[thelist] User perception

[Chris]

On Tue, 16 Nov 2004 12:26:04 -0600, Stephen Rider  
<evolt_org at striderweb.com> wrote:

> On Nov 15, 2004, at 11:00 AM, Chris wrote:
>
>> To reinforce leaving the hardware plugged in, there was big bold text  
>> that said to leave it alone and a photograph (roughly 200x200) of  
>> someone unplugging the hardware with a giant "no" symbol on it.   
>> Honestly, I don't know how much simpler it could be.
>
> Having not seen the graphic, I'm not sure, but I can easily imagine a  
> graphic designer putting up a photo that they think clearly depicts  
> something being unplugged, and another perfectly intelligent person  
> looking at it and thinking that it's a picture of something being  
> plugged in.
>
> Meaning that maybe some people looked at your big button and thought the  
> picture said "don't plug it in".
>
> Of course, they probably shouldn't have missed the aforementioned "big  
> bold text", but I can see how the picture might have created more  
> problems than it solved.
>

Checks were done to ensure the ActiveX control that updates the firmware  
would only start if the hardware was plugged in when the page loaded and  
the user is asked to plug in the hardware if it can't be found.  When it  
runs, it has all sorts of fascinating blinking lights and progress bars to  
indicate that it is actually doing something.  Any controls that require  
user input are taken away once the user interacts with them.  When the  
firmware is finished installing, the user is redirected to a different  
page.  We really thought we had it "idiot proof", but users were still  
prematurely unplugging the hardware.

I should also note that the system was being accessed by over 4000 unique  
accounts.  With that many people, you're bound to end up with a fair  
number of illiterate/poorly educated users who would have trouble reading  
any instructions, no matter how well written.

-- 
chris