Recapping what I went through in this more psychological chapter, I'll get straight to the assignment. This chapter was largely focused on the importance of understanding users and their cognitive features. There have been relevant theories, discoveries and issues that have been highlighted through various examples in this chapter, such as the online and mobile banking system. There are illustrations of the results that follow a design with considerations to the user, as well as designs without.
Assignments:
a) First, elicit your own mental model. Write down how you think a cash machine (ATM) works. Then answer the questions below. Next ask two people the same questions.
A cash machine works when you slip an electronic card into its slot. The card has a magnetic stripe which holds the user's account number, thus enabling the machine to recognise it and subsequently prompt the user to enter a four digit pin number for access.
The access then links the user into the main server and presents a number of options/actions that the user can take, such as:
- Display on-screen balance
- Withdraw cash
- Deposit cash
- Account transaction
These actions can be done with or without a paper receipt of service. The user can also quit transaction at any time, or be logged off automatically after a short period of inactivity. Some machines charge a transaction fee of roughly £1.50, much to many people's annoyance.
How much money are you allowed to take out?
From my experience, I've seen that you can take £200 - £250 over the period of a full day. Larger withdrawals and transactions require more authentication and proof of ID in a bank, such as a driver's license, bank statement etc.
If you took this out and then went to another machine and tried to withdraw the same amount, what would happen?
It would not matter which machine I did this at. If I took out up to my daily limit, I would be unable to make another withdrawal at any other machine, although there would be other machines with lower limits.
What is on your card?
My name, card number, account number, bank brand, validation date, expiry date, security number, magnetic stripe, card type (Mastercard, Visa etc.) and signature.
How is the information used?
Scanning the card via magnetic stripe, or entering details to an online transaction (you don't necessarily need the card for this, just the details which can also be on paper correspondence from the bank you sign up with).
What happens if you enter the wrong number?
Access denied. If it is entered wrong three times in a row, then the account becomes locked for a while, roughly a few hours.
Why are there pauses between steps of a transaction?
I believe this is due to the checks my account is going through each step of the way, due to my account being linked with the main database.
How long are they?
Not long at all, and probably shorter as more upgrades are made with machines and the central servers.
What happens if you type ahead during the pause?
I haven't seen that it makes a difference, unless you press cancel and the system logs you out as a result. There is no reason to press anything during these brief pauses as there is no data in the field to react to, unless it really is taking longer than it should. In which case, I'd resort to the cancel button.
What happens to the card in the machine?
The magnetic strip which contains your account number is scanned by the machine.
Why does it stay inside the machine?
That might be to maintain the access for the user and enable data to exchange as each action is entered. There are, however, machines that don't require the card to stay inside them.
Do you count the money? Why?
Yes, and I do it to make sure that I have been given the correct amount of cash that I prompted the machine to give me. But I normally put it in my wallet straight away and often see at a glance that I have the right amount in my hand (I rarely draw out more than £40). This is why I normally print off a receipt of the transaction, so I don't have to do it in the public space that I am standing in. Counting the money in a largely crowed space, let alone waving it, is not the wisest move when any one person can snatch it and run off.
Here are the answers from two others that I had given the same questions. Click on the table to enlarge:
b) Now, analyse your answers. Do you get the same or different explanations? What do the findings indicate? How accurate are people's mental models of the way ATM work? How transparent are the ATM systems they are talking about?
Everyone's mental models are not really that much different to mine in regards to how ATM machines work, which I will presume to be accurate. The findings indicate that despite the less detailed response from users and their concerns with ATMs, we all understand to some degree that ATM machines work as a point of connection to the bank's central database, accessed with a valid bank card and pin number. The differences in viewpoints are minor in terms of ATM delays, wrongful input consequences etc. Ultimately, I don't think people really give it that much thought in this day and age, as we have become so used to it.
Nonetheless, these findings suggest that there is mostly a transparency for the user interaction of ATMs. But, to add to this, they do lack clarity in some areas such as value of a transaction fee applied to the machine, which many, including myself, dislike.
c) Next, try to interpret your findings in respect to the design of the system. Are any interface features revealed as being particularly problematic? What design recommendations do these suggest?
The improvements I would make are pretty small in nature, but that is not to say that there isn't much room for improvement. The machines should continue to upgrade as we inevitably advance in technology. But I would say that the improvements that should be made revolve around clarity. In this respect, I refer to:
- Specification to the amount of money taken out (normally present with ATM machines that are not issued by the banks, themselves).
- The clarity regarding transaction fees (again, this is a problem I normally see with independent ATM machines - you normally find them in newsagents, bars/pubs, student unions, etc.).
d) Finally, how might you design a better conceptual model that would allow users to develop a better mental model of ATMs (assuming this is a desirable goal)?
I don't have many ideas on that front. If I am to be a bit of a technological romanticist, I'd like to see ATM machines that detect your presence just by approaching. You could have some kind of chip or key about your person, and all you would have to do is enter a pin number when prompted by an ATM machine you approach. That might reduce the queue time and perhaps replace electronic cards in that respect. It would, however, have to be designed in such a way that once an account is accessed by a person, it won't be interrupted by anyone else nearby until the user has logged out. That's probably a huge conceptual model that I'm suggesting there, but such things always take years to be accepted by a functioning society. I regard this idea a long-term improvement.
In terms of security, there is still a long way to go for improvements and advances. I'm still waiting for fingerprint-authentication to take a firm place, like the hopeless sci-fi geek that I am. It's a brilliant idea, mainly because it would take some weight of the cognitive load of memorising pins and passwords and the endeavour of ATM machines would be more instant as a result.
No comments:
Post a Comment