Interactive II - The Physical Dilemma

Interactive Prototype 2 - The Late Excuse Watch

The Late Excuse Watch 

Is a compact technology delivering a means to avoid messy confrontations when you are late for a meeting or event. Using a GPS, the watch calculates whether the wearer will be late and generates a non-cliché excuse if so. View what the full concept entails here: http://deco2300-43213263.blogspot.com.au/2014/08/late-excuse-watch-video-prototype.html

The Purpose of this step in the prototyping of our design, interface and interactive use is to test user’s ability to operate the device without overlapping controls interfering.

The Form of the prototype in this physical creation is a mere hard cardboard plate with anodes for each button as if it were a touch interface (as the final product after prototyping will be). The buttons will form small rectangular bars which will be one of our testing points – its size and useability due to this. Elastics wrap this around the user’s wrist, emulating a wrist watch.

 

The inner interface features easy to read time and 3 buttons for separate functions. As the physical interface is unable to change on its own, the interactivity with the buttons on the physical platform will render changes on the computer version of the inner interface.

The Testing that will be required for this prototype design step will require users to navigate the interface successfully, as in the previous prototype, however be asked to move through the functions of the device reliant most heavily on the menu style of static interface the physical prototype employs.
Methodology will follow the following:

1. View your calendar and select a date to view what meetings you may have.
2. Now go back to the menu, view gps (NEXT ITERATION – IMAGE IS CURRENTLY PRESENT IN THE CODE)
3. Create an excuse using the button on the physical panel, read it out loud and state if it is easy to read on the computer screen (when resolution is lowered).

The questions afterwards will include:

• If the user had large fingers, would this small size cause problems? (binary response indicative)

• The physical prototype is quite large for a watch style size. If it were smaller and the buttons made to fit the entire screen, what elements on the dynamic interface would you have trouble viewing?

• Is it too simple and why?

• Would you purchase this watch or would you rather pay 99cents or perhaps even download a free app for your phone instead? (A jab at a previous commentary on the video prototype)

The Decisions made when constructing the prototype were intriguing as it had to be built statically (as an interface) and practically small (as it is a watch).  With aluminium foil, rubber bands, a thick card cut-out 8cm x 5.5cm, and the makeymakey, I set off creating a rigid design for the front menu of the interface in the watch. Aiming for usability and not stylishness I kept everything square or rectangular and wrote using a permanent sharpie on the metallic surface.

I then added the keyboard hooks and some software upgrades to the backend code of the interface and tested the tap-sensitive interface of the physical prototype and it worked quite well.