[stcusesig_l] ideas for WUD - World Usability Day

Mon Aug 25 06:56:09 MDT 2008

Chauncey, 

One thing I noticed about the mall was getting wheelchairs.  This is tricky.
To my knowledge, they offer them at only one entrance; an entrance where
there's no safe place to pull over and go in.  So you pretty much have to
drop someone at that entrance, have them go in and get the wheelchair, then
come back and get the person who needs assistance.  I guess the assumption
is that if you use a wheelchair normally, you'll have your own (which makes
sense).  (On the other hand, lots of people can walk short distances but a
place like the Mall of America is way beyond what they can do.)

Kris

From: stcusesig_l-bounces+mkw=metafile.com at mailman.stc.org
[mailto:stcusesig_l-bounces+mkw=metafile.com at mailman.stc.org] On Behalf Of
Chauncey Wilson
Sent: Sunday, August 24, 2008 7:07 PM
To: mkw at metafile.com
Subject: Re: [stcusesig_l] ideas for WUD - World Usability Day

Hello Alan,

Alice did a good job of highlighting transportation issues with a usability
component.  

The mall wayfinding that we did a few years ago for the first World
Usability Day was a lot of fun and professionally invigorating since it
wasn't something that we have to worry about most of the time.  We looked at
signs, maps in the mall, architecture, and other cues about how to get
around.  We also looked at the size of corridors and issues of flow.  I read
up on wayfinding, signage, and architectural principles and we looked for
good and bad examples.  We also took pictures,  though at one point, I think
that a guard was getting very curious about the photos. We examined how
easily a person in a wheelchair might navigate the mall. We did a short
presentation of our findings at the end of the day.  We also tried a few
timed activities to see how long it took us to find something in a new mall.

Chauncey

On Fri, Aug 22, 2008 at 1:02 PM, Alan Wyman <alan.wyman at comcast.net> wrote:

The mall wayfinding sounds like a terrific idea! I am involved in the
student STC chapter at the University of Minnesota. I will propose doing a
mall walk at the Mall of America. Any tips would be appreciated. 

Alan Wyman

alan.wyman at comcast.net

On Aug 22, 2008, at 10:53 AM, Chauncey Wilson wrote:

Thanks for the kind words.  Actually, my wife is the brilliant one.  I'm
pretty well read though :-).

I like the transportation concept.  It might also be interesting to do some
observational studies on use of cell phones.  I sat an a long intersection
last week and counted the number of people on their cellphones, about 30
cars passed by and of those 30, 9 people were clearly using hand cell phones
and not hands-free (so the estimate is probably low).  That made me very
nervous. It was rush hour and people were probably calling home. 

I did a wayfinding walk in Boston at the first WUD and we had a great time
examining landmarks, how buildings can support wayfinding, good and bad
signs, and wayfindinging inside a mall.  About 6 of us went and we made
notes and took pictures. If anyone wants to try that, I can pass on a few
tips.

Thanks,

Chauncey

On Fri, Aug 22, 2008 at 11:42 AM, Mary Deaton <mmdeaton at mmdeaton.com> wrote:

Chauncey, You're brilliant. I know STC has participated as an
organization in WUD in the past. Was it UUX who made this happen? This
would be somewhat ironic, since I just sent email to the local UPA
chapter saying I could not coordinate the WUD activity this year
because I was too busy managing this group!

I love the first two ideas. Number one would be easy for any SIG
member to do or for any individual person to do. We could set up a
Flickr or Facebook to which people could post the picture with
specific information. Or perhaps UUX could set up a page on our Web
site.

The walks would be excellent for a local STC or UUX chapter to do on
WUD itself, and blog as they go and take cell phone pictures. I
suspect they would not need to cover more than a few square blocks to
get lots of info, especially if they scouted them out in advance.

Any SIG members who want to volunteer to coordinate WUD activities,
please contact me via email and I will organize a call or chat or
something.

Mary

On Tue, Aug 19, 2008 at 5:03 AM, Chauncey Wilson
<chauncey.wilson at gmail.com> wrote:
> This would be an excellent topic for brainstorming.  Here are some
thoughts:
>
> 1.  A photo gallery of good and bad signage.
> 2.  Wayfinding walks where a small team explores a city and examines
issues
> around wayfinding
> 3.  Create a  bibliography of interesting issues related to
transportation.
> 4.  Read together the book "Traffic" which dispells some myths about
driving
> and traffic patterns.
> 5.  Examine what persuasive principles might work best to encouage public
> transporation.
> 6.  Explore the user experience of your area's bus or train system from
the
> Web site with information to the experience of riding in rush hour.
> 7.  Have a colleague who has to get around in a wheelchair narrate what is
> it like for him/her to get around the city.
>
> Chauncey
>
> On Tue, Aug 19, 2008 at 3:05 AM, Karen Mardahl <k.mardahl at gmail.com>
wrote:
>>
>> World Usability Day is coming up (Nov. 13), and I'd like to hear what
>> plans are simmering out there on the back burners of your minds. This
>> year's theme is transport.
>>
>> I live in Denmark, more specifically in Copenhagen, where we have lots
>> of public transport - trains, buses, and light-rail. The train station
>> near my office is a place frequented by blind people going to and from
>> the school for the blind just a stop ahead on the train line. I notice
>> how they navigate using the raised pieces of metal that form a trail
>> inside the station down to the tracks. I think about the turmoil in
>> rush hour and wonder how that is perceived by people with canes,
>> wheelchairs, or guide animals. I'd like to do some sort of project for
>> WUD. SIGCHI.dk held an all day mini-conference 2 years ago, but they
>> are doing nothing this year. Another group, webgrrls.dk
<http://webgrrls.dk/> , is interested
>> in "doing something". I threw the idea out in that group last week. I
>> am too fried with deadlines these days to think creatively right now.
>> I cannot figure out whether it is enough to have an event on the day,
>> or whether the day should be preceded by... something. Perhaps
>> something as simple as announcements in the news media? I also think
>> we should contact the bodies that run these services: www.dsb.dk
<http://www.dsb.dk/> 
>> (trains), www.movia.dk <http://www.movia.dk/>  (buses), and www.m.dk
<http://www.m.dk/>  (metro). They may provide
>> access in ways that "ordinary" people can't, e.g. doing a survey or
>> some similar larger project. Even though we got involved with them, I
>> don't think commercialism would spoil a collaboration. We could also
>> test the tourist angle. Danish is the national language, so signage
>> and announcements are in Danish, of course, except for travels toward
>> the airport. How do non-Danish speakers feel about the transport
>> system. For example, is much of it intuitive? Personally, I'd like an
>> accessibility angle, too, because of my involvement in the
>> AccessAbility SIG (co-manager).
>>
>> I thought I would take the opportunity to just ask this group for
>> ideas and inspiration. Perhaps others would enjoy a brainstorming
>> session on this topic, too?
>>
>> Read more about WUD at their site: http://www.worldusabilityday.org/
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> regards, Karen Mardahl
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--
Mary Deaton
Deaton Interactive Design

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