1. Designing interactive consumer products: utility of paper prototypes and effectiveness of enhanced control labelling
- Author
-
Holger Franke, Bruno Ruettinger, and Juergen Sauer
- Subjects
Adult ,Male ,Paper ,Engineering ,Adolescent ,Visual marking ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Control (management) ,Decision Making ,Fidelity ,Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation ,Human Factors and Ergonomics ,Product Labeling ,Human–computer interaction ,Labelling ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,Task Performance and Analysis ,Humans ,Product (category theory) ,Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality ,Engineering (miscellaneous) ,media_common ,Aged ,business.industry ,Equipment Design ,Middle Aged ,Europe ,Consumer Product Safety ,Equipment Failure ,Female ,Ergonomics ,business - Abstract
The studies reported here examined differences in user behaviour when presented with a low-fidelity paper prototype compared to fully operational product, and evaluated the effectiveness of different types of enhanced labelling of controls. In the first study with a paper prototype, 30 users of high-pressure washers were asked to choose the settings of the temperature control for different cleaning objects, comparing standard with information-enriched control labelling. In the second study, 34 users operated a real high-pressure washer with different forms of control labelling. The results of both studies provided evidence for some benefits of an information-enriched control labelling over traditional temperature-centred controls labelling. Furthermore, a comparative analysis of the data of the two studies suggested that low-fidelity paper prototypes may have to be used with caution. Therefore, designers need to be aware that the behavioural effects induced by different design modifications may be overestimated when using paper prototypes. The implications of the findings are discussed within the framework of an enlarged concept of fidelity.
- Published
- 2006