Jonathan Strohl PSY 734 – Project 5 November 17th

, 2011

Visibility of system status

Typically, with this type of remote, the user must first press the button that corresponds

to the device intended to control. These current controllable device indicator buttons (CCDIBs)

are placed along the top of the remote (e.g. VCR, DVD, etc…). The difficulty in observing the

system’s current status is a common problem with many universal entertainment system remotes.

One of the assumptions made with this device is that the indicator lights for the CCDIBs

do not stay illuminated when not performing a button push. When the user first begins to handle

the remote, typically, the person will press the CCDIB in order to confirm that this is now the

controllable device with this remote. Without this button press confirming the controllable

device, the user may begin to press the function buttons on the remote that do not necessarily

control the intended controllable device.

Another typical result of this problem is an increase in eye movements to perform

functions. Users familiar with the button layout will typically be viewing the entertainment

device (i.e. TV) when performing button presses. When the user begins to press the functionality

buttons, visual attention is focused on the entertainment device. When the remote does not

control the intended device, the user must then saccade to the remote and press the corresponding

CCDIB to confirm. This results in a longer duration to perform the task as well as a potential

increase in user frustration.

The proposed solution to this issue is for the CCDIBs to be illuminated before the

intended functionality buttons are pressed. A technologically savvy method to achieve this

outcome would be to install an accelerometer in the device. When the user handles the device,

the accelerometer would cause the CCDIB to be illuminated. With the CCDIB illuminated, the

user will not need to confirm the controllable device as immediate feedback is provided. The

Jonathan Strohl PSY 734 – Project 5 November 17th

, 2011

proposed solution allows for shortened duration to complete the task (less button pushes and less

saccades) and less user-error (less unnecessary pushes).

Aesthetic and minimalist design

This and other universal remotes typically have a cluttered design which detracts from its

aesthetics and ease of use. In particular, this remote has functionality buttons that, for all

intended purposes, are redundant. By considering consolidation heuristics, a more minimalist and

aesthetically pleasing design can be created.

Many of the buttons can be consolidated into a single menu button. Starting at the top of

the device, the “menu,” “setup,” “info,” and “settings” buttons can be consolidated into the

“menu” button (see figure 1). Setup features, settings, and information can assumingly all be

accessed through the menu’s functionality page. Seemingly, it is less ambiguous and more

intuitive for these types of “back-end” interfaces to be accessed through a single button.

Moving down on the remote, the arrow keys can be consolidated to have multiple

purposes. The “ok/select” button can also become the play button for the DVD, DVR, and VCR

devices. In fact, with most digital interfaces used with today’s media devices (e.g. DVD player),

the ok/select is arguably a more intuitive selection as the user is more likely to press “ok/select”

when the “play” text is highlighted on a DVD menu. In this scenario, the presence of the “play”

button increases uncertainty as to which functional button will actually play the movie. The

“pause” button also becomes unnecessary as the “ok/select/play” button can maintain its

functionality while incorporating a pause function.

In addition, there are other buttons that can be consolidated or eliminated. The arrows on

the scrolling/selection menu can be designed to have multiple purposes. The right arrow can

Jonathan Strohl PSY 734 – Project 5 November 17th

, 2011

double as the FFWD button; the left arrow can double as the REW button; the up arrow can

double as the REC button; the down arrow can double as the STOP button

User control and freedom

The current design does not contain an undo (or previous) button. Therefore, there is no

clear method to return to the previous page. With the current functionality of digital menus,

errors often occur when progressing through menu/guide pages. Often, it seems, users will

continue onto a different menu page, realize the error and then desire to return to the previous

page. In this scenario, it is expected that most users will press the “exit” button. However, the

exit button typically exits the menu completely. This is not the optimal selection as the user

would then need to progress through different options in order to return to the previous place

marker.

The recommendation for this problem is the inclusion of both “undo” and “redo” buttons.

The “undo” button would return the user to the previous page and the “redo” button would

reverse this action. The possibility of having to start at the beginning of a menu page (high

consequence) after committing an error may lead to increased distrust in the system. This

recommendation should lead to more trust in the system and deeper exploration of the

entertainment device’s functionality.

KLM Comparison

Figure 1 and 2 below display the differences between the original and redesigned remote.

A KLM was conducted to compare the estimated times to complete two commonly performed

tasks with remote control operation. The first task modeled was playing a movie on a DVD

player. The KLMs for this task demonstrate that the original model was 1.53 times slower than

the redesigned model. The second task modeled was selecting a television program through a

Jonathan Strohl PSY 734 – Project 5 November 17th

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cablebox menu. The KLMs for this task demonstrate that the original model was 1.06 times

slower than the redesigned model.

The variance between the models in both tasks was mostly due to an anticipated user

error as a result of an improper status display for the CCDIBs. The installed accelerometer in the

redesigned model eliminated this error and therefore decreased the time to perform the specified

tasks. The presence of the undo button in the redesigned model also decreased the non-routine

thinking time associated with the task. The KLMs also demonstrate that buttons can be

eliminated from the remote without an increase of task duration for these two commonly

performed tasks. The redesigned model is intended to enhance aesthetic appeal, simplify options,

decrease user error, and increase user satisfaction.

Jonathan Strohl PSY 734 – Project 5 November 17th

, 2011

Figure 1. Figure 2.

Mock-up with redesign recommendations Original design