Coffee is vital to survival! - Usability of coffee machines could be key ...

I love coffee. - The taste, the smell, the process of brewing and preparing, ...

Now, if dinosaurs became extinct because of not having coffee, or just because of incredibly poor usability of coffee machines would be an interesting subject to study.

For me personally - usability of coffee machines is key!

As a long time user of the Nespresso coffee system - which I overall really like - I have to say that many things have been done right by Nespresso.

It is not that easy to develop a robust end to end system with third party manufacturers of coffee machines, brewing units, and probably a high heterogeneity and complexity in coffee production, roasting, and packaging processes in order to deliver a reliable and reproducible coffee at the finger tips of the end consumer..

However, there is that one trap I am falling into every single day at least once. - The empty water tank trap!

To put out a quote of a famous author of usability and user experience literature - "Don't Make me Think", Steve Krug. 

Products that require the user to think are just not finished!

It goes into same category as "any product that needs a manual to work is broken"- Elon Musk.

Now, how is this this with Nespresso coffee machines?

- Need for a manual: I can not remember that there is a need for that!

- Making me think: no, it does not make me think! - Nevertheless, I repeatedly fall into the same trap of missed usability! - The empty water tank!

Obviously, one key precondition for brewing a good tasty coffee is supply of water. With a non industrial coffee machine - a consumer model - where there is no direct and continuous supply of water filling up the water tank, and making sure that there is a critical level of water in the tank prior to starting the coffee brewing process becomes a user task.

Now, my problem!

It feels like every time I am approaching that Nespresso coffee machine in our kitchen, the water tank is empty. Given the fact that I do not like to think and the machine does not prevent me actively from pushing the button to start brewing a short or a long coffee, I am wasting quite a number of coffee capsules on water shortage events. - Why on earth has none of these coffee machines a clear and simple indicator on the front side of the product for low water supply levels? - Why?

Here some examples. The machines are well engineered - no doubt. The machines exhibit appealing designs - no doubt. The main operating functions - assuming filling water supply is not a main operating function which might be the major mistake of this set of product requirements - are easily reachable from the front. There was some usability engineering - no doubt. To place the water tank at the rear of the machine. That's not the worst thing to do. But, it's not the most convenient place when it comes to inspecting water supply levels. - A clear miss in assessing usability risks. Or, if it has been assessed correctly, then the mitigation is just a desaster!

I remember the early days of Nespresso machines. On the first generation machines the water tank was kind of a drawer at the bottom of the machine. And, there was a little indicator - mechanical, hence not expensive - which showed the current water levels from the front.

Now, there is that one argument of product designers - "the user will learn".

In my case - good, I might not be the average and most representative user - I do not learn about it. And my level of disappointment if the water supply pump runs dry is ever raising.

To conclude there are two questions remaining.

One, how big can such usability pain grow before a critical level for users to change product is reached?

And, two, what if dinosaurs became extinct due to poor coffee machine usability and not due to not having coffee available?

The Soap Dispenser on Public Toilets

Every time I wash my hands in a public toilet I notice how badly positioned the soap dispenser and sink usually are. 

Yes, you should wash your hands with soap ... And, to do so, making use of the dispenser usually creates a big mess.

Soap dispensers regularly are placed to the left of the sink. If there are several sinks next to each other depending on where you are standing it might be to the right ;-)

The dispenser is mounted in a way that if some droplet of soap - given principles of gravity - drops, it drops on down to the floor.

Watch out for it! - You will rarely find a public toilet where underneath the soap dispenser there is not a big mess. Even the regular cleaning by cleaning staff over time can not cope with permanent stains.

The worst is with automatic dispensers. Dispensers having a sensor and dispensing only after the hand has been moved underneath. - Given the issue of latency time ... these designs are just too slow ... (see also my articles on general issues with latency in the automatized and digital world: Latency no. 1 and Latency no. 2) ... to securely drop the pre-specified amount of soap into the users hand. Usually one has already pulled back the hand before the soap dropping, resulting in systematic mess with soap on the floor.

As a result it then requires at least two attempts by the end user in order to get his soap into the hand which heavily impacts soap consumption.

A little bit better are dispensers which deliver soap as foam. The improvement here is just that the foam either sticks to the dispensers nozzle, or that the portion of foam does not drop that fast, so that a fast reacting user can still catch it before it is hitting the drop zone on the floor.

Now, the big question: why is this almost everywhere - exceptions apply - the case?

• Is there a norm or standard that requires such design?
• Is it just because nobody cares?
• Is it because consumers and users just accept it and do not complain?
• Is it because the cleaning staff just accepts it?
• Why?

I doubt that I am the only one to notice. And I doubt that I am the only one who sees this a problem.

And given the enormous number of public toilets around the globe I doubt that there is no opportunity for a decent solution to that problem!

A gardeners struggle - the soil bag

During spring and early summer, in the time of the year when plants start growing, everything is sprouting, nature in bloom, people start working in their gardens. According to statistics a habit two thirds of people in Switzerland share (reference).
The current COVID measures seem to drive this statistics even more in favor of sales of gardening supplies (reference).

Everybody is buying soil in various quantities. Many different flavors of soil. And, all packaged in laminated plastic bags. Bags, usually 80 - 100cm long, 40cm wide, and 8cm thick. Filled with premium soil at volumes of few liters for plants on terraces, up to 50 liters of garden soil for big projects. In any case, the package has a certain weight.

I never understood this packaging format! Why would you choose such packaging?
Obviously the responsible designers for these products have never been working in the garden. Or, they are extremely resilient to handling inconvenient products.

Every time I have to carry such a package I get upset.
If I grab the package with two hands on one of the short ends, it is difficult to carry the package and it risks constantly to slip out of my fingers.

If I grab the package with my hands along the longer dimension, then the package - given its weight - is bending through, slips out of my hands, and falls down on the ground.

If I grab it in the middle along the shorter dimension, it is bending through equally and it becomes difficult to carry.

When then loading the packages into the car, the next struggle starts. The dimensions of soil packages are not really fit for purpose. Obviously I need to pile the packages into the trunk of my car. And this is not an easy job. Virtually impossible if you are not Olympic weight lifter. Unloading is the same struggle in reverse order.

And then when ripping them open and trying to dose the amount of soil to be scattered into the plant bed. As soon as a certain amount of soil is missing in the package, the laminated bag becomes unstable. If not emptying the entire bag at once it becomes difficult to handle the package in controlled manner.

  

My practical experience with such packages is repeatably negative leading to higher levels of frustration.

How could one decide for this packaging format? What have been the requirements to come up with such package design?

One reason might be the possibility to pile many packages on a standard palette for transport and storage. 

Obviously an important argument and requirement. Efficient transport and storage is essential for a economically viable product. But, does it need to come at the price of modest customer experience and usability.

What I wonder is, if this packaging format has ever been put at a test with real day to day users.

Apart from the described scenarios above, many users can barely carry such packages given its dimensions and weight. I don’t want to know to how many serious back problems of people struggling to handle such packages the lack of customer centricity can lead.

Another interesting observation is the fact, that all manufacturers of packaged soil products use the exactly same packaging design. Why is that?

I can imagine several hypothetical reasons.

1. Nobody cares about the user, given the fact that there is no alternative and people still are buying.
2. Every producer is copy pasting from his competitor. Nobody is searching for differentiation. Nobody believes in consumers paying a premium for improved usability.
3. Even tough there are many different vendors and brands there might be only very few producers of soil.
4. There is only one serious manufacturer of respective packaging and filling systems. This would explain why there is almost no alternatively packaged products available.
5. The packaging design experts are only doing me-too. With complete lack of usability exercises or user research.
6. The cost requirements for packaging of garden and plant soil are so incredibly low that no other packaging is affordable.

There might be many more reasons ... And, are we as consumers willing to accept these?

What price would we be willing to pay for a better packaging design allowing acceptable handling of soil bags in the shopping, the transport, and use process?

How would a better package look like? What would be the features of a more ideal soil bag? Is there a format that could meet most of above requirements?

Some internet research gives already some hints. There might still be some products which are packaged in other format. Formats which might be more convenient to handle.

The package here to the right for sure has several advantages over the standard laminated bags. 

The handle on the top - foldable for being able to staple them on a palette (transport and storage requirements) - seems key to me. Only with a handle one can carry packages in a serious way. And depending on other dimensions and weight of the package it would even allow me to carry two packages at once, one with each hand. A much more balanced and more efficient way of carrying them.

If the package is less of a slim long bag, but more of a cuboid shape the usability of carrying them by the handle on the top becomes even better. A cuboid shape also fulfills the requirements for stapling the packages on a palette. They could be better organized into the trunk of a car, and could be better stored around the garden.

Also when using them in the garden; cutting the cuboid package open at one corner would allow to much more keep the shape of the package and dosing soil for use.

So, pretty simple and obvious to come up with a packaging format that might lead to much better customer acceptance. 

I am not a packaging expert. And I can well imagine that a packaging system for a cuboid product with a handle requires to manage some more degrees of freedom. But, given the quantities of soil being produced and sold in that business, and given the fact that such packaging and filling can be highly automated I would assume there is a case for such scenario. I could well imagine that going for such packaging could be a differentiating factor.

If you had the choice? Which package would you buy? And, would you pay a price for more convenience?

User experience in virus infection diagnosis

The current 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak makes us once again aware how crucial early diagnosis and early intervention is.
Early treatment is crucial in almost any disease. And very difficult to achieve.

An example like COVID-19, a virus infection with contagious incubation periods of 2-14 days, shows that medicine where symptomatic episodes only are the entry for a patient to enter the health care system is leading to huge impact for that particular patient, but also for society and economy.
The global outbreak (according to World Economic Forum, bigger than previous SARS and MERS).

As a citizen, I am confused. What should I do? - Should I hide at home, avoid any social contacts, bunker food and supplies, and prepare for a longer period in isolation.
At work, teleworking models become more and more popular. And supposedly suddenly web-conferences work, even in settings which were meant to essentially require face to face interaction.

Is this the chance for internet communication tools to raise in importance. Do usability aspects which were insurmountable pains and hurdles suddenly vanish?
I hope that the current situation and raising focus on respective technological tools will lead to more focus on research and development of respective tools and improve on user experience accordingly.

On the other hand, the big problem to solve is early diagnosis or screening of the population for infections during asymptomatic phase of episodes.
A quick literature search was surprising. The proven best tools recommended for screening and early diagnosis are probably also the most expensive ones in terms of cost, and not necessarily the most appealing in terms of user experience.

There are several studies concluding that chest computer tomography should be used for screening and early diagnosis of infected patients. The reported sensitivities are 98%.
For sure an effective approach, however at substantial cost if entire populations shall be screened.
And, for a screening effort I doubt that CT is really a citizen friendly intervention.

One would think that blood or throat swab testing using RT-PCR or similar would be much more suited for screening.

Now, from a citizen user experience point of view, what is needed?
1) an alerting system identifying sub-populations at risk based.
2) an easy test to diagnose if a person is infected or not.

I am sure there are creative ideas for 1). By tracking and measuring social interactions and over time more and more learn how infections spread until one is in the position to actually predict populations at risk.
For 2) an effective testing protocol is required which requires a simply to be collected sample from a citizen, which can be measured in a decentralised setting, providing immediate results, and being able to identify infected patients shortly after infection.

Medical tricorder.

I still believe that it is an illusion to hope for the magic dream of the medical tricorder that detects everything within seconds. That would be user experience. Both, for medical professionals and even more for patients!

The medical tricorder was equipped with sensors and analysis software tailored for medical diagnostic purposes.
A feature set virtually invented in the 1970ies as part of the Starfleet TV episodes.

The tricorder a device delivering maximum diagnostic user experience.

Apple Watch - An interesting platform?

Apple Watch, another neat product out of the Apple factory in Cupertino.

This summer I got my Apple Watch. My intent was to use it for sports and recreational activity. So far I am still wearing my mechanical Swiss watch in professional life. - Why? - I did not find the day to day benefits yet.

Yes, the activity monitoring is interesting, and I keep on taking it as motivational tool for more activity in my daily life.
The tracking, heart beat monitoring, and even communication functionality is useful.
I regularly use this when going for a run, or a mountain bike ride.

But, do I need all the notifications and possibility in taking phone calls or viewing emails and messages on my watch during work?

As you can see, I have ambiguous feelings towards that device. I do not see it yet as my day to day companion. And I am wondering how this will develop.

The device itself is well built. The usual simplistic usability, minimum number of buttons, even navigating the touch screen is going well.
What I am not super comfortable with is the trigger for switching on of the display. Somehow is my wrist movement not reproducible enough so that reliability of switching on is random.

The sensors such as optics and ECG are interesting and I assume there would be more possibility to do with it.
The ECG is a nice feature but I don't see the real use of it. - And there I might not be alone. What does this help unless I am a chronic AFib patient? Hence, for me as an average user there is only the motivation of contributing ECG readings of a healthy individual to the data pool.
What I am wondering is, if there would not be ways to monitor pO2 in blood continuously. And why not body temperature?
I see it very interesting for research purpose to get a data pool of healthy individuals through such a controlled time series data acquisition device. This can help in several disease are research.
The approach is only limited by availability of reliable and robust non invasive sensors, and sensors that do not require an enduser intervention for measurement, such as the ECG.
And how about some blood pressure measurement?

Motivational notifications. This is definitely a way to drive behavioural change and prevention. As usual different people will exhibit different susceptibility to the approach and flavour of implementation.

In combination, given the app capabilities and available sensor measurements, the Apple Watch is an interesting platform for applications serving wellbeing needs. I am wondering what innovations we will see in the upcoming years in terms of sensors for more relevant monitoring of vitals and blood biomarkers.