Faults in consumer products are difficult to diagnose, and design is to blame: A user observation study

The process of fault diagnosis is an essential first step when repairing a product: it determines the condition of the parts and identifies the origin of failure. We report on how product users go through the process of fault diagnosis in consumer products and the influence of design features on this process. Two groups of 12 participants were...

Managing Product Usability: How companies deal with usability in the development of electronic consumer products

Problem statement: Even though there is a large amount of methods for user-centred design, the usability of electronic consumer products (e.g., portable music players, washing machines and mobile phones) is under pressure. Usability is the extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness,...

User cognition in product operation

Daily a large number of everyday consumer products are being used. Unfortunately part of this usage is not successful. One of the causes of failure lies in the cognitive aspects of product use, users do not know how to operate the product or try to use it in a way which is not successful. Ideally, the designer of a product should convey...