Table of Contents
Kodak Picture Kiosk “You push the button, we’ll do the rest” A Heuristic Evaluation
Psychology 273 Dr. Anthony Andre November 28, 2006 Roger Santos
[email protected]
Evaluation ...................................................................................................1 Objective................................................................................................1 Product...................................................................................................2 Techniques.............................................................................................3 Executive Summary ....................................................................................4 Users ...........................................................................................................6 Inquiry Methods..........................................................................................8 Global Usability..........................................................................................12 Local Usability Summary Appendix Contact
Heuristic Evaluation
Product Summary The 4th generation Kodak Picture Kiosk is a self service machine customers can
Objective “Real Kodak pictures from your digital camera…So easy, even a grownup can do
use to edit their photos and make professional quality prints. They can also create
it...Meet the Kodak Picture Kiosk.” These are the phrases that greet people when they
calendars and greeting cards from their photos. Its main parts are an LCD monitor, a
read about the Kodak Picture Kiosk online. Kodak has been in the photo kiosk business
small tower that houses its inputs, and dual print stand that both the tower and monitor
since the 1990’s, and tout’s the 2005 fourth generation Kodak Picture Kiosk as its best
stand on. As you can see from the picture below, which includes the measurements of
kiosk yet. Now, the machine did win the 2006 Digital Imaging Marketing Association’s
the monitor plus the small tower, the unit is very compact and it has a small footprint.
Photo Kiosk Shoot-Out award. However, what does this mean for the average person who pops into their neighborhood Walgreen’s to use the machine to print out a quick photo from their digital camera? Does the kiosk meet the expectations of savvy consumers who have come to regard Kodak as a leader of quality photo prints and cutting edge picture technology?
Consumers demand a great deal from the products that they interact with throughout their day. From computers to cell phones and PDAs, consumers expect technology devices to be quick and easy to use. These demands require that hardware, and the software running on them, be perceived by users as user friendly. Users should
Size
not encounter any problems or unexpected errors that lead to confusion and a bad
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
experience. While the Kodak Picture Kiosk is a large machine and has many photo processing functions, users still hold it to the standard that requires it to be useful and easy to use. The challenge for Kodak would be to empower a novice photographer and
Base is 12” x 12” Terminal Height 20” 15” Touchscreen (with tilt option) CD/ DVD/Multimedia Cards/3.5” floppy/IR/Bluetooth Kodak Picture Maker Software Version 5.2
computer user to create a piece of work that looks like it was professionally done.
This heuristic report evaluates the Kodak Picture Kiosk’s hardware, operating system environment, and its overall physical presence. I consider a number of factors, such as the software’s navigation and the kiosk’s hardware configuration, and analyze their effects on users’ performance on certain tasks. It is my goal that through this study the Picture Kiosk’s weakness’ are identified, from which solutions can be outlined, and improvements carried out; such that the company’s objective of creating a unique and meaningful customer experience can be achieved.
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consisted of questions that measured different aspects, such as satisfaction levels and overall feelings of the kiosk. Lastly, I scoured the internet and discovered a number of reviews highlighting the Kodak Picture Kiosks features and providing several critiques. I then reviewed each critique and reported where critiques were consistent with user feedback, observations and surveys.
Executive Summary Overview With the explosion of digital photography, customers now control many of the processing aspects of their photography. Combine that with today’s high quality, easy to use home photo printers, and the need to take a trip to the local “Rite Aid” for picture development becomes obsolete. However, not everyone has access to these processing tools and they need a way to print their photographs from their digital devices. The 4th
The Kodak photo kiosk in its environment with its printer station standing 3 feet below it. To the right is a competitor kiosk by Fujifilm.
Generation Kodak Picture Kiosk attempts to fill this gap by providing customers with a freestanding self service machine they can use to easily edit and print their photos.
Research Techniques
Methods
So that a complete picture of the concerns surrounding the Picture Kiosk could be
In order to obtain a broad picture of some potential problems of the picture kiosk,
obtained, I used a number of study techniques to gather the necessary information I
I began the evaluation by establishing global principles for the analysis of the product.
would need in my analysis. Five users were asked to participate in the study and they
From there, I used the various techniques, stated in the previous research techniques
were all involved in the following:
section, to take a local approach to user difficulties. The local approach then detailed problems that users encountered while using the product and performing their assigned
1) Field evaluations and ethnographies
tasks.
2) User surveys
Important Findings
3) Reviews of the machine
The Kodak Picture Kiosk enjoyed initial praise from users. In fact, users found the kiosk coloring familiar and, therefore, perceived the machine to be inviting.
For the field evaluations I conducted, I observed some of the study participants perform their assigned tasks. This meant that as they transferred their photos to the kiosk and started to edit them I took notes on how they interacted with the actual kiosk, and the kiosk’s software. I also interacted with some of the users as I observed them to clarify
However, the various global violations led to the following: 1) Poor Feedback 2) Inadequate Labeling
why they had performed certain tasks as they did. After all the users carried out their
3) Deficient Navigation
tasks, they were given survey which they filled out and returned to me. The survey 3
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Users
While users were able to print pictures and found the kiosk very functional, they
Even though all types of users are likely to use the Kodak Picture Kiosk, I focused
were consistent in their critique of the product’s operational aspects. Because of poor adherence to global design principles, study participants were lost in their navigation of
on three user groups. Furthermore, I created profiles, based on the users in my study, and
the kiosk in general. Participants noted the exterior of the machine had no pictures of
used them in the local usability section of the paper to shed light on particular problems.
accepted forms of media, and there was an excess of empty space on the touchscreen that
It is useful for Kodak designers to think of the problems presented in this report as
could have been used to notify them where they were in the process of working with their
applicable to real people. The users put forth in this section should guide the design
pictures.
process at all times they are the ones that will experience frustration when interacting with an error prone device.
Major problems and concerns Demographics
Global Navigation – Users were looking for simple written instructions on how to use machine, and they wanted to quickly locate their photo. They also missed the instructions at the top of the screen because the text was too small. Labeling –
Users put their media in different drives to figure out which it went into
Local
3. Heavy to light print users
Subgroups and Attributes For this section I put forth three categories of users that fit the types of customers that would interact with the kiosk. I also describe their respective attributes that Kodak
Transferring pictures to kiosk –
Editing –
1. Age – 25 - 49 years old 2. Both male and female
Photos were sometimes located in folders that kiosk didn’t read. Once their media worked, users wondered what their next step was.
While editing some of their pictures users misinterpreted what the start over icon meant and when they pressed it they were presented with the screen that first greeted them when they first approached the kiosk.
designers can consider during their design process. These personas were discovered using the survey to the participants - the results of which will be discussed in the following results section. I. Heavy users These people make a lot of prints that they use for business and home use, and they edit their pictures using professional photo editing software. Bio and Attributes Ralph is a professional photographer who is very familiar with different photographic equipment. His camera of choice is his Canon Digital SLR that he uses for work. He also uses various photo editing software, like Photoshop and Illustrator, for touching up his pictures and turning them into professional looking projects. He expects a lot from the equipment he uses, and he wants the products he uses to be very intuitive. However, he has the knowledge to quickly learn how to use a new piece of equipment.
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use to be quick to learn, however, it would be a challenge to enable a light user to create II. Occasional users They print out photos from their cheap photo printer with the touch of a button. They enjoying adding text to photos and sending them as greeting cards.
something that would look like it was professionally done.
Inquiry Methods and Results
Bio and Attributes
The following section outlines the various data gathering techniques that were
Mike enjoys taking pictures of friends and family during special occasions. He carries his Sony Cybershot with him to various events and doesn’t really edit his photos. He might make a picture brighter and add some text to it using a simple photo editing program, and then put it in a greeting card to send to a relative or friend. He doesn’t have the time to learn how to use new equipment, and therefore expects to figure it out on his first attempt.
used in the research and evaluation of the Kodak Picture Kiosk. Field evaluations and ethnographies were two techniques used to record feedback from user’s interactions with the Kodak Picture Kiosk. User surveys were given to provide detailed results as to user opinions and thoughts. Online reviews and critiques were also used to provide additional information and insight.
Evaluations As users performed their assigned tasks, I recorded their behavior and any problems that they encountered as they used the photo kiosk. With a few users I went as
III. Light users Take their film to the local drug store to have it developed. They’re thinking about going digital and buying a digital camera. They include photos inside Hallmark card, but they would like to learn how to use software to turn their photo into a greeting card.
far as interacting with them to gain a deeper insight of their thought process. This practice, known as ethnography, is important in clarifying what is not readily observed in user’s observable behavior. The ethnographies shed light on the mental steps that users
Bio and Attributes
employed to complete a task.
John has a film camera that he uses all the time on his monthly hiking trips. He doesn’t bother with editing his film photos because they always come back from the local Ritz looking great. He would like to make personalized greeting cards but he doesn’t have a computer at home. It would take John sometime to figure out how to use a new product because he is only familiar with his old film camera, and he only uses a computer at work.
Surveys The survey that was given to all five participants to fill out had three parts to it (actual survey can be found in appendix as figure 1). The first part consisted of demographic questions that gave rise to the personas previously explained in the users and subgroups section. I asked them report their age, level of computer proficiency, and what types of cameras they used. The next section presented satisfaction questions which where used to gauge their experience with the physical kiosk as well as its software. Lastly, there were a few open ended questions that allowed subjects to report their subjective experience through a sentence or two.
All of these users enjoy making prints of their photos, but only heavy and occasional users use software to edit them. Heavy users edit their photos with
Tasks performed for satisfaction section of survey
professional programs, but an occasional user might use a simple program like Google’s
(Observations and ethnographies were took place while subjects performed the following tasks)
Picasa. A light user, on the other hand, might use a disposable camera to take film 1. Transferring picture to kiosk
pictures, and then not edit them at all. These user types all still expect any program they
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Each user was asked to use different media for picture transfer. 8
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The different media used were SD card, Compact flash card, actual print, and USB thumb drive.
The DIMA report
2. Adding text to photo -
User navigated to their desired picture and was asked to figure out how to add text to their picture.
3. Editing pictures -
After editing text, user was asked to adjust brightness of photo with a side by side view.
4. Making greeting card -
After adding the text and the edit user were to go back to the photo list page.
5. Making calendar -
After exiting the greeting card option user asked to go back to the home screen and create a calendar of their photo.
6. Printing out picture -
Lastly, users were asked to printout a simple 4” x 6” print and judge its quality.
The Digital Imaging Marketing Association is a section of the Photo Marketing Association International, and it held a Photo Kiosk shoot out in winter of 2006. Their website can be found at (http://dima.pmai.org). The 4th Generation Kodak Picture Kiosk actually won the consumer “People’s Choice” award. This meant that the machine had the highest marks for “Overall User Friendliness” (the complete results of that shoot out can be found in the back of the report in the appendix as figure 2). However, when it came to the “Experts’ Choice” it didn’t win in any categories, and was often beaten by its competitors. Why was there such a disconnect between the judges and the people who participated in the shoot out? Well, the judges had problems with the following aspects of the kiosk: 1. File formats accepted 9
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2. Possible print sizes
Survey results
3. Accepts payment
Demographics
4. Creating CDs and/or DVDs It appears that some of these complaints where also shared by my users. They had problems with these aspects as well as they performed their tasks. It is crucial that designers realize that there are a deluge of considerations when creating such a complex piece of equipment like a kiosk. Just because there is a group of users that ranks your machine number one in comparison with other machines it can be for a number of reasons. Kodak should realize that its design should appeal to the broadest range of possible users, such that there are no users that feel alienated by interacting with its product.
Results of inquiry Task Observations
Participant’s answers give rise to user types that help explain satisfaction levels.
User Comments (words to learn from and design by) 1. Transferring picture to kiosk
It wasn’t apparent to all the users how to insert their media 1 user couldn’t transfer picture from USB thumb drive to kiosk at all, and had to make a second trip
2. Adding text to photo
Button didn’t stand out Was a second layer button
3. Editing pictures
Start over took users all the way back to the home screen
4. Making greeting card
It wasn’t accessible when users chose “Make Print From Digital Pictures.”
5. Making calendar
“Where is the full 12 month flip calendar”
Initially users could not see where the printout was. They only heard the sound of the printer.
in my study. Each user used a kiosk at least once a week – usually an ATM of some type. It is also interesting to see types of users emerge from the answers of the subjects. This is extremely important when we analyze the satisfaction levels reported on the following page. As you can see the overall difficulty level that was reported was somewhat easy with transferring pictures being the easiest task. However, let’s take a look at those tasks that were reported to be a neutral difficulty level: editing a picture – 3, adding text to a photo – 3.2, and making a calendar – 3.4. Why did users encounter difficulties with these tasks? It is essential to understand that the difficulty level reporting is related to the 3 personas that emerged in the demographic chart above. This is to say that someone who considers themselves a novice computer user might very well be the type of person to have more problems with more complex tasks. The idea of personas are used in the local usability section of the report where designers would
Users wanted more than six options
6. Printing out picture
Here we can see the demographic information of the five people who participated
“I couldn’t tell which drive to put my SD card in” “Why should I have to know how to set up the folders in my USB drive in order for the machine to read it…the machine should automatically detect my picture files.” “I would think that adding text is a primary function and I would expect to have to access it on a second screen by using a ‘More Edits’ option.” “I didn’t want to have to go back to where I was when I first stepped in front of the kiosk…I just didn’t want to accept my adjustments.” “I wanted the option to create a card from within the “Make Print” area.”
“Where does the print come out?” “Why do I have to bend so far down?” “Can’t they place it near the touch screen somewhere?”
design with these users in mind, so as to make the kiosk accessible to the widest range of possible users.
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Global Usability It is important the Kodak Picture Kiosk immediately communicate to a customer what it can do for them, and exactly how it will do it. At first glance, customers should be able to correctly identify each of the kiosk’s elements, and their respective uses. For example, when a customer approaches the picture kiosk they should be able to quickly find the various drives, and then match one with whatever media they brought with them. They should then be able to quickly perform whatever functions they desire, print their photo and then go on about their daily business. It is vital that the process be arranged in both an orderly and categorical way, so that it is seamless and, to a certain degree, familiar.
The following global principles were found to be either lacking or poorly used by the Kodak Picture Kiosk:
Satisfaction levels are influenced by different user types.
1) Color
My data did show overall that, on average, users did find the assigned tasks
2) Layout
somewhat easy to perform. This does fall in line with the DIMA report where the Kodak Picture Kiosk won the “People’s Choice” Award. However, a thorough evaluation did
3) Affordance 4) Navigation
highlight specific instances where one or more users encountered difficulty for even the somewhat easy tasks, such as transferring pictures.
5) Transparency 6) Mode Awareness
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The above picture illustrates the poor use of color, and what users were faced with
1) Color
when they first approached the photo kiosk. SD or Compact Card and existing prints in
Description
had, users did not know how to begin working with their photos. Most were trying to
In a global sense, color helps users categorize various parts of a product. This
guess if they first touch the screen or enter their media cards. The kiosk does not guide
grouping effect can then be used to convey a sequence of some process that users will be
users, nor draw their attention, to a particular part of the kiosk, or let alone any step in the
conducting. However, when not properly used color can be distracting and give the user
process. Participants stated that they felt lost and they couldn’t ask a machine where to
a disorganized feeling. The user can then feel lost and will not be able to deduce what
place the card. When they did find the media drives there were bombarded with ten
step might come next. Let’s take the following example.
drives that were sometimes indistinguishable in width.
Example
Solution It is not enough to simply give the kiosk the Kodak colors for branding purposes. That color can actually contain useful information for users. Group the three parts of the kiosk by different colors that direct users where to start the process, and then continue with the flow to sketch out a process that has a beginning and an end.
2) Layout Description Proper layouts are crucial for users to be able to just look at a product and then begin using it. Good layout will allow a truly good walk up experience where a user can just infer what to do by looking at the various cues on the product.
Example
Problem and Effect
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Problem and Effect Solution 3) Affordance Description Affordance is the property of a product that conveys to the user what they can do with it. It matters little how a product is intended to be used if it is designed such that the
Problem and Effect After one user finished performing his tasks and was ready to leave, he grabbed
operator can do any number of operations with it. Bad designs can lead to unintended
his receipt, photo, paid the attendant and left. Once he entered his car he realized that he
consequences for the user which can result in product failure. Designers should understand what a product should do and plan for design that takes into consideration the many different ways a user might try to use it. When the proper thought has been given
had left his SD card in the machine. As you can see from the picture on the previous page the receipt printed out right over the SD card reader and occluded the card! Grabbing his photo print and receipt the user forgot about his card and left it in the kiosk.
to this principle a product use will lead to customer satisfaction instead of customer
Since the machine did have a voice that guided users on other Kodak Kiosks, you could
frustration.
argue that the voice would have reminded him to remove his card. However, the kiosk
Example
allows the vendor to disable the audio, and in this case the people at Ritz found a talking machine to be annoying and turned off the voice instructions. There was text at the
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bottom of the touchscreen that reminded the user to not forget his card, but it obviously was not salient enough to be noticed.
Solution The people at Kodak need to model different scenarios when they design the kiosk. It should not be that difficult to imagine a scenario like the one detailed above. Also, if designers do present information on screen as a reminder for the user to not forget his or her media drive, it needs to be very noticeable to the user. Whether it is an icon or in this case text, it should be larger than most other items on the screen and it should be dynamic. By dynamic I mean that it should flash or be some type of animation. The tower could also be mounted on the side of the monitor, or better yet the card readers can be built-into the monitor where they are readily seen.
4) Navigation Description Brian is verbal and was looking for words…he walked up to the machine with his compact flash card in hand and was ready to put it in…he was thinking about making prints but getting his card in the machine. The machine needs to address that perspective…not just what that he wants to make prints from card…what does he do with his card.
5) Transparency Description This attribute allows a user to interact with a software or hardware element and have a clear understanding of its subsequent response. A user is not left wondering why their interaction led to a particular outcome. When transparency is used properly, system flow is logical and the user does not need to guess as to what the system is doing, or how it is carrying out its operation. Good transparency of device elements leads to the users’
Problem and Effect
expectations being met, and users aren’t taken by surprise when they see the results of
As users started to edit their photos they found themselves unhappy with the way
their actions.
some of their edits changed their digital photographs.
Example 6) Mode Awareness and Feedback Description 19
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Is the sd card in or not…is the compact in or not…where am I in the printing process.
Local Usability This part of the report evaluates the problems that users encountered while performing their assigned tasks. Ethnographies were used to explore the detail of these problems and gain an understanding of users’ confusion in using various parts of the picture kiosk. Furthermore, these tasks stem from global principle violations, which are a direct consequence of poor use of the global principles described in the previous global usability section. With each issue listed, I have outlined my suggested solutions and highlighted the importance of each local usability issue.
Tasks 1. Transferring picture to kiosk 2. Adding text to photo 3. Editing pictures 4. Making greeting card 5. Making calendar 6. Printing out picture The above tasks are addressed by looking at the kiosk from both a hardware and software perspective. First, screenshots are presented to illustrate a particular user situation and then it is followed by table that addresses each issue that is highlighted. Issues are also designated as high, medium and low for priority setting by Kodak’s design team. Subgroups and user types are also presented as potential users who might be affected by listed problems.
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screen presented them, as is evident in the picture above. While some machines provided a voice, which was difficult for users to hear in a busy shopping center like target, to guide users, other Kodak Kiosks did not. Now, for a heavy user like Ralph who is familiar with learning how to navigate a new piece of software this would not be an issue, but for novice users like John this would be a problem.
Approaching the kiosk
Instead of having a picture of accepted media and a sentence that only states, “Make Photo Print from Digital Picture,” explicitly state to the user to put their card in kiosk and then provide feedback to user that media has been accepted. Then you can ask them what it is they want to do.
3. Poor and sometimes no labels Comments and Suggestions HIGH
It is not enough to simply have input drives and print output areas as illustrated below. Users commented they already knew they were
using a Kodak Kiosk, and wanted useful icons that provided more information to them. They were expecting signage with icons that said to “put cards here” and “get prints here.” You can see from the two pictures above that there is plenty of space for this type of use.
Homepage and getting started
1. Poor on screen instructions 2. Sound quality poor and sometimes absent Comments and Suggestions HIGH
When users approached the picture kiosk to transfer their picture files to the kiosk they found themselves confused by what the instruction
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Appendix Summary
Figure 1: User Survey
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Figure 2: DIMA Report Results
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