Reference:
The Design of Everyday Things
Donald A. Norman
Basic Books 1988
Summary:
When people make errors while using unintuitive devices, they tend to blame themselves rather than the device. As a result, flaws with the design of a product will often go unreported, since the user isn't likely to file a complaint. In addition, people will often mistake correlation for causation when experiencing errors with a product. To help reduce these avoidable errors, Norman suggests using the seven stages of an action as an effective design principle.
Discussion:
Norman gets it right again. I have had more than one experience when I've been thwarted by a seeming simple product. For example, last semester I was giving a presentation on my professor's Apple laptop. I've always been a PC user, so when the presentation was over I found that the mousepad on the Apple, when combined with the fatigue of the all nighter I had just pulled to finish the presentation, rendered me unable to close the program. I eventually figured out that I had been using the wrong area of the mousepad, but as Apple mouses have only one button, I was unable to comprehend my error until it was too late.
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