Self-service can work!

In the latest blog in our series relating to self service we look at a library kiosk.

One of the libraries we use has a self service kiosk called smartserve 400 (http://www.bibliotheca.com/1/index.php/our-products/self-service-kiosks/smartserve400)

It's a revelation!

• The on screen instructions are easy to read and follow and include clear and helpful graphics to illustrate them
• The space where you wave or swipe your books to borrow or return them is a breeze to use. There is no need to hold the book in any specific position or for a specific part of it to make contact with an element of the kiosk
• The machine provides helpful prompts to make sure you follow the right process and don't miss something out (a refreshing change from the machines in supermarkets that have flashing red beacons to tell you and everyone around you that you have done something wrong)

The user experience has clearly been the focus of the design of this self service kiosk. The result is an interface that puts the user at ease and guides them smoothly through the process instead of being a source of stress. 

We're not hear to promote one product over others but when you see something that works we want to learn from it.  We hope to see similar thinking going into self service for other environments soon.

Human Behaviour and Innovation

There was a great feature published on the Design Council website recently about the potential for behavioural design to join up research and practice and to be used to have real impact on a range of social issues.

It recognised that many of the issues faced are governed by human behaviour.  Therefore understanding that behaviour better must be key to finding solutions.  In particular linking behavioural understanding with design thinking could provide new insights and new ideas.

We recommend you have a read...http://bit.ly/1lI9Gg7

We identified a number of key messages for our work. The first being the importance of understanding real people's needs. The critical factor being in understanding the range of needs of our users. To provide structure in a design process, the temptation is to simplify this and use crude stereotypes or user groups.  These have their place but are often not rich enough to see the variety and can therefore design out the needs of lots of people.

The other key point for us is in understanding how people make decisions. For lots of our work, in particular around wayfinding and navigation, it is critical that we understand the different ways in which people make decisions at points in their journey.  Without this understanding how we can hope to influence them with information, signage, guidance, etc.

The future of self-service & customer experience

There was news last month that some supermarkets are reviewing the use of self-service checkouts. Research has suggested that they do not save time for customers and that they maybe contributing to an increase in theft.

There had previously been an expectation that we would see increasing amounts of self-service in supermarkets because they save on staff costs and were expected to reduce queue lengths.

The initial feeling on customer experience is not positive. There seems to be plenty of room for improvement with many customers still finding them frustrating:

• they are unreliable (we are all too familiar with the phrase "unexpected item in the bagging area")
• they tend not to work as well for customers who want to use their own bags 
• they can make some customers feel like they are at fault when there is a problem (some even feature big red lights above their heads singling them out as incompetent)
• they usually lack somewhere for you to put down other shopping bags or belongings while you use them

It would be interesting to see if any retailers have identified the potential time savings that could be made from making the experience significantly more usable than it is at the moment.

Self-service also lacks the personality and the human contact that you get when served by a member of staff. This emotional aspect seems to be more important to people again as technology becomes more pervasive.

Some people also seem to resent that they are doing all the hard work when the price of products already accounts for the overhead of staff costs. This is not great for the reputation of supermarkets.

Can the checkout process be more integrated with the process of selecting products from shelves? If so could a service like "Quick Check" in Waitrose, the “360 Degree Scanner” in Asda, or the "Scan and Shop" in Tesco be developed further to enable us to pay as we go around the shop rather than require an additional step in the process at the end?

Would the experience be enhanced if rather than removing staff, self-service enabled them to be re-deployed in a different service role? Would we value a staff member dedicated to an aisle or section of goods that has a good knowledge of them, their value for money and the current discounts or offers available? Anyone got examples or retailers making this happen?

Whilst we have focused on retail self-service here, of course there is a similar move in other areas such as transport - check-in counters at airports have been disappearing for a while now.  London Underground have announced the removal of ticket offices in the future. We'll cover this off in our next blog on the subject of self-service.

Feelings over function?

As user-centered designers, we value the functionality of something highly: it has to deliver on being useful and understandable.  We know that we need also to value the aesthetic and its contribution to our feelings of well-being.  But perhaps sometimes it is harder to tap into those other little parts of the experience of using a product or moving through an environment.

On the BBC website this week there is a piece about a new wine cork that screws into the bottle.  Experts tell us that the modern screw cap is the best way to keep our wine tasting at its best for when we open it.  But as drinkers we miss the action of opening a bottle with an old fashioned cork - the squeaking sound followed by the satisfying pop.   As the BBC article points out, this triggers positive associations in our mind that go far beyond the utility of opening a bottle and having a drink.

The world that CCD works in is more about the design of work spaces and public environments.  The question for us is how do we capture these little moments in the user experience and keep them? A challenge!

Influencing modal shift in transport systems

Sometimes to get people to make different choices about how they travel you have to make things easy for passengers.  This usually means think about transport in a connected way and looking at what people need and want and what might be barriers.

So great example here from Germany.  Cyclists often use another mode of transport as part of their journey - interaction with trams and railways is often constrained by the lack of space for cyclists to store their bike on-board and therefore be able to continue their journey on bike when they reach the destination.

The solution? Provide better storage...

Online passwords - failing to match human behaviour?

A great article in The Guardian on Saturday about online passwords, what a nightmare they have become for all of us and how our natural response is making the job of the hacker easier - http://gu.com/p/3aptz

The interesting point it makes is how the requirements placed on users to have more complex passwords (mix of cases, including non-alphanumerics, etc) means that most of us, in a desperate attempt to have something memorable, end up choosing something that is easier to crack.  Also the use of passwords as the primary security measure means most of us choose the same password for everything - so hack one site and ID fraud becomes much easier.

Once again, a great example of the impact of a lack of joined-up user centred thinking and a failure to understand how people really behave.  We can't remember these passwords - it is a natural constraint on human memory - so we take the easier path which works for us.  Clearly our reliance on passwords is a weak point in security systems - what technology will provide the solution?

Conferences are coming...

Just a bit of news that CCD staff are presenting at four conferences in the next few months

First of all, Adam Parkes is presenting on our SAMMIE work at a seminar at IMechE titled "Human factors in 3D - humans in engineering design".  If you want to go, get your skates on as it is next week (2nd October).

Then David Watts will be talking about consolidation of control rooms at the IBC Control Room Design conference in London on 5-7 November.  If you want to go to this, we can offer a 20% discount by following this link

David Watts is also chairing a conference on High Performance HMI (human machine interfaces) in December 2012, again in London.  This will include topics around alarm management, human error, data visualisation and interfaces of the future.  If you would like a discount on attending follow this link.

And a bit further out, CCD will be out in force at the 4th International Rail Human Factors conference in London next March.

Rewarding ergonomics excellence - Ergonomics Design Award call for entries

The 2013 Ergonomics Design Award has launched, with entries being accepted until November 30th.  This is the third year the Award has run and the Institute of Ergonomics And Human Factors is expecting an even greater number of high quality entries than in previous years - last year entries increased by almost 50%.

CCD design and Ergonomics Chairman and lead judge John Wood says, "In the highly competitive world we live in, the use of ergonomic thinking is giving the best organisations a real commercial edge.  Putting people at the heart of design will make it a better, safer and even more enjoyable world for us all. The Institute's Award sets out to recognise and reward those designs which demonstrate excellent ergonomics and encourage further use of ergonomics in all areas of design."

Previous winners of the award include an innovative wound care device, a user centred tube train carriage design and a best-selling welding helmet the year before that , demonstrating that the science of ergonomics can be applied across many different areas of design and commercial sectors.

The award is organised by the Institute of Ergonomics & Human Factors and sponsored by CCD Design & Ergonomics and the aim of the award is to recognise the application of ergonomics to the highest standard in a product or design.

The winning entry will receive a cash prize at the EDA ceremony at the Institute conference in Cambridge next April, as well the opportunity to present their work at the conference and membership of the Institute for a year. The project will also be the subject of a promotional campaign about the award.

For information about the award, together with an information leaflet and download able entry form, visit www.ergonomics.org.uk/awards/ergonomics-design-award . 

Finalists will be notified in February and anyone with questions, should ring the IEHF office on 01509 234904.