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Post by golbeck on Jan 23, 2013 0:44:16 GMT -5
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Post by s2teennovelist on Feb 20, 2013 20:24:18 GMT -5
terpconnect.umd.edu/~lreynol2/t5/I designed my Alarm Clock interface in mind based on the primary principle of usability design: what is the one thing the user wants to do, and for an alarm clock that is tell and keep track of time  My design, posted above, is fairly straight forward, since after our last discussion we all concluded the most straightforward sites had the best usability. My alarm clock breaks its features down based on the alarm clock's most important tasks: The first is the Time, the second is Alarm. You see both Time and Alarm have their own buttons that allow you to set them: they're are obvious and clear visibly, and next to them, equally obvious are the time set features: Hours and Minutes. To accomplish the task of Time is simply: one holds down the time button and presses on the Hour and Minute buttons respectively until they've set the clock for their desired time. For example, if I wanted to change my clock from 9:15 am to 12:45 PM, I hold down the time button and press Hours three times changing it from 9 to 10 to 11 to 12 and because the alarm clock has a PM light feature I can check to make sure it is the correct time set, so I AM setting it for 12 PM not 12 AM. Then while still holding the time button, I press on minutes until it goes from 15 to 45. Also going over the minutes does not affect the hours. Say I passed 45 and stopped at 50 by mistake and had to start over, if i keep holding down minutes, it will go from 59 to 00 automatically but the Hours will still remain at 12 unless i press the hour button. The Alarm feature is identical to time with two exceptions. Obviously, you hold down the hour button instead, and second when you've set your alarm to the time you want, you slide the ALARM button from Off to On (See picture) this turns the Alarm on and tells the clock to go off at the set time. You can also check the Alarm light to see if the alarm is on the same way you check the PM light. And to stop the Alarm, you and either turn the Alarm off, or if you wish to keep the Alarm set (like have it permanently set so it goes off at the same time every day without you having to switch it from on to off) Just hit the Snooze button. Since the snooze button is the most desired user task when one wakes up, note that the snooze button is the longest and widest button, for easy convenience.
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Post by Mary Sanphilipo-Ward on Feb 22, 2013 22:43:16 GMT -5
terpconnect.umd.edu/~msanphil/t5/My clock is based on my own alarm clock which I love. I did choose to add a feature that I noticed on one of the old designs posted. I think it would be a great idea to have a USB port for plugging in my cell phone to charge. One of my favorite features of my alarm clock is probably one of the silliest. The days of the week are listed across the front and there is a little light that lets you know what day it is at a glance. The fun part is that the weekdays have a red light but the weekend shows a green light. I can glance at the clock and if I see the green light, I know I can roll back over. The design is very simple with a large display of numbers and easy to hit buttons. There are two alarms for two people or one person with different schedules. You can also choose to wake to music or buzzer. The best thing about my clock is that it sets itself. No more fixing it after we lose power!
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Post by s2teennovelist on Feb 22, 2013 23:29:49 GMT -5
First of all, BEAUTIFUL design, Mary. I was so impressed by the design and the composition of your clock. I based my own design off my alarm clock as well, but yours looks much more organized and much more complex, but at the same time its usability works beautifully.
Yours is definitely an alarm clock that serves as a basic unit of time, as well as an alarm, a radio and AND as a weekly calender. I'd never seen an alarm clock that shows what day of the week it is, so I can see how that would be one of your favorite features!
Even more amazing is the USB charger port. I think this is an unbelievable function but at the same time I think its pretty useless. I mean, you can plus a USB drive into the radio but purpose dose it serve? You said it was for charging your cell phone which is cool, but would you really need to plug your phone into your radio to charge it? Why not just plug it into the wall? If the alarm clock was battery-powered that might be a different story but there's no indication of that in this picture---and to clarify mine is a plug in.
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leann
New Member
Posts: 17
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Post by leann on Feb 26, 2013 15:46:58 GMT -5
terpconnect.umd.edu/~lrosenb1/t5/Here is my alarm clock. Explanations are on the page. I think it has high learnability and high memorability, as all the buttons are clearly outlined and are not complicated. I like the large displays, particularly of the time, as this is the function that is most used. I also included all digital adjustments for user preference, because turning a dial can be less precise: with a radio, it can be hard to find your station, and with the volume, it can be hard to remember where you like to have it. Nothing like sleeping through your alarm because the volume was too low!
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Post by s2teennovelist on Feb 27, 2013 15:06:50 GMT -5
Oh wow this design is GORGEOUS Leann. Truly, I also really liked the directions you attached to the picture, but I think you should let the person figure that out on their own first.
But overall, this looks like it's got a very good usability rate: its got a lot of buttons but its obvious which ones you need to use to set the time, and I also like how for the clock set this one has a BACKWARDS feature (which in retrospect I wish i added to mine). It's a lot easier to go back if you miss a number or hour, rather than having to completely around and forward again, so very clever. Wish i thought of that.
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Post by andreab on Feb 27, 2013 18:51:33 GMT -5
terpconnect.umd.edu/~andrea15/t5/With all the integration of smart phones, it seems only natural that your alarm clock should utilize the power of a smart phone. It uses the phone to set time and date, reminds you of important dates as well as the first appointment of the day. I tried to keep the selection options to a minimum, as I find them more of an issue to deal with than useful.
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Post by emilyhough on Feb 27, 2013 20:15:12 GMT -5
terpconnect.umd.edu/~ehough/t5/I chose to make my alarm clock as easy as possible - with a large snooze button on top of the clock and a button on the back of the clock to set the time. I chose to make the clock battery or cord operated so if the power went off you would still know what time it was. (When the power goes off, I hate not knowing the time!!) With only two buttons, I think my clock is quite easy to operate. As far as user preference, I like the 'old' look of clocks and don't really like digital clocks, so you'll notice my clock isn't digital. Also, you can't differentiate between AM or PM when setting the clock. This makes the user not have to worry about setting the wrong time (5pm instead of 5am), but it could also be annoying to some users.
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Post by emilyhough on Feb 27, 2013 20:22:52 GMT -5
Andrea - I really like your alarm clock! You came up with something really inventive! I like the screen of the alarm clock - that would make it very easy to read when I first get up and don't have my glasses on. I feel that this alarm clock would be very easy to use and navigate  |
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Post by emilyhough on Feb 27, 2013 20:26:24 GMT -5
leann - I really like that you can see the radio station that you are tuned too on the radio. I use a clock radio and sometimes when i hear a great song on it, i'd rather i knew what station it was on rather than having to turn the radio over every so often. I also liked that the snooze button was nice and big (DANGEROUS!) I also feel that if I had a prototype of the clock in front of me, I would be able to operate it without problem!
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Post by emilyhough on Feb 27, 2013 20:27:43 GMT -5
Though we all had the same assignment, its interesting we all came up with different features that we focused on when making the alarm clock.
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Post by s2teennovelist on Feb 27, 2013 23:05:33 GMT -5
It is really cool Emily. Once again proves and shows just how diverse a single object can be!
Andrea, your design is super cool, but I'm not sure if I like the smart phone idea. This maybe because I personally don't like smart phones, but they DO have all the basic functions of time and settings at a single touch, which while it may work, its also a bit complicated.
Like if you don't know how to do use the Itouch functions that might hinder the usability.
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Post by emyers on Feb 28, 2013 13:37:46 GMT -5
terpconnect.umd.edu/~emyers12/t5/I based my design loosely on an alarm clock I used to have. It's not very pretty, I suppose, but it gets the job done. When it comes to alarm clocks, it doesn't really matter to me whether they come equipped with a radio or mp3 player compatibility. I just want them to tell time and get me up in the morning, and that's what I designed this one to do. User preference for my design might be quite low - many people like to plug their iPods and such into their clocks through a dock to be able to play music, and others might also enjoy a flashier appearance - but I think my design makes up for its shortcomings with high speed, efficiency, and memorability. I remember hating having to read directions to set up an alarm clock or watch. I would always forget how to set the alarm or reset the time when Daylight Savings Time hit. I tried to make my design as obvious and easy to remember as possible. Each button does something specific. (Ideally, these buttons will be a bit bigger in real life than they appear on my drawing.) To set the alarm, you press "Set Alarm," causing the numbers to blink. You then press the plus and minus buttons above "Hour" and "Minute" to change the time. (To change to PM, you will have to cycle around 12 hours as in many other clocks). After you have entered the correct time, the numbers will be "set" after a few seconds and they will stop flashing. The same logic applies to "set day of week," "set month," and "set day": press each respective "set" button, the text or numbers will flash, and then you can cycle through with the plus and minus buttons. A red dot under "Alarm" indicates that an alarm has been set. I have placed an "Alarm off" button to the left to easily switch the alarm off if you don't need it anymore. If you make a mistake entering anything with these buttons, it's as simple as pressing the button again and fixing what you did. I put the snooze button on top of my alarm as many of us did, but I also made it quite big. Most of us reach our hand out to hit the snooze button when we are half asleep, and we certainly don't want to be flailing around for thirty seconds trying to find it. The only other button on top of the clock is the power switch, and it is controlled by a tiny knob. There is little chance that you will accidentally switch your clock off by just putting your hand down, as the knob actually needs to be moved down into the "off" position to turn the device completely off. I also tried to make button mapping as intuitive as possible: most buttons are close (if not next to) what they control. This enhances the speed and memorability of the interface.
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Post by jenntreadway on Feb 28, 2013 13:48:38 GMT -5
terpconnect.umd.edu/~jtreadwa/t5/For this assignment, I based my design loosely from alarm clocks I have used in the past. Additionally, I added elements/features I would want/need from an alarm clock. In my option, alarm clocks with music capabilities add additional buttons that may confuse the user. Therefore, to keep the usability design simple, I decided to just design a standard alarm clock that was not equipped with a radio or MP3 capabilities. Without these additional buttons for, users should be able to quickly navigate the operational panel (on the back) with ease, efficiency, and high memorability. For the front design, I separated the alarm clocks digital face into three sections: time, date, and alarm. To eliminate confuse, I clearly labeled each section in the upper right hand corner. More information on each section is included below: - Time: As one of the primary functions of an alarm clock is to display the time, I gave this section the largest space in my design. Additionally, the clock displays time in digital as opposed to analog format for easy readability and use. As an analog display is unable, this may affect user preference. Furthermore, if the alarm clock is set in 12 hour time, a small red LED light will light up in the upper left hand corner of the time section beside the words AM or PM depending on the current time.
- Date: A date section has been included for easy reference. The date section displays the day of the week as well as the current month, day, and year. Flaw: In a discussion with my boyfriend regarding the usability of my design, he mentioned the date section could be mistaken for date the alarm is set form.
- Alarm: Generally, with alarm clocks, I find myself second guessing whether the alarm is actually set or not. Although this may just be a result of my own OCD, I decided to include an alarm display section on the front of my alarm clock. If the alarm is not set, the section displays the words NOT SET. However, if the alarm is set, the alarm section displays the time selected along with red LED denoted AM or PM settings.
As the snooze button is an important part of an alarm clock, I included this button on the top of the alarm clock for direct, easy access. The snooze button is clearly labeled and is the only button on the top to avoid confusion or accidental turning off of the alarm or changing time/date. For the back design, I again divided the clock into three sections: alarm, time, and date. Although most alarm clock designs require individuals to press and hold the alarm or time button when trying to set the hours and minutes, I decided to stray from this model for greater usability. Instead, each section has their own separate minutes and hours buttons. Additionally, to eliminate frustration and additional time when you accidently pass the number you wanted and must cycle through the numbers again, I added + and – buttons. With + and – buttons, users can easily increase or decrease the numbers. - [Alarm: In the alarm section, I added to sliding buttons. The first slider controls whether the alarm is set to on or off. The second slider accompanied with visual sound images controls the volume of the alarm.
- Time: In this section, I included a slider that allows users to decide whether to display the time in 12 hour or 24 hour.
On the battery hatch, I included an image of how batteries should be inserted as well as the type of battery needed. By including this information in the outside, the user does not need to remove the cover to find this information; thereby, reducing wasted time. Finally, I have clearly labeled the AC Power outlet. For efficiency/user preference, I included both power options.
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Post by emyers on Feb 28, 2013 15:46:20 GMT -5
terpconnect.umd.edu/~lrosenb1/t5/Here is my alarm clock. Explanations are on the page. I think it has high learnability and high memorability, as all the buttons are clearly outlined and are not complicated. I like the large displays, particularly of the time, as this is the function that is most used. I also included all digital adjustments for user preference, because turning a dial can be less precise: with a radio, it can be hard to find your station, and with the volume, it can be hard to remember where you like to have it. Nothing like sleeping through your alarm because the volume was too low! Leann, I think your design is a great mix of efficiency and appeal to user preference. I could see a lot of people enjoying the extra functions of your alarm clock, while not becoming overwhelmed by a plethora of buttons or superfluous options. I didn't include a radio with my alarm clock, but I could certainly see users wanting different options - as far as sounds go - to wake up to. I also like the preference for digital over analog functionality here, as you won't "overshoot" as much as you might with an analog interface when entering the time or the radio station. |
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