Observation
The device in question: Card scanner at dining hall (Hilltop)
Assumption: The card scanner is a touch scanner. One will touch the card and wait for the signal to beep, and then wait for the person at the computer to clear the person's identity.
Subject 1: The person tapped their card vertically, covering the scanner entirely. The device beeps and shows a green light. After a brief pause, the computer person allows them to pass.
Subject 2: This person slid their card across the scanner and kept walking. No beep sounded, and so the person operating the computer had to call the person back.
Subject 3: This person tapped their card horizontally against the card scanner. A beep sounded and there was a pause until the computer person allowed them to pass.
Subject 4: This person tapped their card multiple times and it did not work. The computer operator swiped their card at the computer, and then the card worked.
Subject 5: This person tapped their card vertically, and jiggled the card slightly. The beep happened faster this time. The pause waiting for the computer person to clear them was the same.
Summary: The biggest difficulty with this device is getting the scanner to read your card. Sometimes the scanner does not read your card, and sometimes you have to reposition the card to scan it. The easiest part is the part that is within the hands of the computer person, which is clearing the identity. It takes the longest to clear the identity though because there is a brief moment that the scanner must transfer the card information to the computer.
In terms of the readings, the device appears to not have a lot of affordance or signifiers. The device is merely a small black box and does not appear to be a card scanner. That means it lacks the affordance to tell people what their relationship with it should be. Nor does it signify how one should interact with it. I remember having to be told how to use the scanners when I first started going to school here. Note: The card scanners are meant to have a picture of a card on them, seen below, however, the paint has worn off the scanners at the dining hall I'm currently attending. In terms of feedback, the device provides feedback through a non-offensive beep and a LED light. This is how you know the interaction was successful. This is good feedback design because it is not annoying yet not too subtle to ignore. Since this is a 1 to 1 device, the mapping is straight forward. The idea is also easy to explain via a conceptual model.
Card -> Scanner -> Beep -> Cleared by Computer
Assumption: The card scanner is a touch scanner. One will touch the card and wait for the signal to beep, and then wait for the person at the computer to clear the person's identity.
Subject 1: The person tapped their card vertically, covering the scanner entirely. The device beeps and shows a green light. After a brief pause, the computer person allows them to pass.
Subject 2: This person slid their card across the scanner and kept walking. No beep sounded, and so the person operating the computer had to call the person back.
Subject 3: This person tapped their card horizontally against the card scanner. A beep sounded and there was a pause until the computer person allowed them to pass.
Subject 4: This person tapped their card multiple times and it did not work. The computer operator swiped their card at the computer, and then the card worked.
Subject 5: This person tapped their card vertically, and jiggled the card slightly. The beep happened faster this time. The pause waiting for the computer person to clear them was the same.
Summary: The biggest difficulty with this device is getting the scanner to read your card. Sometimes the scanner does not read your card, and sometimes you have to reposition the card to scan it. The easiest part is the part that is within the hands of the computer person, which is clearing the identity. It takes the longest to clear the identity though because there is a brief moment that the scanner must transfer the card information to the computer.
In terms of the readings, the device appears to not have a lot of affordance or signifiers. The device is merely a small black box and does not appear to be a card scanner. That means it lacks the affordance to tell people what their relationship with it should be. Nor does it signify how one should interact with it. I remember having to be told how to use the scanners when I first started going to school here. Note: The card scanners are meant to have a picture of a card on them, seen below, however, the paint has worn off the scanners at the dining hall I'm currently attending. In terms of feedback, the device provides feedback through a non-offensive beep and a LED light. This is how you know the interaction was successful. This is good feedback design because it is not annoying yet not too subtle to ignore. Since this is a 1 to 1 device, the mapping is straight forward. The idea is also easy to explain via a conceptual model.
Card -> Scanner -> Beep -> Cleared by Computer
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