Note: I am comfortable with my findings being shared :)
Object 1: Door Lock
Problem
The doors in MIT's Baker House feature a lock that is difficult for users to learn without repeated trial and error. The image above shows the design of the lock which has a straight ridge inside a circular casing. This design is a common signifer to users that suggests the ridge should be rotated clockwise to lock the door. However, this is not how the lock works. In reality, the door is locked by pushing the ridge inward so it is flush with the rest of the handle. Once the ridge is pushed inward, the user can rotate the ridge 90 degrees clockwise in order to lock the door such that it automatically relocks every time the door is shut (whereas in the simple locked state, once the door is unlocked, it needs to be relocked manually). This design suffers along the learnability dimension of usability because the design does not make it obvious to users what states of locking are possible and how to reach those states. It may be easy to see that the lock can be rotated, but it is not clear that the user needs to push in the ridge before rotating the lock. It is also not clear that the combination of both pushing and rotating does more than just lock the door, but instead, locks the door persistently. This could lead to users locking themselves out accidentially which also makes this design unsafe.Possible Solution
One possible solution to fix the problem with these locks would be to eliminate the need for two different actions which not only need to be discovered by the user but also understood in relation to one another. A simpler design which requires only pushing or only rotating would be easier to learn and therefore use. While this fixes the learnability issue, it may make it more difficult to still allow for the same two locking states. If the lock uses only rotation, then this secondary issue could be addressed by having different behaviors based on the angle of rotation. A rotation of 90 degrees clockwise may lock the door while a rotation of 180 degrees may put the door in the automatic relocking state. These two levels of rotation could be made discoverable by including a groove or colored line at both angles. This design would also improve the user's ability to learn how the lock works because a greater rotation would correspond to a more persistent locking state which appeals to intuition. Furthermore, adding these indicators signals to the user that there is more than one way to lock the door which they can test safely in order to become comfortable with the lock.Object 2: Comb
Problem
The comb displayed above is difficult to use because the design of the comb does not allow users to efficiently use the wide and narrow toothed halves of the comb exclusively without taking great care in handling the comb and brushing it through their hair. Switching between the different ends of the comb is important for accomodating various use cases. For example, when hair is tangled, the wide tooth comb is more appropriate. Once the knots in the hair are removed, the narrow tooth comb may be preferred to further detangle the hair. However, because the wide and narrow ends of the comb are directly adjacent to one another, improper handling of the comb may result in the teeth of the not in-use end getting caught in the user's hair by accident. For example, if the user is using the wide tooth end of the comb, the narrow tooth end of the comb may still be slightly exposed to the hair and thus get caught while the user is combing. In order for users to overcome this challenge, they either need to be careful of the way they are holding the comb as to avoid exposing teeth from the wrong end of the comb to the hair, or they need to be careful of what regions of the comb make contact with their hair. Both of these "solutions" slow down the process of using the comb and create frustration for the user as they may struggle during the process. Additionally, this design makes the comb both uncomfortable and unnatural to hold since the user must wrap their hand around the teeth on one end of the comb in order to use the opposite end.Possible Solution
While this comb's design concisely incorporates two different width combs into a single product, it does so in a way that is inconvenient for the user. One possible solution is to incorporate a proper handle on one end of the comb and have both width combs on the other end of the comb but on different sides. With this design, users can comfortably hold the comb and exclusively use a specific side of the comb with ease. Another potential solution is to keep the design of the comb the same but also include an attachable casing which covers one half of the comb at a time. Again, this will make the comb easier to hold and use properly.Object 3: Rocking Chair
