Respect User's Time for Better Satisfaction Rates

I was a member of a team earlier this year that conducted a competitive analysis in which we examined user satisfaction rates for two websites. While task success rates were not significantly different, task times were.

We were able to correlate this to a positive reponse to the question "Would you recommend this site to your friends?". Shorter task times meant that users were more likely to promote your site.

So, optimizing task times may be an important part of building a network of site promoters. More to come as I conduct additional studies this fall.

Multimedia Learning

Documenting our experiences for various purposes has been a human constant since creation. The use of imagery in various cultures to accomplish this could be ascribed to the lack of a written language, such as the petroglyphs of the American Southwest, or to the prevalence of illiteracy, such as the religious icons of Russian peasantry. We might equally acknowledge that imagery is an instinctively powerful medium, and has been used throughout history for that reason. Why is this so? We can certainly point to the speed of visual perception, or its permanence. But imagery, which Stephen Kosslyn terms “a basic form of cognition (that) plays a central role in many human activities”, can be used to tap into long term memory. Images are encoded into the brain via the ventral and dorsal systems, which are inputs to associative memory. Working memory processes visual and verbal information through two separate channels, and learners can use both effectively to select and organize new information that can be integrated and passed into long term memory as a schema. It is important to note that textual information alone, such as this page, may be encoded and processed via the visual channel. However, studies have shown that inclusion of images with text increases the likelihood that the learner will employ both channels, and therefore create the potential for deeper learning. This approach is not foolproof however, and instructional designers must create artifacts that complement cognitive architecture, or risk overloading working memory.

Coding information into memory through using both visual and verbal channels is known as dual-coding theory. An image viewed by a learner is encoded by the visuospatial sketchpad component of working memory as an imagen. Descriptive text in proximity to the image is generally encoded by the phonological loop component of working memory as a logogen, but may also be encoded via the visuospatial sketchpad. The internal representation between the image and the text must also be encoded in working memory…this referential connection is key for successful integration with long term memory. Memory for this integrated information may be improved by the two systems acting as load-balancers for working memory, and perhaps also through the enhanced information maintenance ability of working memory when text is bound to an image through proximity. Presenting the learner with visual and verbal explanations that are positioned next to each other, rather than simply found on the same page, is termed the contiguity effect, and has been shown to enable deep learning of this dual-coded information through effective construction of referential connections that are stored and retrieved from long-term memory in the form of schemata.

However, dual-coding can actually incur cognitive load if not employed carefully. If the visual and verbal explanations are not closely integrated on the page, working memory must be directed to locating and comparing the referents. Known as the split-attention effect, this reduces working memory’s capacity to support learning. Dual-coding based instructional design can also incur working memory load if textual descriptions merely redescribe an image or diagram. This redundancy effect requires working memory to differentiate between unnecessary and essential information, a non value-added process with deleterious results. These cognitive load effects highlight the potential risk of combining images with text inappropriately for both domain experts and novices, which can be further understood when seen in context with some functions served by placing images in text. Decorational images are just that, decoration with no educational component. An image of a seagull placed next to a passage about the ocean would add no value, and would likely elicit the redundancy effect. Representational images depict the actual textual descriptions, and depending on their complexity may incur the split-attention affect. Organizational images complement the structure of the text, and would likely provide the desired benefits of dual-coding theory as they support the text rather than competing with it. With this background, the use of imagery to drive knowledge transfer can produce deep learning and practical benefits.

Windows Server 2008

I was logging on to a Windows Server 2008 box for the first time recently, and was tripped up by 15 years of routine. I entered my login information, and clicked a large button below the entry fields. Take a look:



















I expected to see a desktop, but was surprised to see this:

It happened once more before I realized that I was hitting a button that said "Switch User"; the action I was seeing was entirely normal. However, it was so difficult for me not to hit that button! Not only is it a big button, and not only is it located right where the "OK" button is located on all previous server login screens, but it is designed with a half-glare effect that makes reading the light text/dark background instruction effortful.


The correct action is to hit the little circle with the arrow in it, seen just to the right of the entry field in the top image. It has taken me several days to get used to that. I wonder what drove Microsoft to change their design for logging in? There's no apparent benefit, and the seemingly-minor problem that it caused adds to a probably-undeserved bias against the company.

It seems obvious, but routine governs so much of what we do that to ask users to reset a routine that they have developed in the course of using your product or interface should not be undertaken lightly. In the coming weeks, I'll be writing about steps I took recently with a major non-profit to mitigate the effects of change.

Nordstrom- Decison-making in Online Shopping

Traditional brick and mortar retail outlets are often complemented by a click and mortar counterpart. Rather than competing with each other, these two channels can work together within a company to increase sales. For example, a visitor to a store may be interested in an item, but defer the purchase for an unknown reason. On the way out of the store, a large sign promoting the URL of the store’s website allows the visitor to see the item again from the comfort of their home, without pressure, and possibly complete the sale. A web surfer abandons a cart, but notices on the website that there is a retail outlet nearby. A desire to actually see and handle the item prior to purchase is easily fulfilled, and the sale is made. A well-designed website should either leverage an online consumer’s prior knowledge to facilitate a choice process, or improve the consumer’s mental model to increase the chance of a later sale in a physical store.

Nordstrom is a high-end retailer with two stores in Massachusetts. The stores are not conveniently located for all Massachusetts residents, nor are they open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If a customer does venture into a store, they may or may not find an associate to help them, but they will certainly be able to create or enhance a mental model of the store, with various schemata for items of special interest. Once at home, can these mental models be activated via the always-on internet? A visit to the Nordstrom.com website presents us with images of mannequin-like models wearing the latest fashions…these stylized poses could trigger memories of similar poses seen in the in-store displays. A prominent “free shipping” banner anticipates the online shopper’s concern that shipping charges will raise the true price of their potential purchases, and make the online browser comfortable enough to be a potential online shopper. A large array of shopping categories is evident, including men’s suits. Can we use prior knowledge to convince someone to purchase a suit online? Surely the fitting process is a time-honored part of purchasing a garment? If we browse for men’s suits, we soon see images of trim, young men wearing elegant suits. These models often have a body shape that enhances the appearance of the clothing. The selection process dictates that we use existing mental models of ourselves to encode these images into memory, possibly selecting details regarding the age, hairline, and physique of the models that may confirm an idealized self-image. The images are then abstracted, further reducing the fidelity of the percept as it is encoded, and then interpreted by using general schematic information, presumably about ourselves in this case, to compensate for the reduction. Finally, the image is integrated into our memory store by modifying our existing schema of ourselves. It has been proposed that ego plays a major role in the acquisition and organization of knowledge. This process could theoretically cause the online shopper to encode a mental model of themselves wearing a Nordstrom suit, possibly even adopting some of the physical characteristics of the models to result in an idealized version of the self. This would perhaps fulfill the personal fitting process to some extent, and may create a positive affective response within the consumer towards the purchase.

Other possibilities for combining the best qualities of the online and in-store experiences include the activation of a “purchase” schema through a well-worded “Add to Shopping Bag” link. A “shopping bag” in the context of Nordstrom could suggest a completed sale, which (in the store) is placed into a bag, further influencing the choice process. The more familiar “Shopping Cart” text used by most websites would potentially invoke a “supermarket” shopping schema, which would be a poor fit with the Nordstrom brand. The next screen reverts to using the expected online language for completing the sale, “Proceed to Checkout”. Many adult users, who may not be accustomed to spending $1000 on a garment sight-unseen, will likely be accustomed to obeying the instruction to “Proceed to Checkout” on other websites and will therefore possess an “online purchase” schema. This familiar term may help them to invoke this schema, overcome any remaining reluctance, and complete the purchase.

Schemata allow humans to operate with high efficiency. However, schema creation and invocation is not an exercise in high-fidelity recording and storing of experiences, but is a highly processed method of internalizing information. Understanding these processes can help predict user behavior and allow us to design for better performance.

Color Choice and Mental Models

This choice of logo color by Roche Bros. is not necessarily a "bad" choice, but it does potentially activate a "FedEx" mental model. I found myself thinking that perhaps there was a new partnership and I could ship the groceries to my house?

Words can do the same thing...there is a plumbing supplies store near my house called "Ferguson Express". It makes me think of either photocopying or package delivery, but not copper pipe and wrenches, which is what they sell.

Is this a big deal? Well, Ferguson is out of business, but that may be for other reasons. I think it is a big deal when you roll it up with all of the other things that are competing for our attention, which eventually drives action.