BUSINESS / PSYCHOLOGY E ven the smartest among us can feel inept as we try to figure out the shower control in a hotel or attempt to navigate an unfamiliar television set or stove When The Design of Everyday Things was published in 1988, cognitive scientist Don Norman provocatively proposed that the fault lies not in ourselves but in design that ignores the needs and psychology of people Alas, bad design is everywhere, but fortunately, it isn’t difficult to design things that are understandable, usable, and enjoyable Thoughtfully revised to keep the timeless principles of psychology up to date with everchanging new technologies, The Design of Everyday Things is a powerful appeal for good design, and a reminder of how—and why—some products satisfy while others only disappoint “Design may be our top competitive edge This book is a joy—fun and of the utmost importance.” —TOM PETERS, author of In Search of Excellence “This book changed the field of design As the pace of technological change accelerates, the principles in this book are increasingly important The new examples and ideas about design and product development make it essential reading.” —PATRICK WHITNEY, Dean, Institute of Design, and Steelcase/Robert C Pew Professor of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology “Norman enlightened me when I was a student of psychology decades ago and he continues to inspire me as a professor of design The cumulated insights and wisdom of the crossdisciplinary genius Donald Norman are a must for designers and a joy for those who are interested in artifacts and people.” —CEES DE BONT, Dean, School of Design, and Chair Professor of Industrial Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University DON NORMAN is a co-founder of the Nielsen Norman Group, and holds graduate degrees in both engineering and psychology His many books include Emotional Design, The Design of Future Things, and Living with Complexity He lives in Silicon Valley, California Cover image: Jacques Carelman “Coffee Pot for Masochists” $17.99 US / $21.00 CAN ISBN 978-0-465-05065-9 © 2013 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris A Member of the Perseus Books Group www.basickbooks.com R E V I S E D & E X PA N D E D E D I T I O N 7/30 7/30 The DESIGN of EVERYDAY THINGS DON NORMAN 5.5” x 8.25” B: 0.94 W W W JND.ORG Cover design by Nicole Caputo The DESIGN of EVERYDAY THINGS “Part operating manual for designers and part manifesto on the power of designing for people, The Design of Everyday Things is even more relevant today than it was when first published.” —TIM BROWN, CEO, IDEO, and author of Change by Design DON NORMAN 780465 050659 51799 PB BASIC 4/C + PMS 877 C Metallic Finish: gritty THE DESIGN OF EVERYDAY THINGS 9780465050659-text.indd i 8/19/13 5:22 PM ALSO BY DON NORMAN TEXTBOOKS Memory and Attention: An Introduction to Human Information Processing First edition, 1969; second edition 1976 Human Information Processing (with Peter Lindsay: first edition, 1972; second edition 1977) SCIE NTIFIC MONOGRAPHS Models of Human Memory (edited, 1970) Explorations in Cognition (with David E Rumelhart and the LNR Research Group, 1975) Perspectives on Cognitive Science (edited, 1981) User Centered System Design: New Perspectives on Human-Computer Interaction (edited with Steve Draper, 1986) TR ADE BOOKS Learning and Memory, 1982 The Psychology of Everyday Things, 1988 The Design of Everyday Things 1990 and 2002 (paperbacks of The Psychology of Everyday Things with new prefaces) The Design of Everyday Things Revised and Expanded Edition, 2013 Turn Signals Are the Facial Expressions of Automobiles, 1992 Things That Make Us Smart, 1993 The Invisible Computer: Why Good Products Can Fail, the Personal Computer Is So Complex, and Information Appliances Are the Answer, 1998 Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things, 2004 The Design of Future Things, 2007 A Comprehensive Strategy for Better Reading: Cognition and Emotion, 2010 (with Masanori Okimoto; my essays, with commentary in Japanese, used for teaching English as a second language to Japanese speakers) Living with Complexity, 2011 CD-ROM First person: Donald A Norman Defending Human Attributes in the Age of the Machine, 1994 9780465050659-text.indd ii 8/19/13 5:22 PM THE DESIGN OF EVERYDAY THINGS R E V I S E D A N D E X PA N D E D E D I T I O N Don Norman A Member of the Perseus Books Group New York 9780465050659-text.indd iii 8/19/13 5:22 PM Copyright © 2013 by Don Norman Published by Basic Books, A Member of the Perseus Books Group All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews For information, address Basic Books, 250 West 57th Street, 15th Floor, New York, New York 10107 Books published by Basic Books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the United States by corporations, institutions, and other organizations For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103, or call (800) 810-4145, ext 5000, or e-mail special.markets@perseusbooks.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Norman, Donald A [Psychology of everyday things] The design of everyday things / Don Norman.—Revised and expanded edition pages cm ISBN 978-0-465-05065-9 (pbk.)—ISBN 978-0-465-00394-5 (ebook) Industrial design—Psychological aspects Human engineering I Title TS171.4.N67 2013 745.2001'9—dc23 2013024417 10 9780465050659-text.indd iv 8/19/13 5:22 PM For Julie 9780465050659-text.indd v 8/19/13 5:22 PM 9780465050659-text.indd vi 8/19/13 5:22 PM C ON T EN T S Preface to the Revised Edition The Psychopathology of Everyday Things xi The Complexity of Modern Devices, Human-Centered Design, Fundamental Principles of Interaction, 10 The System Image, 31 The Paradox of Technology, 32 The Design Challenge, 34 The Psychology of Everyday Actions 37 How People Do Things: The Gulfs of Execution and Evaluation, 38 The Seven Stages of Action, 40 Human Thought: Mostly Subconscious, 44 Human Cognition and Emotion, 49 The Seven Stages of Action and the Three Levels of Processing, 55 People as Storytellers, 56 Blaming the Wrong Things, 59 Falsely Blaming Yourself, 65 The Seven Stages of Action: Seven Fundamental Design Principles, 71 vii 9780465050659-text.indd vii 8/19/13 5:22 PM Knowledge in the Head and in the World 74 Precise Behavior from Imprecise Knowledge, 75 Memory Is Knowledge in the Head, 86 The Structure of Memory, 91 Approximate Models: Memory in the Real World, 100 Knowledge in the Head, 105 The Tradeoff Between Knowledge in the World and in the Head, 109 Memory in Multiple Heads, Multiple Devices, 111 Natural Mapping, 113 Culture and Design: Natural Mappings Can Vary with Culture, 118 Knowing What to Do: Constraints, Discoverability, and Feedback 123 Four Kinds of Constraints: Physical, Cultural, Semantic, and Logical, 125 Applying Affordances, Signifiers, and Constraints to Everyday Objects, 132 Constraints That Force the Desired Behavior, 141 Conventions, Constraints, and Affordances, 145 The Faucet: A Case History of Design, 150 Using Sound as Signifiers, 155 Human Error? No, Bad Design 162 Understanding Why There Is Error, 163 Deliberate Violations, 169 Two Types of Errors: Slips and Mistakes, 170 The Classification of Slips, 173 The Classification of Mistakes, 179 Social and Institutional Pressures, 186 Reporting Error, 191 Detecting Error, 194 Designing for Error, 198 When Good Design Isn’t Enough, 210 Resilience Engineering, 211 The Paradox of Automation, 213 Design Principles for Dealing with Error, 215 viii Contents 9780465050659-text.indd viii 8/19/13 5:22 PM Design Thinking 217 Solving the Correct Problem, 218 The Double-Diamond Model of Design, 220 The Human-Centered Design Process, 221 What I Just Told You? It Doesn’t Really Work That Way, 236 The Design Challenge, 239 Complexity Is Good; It Is Confusion That Is Bad, 247 Standardization and Technology, 248 Deliberately Making Things Difficult, 255 Design: Developing Technology for People, 257 Design in the World of Business 258 Competitive Forces, 259 New Technologies Force Change, 264 How Long Does It Take to Introduce a New Product?, 268 Two Forms of Innovation: Incremental and Radical, 279 The Design of Everyday Things: 1988–2038, 282 The Future of Books, 288 The Moral Obligations of Design, 291 Design Thinking and Thinking About Design, 293 Acknowledgments 299 General Readings and Notes 305 References 321 Index 331 Contents 9780465050659-text.indd ix ix 8/19/13 5:22 PM Discoverability (Continued) design and, 3–4 feedback, 23–25 gesture-controlled devices and, 115–116 mappings, 20–23 signifiers, 13–20 Discrimination, rules for, 80–82 Displays, 68 description-similarity slips and, 175 mapping and design, 21 metaphor and interaction with, 120–122 smart, 121, 265–266 touch-sensitive, 21, 140, 268–269 Distributed cognition, 287–288 Do-goals, 233 Doors affordances and, 3,13–16, 18, 69, 132–135, 145 designing for security, 255 handles/hardware, 18, 133–134, 145 panic bars, 60, 133 poor design of, 1–3 signifiers and, 14–16, 18, 132–135 sliding, 16 Double-diamond diverge-converge model of design, 219, 220–221 Drill, goal of buying, 43–44 Driver’s safety device, 142–143 Driving cell phone use while, 200 conventions of, 131–132 left-side vs right-side, 122 as rule-based behavior, 181 stages of action in, 40–41 sterile periods during, 200–201 while drunk, 211 See also Automobiles du Maurier, George, 270–271 Durable goods, 291 Duryea, 274, 280 Dvorak, August, 278 Dvorak keyboard, 278 336 Early adopters, 271 Edison, Thomas, 270 Electrical standards, 249 e-Books (Electronic books), 16, 143, 286, 288–290, 319 Electronic games, 282 Electronic reminders, 109 Elevators, destination-control, 146–149 Emotion, xiii, xv, 5, 47–56, 293–295, 310 behavioral level, 50–56 cognition and, 47–50, 53–55 positive and negative, 10, 38, 49, 63–64 reflective level, 50, 53–56 visceral level, 50–51, 53–56 Emotional Design (Norman), 49, 54 Engineers as designers, 6–8, 10 as users of design team output, 241–242 Environment, attributing failure/ error to, 61–62, 63, 168 Environmental cue, as reminder, 109 Epic poems, memory for, 82–85 Error, 66–68, 162–216 automation and, 213–214 checklist to reduce, 189–191 classification as slips or mistakes, 170 defined, 170–171 deliberate violations and, 169–170 design and, 162–163, 198–211, 215–216 design to prevent or lessen cost of, 67–68, 198–210, 202–205 detecting, 194–198 reasons for, 163–169 reporting, 191–194 resilience engineering and, 211–213 social and institutional pressures and, 186–191 See also Mistakes; Slips Index 9780465050659-text.indd 336 8/19/13 5:22 PM Error messages, 203–205 Ethnography, 222–224 Evaluation, 38–40, 216 action cycle and stages of, 40–44 Event-driven behavior, 42, 43 Everyday practice, scientific theory vs., 104–105 Execution, 38–40, 216 action cycle and stages of, 40–44 feedforward information and, 71–72 Expectations behavioral cognition and, 52 emotions and, 52–53 Experience design, 4–5, 9, 302, 307 Experts design and, Jidoka and, 192 slips and, 7, 173, 199 unconscious action and, 47, 100–101, 173, 180, 216 Eyewitness testimony, 97 Fahrenheit scale, conversion between Celsius scale and, 101–102 Failure attributing reason for, 61–62 “fail frequently, fail fast,” 229 learned helplessness and, 62–63 learning from, 64, 229 positive psychology and, 63–65 self-blame and, 65–71, 113, 162–169 Farber, Sam, 244–245 Faucet design, 115–116, 150–155 Featuritis, xvii, 258, 261–265 Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), 193–194, 200 Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 250, 251 Feedback, 10, 23–25, 298 as aid in design, 71–72 behavioral states and, 52 to bridge Gulf of Evaluation, 39, 40 characteristics of effective, 23–24 communicating progress, 60 faucet design and, 153 prioritizing, 25 reducing error and, 216 Feedforward, 71–72, 216 Filing cabinet, Gulfs of Evaluation and Execution and, 37–39 Financial institutions, mistake outcomes, 198 Financial transactions, sensibility checks and, 206 Fingerworks, 269–270 Fire exit lockout, 144 Fire extinguisher pins, 144 Fischhoff, Baruch, 197 “Five Whys” analysis, 165–169, 219 Flexibility, designing to accommodate, 246–247 Flow state, 55–56 Forcing functions, 141–142, 143 deliberate disabling of, 145 interlocks, 142–143 lock-ins, 143–144 lockouts, 144–145 memory-lapse slips and, 176–177 reducing error and, 216 Ford, Henry, 292 Foresight ≠ hindsight, 197, 315 Frames, 129 Freud, Sigmund, 173 F-22 airplane accidents, 164–166 Games, 256 Gated product development methods, 234, 235 General Electric, 30 Generalizations, forming, 57 Gestalt psychology, 12, 22 Gestural keyboards, 278 Gesture-controlled faucets, soap dispensers and hand dryers, 115–116 Gibson, J J., 12 Gibsonian psychology, 12 Index 337 9780465050659-text.indd 337 8/19/13 5:22 PM Gimli Glider Air Canada 767 accident, 172, 314 Global Positioning System (GPS), 214, 281 Goal be-goal, do-goal, and motorgoal, 233 comparing outcome with, 41 conscious vs unconscious, 42 stages of execution, 41, 42–43 Goal-driven behavior, 42–43, 44 Goffman, Erving, 129 Google, 90 Gore, Al, 290 GPS See Global Positioning System (GPS) Graphical user interface, 100 Greetings, cultural conventions regarding, 130–131 Gulf of Evaluation, 38–40, 216 Gulf of Execution, 38–40, 216 Hand dryers, gesture-controlled, 115–116 Handed-up technology, 297 Haptics, 95 Hassenzahl, Marc, 233 HCD See Human-centered design (HCD) Hersman, Deborah, 210 High-definition television (HDTV), 250–252, 272 Highway signs, misinterpreting, 196–197 Hill climbing, 281 Hindsight, explanations given in, 183, 197–198, 315 foresight ≠ to, 197, 315 Hollnagel, Erik, 212 Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad, 84 Household appliances, 240–241, 292 Human-centered design (HCD), 8–10, 137, 219–220, 221–236 338 activity-centered design vs., 231–234 design thinking and, 219 idea generation (ideation) in, 222, 226–227 incremental innovation and, 281 iteration, 229–230, 234–236 iterative design vs linear stages, 234–236 observation/design research and, 222–226 in practice, 236–239 prototyping in, 222, 227–228 role of, 9–10 spiral method, 222 See also Iteration testing in, 222, 228–229 Human error, See Error Human-machine interaction, 6, 185, 215 Hutchins, Edwin, 287 HyperCard, 289 Idea generation (ideation), 222, 226–227 Identity theft, 90 IDEO, 64, 229, 303, 307 “fail frequently, fail fast,” 229 “if only” statements, accidents and, 209 Iliad (Homer), 84 Implanted devices, 284 Implicit knowledge, 236 Inclusive design, 243–247 Incremental innovation, 279–281 Individual as focus of design, 231, 233 technology and empowerment of, 295–297 Industrial design, 4–5, Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA), Industrial settings, natural mapping and, 117 Information pickup, 12 Index 9780465050659-text.indd 338 8/19/13 5:22 PM Innovation, xvii, 43, 374, 279–282, 397, 317 radical and incremental, 279–282, 319 Inside-out display, 121–122 InstaLoad battery contacts (Microsoft), 126, 127, 313 Institutional pressure, accidents and, 186–191 Instruction manuals, see manuals Interaction, principles of, xii–319 Interlocks, 142–143 Interpret, in action cycle, 41 Interruptions, as source of error, 163, 176, 199–200 iPod, 233 Iteration in design, 222, 229–230, 234–236 See also Repetitive cycles Jidoka, 192 Joysticks, 21 Junghans Mega 1000 digital watch, 27–28 KAIST, wall at, 18 Kasparov, Gary, 287 Kelly, David, 229 Key automobile, 141–142 physical constraints and design of, 127–128 Keyboard, evolution of, 264–267, 274–279, 318–319 See also QWERTY Key logger, 91 Kiss nightclub fire, 181 Kitchen organization, 247 KLM Boeing 747 crash, 186–187 Knobs, 13, 177 Knowledge arbitrary, 98–100 declarative, 78 procedural, 78–79 retrieval of, 97–98 Knowledge-based behavior, 179, 180 Knowledge-based mistakes, 171–172, 184–185 Knowledge in the head, 74–75, 105–109, 123 behavior and, 75–77, 79–85 memory as, 86–91 in multiple heads, multiple devices, 111–113 prospective memory and, 107–109 remembering air-traffic control instructions and, 105–107 tradeoff with knowledge in the world, 109–111 Knowledge in the world, 74–75, 77–79, 123 behavior and, 75–79 Lego motorcycle construction and, 123–125 operating technology and, 216 tradeoff with knowledge in the head, 109–111 See also Constraints Kuhn Rikon, 244 Law, cultural convention codified into, 131 “Law of Product Development,” xvii, 237–239, 261 Learned helplessness, 62–63 Learned skills, 51–53 Learning changes in convention and new, 149–150 conscious thinking and, 45–46, 100–101 failure and, 64 knowledge in the environment and, 78 rote, 98 Legacy problem, 127, 266, 274 Lego motorcycle, 123–125, 129, 130, 262, 263 Index 339 9780465050659-text.indd 339 8/19/13 5:22 PM Leveson, Nancy, 212 Levitt, Theodore, 43–44 Life cycle, product, 294 Light, stages of turning on, 40, 42 Light controls, activity-centered, 140–141 Light, as feedback, 23–24 Light switches, mapping and, 20–21, 135–140 Linear stages of design, 234–236 Living with Complexity (Norman), 14, 247 Lizard brain, 50–51 Location-based reminders, 109 Lock-ins, 143–144 Lockouts, 144–145 Locks, physical constraints and design of, 127–128 Logical constraints, 124–125, 130 Long-term memory (LTM), 47, 95–98 Lord, Albert Bates, 83–84 Machine-people interaction, 68, 185, 215 Machine-readable codes, 207 Machines, characteristics of, 5–6 Management, role in design, 34–35 Management review, 234, 235 Manuals, 3–4, 26, 27, 29, 180, 185, 294 system image and, 31 Manufacturing, product success and, 294 Mapping, 10, 20–23, 72, 298 bridging Gulf of Execution and, 40 culture and, 118–122 faucet design and, 151, 154 levels of, 115 minimizing chance of inappropriate actions using, 67 natural (see Natural mapping) Market analytics, 224–225 Marketing effect on design, 277–278 product success and, 294 340 Market research, design research vs., 224–226 McAfee, Andrew, 287 Meaning, semantic constraints and, 129–130 Meaningful things, memory for, 98–100 Medicine checklists in, 190–191 electronic records, 95 errors in, 198, 200, 206 interruptions in, 200 safety reporting system, 194 Memory acoustical, 94 approximate methods and, 100–105 for arbitrary things, 98–100 constraints and, 82–85 declarative, 47, 97 distortions/falsification in, 96 knowledge in the head and, 86–91, 105–109 long-term, 47, 95–98 for meaningful things, 98–100 in multiple heads, multiple devices, 111–113 procedural, 47, 96–97 prospective, 107–109 reflective, 53–54 retrieval, 45–47 short-term (working), 92–95 structure of, 91–105 transactive, 111–112 use of mnemonics, 88, 93–94, 99 See also Knowledge in the head Memory-lapse mistakes, 171, 172, 185–186, 195, 199–200 Memory-lapse slips, 171, 173, 176–177, 195, 199–200 Mental arithmetic, 103–104 Mental models, 26, 31 Conceptual models Mercedes-Benz, 22, 279 Metaphor, design and choice of, 120–122 Index 9780465050659-text.indd 340 8/19/13 5:22 PM Metric measurement, 149, 253, 254 accidents resulting from conversion, 172, 314 Microsoft flexible date and time formats, 70–71 InstaLoad battery contacts, 126, 127, 313 Microwave ovens, interlocks and, 142 Mistakes, 170–173 classification of, 179–186 confirmation messages and, 204–205 detecting, 194, 195 explaining away, 195–196 knowledge-based, 171–172, 184–185 memory-lapse, 171, 172, 185–186, 195 rule-based, 171, 180–184 See also Error; Slips Mitsubishi, 269 Mnemonics, 88, 93–94, 99 Mode error slips, 174, 177–179, 207 Models approximate, 100–105 See also Conceptual models Modes, 177–178 Moon, Youngme, 262–263 Moral obligations of design, 291–293 Motorcycle Lego, 123–125, 129, 130, 262, 263 steering system, 102–103 turn signal switch, 99–100 Motor-goal, 233 Motor system, visceral response and, 50–51 Multidisciplinary approach to design, 34–36, 238–239, 242–243 Multitasking, error and, 200 Multitouch displays, 269, 270 Music, technological change and, 283 Names identifying people by, 89–90 memory for, 98 Narrative, conceptual models as form of, 57–59 National Academy of Engineering, 286 National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 193–194 National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 157, 159–160 National Institute of Health (NIH), 278 National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), 135, 188–189, 198, 210 Natural mapping, 22, 113–118 See also Mapping culture and, 118–122 gesture-controlled devices and, 115–116 in industrial settings, 117 as knowledge in the world, 79 light switches and, 137–140 reducing error and, 216 spatial cues and, 115 stove controls and, 113–115, 116–117, 118 tradeoffs, 117–118 Negative emotional state, 49 Nest thermostat, 68–69 Nickerson, Ray, 74 Nielsen, Jakob, 229 Nielsen Norman group, 303, 317 Nissan, 158 Nonstandard clock, 249, 250 Norman, Don 92 “Norman doors,” 1–3 Norman’s law of product development, xvii, 237–239, 261, 309 310 Index 341 9780465050659-text.indd 341 8/19/13 5:22 PM Norms, cultural, 130–132 Novices, mistakes and, 173, 199 NTSB See National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Nuclear power plant accident, 7, 201 Observation, in human-centered design, 222–226 Odyssey (Homer), 84 Office copiers, design constraint for, 241 Our Choice (Gore), 290 Outside-in display, 121, 122 Overlearning, 45–46 OXO, 244–245 Paller, Ken, 96 Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), 227, 317 Panic bars, 60, 133 Paris Métro doors, 134–135 Passwords, remembering, 86–89, 91, 312 Patents, 238 Pedestrians, and electric cars, 157–161 Penny, knowledge in the head and in the world and, 74–75, 77 People with special needs, designing for, 243–247 Perceive, as stage of evaluation, 41 Perceived affordances, 13, 18, 19, 145 See also Signifiers Perform, as stage of execution, 41 Personality, attributing failure to, 61–62 Physical anthropometry, 243 Physical constraints, 124–128 battery design and, 125–127 forcing functions, 141–142, 143 as knowledge in the world, 79 locks and keys and, 127–128 Pilots, remembering air-traffic control instructions, 105–107 Plan, as stage of execution, 41 342 Planned obsolescence, 291–292 Plato, 286 Poetry, constraints of, 82–85 Poka-yoke, 193 Porsche, 158 Positive psychology, 63–65 Precision, knowledge and, 76, 79–82 Predictive typing, 266 Price, design and competition/ focus on, 241, 259, 260, 264 Problem identification in design, 217–220 double-diamond divergeconverge model of design and, 220–221 See also Human-centered design (HCD) Problem solving, reflective, 46–47 Procedural knowledge, 78–79 Procedural memory, 47, 96–97 Product development competitive forces in, 259–264 cycle of, 268–279 Don Norman’s law of, 237–239 managing, 235–236 multidisciplinary needs, 34–36, 238–239, 241–243 process of, 221–230, 234–236 prototyping, 227–228 technology and, 258, 264–268 timing of innovation, 271–272 Product manager, 230 Products development cycle, 260, 268–279 failure of new products, 272, 274 life cycle of, 294 stage gate methods, 234, 235 success of, 293–294 Prospective memory, 107–109 Prototyping, 222, 227–228, 235 Psychology, 27–73 See also Cognition causal relations (blame), 59–65 cognition and emotion, 49–55 See also Cognition; Emotion Index 9780465050659-text.indd 342 8/19/13 5:22 PM falsely blaming self, 65–71 fundamental design principles and, 71–73 Gibsonian, 12 Gulfs of Evaluation and Execution, 38–40 human thought, 44–49 interplay with technology, 6–8 people as storytellers, 56–59 positive, 63–65 stages of action, 40–44, 55–56, 71–73, 172–173 The Psychology of Everyday Things (POET), xi, 283, 299–304 Punch (magazine), 270 Purchasers designing for, 241 users vs., 117–118 See also Customers Purchasing process, usability and, 117–118 Quality, focus on customer and, 264 Questioning, 46, 117, 226–227, 229, 230, 264, 286, 295, 310 QWERTY keyboard, 254, 266, 275–278, 318, 319 See also Keyboard Radiation doses, sensibility checks and, 206 Radical innovation, 279–280, 281–282 Rasmussen, Jens, 179 Reading vs listening, 267 Reason, James, 164, 170, 208 Recycling, 294 Reflection, 45 design and, 53–54 relation to visceral and behavioral response, 54–55 stages of action and, 55–56 Reflective problem solving, 46–47 Refrigerator temperature controls, conceptual model and, 28–31 Rehearsal of material, 96, 100–101 Reminders, 108–109 Reminding, strategies for, 106, 107–109, 110 Remington typewriter, 275, 276, 277 Remote controller, cultural effect on design of, 118, 119 Repetitive cycles of design, see spiral design Resilience engineering, 211–213 Retention, memory and, 94 Retrieval, memory and, 97–98 Retrospective decision making, 183 Reversing action, see Undo Rhyming, constraints of, 83 Root cause analysis, 42, 43–44, 164–165 Rote learning, 98 Royal Majesty cruise ship, 214 Rubin, David, 83 Rule-based behavior, 179, 180 Rule-based mistakes, 171, 180–184 Rules, deliberate violation of, 169–170 Safety See also Accidents; Error checklists, 189–191 electric vehicles, and 157–161 forcing functions, 142–145 interlocks, 142–143 lock-ins, 143–144 lockouts and, 144–145 management, 209–210, 212–213 NASA’s safety reporting system, 193–194 resilience engineering, 211–213 social and institutional pressures and, 186–189 sterile periods and, 200 Swiss cheese metaphor, 208–210 warning signals, 201 Sayeki, Yutaka, 99–100, 102–103, 105 Schank, Roger, 128–129 Schedules, product development, 237, 240 Index 343 9780465050659-text.indd 343 8/19/13 5:22 PM Scheier, Michael, 233 Schindler elevators, 147 Scripts, 129 Scrum method of product development, 234 Security design and, 90–91, 255–257 identity theft and, 90 passwords as means of ensuring, 86–89, 91 Semantic constraints, 124–125, 129–130 Sensibility checks, 199, 205–206 Shingo, Shigeo, 193 Sholes, Christopher Latham typewriter, 275–276 See also QWERTY Short-term memory (STM), 92–95, 102 Shower controls, design of, 73 Signifiers, xv, 10, 12, 13–20, 72, 298 affordances vs., xiv–xv, 14, 18, 19 applied to everyday objects, 132–141 to bridge Gulf of Execution, 40 doors and, 15, 16, 132–135 external, 15 gesture-controlled devices and lack of, 115–116 as knowledge in the world, 79 misleading, 18–19 perceived affordances and, 145 poka-yoke technique and, 193 as reminders, 108–109 sound as, 155–161 on touch screen, 21 Signs, 15, 18, 19 Silence, problems with, 157–161 Simplified models, 100–105 Single-spout, single-control faucet, 153–154 Sink drain, signifiers for, 17 Skeuomorphic, 159 Skill-based behavior, 179, 180, 206–207 Sleep, memory and, 95–96 344 Sleep deprivation, error and, 210, 211 Sliding doors, 16 Slips, 170–171, 172–173 action, 171, 173, 174, 194 capture, 174, 208 classification of, 173–179 confirmation messages and, 204–205 description-similarity, 174, 175 memory-lapse, 171, 173, 176–177, 195 minimizing, 206–208 mode error, 174, 177–179 See also Error; Mistakes Smart displays/screens, 121, 265–266 See also Touch– sensitive displays/screens Smart phones, 265 Soap dispensers, gesturecontrolled, 115–116 Social interaction, 283–284, 298 Social pressure, accidents and, 186–191 Socrates, 286 Sound, as signifier, 155–161 for electric cars, 157–161 Sound generators, for feedback, 23–24 Spatial cues, natural mapping and, 115 Specifications, design and correct, 234–235 Specify, as stage of execution, 41 Speech, presenting information via, 201–202 Spiral design, 222 See also Iteration in design Stage gate method of product development, 234–235 Stages of action, 40–44 Stairways of public buildings, lockouts and, 144 Standardization of faucet design, 153, 154, 155 individualization vs., 161 Index 9780465050659-text.indd 344 8/19/13 5:22 PM Standards cultural, 130–132 digital time, 252–254 for electric automobile sounds, 159–160, 161 establishing, 248–249 HDTV, 250–252 international, 131, 248–249 necessity of, 250 Startup companies, failure of, 269–270 Stein, Robert, 289 “Sterile Cockpit Configuration,” 200 Stigler’s law, 270 Stigma problem, 244–247 Story, conceptual models as form of, 57–59 Stove controls, natural mapping and, 113–115, 116–117, 118 Subconscious, 48, 49 See also Cognition; Conscious cognition behavioral level of processing and, 51–52 human thought as, 44–49 skilled behavior as, 206–207 slips and, 173 Subway train doors, lack of signifiers on, 134–135 Susan B Anthony coin, 79–80, 81–82 Sustainability, model for, 292–293 Swatch International Time, 254 “Swiss cheese model of how errors lead to accidents,” 164, 208–210 Switches See also Controls airplane landing gear, 135 dead man’s, 142–143 description-similarity slips and, 175 light, 20–21, 135–140 wireless, 139 System error, 66 System image, 31–32 Task analysis, 137 Tasks activities vs., 232–234 technology and changes in, 286, 287–288 Taught helplessness, 63 Technical manuals See Manuals Technological aids, for knowledge in the head, 112–113 Technology accommodating human behavior, 68–71 adoption of, 268–269, 271, 272, 274 dependence on, 112–113, 285–287 design and, 257 as driver of change, 267–268, 282, 283–285 empowerment of individuals and, 295–297 enhancing human cognition, 112–113, 285–288 handed-up, 297 interaction design and, interplay with psychology, 6–8 meaning of, 281–282 paradox of, 32–34 precision and use of, 104 product innovation and, 258, 264–268 radical innovation and, 281 reminders and, 109 self-blame and trouble using, 63 skeuomorphic designs and, 159 standardization and, 248–254 substituting for memory, 87 Telephone numbers, remembering, 45, 46 Telephones, 68, 70, 156, 264–266 See also Cell phones Telephonoscope, 270–273 Temperature controls, refrigerator, 28–31 Temperature conversions, 101–102 Tenerife disaster, 186–187 Index 345 9780465050659-text.indd 345 8/19/13 5:22 PM Ten-franc coin, 79–80 Testing, 222, 228–229 Text direction/scrolling, culture and choice of, 120–121 Thermostat conceptual model of, 57–59, 68–69, 181–182 control of refrigerator, 28–31 Things That Make Us Smart (Norman), 112, 288 Three-dimensional television, 252 3-D printers, 267, 296, 297 Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accident, Tillers, 21–22 Time Australian Aborigines, conception of, 120 cultural differences in view of, 118–120 digital, 252–254 product development and, 236, 238–239 Swatch International Time, 254 Time-based reminders, 109 Time stress, as cause of error, 168 Touch-sensitive displays/screens, 21, 140, 268–269 See also Smart displays/screens Toyoda, Sakichi, 165 Toyota Motor Company, 165 Toyota Production System, 192, 193 Traffic conventions, 131–132 Training and licensing, 211 Transactive memory, 111–112 Transistor, 281 Transportation accidents, investigation of, 186–187, 188–189 Turn signal switches, 99–100 Typewriters, 280 development of keyboard, 274–279 Typing knowledge in the world and, 77–78 346 touch and gesture-sensitive screens and, 264, 266 Ultra-high definition television, 252 Understanding, design and, 3–4 Understanding action, feedback and, 71–72 Underwater (scuba) diving accidents, 187–188 Undo, 199, 203–205 Universal design, 243–247 University of Toronto, 269 Usability, 117–118, 241, 295 Use, determining how to use object, 38–40 User experience, 10, 233 Users conceptual model and, 31–32 designing for, 240–241 difficulties using products and, 59–65 purchaser vs., 117–118 See also Customers Vacuum tubes, 281 Valance, emotional, 52 Vegetable peelers, design of, 244–245 Vehicular control, mapping and, 21–22 Video conferencing, 273–274 Videophone, 270–274 Video recording, of test groups, 228–229 Visceral level of processing, 50–51, 54–56 Voyager Books, 289 Walkers, design of, 245 Walking, cell phone usage while, 200 Wallace, Wanda, 83 Warning signals, design of, 201–202 Washer-dryer combination controls, Index 9780465050659-text.indd 346 8/19/13 5:22 PM Watches digital, 27–28, 33–34 mode-error slips and, 178 technology and changes in design of wristwatch, 32–34 Waterfall method, 234–236 Wegner, Daniel, 112 Wheelchair, control of, 21 Whitehead, Alfred North, 101 Wikipedia, 112, 270, 297 Wireless switches, 139 “Wizard of Oz” prototype technique, 227–228 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Baum), 227 Woods, David, 212 Word-gesture typing systems, 266 Working memory, 92–95, 102 Wristwatch, 32–34 Writing, 104, 106, 107, 267 Xerox Corporation, 227 Zeitgeist, 260 Zhai, Shumin, 266 Index 347 9780465050659-text.indd 347 8/19/13 5:22 PM 9780465050659-text.indd 348 8/19/13 5:22 PM 9780465050659-text.indd 349 8/19/13 5:22 PM 9780465050659-text.indd 350 8/19/13 5:22 PM