Usability Assesment of Alarm Clock
By Alice Planas January 27th, 2007
Jef Raskin’s concept of Locus of Attention brings about some interesting points about studies that have been done on human cognitive limits. First of all, it was novel to me to think about attention spatially (as a field) rather than as a process or even as a discrete object (a chunk in the brain). The idea that memories can be created and assemble on the fly from an non-local mesh is something I had never really envisioned. Somehow, I’ve always thought of memories as bundled things that were filed away as a whole chunk — never as random bits of information that could be called up together to form a specific memory (like pointers to computer files for data retrieval).
The other point I found interesting was the seeming inverse correlation between stress and attention to warning messages; the very messages creating a cycle of increased stress and inattention in the very moments when those signals are needed.
An interesting illustration about having only one locus of attention at a time was while I was attempting to do this exercise below. I found it almost impossible for me to count seconds while I was pushing the buttons up and down for changing the clock (option 1). Somehow, my mind could not actively push buttons and keep time in seconds — I kept wanting to count in pace with my finger pushes, even though I knew that the finger pushes did not map to one second per push.
(more comments to come)
Below are the beginnings of the usability exercise (photos/video to come). I’m searching for a better appliance to test than this alarm clock. Surprisingly, other than my cell phone, computer and camera, I have actually very few digital appliances in my life. I may take a look at the cell phone next, but for now here’s something to get me in the mode of looking and describing:
1. Task Set alarm time from 7:00 to 12:35
2. Buttons: [C]lock [W]ake [S]leep [H]our [M]inute [S]nooze
3. Notation: ↓ press ↑ release * repeat task s- seconds to complete
Option 1:
[W↓] [H↓↑ *5] 3seconds [M↓↑ *35] 25 seconds [W↑] = 41 operations
Option 2:
[W↓] [H↓] 3seconds [H↑] [M↓]25 seconds [M↑] [W↑] = 6 operations
Analysis:
Like the sample analysis provided, this clock suffers from the same features where the operations must be manually pushed and released or held down continuously, with only an increment of a single value per push. In addition, this particular alarm clock uses somewhat confusing naming conventions for its buttons: The time mode is named Clock and the Alarm mode is named Wake, with an additional Sleep mode which is unclear to me from first glance what its function is. As it turns out, sleep is a function that allows for the user to play their radio for a time limited duration, after which, the radio will auto shut off — one wonders how many people actually use this feature.
Improvements:
An up or down button, as discussed in class would be great improvements. Also the features mentioned in the sample analysis for faster increments in the hold option. In addition, a single slide switch (like the kind that some digital cameras have) that you toggle by pulling down between the time and alarm mode would make the modes clearer (as opposed to buttons that are placed right next to the confusingly named ‘sleep’ button) and perhaps more ergonomic.