Observing everyday interactions (ATM machine), management homework help

Homework 1: Observing everyday interactions (ATM machine)The purpose of this assignment is to give you further practice inobserving how other people interact with an everyday device, trying toperform a well-defined task, and to reflect on why some devices aresimple to use, and others are hard to use. For this assignment, observe another classmate or some otherwilling person using an automated banking machine (ATM) for a depositand for a withdrawl, from walk up to walk away (or possiblyin a drive-through ATM). Write down the steps involved (like asimplified task analysis), and then inspect the interface and theinteraction for anything that would pose a problem for the user incompleting the two tasks. You should focus on the human capabilities of the user such asperceptual abilities (or disabilities); cognitive or mental processing,including memory; and physical movements or responses. How does thephysical device, the screen, the buttons, the interface, the flow of thetransaction, etc., support or fail to support the user in completingthese "simple" tasks? Also, don't forget social considerations likeprivacy, comfort, preferences, etc. These concepts should tie in withthe lectures on human abilities and task analysis. Ask yourselfquestions like, Were the buttons too small (user's finger size was notconsidered appropriately by designer)? Was the display too hard to seefor the older users, but no problem for the younger ones (design doesnot support what we know about aging vision)? Did the button-to-actionmapping make sense (stimulus-response mappings, cognition issues)? Howmany times would it take to learn the steps required to complete a task(learning aspects of cognition)?You are to write a brief report (3 pages or less) on yourobservations. In this report, include a clear description (aided bypictures, perhaps) of the ATM (and its location) you chose and thespecific task you wanted to observe people performing. Then you are tosummarize the observations you made of other people trying to use theobject to perform that task. Finally, try to come up with some sort ofstory about what, if anything, about the design of this ATM failed. Youshould try to use the principles from the DFAB book or the heuristicsthat Norman describes to back up your story, and support yourobservations and conclusions with some of the things we know about humanabilities.Here is a sample outline of the report you should prepare: Introduction  Where was the ATM you observed and whatspecific task(s) was it used for. Briefly indicate if you think thesystem is hard to use for its intended purpose. Observational method  Whom did you observe (what are thecharacteristics of that participant?), and how did you observe thatperson performing the selected task? Results of observation  What were the results of your observations? Analysis  What aspects of the task were easier/harder tocomplete? Why? How? Provide a theory supported by usability principlesfrom the DFAB or Norman textbook to explain why you think the problemexists. If you observed few problems, discuss the design features thatwere particularly good and helped avoid problems.Compare your observations and conclusions to other everyday objectsin terms of ease of use. For example, if button size was a problem onthe ATM, on what other everyday objects is it also a problem? On whatother devices could it be a problem, but is not?