In the light of my previous posting thanks go to Jess McMullin for pointing to a study by Elke den Ouden of the Technical University of Eindhoven. Jess links to a posting by Anders Bylund on ars technica from which I quote here:
“Her (Elke Den Ouden) research shows that half of all electronics returned to stores for a refund are actually working as they should, but the customer has not managed to figure out how to get the thing to function properly. Twenty minutes is all the time the average American is willing to spend on learning how to use a new device, before simply giving up and heading for the returns department. This apparently holds true across a wide range of electronics, including cell phones, home entertainment systems, and MP3 players …
… The study found that the majority of serious usability issues were caused by poor product definition, meaning that the requirements for the device were never fully explained to the engineering staff. Properly defined designs usually led to usable devices. It looks like the blame for difficult-to-use gadgets falls on miscommunication early in the design process, then, and tech firms may need to step up their quality assurance and usability testing a few notches.”
For me this looks like a fine example of the scenario I’ve described in my previous posting where companies are struggling with the balanced application of Know-How, Know-What and Know-Why.
While most (consumer electronics) companies are usually well equipped (Resources) with Know-How (Understanding of the processes of operational execution) they seem to have only limited understanding of Know-What and Know-Why. As Bylund states good user interface design (Know-What: Understanding of the applications of an innovation) seems to be more important than ever. But far more alarming is management’s and product development’s lack of understanding of the principles of the innovative solution (Know-Why) and consequently it’s usability which Den Ouden tested with Philips managers:
“den Ouden also asked a group of managers from Philips to take home and use a few products over the weekend, but most of them never got their items to work.” …
… Product developers, brought in to witness the struggles of average consumers, were astounded by the havoc they created.”
Still any doubts that there’s a need for (design) managers with a sense for Know-How, Know-What & Know-Why thinking?
