Abstract
An electronic wristwatch and its instruction manual were tested and evaluated against the following criteria: self-evidency, accessibility to information, and responsiveness to the user. The task was to change the time by one hour with or without using the instructions. Objective data (time/event data) and subjective data (evaluative, opinionative, and comment data) were collected by using persons with different backgrounds. The preliminary analysis of data indicated that none of the participants could do the task without the instructions. Participants reported a high degree of frustration with the use of the watch and the instructions. Overall implications are that the watch and its instructions are not compatible with the needs and limitations of the average consumer.
The watch was re-designed. All the sophisticated functions were retained, but made self-evident and accessible to the user.
The test-evaluation-comparison of the two watch designs is ongoing.
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