Line Out: Attack of the Gizmos
Feb 1, 2004 12:00 PM,
By Richard Cabot
It’s probably not news to anyone that we are in the midst of a technology boom, one that kept chugging even through the economic bust. However, there continues to be a serious disconnect between many of the creators of that technology and the public at large. Too many products have dozens of really cool features that only the designer can figure out how to run. Some of these human interfaces even seem logical upon explanation, but they’re used infrequently enough that the customer forgets that logic by the time he or she needs to use it again. It’s often said that a feature the customer can’t figure out really isn’t there at all, but it’s worse than that. Because the customer knows (or thinks) it’s in there, it breeds frustration each time it can’t be accessed. General satisfaction heads for the toilet regardless of how well the rest of the product or system might perform.
Telling customers that it’s explained in the owner’s manual is a nonstarter. I know several individuals who have never opened an owner’s manual in their lives. That’s why quick-start guides and similar micromanuals are so prevalent. Manufacturers figure if they make it thin enough, maybe the customer will actually read it.
New technologies make the user modify his or her normal routines to use the widget. Old habits die hard, and people have a terribly difficult time changing even when they want to. Techno thugs would have us all change the way we live to enjoy the benefits of the gizmo they sell. Products have to fit the way people think and behave, not the other way around.
Systems integrators live and die by customer satisfaction. As the systems vendor, you will bear the bulk of the blame if frustration sets in. You’re the one they trusted, the one they (hopefully) paid, and it’s to be expected that you’ll get the grief. Consequently, the appeal of installing the latest and greatest gizmo is tempered by the reality of having to support it. Periodic calls from the customer asking to explain how it works again eat at your profit margins while the customer dissatisfaction harms your reputation. The worst combination is when the out-of-town consultant specs the system and you, the local installer, get to deal with the follow-up calls. Finger pointing never looks good, so you’re between a rock and a hard place.
Consequently, most integrators are reluctant to buy the line offered by techno evangelists. Many integrators spend copious amounts of time designing and programming custom control systems to hide manufacturers’ lousy interfaces.
The beauty of technology is that if properly applied, it can make life easier for the user. This approach has the manufacturer put dedicated buttons in place of multilayer menus and has it replace buttons and menus with automatic modes that do what 99 percent of the users expect without any operator intervention. The truly awesome computing power available can be used to monitor what the user does, correlate it with time of day and with what related equipment is told to do, and then adapt itself to the customer’s needs. It can also provide a simple way to undo the automatic changes should they for some reason not be appropriate. When this occurs, it remembers and tries to do things differently the next time.
Next time you are shown the latest widget at a trade show, pretend you don’t know what techno-acronyms mean and try to operate it. Are controls labeled in plain English? Does it do something logical when you grab the big knobs or press the obvious buttons? Are there dedicated buttons for the things you expect to do frequently? Is your first instinct to ask, “How do I,” or is it to just do it? Give the company your feedback. Make mental notes so you can decide if you’ll be offering or inflicting that product on your customers.
After six years in engineering at Tektronix,Richard Cabotcofounded and served as chief technical officer of Audio Precision. He designed the System One analog generator and the digital sections of all the products until selling the company in 2000. His current firm, XFRM (www.xfrm.com), does research and consulting in digital-audio technology.
