Usability

1. Include one or more photos or video that showcases the part of the interface that is problematic.
2. Describe what the problem is. Which of the dimensions of usability discussed in lecture (learnability, efficiency, safety) suffer as a result? (1-2 paragraphs)
3. What could be done to fix this problem? (1 paragraph)

Toilet Paper Dispenser

LES Issues

I believe that the usability of most toilet paper holders suffers immensely from its design, The one in my floors bathroom demonstrates issues in LES. As someone who doesn't have long arms, I often find myself scrunching my body over to reach the underside of the dispenser making it fairly uncomfortable. If not scrunched over wrist strain happens as can been seen in Fig. 1. This presents a safety issue for most people my stature as people are using the restroom on average once a day. The strain the paper holder creates can accumulate over time which could cause a potential safety concern in certain populations.

The material and position of the dispenser harms efficiency quite a bit. One of the key features that embodies a toilet paper holder is being able to convey the remaining amount of paper. However this dispenser has a very dark color that does not let much light through. When making a quick judgment call if you should use the stall or not, this dispenser is not able to quickly convey this information. There are also instances where learnability is also impacted. When a new roll of paper is installed or when the roll is wound up full. The affordances of the material really come into play. The single ply paper provided by the instituion clings onto itself making users spin the roll inside the holder until the seam is located.

Potential Fixes

One potential fix would be to change the height of the dispensar to be a bit higher than it currently is installed. This would alleviate the potential wrist strain one goes through as is To prevent some unfortunate circumstances, we might consider making the cover a bit more translucent at least just enough to see the current roll of paper or lack thereof. Possibly changing paper brands could alleviate the frequency of chasing the beginning of a roll as well.

Joy-Con

LES Issues

Nintendo's Joy-Con has been fraught with LES issues. This is not without purpose but these were conscious trade-offs that were approved and deemed necessary. At first glance the learnability of a Joy-Con might seem dubious because of its odd and small form factor with few buttons in comparison to the modern idea of video game consoles. Since the joy-cons are designed to be used as a pair, but also support individual functionality it is clear that the primary design consideration impacted the second. In cases where there is only one joy-con available it is uncomfortably small for bigger hands with small buttons.

Potential Fixes

The placement of the buttons and their size directly impact efficiency. The left and right bumpers are recessed into the controller hindering quick access to two out of the six buttons designed to be used in games. The form of the controller is also known to cause strain and pain for some users as the design is reminiscent of a rectangular slab. (Which has opened up the market to similar controllers/cases with ergonomics in mind).

While the trade-offs for the Joy-Cons might seem like a lot, it does allow the hardware to integrate seamlessly with the main device and as a pair, which alleviates many efficiency issues that the individual Joy-Con faces. Some fixes, such as ergonomics have already been implemented in competing products with the same functionality.

Bed Curtains

LES Issues

When I moved into my current room the bed already had these curtains installed (Fig.3) In regards to learnability understanding how they functioned was fairly straight forward. They began as oversized curtains hanging off of a wire using clips. This system's efficiency suffers greatly because of the design. The goal of the system seemed to be to block out light from the room and create a space of privacy. Since the wire itself is connected at two far points there is a lot of slack in the wire. This slack causes the curtain to droop and let light in (Fig 4.). The only configuration where no light is let in, is when the curtains are clipped inter-wovenly which also makes it pretty difficult to exit or enter the bed.

Often times since the curtains hang lower than the bed itself, they often tend to get caught on floor items. If the oversized curtains don't get caught on random floor items there still is a high likelihood of the clips tearing off of the wire as you enter or exit causing even more light to enter. Although this is not a major safety concern, the clips often go flying as they are not attached completely to either the wire or the curtain and can be a hassle to find afterwards.

Potential Fixes

Some of the most obvious fixes would be to trim the curtains themselves to prevent so much excess cloth on the bed or the floor. Which has been implemented recently to great success. A more involved improvement would be to install a new anchor point into the bed frame to make the wire much more taut and reducing the amount of sag in the curtain or even come up with a different mounting design that allows the connecting mechanism to slide smoothly all around, which would greatly improve efficiency.