8e a8le to go in and o.t of the school &itho.t ad.lt s.pervi0 sion5 The principles of .sa8il0 ity espo.sed in POET can 8e follo&ed in reverse to /a7e diffic.lt those tas7s that o.ght to 8e diffic.lt5 security chec$s, #ut this can #eco!e &eariso!e for the privileged user. It appears that if good design is not ignored in so!e conte4ts, the purpose for the e4istence of the syste! &ill #e nullified. + K Consider fig.re 15"6 a door on a school in Stapleford6 England: t he latches are .p at t he very top of the door6 &here t hey are 8ot h hard to find and hard to reach5 This is good design6 deli8erately and caref.lly done5 The door is to a school for handi capped children6 and t he school di dn9 t &ant t he children to 8e a8le to get o.t to the street &i t ho.t an ad.lt5 -iolating the r.les of ease of .se is 4.st &hat is needed5 =ost things are int ended to 8e easy to .se6 8.t aren9 t5 ;.t so/e things are deli8erately diffic.lt to .se:and o.ght to 8e5 The n./8er of things t hat sho.ld 8e diffic.lt to .se is s.rprisingly large: 20" The Design of Everyday Things F ny door designed to 7eep people in or o.t5 F Sec.rity syste/s6 designed so that only a.thori>ed people &ill 8e a8le to .se the/5 F *angero.s e<.ip/ent6 &hich sho.ld 8e restricted5 F *angero.s operations6 s.ch as life0threatening actions5 These can 8e designed so that one person alone can9 t co/plete the action5 , &or7ed for a s.//er setting off dyna/ite .nder&ater Cto st.dy .nder&ater so.nd trans/issionD? the circ.its &ere set .p to re<.ire t&o people to &or7 the/5 T&o 8.ttons had to 8e depressed at the sa/e ti/e in order to set off the charge: one 8.tton o.tside6 one inside the electronic recording trailer5 Si/ilar preca.tions are ta7en at /ilitary installations5 F Secret doors6 ca8inets6 safes: yo. don9 t &ant the average person even to 7no& that they are there6 let alone to 8e a8le to &or7 the/5 These /ay re<.ire t&o different 7eys or co/8inations6 /eant to 8e carried or 7no&n 8y t&o people5 F Cases deli8erately intended to disr.pt the nor/al ro.tine action Cin chapter ' , call these forcing f.nctionsD5 Exa/ples incl.de the ac0 7no&ledg/ent re<.ired 8efore per/anently deleting a file fro/ a co/p.ter storage syste/6 safeties on pistols and g.ns6 pins in fire exting.ishers5 F Controls deli8erately /ade 8ig and spread far apart so that chil0 dren &ill have diffic.lty operating the/5 F Ca8inets and 8ottles of /edications and dangero.s s.8stances deli8erately /ade diffic.lt to open to 7eep the/ sec.re fro/ children5 F Ga/es6 a category in &hich designers deli8erately flo.t the la&s of .nderstanda8ility and .sa8ility5 Ga/es are /eant to 8e diffic.lt5 nd in so/e ga/es6 s.ch as the advent.re or *.ngeons and *ragons ga/es pop.lar on ho/e Cand officeD co/p.ters6 the &hole point of the ga/e is to fig.re o.t &hat is to 8e done6 and ho&5 F *ot the door on a train Cfig.re C.KS. =any things need to 8e designed for a certain lac7 of .nderst anda0 8ility or .sa8ility5 The r.les of design are e<.ally i /port ant to 7no& here6 ho&ever6 for t &o reasons5 (irst6 even deli8erately diffic.lt designs sho.ldn9 t 8e entirely diffic.lt5 )s.ally there is one diffic.lt part6 de0 signed to 7eep .na.thori>ed people fro/ .sing t he device? t he rest of it sho.ld follo& t he nor/al good principles of design5 Second6 even if yo.r 4o8 is to /a7e so/ething diffic.lt to do6 yo. need to 7no& ho& 8EHE*: 3ser1entered Design 20' to go a8o.t doing it5 ,n this case6 t he r.les are .sef.l6 for they state in reverse 4.st ho& to go a8o.t t he tas75 Ao. syste/atically violate t he r.les5 F #ide critical co/ponents: /a7e things invisi8le5 F )se .nnat.ral /appings for the exec.tion side of the action cycle6 so that the relationship of the controls to the things 8eing controlled is inappropriate or hapha>ard5 F =a7e the actions physically diffic.lt to do5 F $e<.ire precise ti/ing and physical /anip.lation5 F *o not give any feed8ac75 F )se .nnat.ral /appings for the eval.ation side of the action cycle6 so that syste/ state is diffic.lt to interpret5 8afety syste!s pose a special pro#le! in design. Oftenti!es the design feature added to ensure safety eli!inates one danger only to create a secondary one. ;hen &or$ers dig a hole in a street, they !ust put up #arriers to prevent people fro! &al$ing into the hole. The #arriers solve one pro#le!, #ut they the!selves pose another danger, often circu!vented #y adding signs and flashing lights to &arn of the #arriers. E!ergency doors, lights, and alar!s !ust often #e acco!1 panied #y &arning signs or #arriers that control &hen and ho& they can #e used. onsider the school door of figure C.@. 3nder nor!al use, this design adds to the safety of the children. >ut &hat if there &as a fire) Even nonhandicapped adults !ight have trou#le &ith the door as they rushed to get out. ;hat a#out short or handicapped teachers:ho& could they open the door) The solution to one pro#le!:unauthori7ed e4it of schoolchildren:can easily create a !a/or ne& pro#le! in ti!es of fire. 6o& could this pro#le! #e solved) Pro#a#ly &ith a push #ar located &ithin everyone's reach on the door, #ut connected to an alar! so that in nor!al circu!stances it &ould not #e used. DE%?.N?N. A D7N.E6N% AND D!A.6N% .A+E One of /y st.dent s &or7ed for a co/p.t er ga/e co/pany helping develop a ne& *.ngeons and *ragons ga/e5 #e and his fello& st .0 dents .sed his experience to do a class pro4ect on t he diffic.lty of 20I The Design of Everyday Things 7.5 British Train DoorD from the ?n, side) Clearly diffic.lt to .se6 8.t &hy@ , haven9 t the foggiest idea5 To prevent acci0 dental opening@ To /a7e it so that yo.ng children cannot open the door@ None of the hypotheses , have tried stand .p .nder close exa/ination5 , leave this to the reader5 8EHE*: 3ser1entered Design 207 ga/es5 ,n partic.lar6 they co/8ined so/e research on &hat /a7es ga/es interesting &ith the analysis of the seven stages of action Cchap0 ter 2D to deter/ine &hat factors ca.se diffic.lties in d.ngeon ga/es5 I s yo. /ight i/agine6 /a7ing things diffic.lt is a tric7y 8.siness5 ,f a ga/e isn9t diffic.lt eno.gh6 experienced players lose interest5 On the other hand6 if it is too diffic.lt6 the initial en4oy/ent gives &ay to fr.stration5 ,n fact6 several psychological factors hang in a delicate 8alance: challenge6 en4oy/ent6 fr.stration6 and c.riosity5 s the st.0 dents reported6 3Once the c.riosity is lost and the fr.stration level 8eco/es too high6 it is hard to get a person9s interest to ret.rn to the ga/e53 ll this has to 8e considered6 yet the ga/e /.st /aintain its appeal for players of /any different levels6 fro/ first0ti/e players to experienced players5 One approach is to sprin7le the ga/e &ith /any different challenges of varia8le diffic.lty5 nother is to have /any little things contin.ally happening6 /aintaining the c.riosity /otive5 The sa/e r.les that apply to /a7e tas7s .nderstanda8le and .sa8le also apply to /a7e the/ /ore diffic.lt and challenging? they can 8e applied perversely to sho& &here the diffic.lty sho.ld 8e added5 ;.t diffic.lty and challenge sho.ld not 8e conf.sed &ith fr.stration and error5 The r.les /.st 8e applied intelligently6 for ease of .se or dif0 fic.lty of .se5 ESA HOO%,NG ,S NOT NECESS$,HA ESA TO )SE Early in POET , exa/ined the /odern office telephone6 si/ple loo7ing 8.t hard to .se5 , contrasted this &ith an a.to/o8ile dash8oard that has /ore than a h.ndred controls6 co/plicated loo7ing 8.t easy to .se5 pparent co/plexity and act.al co/plexity are not at all the sa/e5 Consider a s.rf8oard6 ice s7ates6 parallel 8ars6 or a 8.gle5 ll are si/ple loo7ing5 Aet years of st.dy and practice are re<.ired to 8e good at .sing any of these o84ects5 The pro8le/ is that each of the apparently si/ple devices is capa8le of a &ide repertoire of actions6 8.t 8eca.se there are fe& controls Cand no /oving partsD6 the rich co/plexity of action can 8e acco/plished only thro.gh a rich co/plexity of exec.tion 8y the .ser5 $e/e/8er the office telephone syste/@ When there are /ore actions than controls6 each control /.st ta7e part in a variety of different actions5 ,f there are exactly the sa/e n./8er of controls as actions6 then6 in principle6 the 20+ The Design of Everyday Things controls can 8e si/ple and the exec.tion can 8e si/ple: find the correct control and activate it5 ct.ally6 increasing the n./8er of controls can 8oth enhance and detract fro/ ease of .se5 The /ore controls6 the /ore co/plex things loo7 and the /ore the .ser /.st learn a8o.t? it 8eco/es harder to find the appropriate control at the appropriate ti/e5 On the other hand6 as the n./8er of controls increases .p to the n./8er of f.nctions6 there can 8e a 8etter /atch 8et&een controls and f.nctions6 /a7ing things easier to .se5 So the n./8er of controls and co/plexity of .se is really a tradeoff 8et&een t&o opposing factors5 #o& /any controls does a device need@ The fe&er the controls6 the easier it loo7s to .se and the easier it is to find the relevant controls5 s the n./8er of controls increases6 specific controls can 8e tailored for specific f.nctions5 The device /ay loo7 /ore and /ore co/plex6 8.t it &ill 8e easier to .se5 We st.died this relationship in o.r la8ora0 tory5 1 Co/plexity of appearance see/s to 8e deter/ined 8y the n./0 8er of controls6 &hereas diffic.lty of .se is 4ointly deter/ined 8y the diffic.lty of finding the relevant controls C&hich increases &ith the n./8er of controlsD and diffic.lty of exec.ting the f.nctions C&hich /ay decrease &ith the n./8er of controlsD5 We fo.nd that to /a7e so/ething easy to .se6 /atch the n./8er of controls to the n./8er of f.nctions and organi>e the panels accord0 ing to f.nction5 To /a7e so/ething loo7 li7e it is easy6 /ini/i>e the n./8er of controls5 #o& can these conflicting re<.ire/ents 8e /et si/.ltaneo.sly@ #ide the controls not 8eing .sed at the /o/ent5 ;y .sing a panel on &hich only the relevant controls are visi8le6 yo. /ini/i>e the appearance of co/plexity5 ;y having a separate control for each f.nction6 yo. /ini/i>e co/plexity of .se5 ,t is possi8le to eat yo.r ca7e and have it6 too5 *esign and Society Tools affect /ore than the ease &ith &hich &e do things? they can dra/atically affect o.r vie& of o.rselves6 society6 and the &orld5 ,t is hardly necessary to point o.t the dra/atic changes in society that have res.lted fro/ the invention of today9s everyday things: paper and pencil6 the printed 8oo76 the type&riter6 the a.to/o8ile6 the telephone6 radio6 and television5 Even apparently si/ple innovations can 8ring a8o.t dra/atic changes6 /ost of &hich cannot 8e predicted5 The tele0 8EHE*: 3ser1entered Design 202 phone6 for exa/ple6 &as &idely /is.nderstood C3Why &o.ld &e &ant one@ Who &o.ld &e &ant to tal7 to@3D6 as &as the co/p.ter Cfe&er than ten &ere tho.ght to 8e s.fficient to satisfy all of /erica9s co/0 p.ting needsD5 + Predictions of the f.t.re of the city &ere &idely off the /ar75 nd n.clear po&er &as once tho.ght destined to lead to ato/ic a.to/o8iles and airplanes5 So/e people expected private air transpor0 tation to 8eco/e as &idespread as the a.to/o8ile:a helicopter in every garage5 #OW W$,T,NG =ET#O* ((ECTS STAHE The history of technology sho&s that &e are not very good at predic0 tion6 8.t that does not di/inish the need for sensitivity to possi8le changes5 Ne& concepts &ill transfor/ society6 for 8etter or &orse5 Het .s exa/ine one si/ple sit.ation: the effect of the grad.al a.to/ation of the tools of &riting on styles of &riting5 F!6+ I7?LL AND ?NE T6 EE@B6A!D AND +?!6$H6NE ,n earlier ti/es6 &hen goose <.ill and in7 &ere .sed on parch/ent6 it &as tedio.s and diffic.lt to correct &hat had 8een &ritten5 Writers had to 8e caref.l5 Sentences had to 8e tho.ght thro.gh 8efore 8eing set to paper5 One res.lt &as sentences that &ere long and e/8ellished:the gracef.l rhetorical style &e associate &ith o.r older literat.re5 With the advent of easier to .se &riting tools6 corrections 8eca/e easier to /a7e? so &riting &as done /ore rapidly6 8.t also &ith less tho.ght and care:/ore li7e everyday speech5 So/e critics decried the lac7 of liter0 ary niceties5 Others arg.ed that this &as ho& people really co/0 /.nicated6 and 8esides6 it &as easier to .nderstand5 With changes in &riting tools6 the speed of &riting increases5 ,n hand&riting6 tho.ght r.ns ahead6 posing special de/ands on /e/ory and enco.raging slo&er6 /ore tho.ghtf.l &riting5 With the type&riter 7ey8oard6 the s7illed typist can al/ost 7eep .p &ith tho.ght5 With the advent of dictation6 the o.tp.t and the tho.ght see/ reasona8ly &ell /atched5 Even greater changes have co/e a8o.t &ith the pop.larity of dicta0 tion5 #ere the tool can have a dra/atic effect6 for there is no external record of &hat has 8een spo7en? the a.thor has to 7eep everything in /e/ory5 s a res.lt6 dictated letters often have a long6 ra/8ling style5 210 The Design of Everyday Things They are /ore collo<.ial and less str.ct.red:the for/er 8eca.se they are 8ased on speech6 the latter 8eca.se the &riter can9t easily 7eep trac7 of &hat has 8een said5 Style /ay change f.rther &hen &e get voice type&riters6 &here o.r spo7en &ords &ill appear on the page as they are spo7en5 This &ill relieve the /e/ory 8.rden5 The collo<.ial nat.re /ay re/ain and even 8e enhanced6 8.t:8eca.se the printed record of the speech is i//ediately visi8le:perhaps the organi>ation &ill i/0 prove5 The &idespread availa8ility of co/p.ter text editors has prod.ced other changes in &riting5 On the one hand6 it is satisfying to 8e a8le to type yo.r tho.ghts &itho.t &orrying a8o.t /inor typographical errors or spelling5 On the other hand6 yo. /ay spend less ti/e thin7ing and planning5 Co/p.ter text editors affect str.ct.re thro.gh their li/ited real estate5 With a paper /an.script6 yo. can spread the pages .pon the des76 co.ch6 &all6 or floor5 Harge sections of the text can 8e exa/ined at one ti/e6 to 8e reorgani>ed and str.ct.red5 ,f yo. .se only the co/p.ter6 then the &or7ing area Cor real estateD is li/ited to &hat sho&s on the screen5 The conventional screens display a8o.t t&enty0 fo.r lines of text5 Even the largest screens no& availa8le can display no /ore than a8o.t t&o f.ll printed pages of text5 The res.lt is that corrections tend to 8e /ade locally6 on &hat is visi8le5 Harge0scale restr.ct.ring of the /aterial is /ore diffic.lt to do6 and therefore sel0 do/ gets done5 So/eti/es the sa/e text appears in different parts of the /an.script6 &itho.t 8eing discovered 8y the &riter5 CTo the &riter6 everything see/s fa/iliar5D 67TL?NE $!6E%%6!% AND H@$E!TEAT The c.rrent fad in &riting aids is the o.tline processor6 a tool designed to enco.rage planning and reflection on the organi>ation of /aterial5 The &riter can co/press the text into an o.tline or expand an o.tline to cover the entire /an.script5 =oving a heading /eans /oving an entire section5 O.tline processors atte/pt to overco/e organi>ational pro8le/s 8y allo&ing collapsed vie&s of the /an.script to 8e exa/0 ined and /anip.lated5 ;.t the process see/s to e/phasi>e the organi0 >ation that is visi8le in the o.tline or heading str.ct.re of the /an.0 script6 there8y dee/phasi>ing other aspects of the &or75 ,t is characteristic of tho.ght processes that attention to one aspect co/es at the cost of decreased attention to others5 What a technology /a7es easy to do &ill get done? &hat it hides6 or /a7es diffic.lt6 /ay very &ell not get done5 8EHE*: 3ser1entered Design 211 The next step in &riting technology is already visi8le on the hori>on: hypertext5 2 #ere &e have another set of possi8ilities6 another set of diffic.lties6 in this case for 8oth &riter and reader5 Writers fre<.ently co/plain that the /aterial they are trying to explain is co/plex6 /.lti0 di/ensional5 The ideas are all interconnected6 and there is no single se<.ence of &ords to convey the/ properly5 =oreover6 readers vary enor/o.sly in s7ill6 interest6 and prior 7no&ledge5 So/e need expan0 sion of the /ost ele/entary ideas6 so/e &ant /ore technical details5 10 So/e &ish to foc.s on one set of topics6 others find those .ninteresting5 #o& on earth can a single doc./ent satisfy the/ all6 especially &hen that doc./ent /.st 8e in a linear se<.ence6 &ords follo&ing &ords6 chapters follo&ing chapters@ ,t has al&ays 8een considered part of the s7ill of a &riter to 8e a8le to ta7e other&ise chaotic /aterial and order it appropriately for the reader5 #ypertext relieves the a.thor of this 8.rden5 ,n theory6 it also frees the reader fro/ the constraints of the linear order? the reader can p.rs.e the /aterial in &hatever order see/s /ost relevant or interesting5 #ypertext /a7es a virt.e o.t of lac7 of organi>ation6 allo&ing ideas and tho.ghts to 8e 4.xtaposed at &ill5 The &riter thro&s o.t the ideas6 attaching the/ to the page &here they see/ first relevant5 The reader can ta7e any path at all thro.gh the 8oo75 See an interesting &ord on the page6 point at it6 and the &ord expands into text5 See a &ord yo. don9t .nderstand6 and a to.ch gives the definition5 Who co.ld 8e against s.ch a &onderf.l idea@ ,/agine that this 8oo7 &as in hypertext5 #o& &o.ld it &or7@ Well6 ,9ve .sed several devices that relate to hypertext: one is the footnote6 11 another is parenthetical co//ents6 and yet another is contrasting text5 C, have tended not to .se parenthetical asides in this 8oo7 8eca.se , fear they distract6 /a7e the sentences longer6 and add to the reader9s /e/0 ory 8.rden6 as this parenthetical state/ent de/onstrates5D ontrasting te4t, &hen used as a co!!entary, is a $ind of hyperte4t. 6ere is a co!!ent on the te4t itself, optional and not essential to a first reading. The typography gives signals to the reader. %ctual hyperte4t &ill #e &ritten and read using a co!puter, of course, so that this co!!entary &ouldn't #e visi#le unless it had #een re-uested. footnote is essentially a signal that so/e co//ent is availa8le to the reader5 ,n hypertext6 act.al n./8ered footnotes &ill not 8e needed6 212 The Design of Everyday Things 8.t so/e sort of signal is still re<.ired5 With hypertext6 the signal that /ore infor/ation is availa8le can 8e given thro.gh color6 /otion Cs.ch as flashingD6 or typeface5 To.ch the special &ord and the /aterial appears? yo. don9t need a n./8er5 So6 &hat do yo. thin7 of hypertext@ ,/agine trying to &rite so/e0 thing .sing it5 The extra freedo/ also poses extra re<.ire/ents5 ,f hypertext really 8eco/es availa8le6 especially in the fancy versions no& 8eing tal7ed a8o.t:&here &ords6 so.nds6 video6 co/p.ter graphics6 si/.lations6 and /ore are all availa8le at the to.ch of the screen:&ell6 it is hard to i/agine anyone capa8le of preparing the /aterial5 ,t &ill ta7e tea/s of people5 , predict that there &ill 8e /.ch experi/entation6 and /.ch fail.re6 8efore the di/ensions of this ne& technology are f.lly explored and .nderstood5 One thing that does #other !e, ho&ever, is the #elief that hyperte4t &ill save the author fro! having to put !aterial in linear order. ;rong. To thin$ this is to allo& for sloppiness in &riting and presentation. It is hard &or$ to organi7e !aterial, #ut that effort on the part of the &riter is essential for the ease of the reader. Ta$e a&ay the need for this discipline and I fear that you pass the #urden on to the reader, &ho !ay not #e a#le to cope, and !ay not care to try. The advent of hyperte4t is apt to !a$e &riting !uch !ore difficult, not easier. Iood &riting, that is. T#E H6+E 6F THE F7T7!E: A $LAE 6F 6+F6!T 6! A NE: %67!E 6F F!7%T!AT?6N Even as this 8oo7 is 8eing co/pleted6 ne& so.rces of pleas.re and fr.stration are entering o.r lives5 T&o develop/ents are &orthy of /ention6 8oth intended to serve the ever0pro/ised 3ho.se of the f.0 t.re53 One /ost &onderf.l develop/ent is the 3s/art ho.se63 the place &here yo.r every &ant is ta7en care of 8y intelligent6 o/niscient appliances5 The other pro/ised develop/ent is the ho.se of 7no&l0 edge: &hole li8raries availa8le at o.r fingertips6 the &orld9s infor/ation reso.rces availa8le thro.gh o.r telephoneQtelevision setQho/e co/0 p.terQrooftop satellite antenna5 ;oth develop/ents have great poten0 tial to transfor/ lives in 4.st the positive &ays pro/ised6 8.t they are also apt to explode every fear and co/plexity disc.ssed in this 8oo7 into reality a tho.sand0ti/es over5 8EHE*: 3ser1entered Design 21! ,/agine all of o.r electric appliances connected together via an in0 telligent 3infor/ation 8.s53 This 8.s Cthe technical ter/ for a set of &ires that acts as co//.nication channels a/ong devicesD allo&s ho/e la/ps6 ovens6 and dish&ashers to tal7 to one another5 The cen0 tral ho/e co/p.ter senses the car p.lling into the drive&ay6 so it signals the front door to .nloc76 the hall lights to go on6 and the oven to start preparing the /eal5 ;y the ti/e yo. arrive in the ho.se6 yo.r television set has already t.rned on to yo.r favorite ne&s station6 yo.r favorite appeti>er is availa8le in the 7itchen6 and the coo7ing of the /eal has 8eg.n5 So/e of these syste/s 3spea73 to yo. C&ith voice0synthesi>ers inside their co/p.ter 8rainsD6 /ost have sensors that detect roo/ te/perat.re6 the o.tside &eather6 and the presence of people5 ll ass./e a /aster controlling device thro.gh &hich the ho.se occ.pants infor/ the syste/ of their every &ant5 =any allo& for telephone control5 Going to /iss yo.r favorite sho& on televi0 sion@ Call ho/e and instr.ct yo.r -C$ to record it for yo.5 Co/ing ho/e an ho.r later than expected@ Call yo.r ho/e oven and delay the starting ti/e of the /eal5 Can yo. i/agine &hat it &o.ld ta7e to control these devices@ #o& &o.ld yo. tell yo.r oven &hen to t.rn on@ Wo.ld yo. do this thro.gh the 8.ttons availa8le at yo.r friendly pay telephone@ Or &o.ld yo. l.g aro.nd a porta8le controlling .nit@ ,n either case6 the co/plexity 8og0 gles the /ind5 *o the designers of these syste/s have so/e secret c.re for the pro8le/s descri8ed thro.gho.t this 8oo7 or have they perhaps already /astered the lessons &ithin@ #ardly5 n article entitled 3The 9s/artest ho.se9 in /erica3 in the technical /aga>ine for design engi0 neers6 Design *e&s, 12 sho&s the nor/al set of ar8itrary control devices6 overly co/plex panels6 and conventional co/p.ter screens and 7ey0 8oards5 The /odern coo7top Cacco/panied 8y the caption 3for the .lti/ate chef3D has t&o gas 8.rners6 fo.r electric 8.rners6 and a 8ar8e0 c.e grill controlled thro.gh a ro& of eight identical0loo7ing6 evenly spaced 7no8s5 ,t is easy to i/agine positive .ses for intelligent ho/e appliances5 The energy0saving virt.es of a ho/e that t.rns on the heat only for roo/s that are occ.pied6 or &aters the yard only &hen the gro.nd is dry and rain does not threaten6 see/ virt.o.s indeed5 Not the /ost critical of the pro8le/s facing h./an7ind6 perhaps6 8.t reass.ring nonetheless5 ;.t it is diffic.lt to see ho& the co/plex instr.ctions re<.ired for s.ch a syste/ &ill 8e conveyed5 , find it diffic.lt to instr.ct /y children ho& to do these tas7s appropriately and , often fail at the/ /yself5 #o& &ill , /anage the precise6 clear instr.ctions re<.ired for 21" The Design of Everyday Things /y intelligent dish&asher6 especially thro.gh the very li/ited control /echanis/ , a/ s.re to 8e provided &ith@ , do not loo7 for&ard to the day5 No& consider the infor/ation &orld of the f.t.re5 The /odern laser dis7 is capa8le of holding 8illions of characters of infor/ation5 1! This /eans that instead of p.rchasing individ.al 8oo7s6 &e can no& p.r0 chase &hole li8raries5 One co/pact dis7 can hold h.ndreds of tho.0 sands Ceven /illionsD of printed pages of infor/ation5 Whole ency0 clopaedias can 8e availa8le at o.r fingertips6 thro.gh o.r co/p.ter ter/inals and television screens5 nd &hen every ho/e is connected to a central co/p.ter syste/ thro.gh i/proved capacity telephone lines6 or the ca8le television &ire6 or a rooftop antenna ai/ed at the neigh8orhood earth satellite6 the infor/ation of the &orld is availa8le to all5 There are t&o costs for these pleas.res5 One is econo/ic: it /ay only cost a fe& dollars to /an.fact.re a co/pact dis7 that contains the contents of one h.ndred 8oo7s6 8.t the cost to the cons./er &ill 8e /eas.red in the h.ndreds of dollars5 fter all6 each 8oo7 too7 an a.thor several years of effort and a p.8lishing ho.se &ith editors and 8oo7 designers another three to nine /onths5 Connection to the &orld9s li8raries thro.gh the telephone6 television6 and satellite lines of the &orld cost /oney to the telephone6 ca8le6 and co//.nication co/panies5 These costs have to 8e recovered5 Those of .s &ho .se the co/p.ter li8rary search facilities availa8le today 7no& that it is /ost convenient to have the/ availa8le 8.t that each second of .se is /ar7ed 8y the tension that the costs are piling .p5 Stop to reflect on so/ething6 and yo.r 8ill increases astrono/ically5 The tr.e costs of these syste/s are high6 and the .ser9s contin.al tho.ght that each .se exacts a cost is not reass.ring5 The second cost is the diffic.lty of finding anything in s.ch large data 8ases5 , can9t al&ays find /y car 7eys or the 8oo7 , &as reading last night5 When , read an interesting article and store it a&ay in /y files for so/e .n7no&n 8.t pro8a8le f.t.re .se6 , 7no& at the ti/e , stic7 it a&ay that , /ay never 8e a8le to re/e/8er &here , p.t it5 ,f , already have these diffic.lties &ith /y o&n li/ited possessions and 8oo7s6 i/agine &hat it &ill 8e li7e &hen trying to find so/ething in the li8raries and data 8ases of the &orld6 &here the organi>ation &as done 8y so/eone else &ho had no idea of &hat /y needs &ere5 Chaos5 Sheer chaos5 The society of the f.t.re: so/ething to loo7 for&ard to &ith pleas0 .re6 conte/plation6 and dread5 8EHE*: 3ser1entered Design 21' The *esign of Everyday Things That design affects society is hardly ne&s to designers5 =any ta7e the i/plications of their &or7 serio.sly5 ;.t the conscio.s /anip.lation of society has severe dra&8ac7s6 not the least of &hich is the fact that not everyone agrees on the appropriate goals5 *esign6 therefore6 ta7es on political significance? indeed6 design philosophies vary in i/portant &ays across political syste/s5 ,n Western c.lt.res6 design has reflected the capitalistic i/portance of the /ar7etplace6 &ith an e/phasis on exterior feat.res dee/ed to 8e attractive to the p.rchaser5 ,n the con0 s./er econo/y taste is not the criterion in the /ar7eting of expensive foods or drin7s6 .sa8ility is not the pri/ary criterion in the /ar7eting of ho/e and office appliances5 We are s.rro.nded &ith o84ects of desire6 not o84ects of .se5 1" Everyday tas7s are not diffic.lt 8eca.se of their inherent co/plexity5 They are diffic.lt only 8eca.se they re<.ire learning ar8itrary relation0 ships and ar8itrary /appings6 and 8eca.se they so/eti/es re<.ire precision in their exec.tion5 The diffic.lties can 8e avoided thro.gh design that /a7es o8vio.s &hat operations are necessary5 Good design exploits constraints so that the .ser feels as if there is only one possi8le thing to do:the right thing6 of co.rse5 The designer has to .nderstand and exploit nat.ral constraints of all 7inds5 Errors are an .navoida8le part of everyday life5 Proper design can help decrease the incidence and severity of errors 8y eli/inating the ca.ses of so/e6 /ini/i>ing the possi8ilities of others6 and helping to /a7e errors discovera8le6 once they have 8een /ade5 S.ch design exploits the po&er of constraints and /a7es .se of forcing f.nctions and visi8le o.tco/es of actions5 We do not have to experience conf.0 sion or s.ffer fro/ .ndiscovered errors5 Proper design can /a7e a difference in o.r <.ality of life5 *o& you are on your o&n. If you are a designer, help fight the #attle for usa#ility. If you are a user, then /oin your voice &ith those &ho cry for usa#le products. ;rite to !anufacturers. >oycott unusa#le designs. 8upport good designs #y purchasing the!, even if it !eans going out of your &ay, even if it !eans spending a #it !ore. %nd voice your concerns to the stores that carry the productsD !anufacturers listen to their custo!ers. ;hen you visit !useu!s of science and technology, as$ -uestions 21I The Design of Everyday Things if you have trou#le understanding. Provide feed#ac$ a#out the e4hi#its and &hether they &or$ &ell or poorly. Encourage !useu!s to !ove to&ard #etter usa#ility and understanda#ility. %nd en/oy yourself. ;al$ around the &orld e4a!ining the details of design. Ta$e pride in the little things that helpD thin$ $indly of the person &ho so thoughtfully put the! in. Eeali7e that even details !atter, that the designer !ay have had to fight to include so!ething helpful. Iive !ental pri7es to those &ho practice good design: send flo&ers. :eer those &ho don't: send &eeds. 8EHE*: 3ser1entered Design 2.C NOTES C#PTE$ ONE: The Psychopathology of Everyday Things 15 $eprinted 8y per/ission of the ;all 8treet :ournal, J *o& Bones N Co56 ,nc56 12+I5 ll rights reserved5 25 W5 #5 =ayall C1212D6 Principles in design, +"5 !5 The notion of affordance and the insights it provides originated &ith B5 B5 Gi8son6 a psychologist interested in ho& people see the &orld5 , 8elieve that affordances res.lt fro/ the /ental interpretation of things6 8ased on o.r past 7no&ledge and experience applied to o.r perception of the things a8o.t .s5 =y vie& is so/e&hat in conflict &ith the vie&s of /any Gi80 sonian psychologists6 8.t this internal de8ate &ithin /odern psychology is of little relevance here5 CSee Gi8son6 12116 12125D "5 *5 (isher N $5 ;ragonier6 Br5 C12+1D6 ;hat's &hat: % visual glossary of the physical &orld. The list of the eleven parts of the sin7 ca/e fro/ this 8oo75 , than7 Ba/es Grier =iller for telling /e a8o.t the 8oo7 and lending /e his copy5 '5 ;ieder/an C12+1D sho&s ho& he derives the n./8er =0,000 on pages 121 and 12+ of his paper6 3$ecognition08y0co/ponents: theory of h./an i/age .nderstanding63 Psychological Eevie&, B@, 11'01"15 I5 , than7 =i7e %ing for this exa/ple Cand othersD5 15 =ore co/plex syste/s have already 8een s.ccessf.lly 8.ilt5 One exa/0 ple is the speech /essage syste/ that recorded phone calls for later retrie0 - ( ; val6 8.ilt 8y ,;= for the 12+" Oly/pics5 #ere &as a rather co/plex telephone syste/6 designed to record /essages 8eing sent to athletes 8y friends and colleag.es fro/ all over the &orld5 The .sers spo7e a variety of lang.ages6 and so/e &ere <.ite .nfa/iliar &ith the /erican telephone syste/ and &ith high technology in general5 ;.t 8y caref.l application of psychological principles and contin.al testing &ith the .ser pop.lation d.ring the design stage6 the syste/ &as .sa8le6 .nderstanda8le6 and f.nc0 tional5 Good design is possi8le to achieve6 8.t it has to 8e one of the goals fro/ the 8eginning5 CSee the description of the phone syste/ 8y Go.ld6 ;oies6 Hevy6 $ichards6 N Schoonard6 12+15D C#PTE$ TWO: The Psychology of Everyday ctions 15 )nfort.nately6 8la/ing the .ser is i/8edded in the legal syste/5 When /a4or accidents occ.r6 official co.rts of in<.iry are set .p to assess the 8la/e5 =ore and /ore often the 8la/e is attri8.ted to 3h./an error53 The person involved can 8e fined6 p.nished6 or fired5 =ay8e training proce0 d.res are revised5 The la& rests co/forta8ly5 ;.t in /y experience6 h./an error .s.ally is a res.lt of poor design: it sho.ld 8e called syste/ error5 #./ans err contin.ally? it is an intrinsic part of o.r nat.re5 Syste/ design sho.ld ta7e this into acco.nt5 Pinning the 8la/e on the person /ay 8e a co/forta8le &ay to proceed6 8.t &hy &as the syste/ ever designed so that a single act 8y a single person co.ld ca.se cala/ity@ n i/portant 8oo7 on this topic is Charles Perro&9s *or!al accidents C12+"D5 , cover h./an error in detail in chapter '5 25 This exa/ple is ta7en fro/ White N #or&it>9 s C12+1D technical report on 3Thin7erTools63 their syste/ for teaching children physics6 in part to overco/e the 8eliefs in naive physics &hich are other&ise so strong5 !5 The s.84ect of naive vie&s is treated at length in /any revie&s5 The relationship 8et&een ristotle9s physics and /odern naive physics is de0 veloped in =cClos7ey9 s C12+!D 8cientific %!erican article6 3,nt.itive phys0 ics53 "5 The valve theory of the ther/ostat is ta7en fro/ %e/pton C12+ID6 a st.dy p.8lished in the 4o.rnal ognitive 8cience. '5 So/e ther/ostats are designed to anticipate the need to t.rn on or off5 They avoid a co//on pro8le/: the te/perat.re in a cooling ho.se contin0 .es to drop after the ther/ostat has t.rned on the f.rnace6 and the te/per0 at.re of a heating ho.se contin.es to rise after the ther/ostat has t.rned off the f.rnace6 d.e to the heat already in the syste/5 The 3intelligent3 ther/ostat t.rns off or on a little 8efore the desired te/perat.re is reached5 I5 National Transportation Safety ;oard C12+"D6 %ircraft accident report: Eastern %ir <ines, Inc., <oc$heed <1.0.., *==@E%, 5ia!i International %irport, 5ia!i, "lorida, 5ay K, .BJ=. 220 *otes: hapter T&oLThe Psychology of Everyday %ctions C. S.rprisingly little is 7no&n a8o.t the nat.re of action se<.ences5 The /ost relevant 8oo7 to &hat , a/ descri8ing is Plans and the structure of #ehavior, 8y =iller6 Galanter6 and Pri8ra/ C12I0D5 The GO=S CGoals6 Operators6 =ethods6 and SelectionD /odel of Card6 =oran6 and Ne&ell C12+!D is /ore recent and /ore relevant to applications5 =y &or7 is descri8ed in /ore detail in Nor/an C12+ID5 Sanders C12+0D has revie&ed a host of experi0 /ental st.dies that s.pports this 8rea7do&n of the se<.ence into seven stages5 fair a/o.nt of &or7 on a theory of action is 8eing done 8y social psychologists5 On the &hole6 this is a rich6 .nexplored area6 &orthy of /.ch st.dy5 +5 The story of these g.lfs and the initial analyses ca/e a8o.t fro/ re0 search perfor/ed &ith Ed #.tchins and Bi/ #ollan6 then part of a 4oint research tea/ 8et&een the Naval Personnel $esearch and *evelop/ent Center and the )niversity of California6 San *iego5 The &or7 exa/ined the develop/ent of co/p.ter syste/s that &ere easier to learn and easier to .se and6 in partic.lar6 of &hat has 8een called direct /anip.lation co/p.ter syste/s5 , ret.rn to this in chapter I5 The initial &or7 is de0 scri8ed in the chapter 3*irect /anip.lation interfaces3 in the 8oo7 3ser centered syste! design C#.tchins6 #ollan6 N Nor/an6 12+ID5 C#PTE$ T#$EE: %no&ledge in the #ead and in the World 15 =any people are responsi8le for the develop/ent of these de/onstra0 tions5 , do not 7no& &ho first pointed o.t the pro8le/s &ith re/e/8ering the letter0n./8er /atch.p on the telephone5 Nic7erson N da/s C1212D and $.8in N %ontis C12+!D sho&ed that people co.ld neither recall nor recogni>e acc.rately the pict.res and &ords on /erican coins5 Bonathan Gr.din did the de/onstration of the typists9 apparent lac7 of 7no&ledge of the 7ey8oard C.np.8lished st.dyD5 25 Tho/as =alone6 no& at the =,T School of ;.siness d/inistration6 exa/ined ho& people organi>e their &or7 on their office des7s5 #is st.dies of the i/portance of physical organi>ation are often cited as 4.stification for the fre<.ent .se of the des7top /etaphor in so/e co/p.ter syste/s6 especially the Oerox Star and the pple Hisa and =acintosh Cthe pple /achines &ere derived fro/ the Oerox Star? =alone &as &or7ing for Oerox at the ti/e he did his st.diesD5 See =alone9s C12+!D paper 3#o& do people organi>e their des7s: ,/plications for designing office a.to/ation syste/s53 !5 , ta7e this res.lt fro/ the &or7 of $.8in N %ontis C12+!D6 &ho at0 te/pted to deter/ine the /ental representation Cthe /e/ory sche/aD that their st.dents had for /erican coins5 "5 Stanley =eisler6 Ti!es staff &riter6 in the <os %ngeles Ti!es, *ec5 !16 12+I5 Copyright 12+I6 <os %ngeles Ti!es. $eprinted 8y per/ission5 *otes: hapter ThreeL,no&ledge in the 6ead and in the ;orld 221 '5 Confir/atory evidence co/es fro/ the fact that altho.gh long0ter/ residents of ;ritain still co/plain that they conf.se the one0po.nd coin &ith the five0pence coin6 ne&co/ers Cand childrenD do not have the sa/e conf.sion5 This is 8eca.se the long0ter/ residents are &or7ing &ith their original set of descriptions6 &hich did not easily acco//odate the distinc0 tions 8et&een these t&o coins5 Ne&co/ers6 ho&ever6 start off &ith no preconceptions and /.st for/ a set of descriptions to disting.ish a/ong all the coins? in this sit.ation6 the one0po.nd coin offers no partic.lar pro8le/s5 ,n the )nited States6 the one0dollar coin never 8eca/e pop.lar and is no longer 8eing /ade6 so the e<.ivalent o8servations cannot 8e /ade5 I5 The s.ggestion that /e/ory storage and retrieval is /ediated thro.gh partial descriptions &as p.t forth in a paper &ith *anny ;o8ro& CNor/an N ;o8ro&6 1212D5 We arg.ed that6 in general6 the re<.ired specificity of a description depends on the set of ite/s a/ong &hich a person is trying to disting.ish5 =e/ory retrieval can therefore involve a prolonged series of atte/pts &hen the initial retrieval description yields the &rong res.lt6 so that the person /.st 7eep trying to retrieve the desired ite/6 each retrieval atte/pt co/ing closer to the ans&er and helping to /a7e the description /ore precise5 15 *5 C5 $.8in N W5 T5 Wallace C12+1D6 Ehy!e and reason: Integral properties of &ords C)np.8lished /an.scriptD5 Given 4.st the c.es for /eaning Cthe first tas7D6 the people $.8in and Wallace tested co.ld get the three target &ords .sed in these exa/ples only o percent6 " percent6 and o percent of the ti/e6 respectively5 Si/ilarly6 &hen the sa/e target &ords &ere c.ed only 8y rhy/es6 they still did <.ite poorly6 g.essing the targets correctly only o percent6 o percent6 and " percent of the ti/e6 respectively5 Th.s6 each c.e alone offered little assistance5 Co/8ining the /eaning c.e &ith the rhy/ing c.e led to perfect perfor/ance: the people got the target &ords 100 percent of the ti/e5 +5 5 ;5 Hord C12I0D6 The singer of tales CCa/8ridge6 =: #arvard )niversity PressD6 215 25 Hord C12I0D points o.t that this length is excessive6 pro8a8ly prod.ced only d.ring the special circ./stances in &hich #o/er Cor so/e other singerD dictated the story slo&ly and repetitively to the person &ho first &rote it do&n5 Nor/ally the length &o.ld 8e varied to acco//odate the &hi/s of the a.dience6 and no nor/al a.dience co.ld sit thro.gh 2C,000 lines5 105 The <.otation is fro/ 9li ;a8a and the forty thieves6 in The %ra#ian nights: Tales of &onder and !agnificence, selected and edited 8y Padraic Col./6 fro/ the translation 8y Ed&ard Willia/ Hane CNe& Aor7: =ac/illan6 12'!D5 The na/es here are in an .nfa/iliar for/5 We are /.ch /ore .sed to having the /agic phrase 8e 3Open Sesa/e63 8.t according to Col./6 3Si/si/3 is the a.thentic transliteration5 222 *otes: hapter ThreeL,no&ledge in the 6ead and in the ;orld 115 The <.ote co/es fro/ Winograd N Solo&ay9s interesting st.dy C12+ID6 On forgetting the locations of things stored in special places6 :ournal of E4peri!ental Psychology: Ieneral, ..K, !II0!125 125 The description is ta7en fro/ an earlier 8oo76 <earning and !e!ory CNor/an6 12+2D5 1!5 Handa.er C12+ID provides the /ost sophisticated atte/pt , have yet seen to esti/ate the a/o.nt of /aterial people /ight 7no& in his ognitive 8cience article 3#o& /.ch do people re/e/8er@ So/e esti/ates of the <.antity of learned infor/ation in long0ter/ /e/ory53 1"5 This story is ta7en fro/ #.tchins6 #ollan6 N Nor/an C12+I6 p5 11!D6 slightly re&orded5 , a/ of co.rse inde8ted to o.r rena/ed colleag.e for allo&ing his tho.ght processes to 8e aired in p.8lic5 1'5 S.rprisingly little is 7no&n a8o.t the properties of /ental /odels5 There are t&o 8oo7s &ith 5ental !odels as their title6 one the report of a conference6 edited 8y Gentner and Stevens C12+!D6 the other6 8y Bohnson0 Haird C12+!D6 an exa/ination of a partic.lar for/ of /ental /odel that /ight 8e .sed in pro8le/ solving and reasoning5 The first is closer in spirit to the types 8eing disc.ssed here5 The role /ental /odels /ight play in the .nderstanding of co/plex syste/s in general and co/p.ter syste/s in partic.lar is disc.ssed in o.r 8oo7 on the design of co/p.ter syste/s CNor/an N *raper6 12+ID5 n excellent revie& is provided 8y $o.se and =orris C12+ID5 1I5 $eaders conversant &ith infor/ation theory /ight consider ho& the vario.s /appings red.ce the infor/ation load on the .ser5 The standard /eas.re of infor/ation is the 38it63 the a/o.nt of infor/ation re<.ired to disting.ish 8et&een t&o ite/s5 With the co/pletely ar8itrary /apping of fig.re !5!6 each control co.ld &or7 any of fo.r 8.rners6 so it ta7es 2 8its of infor/ation to specify &hich 8.rner each control operates5 ,f yo. &ish to 8e a8le to loo7 at any of the fo.r controls and 7no& i//ediately &hich 8.rner it operates6 + 8its /.st 8e learned5 Eight 8its is a lot5 CTechnically6 all fo.r controls can 8e specified &ith a total of only "5I 8its6 8.t this /a7es .se of the fact that once the first control is 7no&n T2 8itsU6 the second one has to 8e selected fro/ only three possi8ilities T15' 8itsU6 the third fro/ the t&o re/aining possi8ilities T1 8itU6 and then the last control 8eco/es f.lly deter/ined T0 8itsU5 This strategy re<.ires less infor/ation to specify all fo.r controls6 8.t at the cost of /ore co/p.tation: yo. can9 t loo7 directly at a control and 7no& &hich 8.rner it &or7s:yo. have to fig.re it o.t5D The partial /apping of arrange/ent fig.re !5" red.ces the infor/ation load5 No&6 selection of each proper control is selection fro/ t&o alterna0 tives6 or 1 8it5 So a total of only " 8its are re<.ired to let the person go to each control and 7no& i//ediately &hich 8.rner it operates5 The f.ll nat.ral /appings of fig.re !5' have only one interpretation6 so nothing has to 8e learned: 0 8its5 *otes: hapter ThreeL,no&ledge in the 6ead and in the ;orld 22! The change fro/ an ar8itrary /apping to a partial /apping to a f.ll nat.ral /apping red.ces the n./8er of alternatives fro/ 2" to " to 1 and red.ces the infor/ation theory content fro/ + to " to 0 8its6 respectively5 115 *espite the i/portance of re/inding fro/ 8oth the practical and the theoretical point of vie&6 little is 7no&n a8o.t it5 $e/inds6 of co.rse6 occ.r in a n./8er of different &ays5 One for/ of re/inding occ.rs entirely internally6 as &hen a tho.ght or an experience 3re/inds3 one of another tho.ght or experience5 s far as , 7no&6 only $oger Schan7 has &ritten a8o.t it Cin his 8oo7 Dyna!ic !e!ory, 12+2D5 nother for/ of re/inding co/es fro/ external c.es: for exa/ple6 as &hen seeing a cloc7 re/inds one of the ti/e and of a tas7 that needs to 8e done Cor &orse6 that can no longer 8e doneD5 nother for/ of re/inding:the type , have 8een disc.ssing:is deli8erately invo7ed or set .p6 as &hen one tries to set .p physical c.es on one day of tas7s that are to 8e done d.ring another5 We treat so/e of these iss.es in the chapters 8y Cypher and 8y =iyata and Nor/an in Nor/an N *raper C12+ID6 3ser centered syste! design. C#PTE$ (O)$: %no&ing What to *o 15 Hetter to ne&spaper advice col./nist Ellie $.c7er6 %ustin TTexasU %!eri1 can18tates!an, .g5 !16 12+I5 $eprinted 8y per/ission5 25 The res.lts of /y experi/ents are re/iniscent of st.dies of chess /as0 ters &ho &ere allo&ed only ten seconds to exa/ine a chess 8oard &ith a config.ration fro/ the /iddle of a real ga/e 8efore 8eing as7ed to recon0 str.ct the 8oard fro/ /e/ory5 They did so very acc.rately5 Novices reconstr.ct the 8oard poorly5 ;.t sho& an illegal Cor illogicalD co/8ination of those very sa/e chess pieces to a /aster and a novice6 and they perfor/ a8o.t e<.ally poorly5 The expert has learned so /.ch of the str.ct.re of the ga/e that n./ero.s nat.ral and artificial constraints co/e into play6 a.to/atically r.ling o.t all sorts of config.rations and red.cing &hat has to 8e re/e/8ered to a /anagea8le a/o.nt5 The novice does not have s.fficient internal 7no&ledge to /a7e .se of these constraints5 Si/ilarly6 &hen faced &ith the illegal or illogical config.ration6 the expert9 s con0 straints and prior 7no&ledge are no longer .sef.l Csee Chase N Si/on6 121!D5 !5 See Schan7 N 8elson9s C1211D 8cripts, plans, goals, and understanding or Goff/an9s C121"D 8oo7 "ra!e analysis, on social str.ct.res and conventions5 "5 We had to overco/e a n./8er of technical pro8le/s to i/prove the /apping5 The lights &ere already installed6 and it &as not possi8le to redo the &iring5 We /odified so/e light di//ers so that they co.ld 8e .sed as controls for re/otely located lights5 The choice of electrical s&itches &as also li/ited5 ,deally6 &e &o.ld have /ade parts especially for o.r p.rpose5 Still6 the experi/ent has 8een re/ar7a8ly s.ccessf.l5 ,n this 22" *otes: hapter "ourL,no&ing ;hat to Do &or76 , relied heavily on the electrical and /echanical ingen.ity of *ave Wargo6 &ho act.ally did the design6 constr.ction6 and installation of the s&itches5 '5 The reason for the a&7&ard location of the s&itch is cost5 One designer &rote /e: 3, fo.ght the good 8attle to get the onQoff s&itch to the front of the ter/inal5 , lost the arg./ent 8oth ti/es5 The hard&are engineers costed the front /o.nted s&itch at a8o.t V10 Ca8o.t V!0 to the cons./erD6 pl.s the potential for the po&er to conta/inate so/e near8y circ.its53 Those prices see/ high to /e6 8.t this designer &as spea7ing of profes0 sional e<.ip/ent6 &here the ter/inal pro8a8ly costs in the tho.sands of dollars5 #ere is the standard tradeoff of cost vers.s .sa8ility5 What price are yo. &illing to pay for .sa8ility@ *oes the cost really have to 8e that high@ What if the s&itch had 8een designed to 8e on the front fro/ the very 8eginning6 as opposed to having to 8e /oved after the rest of the layo.t had 8een co/pleted@ I5 Copyright 12+1 8y Cons./ers )nion of )nited States6 ,nc56 =o.nt -ernon6 NA 10''!5 Excerpted 8y per/ission fro/ onsu!er Eeports, Ban5 12+15 15 See Gaver C12+ID5 C#PTE$ (,-E: TO Err ,s #./an 15 Info;orld, *ec5 226 12+I5 $eprinted 8y per/ission5 25 See Sherry T.r7le9 s C12+"D analysis in her 8oo7 The second self. The 8oo7 is /ostly a8o.t the i/pact of co/p.ters on people9s lives6 especially on the children &ho have gro&n .p &ith daily6 contin.al contact &ith /a0 chines:the 3hac7ers3 of the &orld5 T.r7le also presents an analysis of the changes that infor/ation0processing vie&s of the h./an /ind have /ade to o.r interpretation of (re.d5 ll aro.nd6 it is an intrig.ing and i/portant 8oo75 !5 )nless other&ise noted6 all the exa/ples in this section &ere collected 8y /e6 pri/arily fro/ the errors of /yself6 /y research associates6 /y colleag.es6 and /y st.dents5 Everyone diligently recorded their slips6 &ith the re<.ire/ent that only the ones that had 8een i//ediately recorded &o.ld 8e added to the collection5 =any &ere first p.8lished in Nor/an C12+0 and 12+1D5 "5 The ter/ 3capt.re error3 &as invented 8y Bi/ $eason of =anchester6 England C$eason6 1212D5 $eason has &ritten &idely on slips and other /ishaps5 , reco//end as a good revie& of his &or7 the #oo$ %#sent !inded) The psychology of !ental lapses and everyday errors C$eason N =yciels7a6 12+2D5 '5 $eason C1212D5 I5 si/ple introd.ction to sche/a theory can 8e fo.nd in /y 8oo7 <earning and !e!ory CNor/an6 12+2D5 *otes: hapter "iveLTo Err Is 6u!an 22' 15 The 8est so.rce of infor/ation a8o.t the connectionist approach is the t&o08oo7 series Parallel Distri#uted Processing C$./elhart N =cClelland6 12+I? =cClelland N $./elhart6 12+ID5 +5 n i/portant set of st.dies has 8een perfor/ed 8y *anny %ahne/an and /os Tvers7y CTvers7y N %ahne/an6 121!D5 %ahne/an and =iller9s C12+ID 3Nor/ theory3 applies a related set of ideas5 25 standard o84ection to /y clai/ that everyday tas7s are concept.ally si/ple:that they do not re<.ire extensive search and 8ac7trac7ing:is that perception and lang.age are certainly everyday tas7s6 yet they violate these r.les5 , disagree5 Aes6 perception and lang.age are certainly everyday tas7s5 ;.t , do not 8elieve they violate /y arg./ent5 , arg.e that the 7ey to concept.al co/plexity is &hether or not 8ac7trac7ing is re<.ired: ,s there trial and error@ re /.ltiple paths investigated@ , &ant to arg.e that none of these are re<.ired for everyday tas7s6 incl.ding perception and lang.age5 The st.dy of perception is a diffic.lt topic: &e still do not 7no& ho& it gets done5 Clearly it involves a lot of co/p.tation5 ;.t , s.spect that the co/p.tation is less co/plex than /ight 8e s.pposed5 Percept.al syste/s are parallel str.ct.res6 they .se parallel algorith/s5 , 8elieve they reach their sol.tions 8y pattern /atching6 8y relaxation6 8y /ini/./ energy constraints5 With the proper hard&are Cthe hard&are of the 8rainD6 , 8e0 lieve these tas7s are done &itho.t 8ac7trac7ing6 &itho.t follo&ing false leads5 The r.le , &ish to invo7e is that everyday lang.age and perception are /ostly concept.ally si/ple5 They are done &itho.t 8ac7trac7ing6 &itho.t conscio.s involve/ent or even a&areness5 ;oth lang.age and perception have sit.ations that violate these ass./ptions6 8.t they are relatively infre<.ent5 When they occ.r6 they re<.ire conscio.s involve/ent5 nd they provide patterns that are diffic.lt to perceive or .nderstand5 ,n fact6 a /a4ority of these str.ct.res are created deli8erately6 as ill.sions6 or p.>>les6 or 8rainteasers6 or as the co.nterexa/ples and pro8le/s that ling.ists spend so /any ho.rs inventing and disc.ssing5 105 There is a &hole field devoted to the design and analysis of high&ay syste/s5 These partic.lar points are disc.ssed in chapters 8y lexander N H.nenfeld C12+"D and 8y %inner C12+"D5 =y o&n experience is that &hile signs on the /a4or national /otor&ays /ay 8e &ell done6 &ith considera8le tho.ght and planning6 signs on the s/aller roads are not5 The signs on the local roads re<.ire /ore local 7no&ledge6 &hich visitors .s.ally lac75 ,n England6 &hen , a/ offered a choice 8et&een ;.xton and Whittlesford &hile , a/ trying to get to Oxford6 &hat do , do@ Or s.ppose , a/ ho/e in San *iego trying to get to =ission ;ay6 &hen , a/ offered a choice 8et&een El Centro and Hos ngeles6 neither of &hich , &ish to visit5 When /a7ing long 4o.rneys on the secondary roads of England6 , learned to go aro.nd each ro.nda8o.t t&o or three ti/es6 each ti/e eli/inating a different exit .ntil , finally 22I *otes: hapter "iveLTo Err Is 6u!an co.ld select &hat appeared to 8e the 8est5 ,n this &ay , got lost only one in five ti/es instead of every ti/e5 (ort.nately6 the good /anners of ;ritish /otorists /ade /y circling possi8le6 even safe5 , have tried the sa/e thing in the )nited States6 8.t , &as ris7ing /y life5 115 B5 =aclean C12+!D6 8ecrets of a superthief CNe& Aor7: ;er7ley ;oo7sD6 10+5 125 ltho.gh the n.clear po&er ind.stry has done a good 4o8 of analy>ing the sit.ation6 it has not 8een so responsive in act.ally changing anything6 especially the design of the control roo/s5 ,t9s al/ost i/possi8le to redo an existing control roo/6 a process that can cost /illions of dollars and disr.pt the plant for several years5 We no& 7no& ho& to 8.ild /.ch 8etter control roo/s6 8.t there aren9t any ne& plants 8eing 8.ilt in the )nited States5 nd6 of co.rse6 /anage/ent &o.ld have to ta7e responsi0 8ility and recogni>e that h./an error res.lts pri/arily fro/ deficient design? , see fe& signs that this /essage is .nderstood5 The ne& control roo/s of other co.ntries9 plants that , read a8o.t appear to have the sa/e old /isg.ided6 inferior philosophy a8o.t ho& control roo/s sho.ld 8e designed5 The designs &ill definitely lead to error C&hich &ill 8e 8la/ed on the operators6 &ho &ill then 8e retrained and retrained6 or6 /ore li7ely6 si/ply firedD5 The aviation ind.stry has 8een /ore responsive5 ;.t its costs are lo&er6 and ne& coc7pit designs and aircraft are contin.ally 8eing prod.ced5 Other ind.stries see/ <.ite .na&are of these pro8le/s6 even tho.gh the doc./ented accident and death rates to &or7ers and innocent 8y0 standers /ay 8e higher than for either n.clear po&er or co//ercial avia0 tion5 #./an error6 they call it6 allo&ing the/ to fire the people involved and ignore the /isdesign of the plant that led to the pro8le/ in the first place5 The che/ical6 petrole./6 and shipping ind.stries see/ partic.larly at fa.lt6 8la/ing training or operator inco/petence &hen6 in fact6 the pro8le/s are inherent in the syste/5 (or an excellent analysis of these iss.es6 read Charles Perro&9s C12+"D 8oo76 *or!al accidents. 1!5 (ischhoff9s C121'D st.dy is called 3#indsight KQK foresight: The effect of o.tco/e 7no&ledge on 4.dg/ent .nder .ncertainty53 nd &hile yo. are at it6 see the very i/pressive 8oo7 of readings entitled %ccepta#le ris$ C(ischhoff6 Hichtenstein6 Slovic6 *er8y6 N %eeney6 12+1D5 1"5 The %orean ir flight 001 has 8een analy>ed 8y #ersh C12+ID6 &ho gives a pla.si8le6 detailed acco.nt of &hat /ight have gone &rong &ith the flight5 ;eca.se the aircraft flight recorders &ere not recovered6 &e &ill never 7no& &ith certainty &hat did happen5 ,t appears that the actions on the Soviet side &ere pro8a8ly e<.ally conf.sed6 &ith pilots and the /ili0 tary .nder vario.s social press.res to act5 The infor/ation availa8le a8o.t the Soviets9 actions is ins.fficient to reach any relia8le concl.sions5 1'5 =y so.rce for infor/ation a8o.t the Tenerife crash is $oitsch6 ;a80 coc76 N Ed/.nds C.ndatedD6 the report iss.ed 8y the /erican irline *otes: hapter "iveLTo Err Is 6u!an 221 Pilots ssociation5 ,t is perhaps not too s.rprising that it differs in interpre0 tation fro/ the Spanish govern/ent9s report CSpanish =inistry of Trans0 port and Co//.nications6 121+D6 &hich in t.rn differs fro/ the report 8y the *.tch ircraft ccident ,n<.iry ;oard C1212D5 See also ho& Weiner treats the crash and its after/ath CWeiner6 12+0? reprinted in #.rst N #.rst6 12+2D5 CWeiner calls the episode the res.lt of the Eealpoliti$ of a syste/ that 3e/phasi>es airspace allocation and political co/pro/ise6 rather than dealing directly &ith the variety of pro8le/s facing pilots and controllers53D The infor/ation and <.otations a8o.t the ir (lorida crash are fro/ the report of the National Transportation Safety ;oard C12+2D5 n excellent revie& of the social press.res can 8e fo.nd in Weiner C12+ID and in t&o 8oo7s entitled Pilot error C#.rst6 121I? #.rst N #.rst6 12+2D5 CThe t&o 8oo7s are <.ite different5 The second is 8etter than the first6 in part 8eca.se at the ti/e the first 8oo7 &as &ritten6 not /.ch scientific evidence &as availa8le5D 1I5 Warning signals can 8e designed properly5 $oy Patterson at the =edi0 cal $esearch Co.ncil9s pplied Psychology )nit in Ca/8ridge6 England6 has devised a syste/atic set of proced.res for conveying the /eaning and i/portance of a pro8le/ &ith a caref.lly controlled se<.ence of so.nds6 &here the fre<.ency6 intensity6 and rate of presentation identifies the pro8le/ and indicates the serio.sness5 The sche/e can 8e applied &her0 ever a n./8er of devices all re<.ire &arning so.nds6 s.ch as in aircraft coc7pits or hospital operating roo/s5 ,t has 8een proposed as an interna0 tional standard for &arnings6 and it is no& &or7ing its &ay slo&ly thro.gh the societies and co//ittees that /.st approve s.ch things5 One pro8le/ has al&ays 8een 7no&ing ho& lo.d to /a7e the signal5 The co//on sol.tion is to /a7e it very lo.d5 Patterson points o.t that the so.nd level that is re<.ired depends on &hat else is happening5 When an airplane is ta7ing off6 lo.d &arnings are needed5 When it is in level6 contin.o.s flight6 lo& levels &ill do5 Patterson9 s syste/ has a varia8le lo.dness: the &arning so.nd starts off softly6 then repeats &ith increasing so.nd intensity .ntil the signal is ac7no&ledged5 =odern technology /a7es it possi8le to have /achines tal76 either 8y storing a co/pressed &avefor/ or 8y synthesi>ing a voice5 This approach6 li7e all approaches6 has it strengths and &ea7nesses5 ,t allo&s for precise infor/ation to 8e conveyed6 especially &hen the person9s vis.al attention is 8eing directed else&here5 ;.t if several speech &arnings operate at the sa/e ti/e6 or if the environ/ent is noisy6 speech &arnings cannot 8e .nderstood5 Or if conversations a/ong the .sers or operators are neces0 sary6 speech &arnings &ill interfere5 Speech &arning signals can 8e effec0 tive6 8.t only if .sed intelligently5 115 , disc.ss the idea of designing for error in a paper in the o!!unications of the %5, in &hich , analy>e a n./8er of the slips people /a7e in .sing 22+ *otes: hapter "iveLTo Err Is 6u!an co/p.ter syste/s and s.ggest syste/ design principles that /ight /ini0 /i>e those errors CNor/an6 12+!D5 This philosophy also pervades the 8oo7 that o.r research tea/ p.t together: 3ser centered syste! design CNor/an N *raper6 12+ID5 #ere &e disc.ss ho& to 8.ild syste/s for .sers5 T&o chapters are especially relevant to the disc.ssions here: /y 3Cognitive engineering3 and the one , &rote &ith Clayton He&is6 called 3*esigning for error53 C#PTE$ six: The *esign Challenge 15 =ares &rites a8o.t the process .sed in the develop/ent of the first s.ccessf.l type&riter C12026 pp5 "20"!D5 =ares said he &as <.oting 3fro/ an old catalog iss.ed 8y the $e/ington Co/pany6 /any years 8ac753 25 There are very good descriptions of the hill0cli/8ing process in lexan0 der9s C12I"D 8oo7 *otes on the synthesis of for! and Bones9s 8oo7 Design !ethodsD also see Bones9s C12+"D Essays in design. Bones C12+1D has a partic.larly good description of the evol.tion of the &heels of far/ &agons: did yo. 7no& they are 3dished3 or 3c.pped3 o.t&ard6 so that the ri/s 8.lge o.t /ore than the center@ *id yo. 7no& that the &agon &ill not f.nction as &ell if the &heels are not c.pped@ This i/prove/ent res.lted fro/ a nat.ral6 hill0cli/8ing design process5 ll of lexander9s &or7s descri8e this process of evol.tion6 and his 8oo7s on architect.ral design are infl.ential5 ,n addition to the one already /entioned6 see The ti!eless &ay of #uilding Clexander6 1212D and % pattern language: To&ns, #uildings, construction, 8y lexander6 ,shi7a&a6 and Silverstein C1211D5 , find the &or7s fascinating to s7i/6 fr.strating to read6 and dif0 fic.lt to p.t into practice6 8.t his descriptions of the str.ct.re of ho/es and villages are very good5 While yo.9 re trac7ing do&n these classic 8oo7s on design6 8y all /eans loo7 at Si/on9s C12+1D The sciences of the artificial. !5 *e& (or$ Daily Tri#une editorial fro/ a8o.t 1+206 <.oted in G5 C5 =ares C1002D6 The history of the type&riter, successor to the pen: %n illustrated account of the origin, rise, and develop!ent of the &riting !achine frontispiece5 "5 The story /a7es sense6 8.t the arrange/ent of the 7eys doesn9 t co/0 pletely fit the story5 Aes6 i and e for/ a fre<.ent pair and are far apart6 8.t &hat a8o.t other fre<.ent pairs6 s.ch as e and r, or i, n, g) nd it see/s s.spicio.s that the letters of the &ord type&riter all appear on the top ro&? so/e other constraints see/ to have 8een operating5 l/ost every co.ntry in the &orld .ses a 7ey8oard si/ilar to <&erty5 There are differences:the (rench6 for exa/ple6 replaced a and & &ith a and 7, for 3a>erty3:8.t the changes are re/ar7a8ly /inor5 Aet different lang.ages have very different patterns of letter .se6 so an English08ased 7ey8oard &o.ld not 8e expected to &or7 &ell for other lang.ages5 *otes: hapter 8i4LThe Design hallenge 222 '5 The acco.nt of the 3d.el 3 is presented in ;eeching9s C121"D 8oo76 entury of the type&riter Cpp5 "00"1D5 I5 (isher and , st.died a variety of 7ey8oard layo.ts5 We tho.ght that alpha8etically organi>ed 7eys &o.ld 8e s.perior for 8eginners5 No6 they &eren9t: &e discovered that 7no&ledge of the alpha8et &as not .sef.l in finding the 7eys5 O.r st.dies of alpha8etical and *vora7 7ey8oards &ere p.8lished in the 4o.rnal 6u!an "actors CNor/an N (isher6 12+2D5 15 d/irers of the *vora7 7ey8oard clai/ /.ch /ore than a 10 percent i/prove/ent6 as &ell as faster learning rates and less fatig.e5 ;.t , &ill stic7 8y /y st.dies and /y state/ents5 ,f yo. &ant to read /ore6 incl.ding a &orth&hile treat/ent of the history of the type&riter6 see the 8oo7 ognitive aspects of s$illed type&riting, edited 8y Cooper C12+!D6 &hich incl.des several chapters of research fro/ /y la8oratory5 +5 The ,sraeli psychologist *aniel Gopher has developed a clever single0 hand chord 7ey8oard for 8oth the ro/an and #e8re& alpha8ets5 #e clai/s great s.ccess &ith the .se of the #e8re& chord 7ey8oard 8y pilots &ho have to enter data into their flight co/p.ter &ith one hand &hile flying the plane &ith the other CGopher6 %aris6 N %oenig6 12+'? Gopher N $ai46 in pressD5 25 ;all 8treet :ournal, *ec5 26 12+I5 $eprinted 8y per/ission of the ;all 8treet :ournal. J *o& Bones N Co56 ,nc56 12+I5 ll rights reserved5 105 So//er C12+!D6 8ocial design: reating #uildings &ith people in !ind Cp5 12ID5 115 So//er C12+!6 pp5 12+0122D5 125 3Wait a /in.te63 yo. /ight say6 3&hat has the design of the cafeteria got to do &ith the *esign Centre@ That isn9t the p.rpose of the Centre5 Ao. are /issing the &hole point53 , don9 t thin7 so5 The lac7 of concern for the .ser of the Centre reflects the attit.de of the Centre as a &hole5 The exhi8its are tastef.l6 pleasing to the eye5 They e/phasi>e artistic <.alities and ease of /an.fact.re5 Those <.alities are indeed i/portant6 8.t they aren9 t s.fficient5 The cafeteria &as aesthetically pleasing 8.t f.nctionally inade<.ate5 #o& /any of the designs on display had the sa/e characteristics@ ,t isn9t .nreasona8le to expect the Centre to sho& ho& design can 8e applied to all the relevant di/ensions5 1!5 <os %ngeles Ti!es, B.ne 16 12+15 1"5 =ost designers today &or7 in tea/s5 Nonetheless6 the co//ents , /a7e a8o.t 3the designer3 apply5 ,n fact6 the 8etter the tea/&or76 the /ore apt /e/8ers are to share co//on /odes of thin7ing and co//on sets of approaches6 and there8y to fall prey si/.ltaneo.sly to the sa/e pro8le/s5 1'5 =i7e %ing6 a telephone co/pany designer6 co//enting on an early draft of POET5 1I5 *an $osen8erg6 a design engineer6 co//enting on an early draft of POET5 2!0 *otes: hapter 8i4LThe Design hallenge 115 $ichard W5 Pe&6 an a.thority on h./an factors and ind.strial design Cpersonal co//.nication6 12+'D5 1+5 There are so/e technical pro8le/s facing the progra//er5 ,t is .p to each individ.al progra//er to develop an appropriate syste/ for repre0 senting the actions to 8e perfor/ed6 to find o.t &hat is possi8le6 and then to discover &hat has happened:to /a7e 4.dicio.s .se of feed8ac76 of intelligent interpretation5 There sho.ld 8e a nat.ral dialog6 a co/forta8le interaction 8et&een co/p.ter and .ser in &hich 8oth parties cooperate to reach the desired sol.tion5 ll of this is too /.ch of a 8.rden to p.t .pon the individ.al progra//ers5 fter all6 the person s7illed in a pro8le/ area or at progra//ing is not li7ely also to 8e s7illed in the psychology of h./an0co/p.ter interaction5 The pict.re &on9 t i/prove .ntil there are 8etter pac7ages of tools for the .ser to /a7e it easier to do things right5 These pac7ages are called 3tool8oxes63 3&or78enches63 3rapid proto0 typing tools63 and 3.ser interface /anage/ent syste/s63 and they are no& co/ing o.t5 Hiterat.re on ho& to do things right exists5 good starting point is ;aec7er N ;.xt on9 s C12+1D Eeadings in hu!an1co!puter interactionD Shnei der 0 /an9 s t ext 6 Designing the user interface: 8trategies for effective hu!an1co!puter inter1 action C12+1D? and /y 3ser centered syste! design CNor/an N *raper6 12+ID5 The 8oo7 8y Card6 =oran6 and Ne&ell6 The psychology of hu!an co!puter interaction C12+!D provides a 8eginning to&ard a set of co/p.tational design tools? it is also the /ost technical5 (or the /ost c.rrent &or76 see any of the proceedings of the ann.al conferences sponsored 8y the ssociation for Co/p.ting =achinery9 s s.8gro.p6 S,GC#, CSpecial ,nterest Gro.p on Co/p.ter #./an ,nteractionD5 Several international conference series /eet at vario.s locations in the )nited States and thro.gho.t E.rope5 S.rely co/p.ter /an.fact.rers can9t 8e ignorant of all these activities5 125 Oerox did indeed /a7e significant innovations in the .sa8ility of co/p.ter syste/s6 8.t /any of the 8asic ideas originated else&here5 There is a long history of research on this topic5 Hight pens had 8een .sed as a pointing device for /any years5 *o.g Engel8art invented the /o.se in his pro4ect on a.g/ented h./an reasoning at the Stanford $esearch ,nstit.te5 ,t is not clear &here the e/phasis on graphics ca/e fro/6 8.t co/p.ter0 aided design progra/s had already exploited the idea5 Windo&s /ay have co/e fro/ several so.rces6 8.t lan %ay6 then at Oerox Cno& at ppleD6 co//only gets the credit5 20. S/ith6 ,r8y6 %i/8all6 -erplan76 N #arsle/ C12+2D6 Designing the star user interface. 215 The .nderstanding of these different /odes of interaction has devel0 oped slo&ly: it still re/ains an active research topic5 ;en Shneider/an C121"6 12+!6 12+1D invented the ter/ direct /anip.lation and has done /.ch to pro/ote its .se5 The distinction 8et&een first0person and third0 person interactions and the notion of direct engage/ent &as developed 8y ;renda Ha.rel &hile she &as &or7ing at tari6 at that ti/e a /a4or ga/es *otes: hapter 8i4LThe Design hallenge -2( /an.fact.rer5 Co/p.ter ga/es provide a /odern for/ of dra/atic expe0 rience5 There are /any varieties of ga/es6 fro/ those that concentrate on e/otions and /otor s7ills to those that foc.s on the intellect5 =ost ga/es6 &hether on the co/p.ter or not6 present this feeling of direct engage/ent6 of a first0person interaction &ith the environ/ent5 Si/ilar feelings of 8eing capt.red6 of &or7ing directly at the tas76 are possi8le for other activities as &ell5 See Ha.rel9s C12+ID chapter6 3,nterface as /i/esis53 lso see the chapter on direct /anip.lation interfaces 8y #.tchins6 #ollan6 and Nor/an C12+ID5 225 The ideas in this section &ere developed 4ointly &ith Bi/ =iller of the =icroelectronics and Co/p.ter Technology Corporation C=CCD6 of .s0 tin6 Texas6 the /erican research consorti./ for the develop/ent of f.0 t.re technologies for co/p.ters5 C#PTE$ SE-EN: )ser0Centered *esign 15 Hynch C1212D6 ;hat ti!e is this place) Cpp5 ??1?C2. 25 n excellent treat/ent of overa.to/ation is Weiner and C.rry9 s C12+0D paper6 3(light0dec7 a.to/ation: Pro/ises and pro8le/s53 !5 , have eno.gh friends on national and international standards co//it0 tees for /e to reali>e that the process of deter/ining an internationally accepted standard is la8orio.s5 Even &hen all parties agree on the /erits of standardi>ation6 the tas7 of selecting standards 8eco/es a lengthy and political iss.e5 s/all co/pany or a single designer can standardi>e pro0 d.cts &itho.t too /.ch diffic.lty6 8.t it is /.ch /ore diffic.lt for an ind.strial6 national6 or international 8ody to agree to standards5 There even exists a standardi>ed proced.re for esta8lishing national and international standards5 set of national and international organi>ations &or7s on standards? &hen a ne& standard is proposed6 it /.st &or7 its &ay .p thro.gh the organi>ational hierarchy5 Each step is co/plex6 for if there are three &ays of doing so/ething6 then there are s.re to 8e strong proponents of each of the three &ays6 pl.s people &ho &ill arg.e that it is too early to standardi>e5 Each proposal is de8ated at the /eeting &here it is pre0 sented6 then ta7en 8ac7 to the sponsoring organi>ation:&hich is so/e0 ti/es a co/pany6 so/eti/es a professional society:&here o84ections and co.ntero84ections are collected5 Then the standards co//ittee /eets again to disc.ss the o84ections5 nd again and again and again5 ny co/pany that is already /ar7eting a prod.ct that /eets the proposed standard &ill have a h.ge econo/ic advantage6 and the de8ates are therefore often affected 8y the econo/ics and politics of the iss.es as /.ch as 8y real technological s.8stance5 The process is al/ost g.aranteed to ta7e five years6 and <.ite often longer5 The res.lting standard is .s.ally a co/pro/ise a/ong the vario.s co/0 2!2 *otes: hapter 8evenL3ser entered Design peting positions6 oftenti/es an inferior co/pro/ise5 So/eti/es the an0 s&er is to agree on several inco/pati8le standards5 Witness the existence of 8oth /etric and English .nits? of left0hand and right0hand drive a.0 to/o8iles? of three different 7inds of color television6 all inco/pati8le5 There are several international standards for the voltages and fre<.ency of electricity and several different 7inds of electrical pl.gs and soc7ets: &hich cannot 8e interchanged5 ct.ally6 /y description of ho& standards are achieved is /ore hope than reality5 One of /y colleag.es6 Bonathan Gr.din6 &ho has &or7ed on national and international standards for the design of co/p.ter &or7 stations6 co//ented on /y paragraphs this &ay: Ao. said standards develop/ent 3/.st &or7 its &ay .p thro.gh the organi>ational hierarchy3 8.t in fact &ith the international stan0 dard increasingly the goal6 it is a vastly /ore iterative proced.re6 at least in the NS,0,SO arena TNS, is /erican National Standards ,nstit.te: the standards are la8eled things li7e NSC O!-16 &here the , for ,nstit.te is replaced &ith a C for Co//ittee5 ,SO is ,nterna0 tional Standards Organi>ationU5 What happens is that so/eone dra&s .p a proposal or parts of one6 and it is <.ic7ly hashed .p a 8it at the national /eeting then carried to the next international /eeting5 There it gets hashed .p a lot /ore6 often re&ritten or extended6 and 8ro.ght 8ac7 to all of the national /eetings5 They che& it over6 and at the next international /eeting it typically gets a real &or7ing over6 this 8eing the first inp.t fro/ vario.s national &or7ing gro.ps5 Then it goes 8ac7 to the national gro.ps again6 &ho really sin7 their teeth in it6 the original sponsor /oaning &ith pain at &hat they9 ve done to its song6 often5 Then this process goes thro.gh /any /ore itera0 tions? in the case of a /a4or standard6 it co.ld go thro.gh a do>en or /ore over several years5 co/pro/ise a/ong existing approaches is generally not the result of the standards process6 8.t an initial ai/ of the developers5 Ao.r tactf.l phrasing /a7es the process so.nd slightly /ore scientific and less political than it is6 tho.gh , don9 t o84ect to it5 On the other hand6 the standards developers are s.rely al&ays .tterly convinced that they are prod.cing a co/pro/ise that is superior, not inferior6 to any of the contri8.tions to it6 and they are &ell a&are of the ca/el0is0a0 horse0designed08y0co//ittee pro8le/5 , have not st.died eno.gh cases to 7no& that they are &rong5 , &o.ld have g.essed that they /ight often 8e right5 "5 One reason the pple =acintosh co/p.ter is s.ch a .sa8le /achine is 8eca.se pple enforced a set of standard proced.res for all the people &ho &rote progra/s for the =acintosh5 The proced.res governed the loo7 and style of the interface6 /ost especially the &ay that infor/ation co.ld 8e *otes: hapter 8evenL3ser entered Design 2!! /odified6 the &ay the /en.s &ere .sed6 the &ay infor/ation &as dis0 played6 the heavy .se of the /o.se6 the a8ility to 3.ndo3 the 4.st0previo.s action if the .ser &ished to6 and the for/at for &or7ing &ith text6 &or7ing &ith &indo&s6 displaying choices6 getting at files6 and telling a8o.t errors5 The res.lt is that once the 8asic principles are learned6 they carry over to /ost of the progra/s availa8le for the syste/5 No& if &e co.ld enlarge a si/ilar spirit of standardi>ation to the /achines of all /an.fact.rers6 all over the &orld6 &e &o.ld have a /a4or 8rea7thro.gh in .sa8ility5 '5 co/p.ter /ail <.estion sent to /e 8y a st.dent6 *ina %.r7tchi5 ,t is 4.st the right <.estion5 I5 The co/pany &as (TH Ga/es5 The st.dents &ere *ennis Wal7er6 $od #artley6 Steve Par7er6 and Boey Garon5 n earlier st.dy on ga/es &as perfor/ed 8y To/ =alone C12+1D6 &ho exa/ined ho& to develop ed.ca0 tional progra/s that &o.ld 8e 8oth interesting to st.dents and of ed.ca0 tional val.e5 15 These st.dies &ere carried o.t 8y #enry Str.8 at the )niversity of California6 San *iego5 +5 P5 Cer.>>i C12+ID6 n .nforeseen revol.tion: Co/p.ters and expecta0 tions6 12!'012+'5 25 #ypertext can9t 8e defined? it has to 8e experienced5 , &ill atte/pt to convey &hat it &o.ld 8e li7e5 This note is a 7ind of hypertext6 for it is a co//entary on the text itself5 That is &hat the 3hyper3 of the na/e /eans: a higher0level text that co//ents on and expands the /ain text6 allo&ing the reader freedo/ to explore or ignore the /aterial as interests dictate5 #ypertext re<.ires a co/p.ter &ith high0resol.tion display6 good graphics6 a pointing device6 and a tre/endo.s a/o.nt of /e/ory5 ,t is only today that technology is starting to /a7e s.ch syste/s afforda8le5 t the ti/e of this &riting6 only a fe& hypertext syste/s are availa8le6 8.t a lot have 8een tal7ed a8o.t5 ,n fact6 as , travel fro/ research la8oratory to research la8oratory across the co.ntry6 everyone see/s to 8e tal7ing a8o.t doing a hypertext syste/5 ;.t there is a 8ig difference 8et&een tal7ing a8o.t doing so/ething and act.ally doing it5 #ypertext &as invented 8y Ted Nelson6 altho.gh the 8asic idea can pro8a8ly 8e traced to -annevar ;.sh9s prophetic %tlantic 5onthly article 3s &e /ay thin73 C12"'D5 Nelson9s 8oo7s are pretty good exa/ples of ho& close one can co/e to hypertext &itho.t the .se of a co/p.ter5 The 8oo7s are f.n and insightf.l Csee6 for exa/ple6 Nelson6 12+1D5 105 So/e of yo. already 7no& all a8o.t hypertext and &ish , &o.ld get on &ith it? yo. /ight si/ply &ant to see &hether , a/ for or against it5 Others of yo. have never heard of the concept and need even /ore description than , a/ a8le to provide5 #o& are &e going to /anage to satisfy all of yo.@ -iva hypertextE Ct this point , need a footnote to this 2!" *otes: hapter 8evenL3ser1entered Design note6 8.t that isn9t allo&ed6 /y p.8lisher tells /e5 So6 into contrasting text5D I a! not going to tell you &hether I a! for or against it. %ctually, that is #ecause I a! #oth. It is a really e4citing concept. >ut I don't #elieve it can &or$ for !ost !aterial. "or an encyclopaedia, yesD or a dictionaryD or an instruction !anual. >ut not for a te4t, or a novel. I!agine a !ystery novel in hyperte4t. 6!!, it !ight #e very interesting. 115 ;.t &hat a pain these notes are5 ,f positioned at the 8otto/ of the page6 they distract5 ,f at the end of the text6 as in this 8oo76 they are a&7&ard to .se5 #o& /.ch nicer if one co.ld 4.st to.ch the footnoted &ord and have it instantly expand into a note:on the side of the page6 of co.rse6 &here it &o.ldn9 t get in the &ay5 h yes6 hypertext5 125 *5 ;.l7eley C12+1D6 The 9s/artest ho.se in /erica69 Design *e&s, @=, 'I0I15 1!5 The s/all co/pact dis7 no& .sed for a.dio recordings is capa8le of holding T giga8yte of infor/ation6 &here a giga8yte is the technical ter/ for one 8illion characters C10 2 D5 This n./8er is s.re to increase in the co/ing years6 and larger si>e dis7s already hold considera8ly /ore infor0 /ation5 1"5 n excellent treat/ent of ho& design affects and is affected 8y society is given in drian (orty9s O#/ects of desire C12+ID5 The f.ll assess/ent of the e/ptiness of the architect.ral revol.tion is provided /ost effectively 8y To/ Wolfe C12+1D6 in his "ro! >auhaus to our house, and in a /ore scholarly &ay 8y Peter ;la7e C1211D in "or! follo&s fiasco: ;hy !odern architecture hasn9t &or$ed. *otes: hapter 8evenL3ser entered Design 2!' S)GGESTE* $E*, NGS Thro.gho.t the co.rse of /y research on design , have co/e across a n./8er of relevant &or7s5 ,n this section , co//ent on the ones , have fo.nd /ost val.a8le6 especially for those readers &ho &ish to contin.e their investigations of the psychology of everyday things and the de0 sign process5 , concentrate pri/arily on design6 and especially on &or7s that , feel did not receive s.fficient ac7no&ledg/ent &ithin the chap0 ters of POET5 This list is not exha.stive 8.t rather incl.des the 8oo7s that , have fo.nd /ost helpf.l and that , reco//end /ost strongly to others5 Everyday Things #ere are t&o fascinating 8oo7s6 &hich deal not &ith design 8.t rather &ith the str.ct.res of everyday life:str.ct.res that6 to a large extent6 deter/ine &hy things are designed5 One 8oo76 ;ra.del9s C12+1D The structures of everyday life, tal7s a8o.t the develop/ent of civili>ation and capitalis/ in the fifteenth thro.gh eighteenth cent.ries and o.tlines the i/pact on ordinary people of rapid develop/ents in agric.lt.re6 eating ha8its6 clothing6 ho.sing6 and fashion6 as &ell as the general spread of technological develop/ents in energy6 /etall.rgy6 and trans0 port5 CThis is vol./e one of a three0vol./e series6 ivili7ation and capital1 is!. #ighly reco//ended as a /asterf.l treat/ent6 for those &ho are interested in s.ch things5D The other 8oo76 Panati9 s C12+1D E4traordinary origins of everyday things, disc.sses t he origins of /any of o.r pop.l ar o84ects6 ha8it s6 and c.sto/s5 Panati incl.des excellent sections of refer0 ences and s.ggested readings5 ;ra.del9 s 8oo7 is a scholarly C8.t &ell &rit tenD6 syste/atic6 cohesive t reat/ent of the rise of /odern civili>a0 tion 8y a noted (rench historian5 Panati 9 s 8oo7 is a pop.l ar treat /ent consisting of h.ndreds of .nrelated6 short essays6 each treating a dif0 ferent topic6 incl.ding t he devel op/ent of ta8le&are6 ta8le /anners6 toilets6 and everyday s.perstitions and c.sto/s5 rchitect.ral *esign rchitect.re plays a /a4or role in design6 in part 8eca.se its /any schools provide a nat.ral ho/e for t he st.dy of design6 in part 8eca.se architects so deli8erately .se t he constr.ction of ho/es and 8.ildings as design state/ents5 The ;a.ha.s in Ger/any &as pro8a8l y the origin of t he /odern extre/es6 8.t t he e/phasis started long 8efore t hen5 The /ost engaging disc.ssion of t he excesses of /odern architect.re is t hat of To/ Wolfe C12+1D6 "ro! >auhaus to our house. ;la7e9s C1211D "or! follo&s fiasco: ;hy !odern architecture hasn't &or$ed, is a 8it /ore scholarly6 8.t especially reada8le5 There is6 of co.rse6 a h.ge literat.re on architect.re and it is not 7ind si/ply to cite t &o criti<.es5 Nonet heless6 t hat is &hat , shall do6 especially as /i ne is not a 8oo7 a8o.t architect.re5 The other architects &hose &or7 has infl.enced /e are not 8.ilders? t hey are thin7ers and designers6 in partic.lar6 lexander and his colleag.es at the )niversity of California6 ;er7eley Csee lexander6 12I"6 1212? lexander6 ,shi7a&a6 N Silverstein6 12115D ,nd.strial *esign The classic 8oo7s on ind.strial design are *reyf.ss9 s Designing for people C12'1D and Hoe&y9 s *ever leave &ell enough alone C12'1D6 alt ho.gh , cannot state t hat t hey had /.ch i/pact on /e5 =.ch /ore i /port ant 8oo7s &ere Caplan C12+2D6 >y design: ;hy there are no loc$s on the #athroo! doors in 6otel <ouis RIH and other o#/ect lessonsD Hynch C12I0D6 The i!age of the cityD and Hynch C1212D6 ;hat ti!e is this place) Several good histories of design exist5 , have fo.nd (orty9 s C12+ID O#/ects of desire: Design and society fro! ;edge&ood to I>5 especially .sef.l5 $y8c>yns7i9 s C12+ID 6o!e: % short history of an idea provides an excellent 2!+ 8uggested Eeadings and engaging s.//ary of t he design of ho/es and f.rnishings5 ,f yo. tho.ght t hat co/fort /ight 8e relevant to the design of f.rnit.re6 yo. are naive? read $y8c>yns7i9 s 8oo7 and 8e infor/ed5 Co/fort6 li7e .sa8ility6 &on9 t 8e a design factor .nless and .ntil t he p.rchasers de/and it5 ,n t he text , co//ent on t he .sef.lness of Bones9 s several 8oo7s on design phil osophy and /et hods6 especially t he pro8le/ of going fro/ original specification to reali>ation CBones6 12106 12+16 12+"D5 Papane7 has 8een a /a4or critic of /odern ind.strial design6 espe0 cially scornf.l of t he e/phasis on frivolo.s excesses that /a7e pro0 d.cts expensive6 ill0conceived6 and ill0operating5 #is o&n designs e/0 phasi>e lo& cost6 d.ra8ility6 and ease of constr.ction Cespecially for thi rd0&orl d econo/iesD6 all .sef.l and i /portant attri8.tes6 8.t not necessarily relevant to t he .sa8ility of t he designs Csee Papane76 12116 and Papane7 N #ennessey6 1211D5 ,llich9s cogent arg./ents for 3con0 vivial t ool s3 help define t he phi l osophy ai/ed for in POET Csee his 8oo7 Tools for conviviality T121!UD5 good &ay to find o.t &hat the design &orld cares a8o.t is to read t he /aga>ines of ind.strial design5 ,n t he )nited States6 thi s is ID, a 3/aga>ine of ,nternational *esign53L ,t9 s a fascinating /aga>ine &i t h clever innovative design5 ;.t , detect little interest in /a7ing designs .sa8le6 f.nctional6 or .nderst anda8l e5 The professionals read Innovation, the 4o.rnal of t he ,nd.strial *esigners Society of /erica5 General ,ss.es in *esign Petros7i9 s C12+'D To engineer is hu!an: The role of failure in successful design provides an excellent analysis of t he role of fail.res in the advance/ent of ind.strial and civil design6 sho&ing ho&6 for exa/ple6 each collapse of a 8ridge advances the design profession C8.t only if detailed st .dy of the reasons for the collapse is /ade and t he lessons propagated to the other designersD? it9 s a tr.ly excellent 8oo75 Perro& C12+"D has &ritten an extre/ely i /port ant 8oo76 *or!al accidents, in &hi ch he loo7s at the str.ct.re of large syste/s Cthings s.ch as oil drilling platfor/s6 n.clear po&er plants6 and ocean0going shipsD and de/onstrates that the co/8ination of co/plexity and 3t i ght 0co.pl i ng3 /a7es s.ch sys0 te/s highly s.scepti8le to catastrophic fail.re5 This 8oo7 is essential L*esign P.8lications6 ,nc56 !!0 W5 "2 St56 Ne& Aor76 NA 100!I5 8uggested Eeadings 2!2 reading for everyone involved in t he design and operation of large0 scale pl ant s and syste/s5 ,t sho.l d co/e as no s.rprise to learn that , thin7 t hat three excellent essays on the role /odel provided 8y architect.re as &ell as t he i /por0 tance of social factors can 8e fo.nd in t he chapters 8y ;annon6 ;ro&n6 and #ooper in /y 3ser centered syste! design. n excellent t reat /ent of t he social aspects of design is provided 8y So//er C12+!D in his 8ocial design: reating #uildings &ith people in !ind C&hich , <.ot e fro/ extensively in chapter ID5 =y &or7 has 8een heavily infl.enced 8y Si/on6 especially 8y his ideas developed in The sciences of the artificial C12+1D6 &hi ch6 a/ong other things6 pointed o.t t hat /.ch of t he co/plexity of o.r 8ehavior re0 flects the co/plexity of t he &orld6 not of o.r t ho.ght processes5 ,n part , a/ co/ple/enting t hat arg./ent 6 arg.ing that t hro.gh design t he &orld can 8e /ade si/pler5 second6 related idea &as Si/on9 s i nt ro0 d.ction of the concept of 3satisficing63 for &hich he arg.ed t hat &e do not necessarily exa/ine all t he alternatives availa8le to .s and choose t he opt i /./6 8.t rather &e t end to /ini/i>e /ental effort and ta7e t he first one t hat see/s satisfactory5 Co/p.t ers6 of co.rse6 play an ever increasing role in /odern design6 8ot h as tools for t he design process and as t he o84ect of design5 S/ith6 ,r8y6 %i/8all6 -erplan76 N #arsle/ C12+2D present an excellent de0 scription of t he design of a co/p.ter syste/ Cthe Oerox StarD t hat heavily e/phasi>ed .sa8ility and .nderstanda8il ity: this is reco/0 /ended reading for people interested in co/p.ter syste/s5 CThe Star &as not a co//ercial s.ccess6 8.t later versions have 8een /ore s.c0 cessf.l? t he design principles and philosophies &ere ta7en over 8y t he ppl e Co/p.t er Corporation and have acco.nted for the s.ccess of t he =acintosh5D Ted Nelson C12+1D presents an engaging description of t he possi8le f.t.re of /achines in his <iterary !achines Cand ot her vol./esD5 ,ll./inating disc.ssions of t he i/port ance of t he social context in &hich tools are .sed are provided i n t &o ne&6 i /port ant st.dies: Wi nograd and (lores C12+ID6 3nderstanding co!puters and cognition: % ne& foundation for designD and S.ch/an9 s C12+1D Plans and situated actions: The pro#le! of hu!an1!achine co!!unication. 2"0 8uggested Eeadings $E(E$ENCES Ale'anderD ) /(;951) *otes on the synthesis of for!. am=ridgeD +A: Harvard 7niversity $ress) Ale'anderD ) /(;0;1) The ti!eless &ay of #uilding. Ne& @ork: 6'ford 7niver, sity $ress) Ale'anderD D ?shika&aD %)D J %ilversteinD +) C1211D5 % pattern language: To&ns, #uildings, construction. Ne& @ork: 6'ford 7niversity $ress) Ale'anderD .) K)D J LunenfeldD H) /(;B51) A users* guide to "ositive guid, ance in high&ay control) ?n !) Easter=y J H) H&aga /Eds)1D Infor!ation design: The design and evaluation of signs and printed !aterial. hichesterD En, gland: :iley) BaekerD !)D N Bu'tonD :) /(;B01) Eeadings in hu!an1co!puter interaction. Los AltosD A: +organ Eaufmann) BannonD L) K) /(;B91) ?ssues in design) ?n D) A) Norman J %) :) Dra"er CEds5D6 3ser centered syste! design: *e& perspectives on hu!an1co!puter interaction. HillsdaleD NK: Erl=aum Associates) BeechingD :) A) /(;051) entury of the type&riter. Ne& @ork: %t) +artin*s $ress) BiedermanD ?) /(;B01) !ecognition,=y,com"onents: A theory of human image understanding) Psychological Eevie&, B@, ((8,(50) ;la7e6 P5 C1211D5 "or! follo&s fiasco: ;hy !odern architecture hasn't &or$ed. Bos, ton: LittleD Bro&n) -5( BraudelD F) /(;B(1) ivili7ation and capitalis!: .Kth1.Jth century: Hol. 1. The structures of everyday life. London: :illiam ollins %ons) Ne& @ork: Har"er J !o&) $a"er=ack editionD London: Fontana $a"er=acks) Bro&nD K) %) /(;B91) From cognitive to social ergonomics and =eyond) ?n D) A) Norman J %) :) Dra"er /Eds)1D 3ser centered syste! design: *e& perspectives on hu!an1co!puter interaction. HillsdaleD NK: Erl=aum Asso, ciates) BulkeleyD D) /(;B0D 6cto=er (;1) The *smartest house in America)* Design *e&s, "") 89,9() BushD F) /(;58D Kuly1) As &e may think) %tlantic 5onthly, "") (<(,(<B) a"lanD !) /(;B-1) By design: ;hy there are no loc$s on the #athroo! doors in 6otel <ouis XIVand other o#/ect lessons. Ne& @ork: %t) +artin*s $ress) $a"er=ack editionD +c.ra&,Hill /(;B51) ardD %)D +oranD T)D J Ne&ellD A) /(;B21) The Psychology of hu!an1co!puter interaction. HillsdaleD NK: Erl=aum Associates) arelmanD K) /(;B51) atalogd'O#/ets Introuva#les. $aris: Andre Balland) /First "u=lished in (;9;)1 eru33iD $) /(;B9)1 An unforeseen revolution: om"uters and e'"ecta, tionsD (;28,(;B8) ?n K) $) orn /Ed)1D I!agining to!orro&: 6istory, technology, and the %!erican future. am=ridgeD +A: +?T $ress) haseD :)D J %imonD H) A) /(;021) $erce"tion in chess) ognitive Psychology, @, 88,Bi, oo"erD K) E) /Ed)1) /(;B21) ognitive aspects of s$illed type&riting. Ne& @ork: %"ringer, Ferlag) y"herD A) /(;B91) The structure of users* activities) ?n D) A) Norman J 8) :) Dra"er /Eds)1D 3ser centered syste! design: *e& perspectives on hu!an1 co!puter interaction. HillsdaleD NK: Erl=aum Associates) DreyfussD H) /(;8(1) Designing for people. Ne& @ork: %imon J %chuster) Dutch Aircraft Accident ?nLuiry Board) /(;0;1) Herdict of aircraft accident in-uiry #oard regarding the accident at <os Eodeos %irport, Tenerife 08pain2. The Hague) FischhoffD B) /(;081) Hindsight M>M foresight: The effect of outcome kno&l, edge on 4udgment under uncertainty) :ournal of E4peri!ental Psychology: 6u!an Perception and Perfor!ance, ., -BB,-;;) FischhoffD B)D LichtensteinD %)D %lovicD $)D Der=yD %)D J EeeneyD !) /Eds)1) /(;B(1) %ccepta#le ris$. Ne& @ork: am=ridge 7niversity $ress) FisherD D)D J BragonierD !)D Kr) /(;B(1) ;hat's &hat: % visual glossary of the physical &orld. +a"le&oodD NK: Hammond) FortyD A) /(;B91) O#/ects of desire: Design and society fro! ;edge&ood to IBM. Ne& @ork: $antheon Books) .averD :) :) (;B9) Auditory icons: 7sing sound in com"uter interfaces) 6u!an o!puter Interaction, 2 (90,(00) -5- Re!e"e#$e% Gaver6 W5 W5 Cin pressD5 Histening to co/p.ters5 Paper presented at the C= S,GC#, Wor7shop on =ixed =odes of ,nteraction6 *ec5 1'0116 12+I6 %ey West6 (lorida5 To 8e p.8lished in a 8oo7 of collected papers fro/ that conference5 Gentner6 *56 N Stevens6 5 C12+!D5 5ental !odels. #illsdale6 NB: Erl8a./ ssociates5 Gi8son6 B5 B5 C1211D5 The theory of affordances5 ,n $5 E5 Sha& N B5 ;ransford CEds5D6 Perceiving, acting, and $no&ing. #illsdale6 NB: Erl8a./ ssociates5 .i=sonD K) K) /(;0;1) The ecological approach to visual perception. Boston: Houghton =ifflin5 Goff/an6 E5 C121"D5 "ra!e analysis. Ne& Aor7: #arper N $o&5 Gopher6 *56 %aris6 *56 N %oenig6 W5 C12+'D5 The representation of /ove0 /ent sche/as in long0ter/ /e/ory: Hessons fro/ the ac<.isition of a transcription s7ill5 %cta Psychologica, ?0, 10'01!"5 Gopher6 *56 N $ai46 *5 Cin pressD5 Typing &ith a t&o hand chord 7ey8oard: :ill the I:E!T@ =ecome o=soleteC IEEE Transactions on 8yste!s, 5an, and y#ernetics. Go.ld6 B5 *56 ;oies6 S5 B56 Hevy6 S56 $ichards6 B5 T56 N Schoonard6 B5 C12+1D5 The 12+" Oly/pic /essage syste/: test of 8ehavioral principles of system design) o!!unications of the %5, =0, CKJ1C?B. #ersh6 S5 =5 C12+ID5 The target is destroyed. Ne& Aor7: $ando/ #o.se5 #ooper6 %5 C12+ID5 rchitect.ral design: n analogy5 ,n *5 5 Nor/an N %) :) Dra"er /Eds)1D 3ser centered syste! design: *e& perspectives on hu!an1 co!puter interaction. #illsdale6 NB: Erl8a./ ssociates5 HurstD !) /Ed)1) C121ID5 Pilot error: % professional study of contri#utory factors. Hondon: Granada5 #.rst6 $56 N #.rst6 H5 CEds5D5 C12+2D5 Pilot error: The hu!an factors. Hondon: Granada5 Clso Ne& Aor7: Bason ronson5D #.tchins6 E56 #ollan6 B5 *56 N Nor/an6 *5 5 C12+ID5 *irect /anip.lation interfaces5 ,n *5 5 Nor/an N S5 W5 *raper CEds5D6 3ser centered syste! design: *e& perspectives on hu!an1co!puter interaction. HillsdaleD NK: Erl=aum ssociates5 ,llich6 ,5 C121!D5 Tools for conviviality. Ne& Aor7: #arper N $o&5 Bohnson0Haird6 P5 N5 C12+!D5 5ental !odels. Ca/8ridge6 =: #arvard )ni0 versity Press5 Clso Ca/8ridge6 England: Ca/8ridge )niversity Press5D KonesD K) ) /(;0<1) Design !ethods: 8eeds of hu!an futures. Ne& @ork: :iley) KonesD K) ) /(;B(1) Design !ethods: 8eeds of hu!an futures /(;B< ed)D &ith a revie& of ne& topicsD5 Ne& Aor7: Wiley5 Bones6 B5 C5 C12+"D5 Essays in design. Ne& Aor7: Wiley5 %ahne/an6 *56 N =iller6 *5 T5 C12+ID5 Nor/ theory: Co/paring reality to its alternatives5 Psychological Eevie&, B=, 1!I01'!5 Re!e"e#$e% -52 Eem"tonD :) /(;B91) T&o theories of home heat control) ognitive 8cience, .0, 1'0005 EinnerD K) /(;B51) The "ractical and gra"hic "ro=lem of road sign design) ?n !) Easter=y J H) H&aga /Eds)1D Infor!ation design: The design and evaluation of signs and printed !aterial. hichesterD England: :iley) LandauerD T) E) /(;B91) Ho& much do "eo"le remem=erC %ome estimates of the Luantity of learned information in long,term memory) ognitive 8cience, .0, 500,5;2) LaurelD B) /(;B91) ?nterface as mimesis) ?n D) A) Norman J %) :) Dra"er /Eds)1D 3ser centered syste! design: *e& perspectives on hu!an1co!puter interaction. HillsdaleD NK: Erl=aum Associates) Le&isD )D J NormanD D) A) /(;B91) Designing for error) ?n D) A) Norman N %) :) Dra"er /Eds)1D 3ser centered syste! design: *e& perspectives on hu!an1 co!puter interaction. HillsdaleD NK: Erl=aum Associates) LindsayD $) H)D J NormanD D) A) C1211D5 6u!an infor!ation processing /-nd ed)1) Ne& @ork: Academic $ress) /No& %an Diego: Harcourt Brace Kovanovich)1 Loe&yD !) /(;8<1) *ever leave &ell enough alone. Ne& @ork: %imon J %chuster) LordD A) B) /(;9<1) The singer of tales. am=ridgeD +A: Harvard 7niversity $ress) LynchD E) /(;9<1) The i!age of the city. am=ridgeD +A: +?T $ress) LynchD E) /(;0-1) ;hat ti!e is this place) am=ridgeD +A: +?T $ress) +aloneD T) /(;B(1) To&ard a theory of intrinsically motivating instruction) ognitive 8cience, @, 222,29;) +aloneD T) :) /(;B21) Ho& do "eo"le organi3e their desks: ?m"lications for designing office automation systems) %5 Transactions on Office %uto1 !ation 8yste!s, ., ;;,((-) +aresD .) ) /(;<;1) The history of the type&riter, successor to the pen: %n illustrated account of the origin, rise, and develop!ent of the &riting !achine. London: .uil, =ert $utnam) !e"rinted =y $ost,era BooksD ArcadiaD AD (;B8) +ayallD :) H) /(;0;1) Principles in design. London: Design ouncil) +clellandD K) L)D !umelhartD D) E)D J the $D$ !esearch .rou") /(;B91) Parallel distri#uted processing: E4plorations in the !icrostructure of cognition. Hol. 2: Psychological and #iological !odels. am=ridgeD +A: +?T $ress) +closkeyD +) /(;B21) ?ntuitive "hysics) 8cientific %!erican, 2@J0@2, (--, 1!05 +illerD .) A)D .alanterD E)D J $ri=ramD E) /(;9<1) Plans &#' the structure of #ehavior. Ne& @ork: HoltD !inehart J :inston) +iyakeD N) /(;B91) onstructive interaction) ognitive 8cience, .0, (8(,(00) +iyataD @)D J NormanD D) A) /(;B91) $sychological issues in su""ort of multi"le activities) ?n D) A) Norman J %) :) Dra"er /Eds)1D 3ser centered -55 Re!e"e#$e% syste! design: *e& perspectives on hu!an1co!puter interaction. HillsdaleD NK: Erl, 8a./ ssociates5 National Transportation Safety ;oard5 C12+2D5 %ircraft accident report: %ir "lorida, Inc., >oeing C=C1222, *?2%" collision &ith .@th 8treet #ridge, near ;ashington *ational %irport, ;ashington, D.., :anuary .=, .BJ2. /!e"ort No5 NTS;Q$0+20+D5 Washington6 *5C5: National Transportation Safety ;oard6 ;.rea. of ccident ,nvestigation5 National Transportation Safety ;oard5 C12+"D5 %ircraft accident report: Eastern %ir <ines, Inc., <oc$heed <1.0.., *==@E%, 5ia!i International %irport, 5ia!i, "lorida, 5ay K, .BJS. C$eport No5 NTS;Q$0+"00"5D Washington6 *5C5: National Transportation Safety ;oard6 ;.rea. of ccident ,nves0 tigation5 Nelson6 T5 C12+1D5 <iterary !achines. So.th ;end6 ,N: The *istri8.ters C102 So.th =ichigan St56 So.th ;end6 ,N "II1+6 T212U 2!20+'00D5 Nic7erson6 $5 S56 N da/s6 =5 B5 C1212D5 Hong0ter/ /e/ory for a co//on o=4ect) ognitive Psychology, .., 2JC1=0C. Nor/an6 *5 5 C12+06 prilD5 Post0(re.dian slips5 Psychology Today. Nor/an6 *5 5 C12+1D5 Categori>ation of action slips5 Psychological Eevie&, JJ, 101'5 Nor/an6 *5 5 C12+2D5 <earning and !e!ory. San (rancisco: W5 #5 (ree/an5 Nor/an6 *5 5 C12+!D5 *esign r.les 8ased on analyses of h./an error5 o!!unications of the %5, @, -85,-8B) Nor/an6 *5 5 C12+ID5 Cognitive engineering5 ,n *5 5 Nor/an N S5 W5 Dra"er /Eds)1D 3ser centered syste! design: *e& perspectives on hu!an1co!puter interaction. #illsdale6 NB: Erl8a./ ssociates5 Nor/an6 *5 56 N ;o8ro&6 *5 G5 C1212D5 *escriptions: n inter/ediate stage in /e/ory retrieval5 ognitive Psychology, .., 101012!5 Nor/an6 *5 56 N *raper6 S5 W5 CEds5D5 C12+ID5 3ser centered syste! design: *e& perspectives on hu!an1co!puter interaction. HillsdaleD NK: Erl=aum Asso, ciates) Nor/an6 *5 56 N (isher6 *5 C12+2D5 Why alpha8etic 7ey8oards are not easy to .se: %ey8oard layo.t doesn9 t /.ch /atter5 6u!an "actors, 2@, '020'125 Nor/an6 *5 56 N He&is6 C5 C12+ID5 *esigning for error5 ,n *5 5 Nor/an N %) :) Dra"er /Eds)1D 3ser centered syste! design: *e& perspectives on hu!an1 co!puter interaction. #illsdale6 NB: Erl8a./ ssociates5 $anatiD ) C12+1D5 E4traordinary origins of everyday things. Ne& @ork: Har"er J $o&5 Papane76 -5 C1211D5 Design for the real &orld. Hondon: Tha/es N #.dson5 C,n 12+' there &as a 2nd ed56 3co/pletely revised &ith 121 ill.strations53D Papane76 -56 N #ennessey6 B5 C1211D5 6o& things don't &or$. Ne& Aor7: Pantheon ;oo7s5 Re!e"e#$e% -58 $erro&D ) /(;B51) *or!al accidents. Ne& @ork: Basic Books) $etroskiD Henry) /(;B81) To engineer is hu!an: The role of failure in successful design. Ne& @ork: %t) +artin*s $ress) !easonD K) T) /(;0;1) Actions not as "lanned) ?n .) 7nder&ood J !) %tevens /Eds)1D %spects of consciousness. London: Academic $ress) !easonD K) T)D N +ycieslkaD E) /(;B-1) %#sent !inded) The psychology of !ental lapses and everyday errors. Engle&ood liffsD NK: $rentice,Hall) !oitschD $) A)D Ba=cockD .) L)D J Edmunds :) :) /7ndated1) 6u!an factors report on the Tenerife accident. :ashingtonD D)): Air Line $ilots Associa, tion) !ouseD :) B)D J +orrisD N) +) /(;B91) 6n looking into the =lack =o': $ros"ects and limits in the search for mental models) Psychological >ulletin, (<<D 25;,292) !u=inD D) )D J EontisD T) ) /(;B21) A schema for common cents) 5e!ory and ognition, .., 222,25() !u=inD D) D J :allaceD :) T) C12+1D5 Ehy!e and reason: Integral properties of &ords. 7n"u=lished manuscri"t) !umelhartD D) E)D +clellandD K) L)D J the $D$ !esearch .rou") /(;B91) Parallel distri#uted processing: E4plorations in the !icrostructure of cognition. Hol. .: "oundations. am=ridgeD +A: +?T $ress) !y=c3ynskiD :) /(;B91) 6o!e: % short history of an idea. Ne& @ork: Fiking) %andersD A) F) /(;B<1) %tage analysis of reaction "rocesses) ?n .) E) %tel, mach J K) !eLuin /Eds)1D Tutorials in !otor #ehavior. Amsterdam: North, Holland) %chankD !) ) /(;B-1) Dyna!ic !e!ory. Ne& @ork: am=ridge 7niversity $ress) %chankD !) D J A=elsonD !) $) C1211D5 8cripts, plans, goals, and understanding. HillsdaleD NK: Erl=aum Associates) %eligmanD +) E) $) C121'D5 6elplessness: On depression, develop!ent, and death. %an Francisco: :) H) Freeman) %eminaraD K) L)D .on3alesD :) !)D J $arsonsD %) 6) /(;00D +arch1) ()*&# factors revie& of nuclear po&er plant control roo! design /Technical re"ort E$!? N$,2<; N!esearch "ro4ect 8<(O1) $re"ared =y Lockheed +issiles J %"ace o)D ?nc) /%unnyvaleD A1 for the Electric $o&er !esearch ?nsti, tute /$alo AltoD A1) %hneidermanD B) /(;05D Fe=ruary1) A com"uter gra"hics system for "olynomials) The 5athe!atics Teacher, "") 111011!5 %hneidermanD B) /(;B21) Direct mani"ulation: A ste" =eyond "rogram, ming languages) IEEE o!puter, .?0J2, 57+6,. %hneidermanD B) C12+1D5 Designing the user interface: 8trategies for effective hu!an1 co!puter interaction. !eadingD +A: Addison,:esley) %imonD H) A) /(;B(1) The sciences of the artificial /-nd ed)1) am=ridgeD +A: +?T $ress) -59 Eeferences %mithD D) D ?r=yD D Eim=allD !)D Fer"lankD :)D J HarslemD E) /(;B-1) Designing the %tar user interface) By-e 0/51D -5-,-B-) %ommerD !) /(;B21) 8ocial design: reating #uildings &ith people in !ind. Engle, &ood liffsD NK: $rentice,Hall) %"anish +inistry of Trans"ort and ommunications) /(;0B1) Eeport of colli1 sion #et&een .AA >1C@C and ,<5 >1CC@C at Tenerife, 5arch 2C, .BCC. Translation "u=lished in %viation ;ee$ and 8pace Technology, Novem=er -< and -0D (;0B) %uchmanD H5 C12+1D5 Plans and situated actions: The pro#le! of hu!an1!achine co!!unication. Ne& @ork: am=ridge 7niversity $ress) TurkleD %) /(;B51) The second self: o!puters and the hu!an spirit. Ne& @ork: %imon J %chuster) TverskyD A)D J EahnemanD D) /(;021) Availa=ility: A heuristic for 4udging freLuency and "ro=a=ility) ognitive Psychology, @, -<0,-2-) !e"rinted in E) EahnemanD $) %lovicD J A) Tversky /Eds)1) /(;B-1) :udg!ent under uncertainty: 6euristics and #iases. am=ridgeD England: am=ridge 7niver, sity $ress) :einerD E) L) /(;B<1) +id,air collisions: The accidentsD the systems and the real"olitik) 6u!an "actors, 22 8-(,822) !e"rinted in !) Hurst J L) !) Hurst /Eds)1) /(;B-1) Pilot error: The hu!an factor. Ne& @ork: Kason Aron, son) :einerD E) L) /(;B91) Falli=le humans and vulnera=le systems: Lessons learned from aviation) 7n"u=lished manuscri"t) /To =e "u=lished in Infor!ation 8yste!s: "ailure %nalysis. $roceedings of a NAT6 Advanced !esearch :orksho" on Failure Analysis of ?nformation %ystems)1 :einerD E) L)D J urryD !) E) /(;B<1) Flight,deck automation: $romises and "ro=lems) Ergono!ics, 2=, ;;8,(<(() !e"rinted in !) Hurst J L) !) Hurst CEds5D5 C12+2D5 Pilot error: The hu!an factor. Ne& @ork: Kason Aronson) :hiteD B) @)D J Hor&it3D $) /(;B01) Thin$erTools: Ena#ling children to understand physical la&s /!e"ort No) 950<1) am=ridgeD +A: BBN La=oratories) :inogradD E)D J %olo&ayD !) +) /(;B91) 6n forgetting the locations of things stored in s"ecial "laces) :ournal of E4peri!ental Psychology: Ieneral, ..K, 299,20-) :inogradD T)D J FloresD F) /(;B91) 3nderstanding co!puters and cognition: % ne& foundation for design. Nor&oodD NK: A=le') :olfeD T) /(;B(1) "ro! >auhaus to our house. Ne& @ork: :ashington %Luare $ress /$ocket Books1) References ?@H ,N*EO 8elson6 $56 +I6 22" ccidents? airline6 !+6 ""0"'6 1220 !0? explaining a&ay error and6 12+022? false assess/ent of 8la/e and6 "!0"" ctionCsD: a.to/atic6 102? co/0 plexity of6 20+02? cycle6 "1? data0 driven6 102? eval.ation of6 1!6 "I6 '20'!6 220100? everyday6 !"0'!? exec.tion of6 "I6 "+6 '1? goals and6 "I6 "+? intentions and6 "I6 "+6 12+022? /appings6 1II? op0 port.nistic6 "+0"2? perceived6 1+? reversi8ility of6 1!1? seven stages of6 "'0"+6 '00 '16 '!? standardi0 >ation of6 2000202? visi8ility and6 2' da/s6 =5 B56 '"6 221 esthetics6 1'00'" ffordances: 00126 +1010"6 212 lexander6 C6 1"16 2226 2!+ lexander6 G5 B56 12!6 22I pproxi/ate /odel of action6 "2 r8itrary associations6 I2 ristotle6 !I0!+6 220 ttention6 selective6 1I!0I" ttri8.tion6 psychology of6 "00"2 .dio /ixing control6 2!? see also So.nd .to/ation: 12!02"6 1216 2!2 .to/o8ile6 see Car ;a8coc76 G5 H56 1!06 221 ;ae7er6 $56 11+6 2!1 ;annon6 H5 B56 2"0 ;eeching6 W5 56 1"16 2!0 ;icycle6 Carel/an9 s tande/ for fi0 ances6 1! ;ieder/an6 ,56 126 212 ;la7e6 P56 21I6 2!'6 2!+ ;la/e: "!0""? assign/ent of6 "1? false6 of self6 !"0!I? g.lf of eval0 .ation and6 '2? learned helpless0 ness and6 "2? psychology of6 "0? of the &rong ca.se6 !00"!6 "10"+ ;o8ro&6 *5 G56 I06 222 -5; ;oies6 S5 B56 2+6 220 ;ragonier6 $56 Br56 126 212 ;ra.del6 (56 2!10!+ ;ro&n6 B5 S56 2"0 ;.l7eley6 *56 21"6 2!' ;.ses: nat.ral /appings and6 2'? infor/ation6 21" ;.sh6 -56 2126 2!" ;.xton6 W56 11+6 2!1 Ca8inets6 20! Calc.lators6 121? as co/p.ters6 1+!? display screen and6 21 Calendars6 1!01"6 +06 1+'0+I Caplan6 $56 2!+ Car: concept.al /odel of6 good6 2 1 0 22? forcing f.nctions and6 1!20 !'? 7eys6 physical constraints and6 +"? /apping relationships6 2!? seat ad4.st/ent control6 2"? standardi>ation of6 20102 Card6 S56 11+6 2216 2!1 Carel/an6 B56 26 1!6 1!01" Ca.sality: psychology of6 11? rela0 tionship of 8et&een thing 8eing 8la/ed and res.lt6 "0 Cer.>>i6 P56 2106 2!" Chase6 W56 +26 22" Cherno8yl6 12+ Clephane6 B5 O56 1"0 Cloc7s: 8ac7&ard6 201? as re/ind0 ers6 1!01"6 +0? standardi>ation of6 201 Col./6 P56 I!6 222 Co//and lang.age6 1+" Co/pact dis7 CC*D players6 1+! Co/plexity: of actions6 20+02? Sf correct /odelling as perceived 8y /an.fact.rer6 11? deep s.8tle6 "2? of design6 .KC1?0D false ca.s0 ality and6 11? inherent6 of tas76 122? overco/ing thro.gh organi0 >ation6 11"? of radio6 !0? of tele0 phone6 !0? )0shaped c.rve in de0 velop/ent of a technology6 !0? of &atches6 !00!1 Co/p.terCsD: acco.nts6 secret pass0 &ords for6 I"? as cha/eleon6 1+!0"? co//and lang.age6 1+"? design philosophy and6 1"06 2"0? direct /anip.lation /ode6 1+"0'6 221? error prevention and6 11!? explora8le syste/s6 1+!0"? foi8les of6 1110+'? of the f.t.re6 1+'0I6 2"0? g.lf of eval.ation and6 1+2? g.lf of exec.tion and6 1126 1+2? 7ey8oard6 !'6 1'00 '1? laser dis76 21!? nat.ral /appings and6 112? as re/inders6 1"? spreadsheet progra/s6 1+0? text editors6 1106 211? third0person interaction and6 1+"? &ord processors6 1!' Concept.al /odel6 !+6 1++021? for calendar6 1+'0+I? for car6 2 1 0 22? definition of6 12? design /odel as6 1I? fa.lty6 1"6 1I6 126 216 !+? good6 1!6 21022? for re0 frigerator6 1'011? seven stages of action and6 '!? for telephone6 126 -( Connectionis/6 11I012 Conscio.s: 8ehavior6 12'021? proc0 essing6 short0ter/ /e/ory and6 12I Conspiracy: against /e/ory6 I ! 0 II? of silence6 self08la/e and6 "1 Constraints6 KK, +1010"6 21I? co/0 p.ters and6 1+1? c.lt.ral6 KK, I26 +!0+I6 1'06 202? deter/ination of co.rse of action and6 +2? ev0 eryday6 classification of6 +20+1? forcing f.nctions6 1!'? of linear se<.ence6 212? logical6 +I0+1? physical6 +!0+"? po&er of6 ?01 I26 1220200? of rhy/ing6 I00 I1? se/antic6 +!0+' onsu!er Eeports, 100 2'0 Inde4 Controls: ease of .se and n./8er of6 11'6 20+02? /a7ing to loo7 and feel different6 2'? place/ent of6 2202! Cooper6 B5 %56 1'06 2!0 Copying /achines6 1'1 C.lt.ral: constraints6 KK, I26 202? standards6 nat.ral /appings and6 2! C.rry6 $5 E56 1216 2!2 Cypher6 56 22" *ecision tree: deep and narro&6 12!? &ide and deep6 120? &ide and shallo&6 122 *eep str.ct.res6 11202' *efa.lt val.e6 11I *epression6 "2 *er8y6 S56 12+6 221 *escriptions6 as aid in discri/inat0 ing 8et&een o84ects6 I0 *esign: aesthetics as priority in6 1'10''? car radio6 2"? deli8er0 ately diffic.lt6 2026 20'01? of doors6 26 11? of *.ngeons and *ragons ga/e6 2010+? for error6 1!10!+6 1216 22+022? evol.tion0 ary6 forces &or7ing against6 1"20 "'? false ca.sality and6 11? fa.cet as case history6 1II012? forcing f.nctions6 1!20!+? lessons fro/ the st.dy of slips6 11201"? of light s&itches6 2I? /appings and6 '? /odel6 1I6 1+2020? of /.ltiple f.nction cloc7 radio6 !10!!? nat0 .ral6 "6 1"10"!? of o84ects for special people6 1I10I"? poor6 26 K1?, 2"6 2I? principles for .nder0 standa8ility and .sa8ility6 1!0!!? pro8le/s6 posed 8y safety sys0 te/s6 201? process6 co/plexity of6 1'+0I1? seven stages of action '!? society and6 202010? s.8tle0 ties6 1""? of telephone6 1+021? of ther/ostat6 !2? tradeoffs6 12'? type&riter as case history6 1"'0 '1? .ser0centered6 1"06 1++0211? .ser fr.stration and6 12? &hy de0 signers go astray6 1'10'+? see also *esigners *esigners: clients /ay not 8e .sers6 .KC1KJD creeping feat.ris/6 1120 1"? t&o deadly te/ptations6 1120 CCD are not typical .sers6 .KK1KCD &orship of false i/ages6 112011? see also *esign *i/ensions6 additive and s.8stit.0 tive6 2! *irect /anip.lation6 1+"0+' *isplay: a.ditory6 21? i/portance of6 10102 *oorCsD: affordances and6 106 JC1 ++6 21? constraints and6 +10++6 21? deli8erately diffic.lt6 202? in0 terloc7s and6 1!' *raper6 S5 W56 C0, 1!26 1+06 22!0 2"6 2226 2!1 *reyf.ss6 #56 2!+ Ed/.nds6 W5 W56 1!06 221 Engel8art6 *56 1+06 2!1 Ergono/ics6 CJ, 10211 ErrorCsD: associative activation6 10102? capt.re6 1010+? categories of6 10'6 102? ca.ses of6 1!1? cor0 rection of6 1126 1!1? data0driven6 10102? description6 10102? de0 signing for6 !I6 1!10!+6 2006 220? explaining a&ay6 121022? feed0 8ac7 on6 121? loss0of0activa0 tion6 1010106 /ista7es6 10'0I6 11"? /ode6 1106 11!? slips6 10'0 11"? social press.re and6 1220 !1 Exec.tion: of action6 1!6 "I6 "+6 20+02? g.lf of6 '00'1, 2201006 Inde4 -8( Exec.tion 0continued2 1116 1+06 1+I6 12102+? stages of6 "1 Explora8le syste/s6 1+" (a.cetCsD: as case history of design diffic.lties6 1II012? co/plexity of design process and6 1'+0'2 (eat.ris/6 creeping6 11201" (eed8ac7: a8sent6 10"? a.ditory6 216 10!0"6 22+? co/p.ters and6 1+2? definition of6 21? on error6 12!? patterning of6 2!? principle of6 21022? seven stages of action and6 '!? tactile6 21? ta.ght help0 lessness and6 "2? technology and6 12202!? visi8ility and6 220102 (ischoff6 ;56 12+0226 221 (isher6 *56 126 212 (isher6 *iane6 1"16 2!0 (lores6 (56 2"0 (oc.s6 selective attention and6 1I"0I' (orcing f.nctions6 1!10!+6 2006 20' (orgetf.lness6 1106 1!1 (orty6 56 21I6 2!'6 2!+ (ra/e theory6 11'01I (re.d6 S56 10I6 1026 22' (r.strationCsD: of everyday life6 10+? ho/e of the f.t.re and6 21101!? .ser6 poor design and6 12 Galanter6 E56 "+6 221 Ga/es: chess6 1126 22"? *.ngeons and *ragons6 201? of 1'6 12I? standardi>ation of design6 2010+? tic0tac0toe6 1206 12I? &ide and deep str.ct.re in6 12" Garon6 B56 20+6 2!" 2'2 Inde4 Gaver6 W5 W56 !26 10!6 22' Gentner6 *56 106 22! 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Odyssey C#o/erD6 I1 Off the leash CcartoonD6 1+1 Olsen6 %56 1 Oral tradition6 rhy/ing constraints and6 I00I1 O.tline processors6 211 OvenCsD: 21"? /ental /odel of6 !+0 !2? /icro&ave6 16 10!6 1!' Panati6 C56 2!+ Papane76 -56 2!2 Paradox6 of technology6 220!! Parallel distri8.ted processing6 11I Par76 W5 ;56 1+1 Par7er6 S56 20+6 2!" Patterson6 $56 1!26 22+ Perception: direct6 '2? principles of6 2!? of the &orld6 "10"+ Perro&6 C56 !'6 2206 2216 2!2 Petros7i6 #56 2!2 Pe&6 $5 W56 1'+6 2!1 Physics6 naive6 !I0!+ Poetry6 rhy/ing constraints and6 I00I1 Postal codes6 /e/ory overload and6 I! Pri8ra/6 %56 "+6 221 Pri>es6 1'10'"6 1I26 1+!6 211 Pro4ectorCsD: g.lf of exec.tion and6 '1? 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