Frictional Slab Task
Ease
With the shirt stuck on her upper body, 1
she was asked to use the slab to work it
down her back.
Comments
She only got it down two inches. She was not able to
use the slab in an effective way.
Table 7: Frictional slab user testing results
ANALYSIS:
The user enjoyed using the ladder, the H-board and the rods, but did not find the frictional slab to be useful.
In using the H-board, the user preferred having it closer to her body and angled with the top tilted slightly
away from her. This was the most efficient way for her to dress, and our team observed that it was easier
to get her arms and head through when she had to bend down instead of going straight. Upwards body
movements were slightly more difficult for her.
The user enjoyed using the ladder and was able to get her arm to the top rung without support of lower
rungs. This showed that, with momentum, she is able to make larger upwards movements of her arms, and
sustain them with support of the rungs. We gathered that this would be helpful when brainstorming new
ideas for taking the shirt off.
Using the dressing bars, the user was not able to get her head through the shirt when the rod was
horizontal, but was able to do so when it was bent downwards away from her (with some help assistance
with holding the head hole open). Our team concluded that this seemed to be the simplest and most
efficient method for her to put her shirt on and decided to take it forward.
The frictional slab failed as the user’s flexibility was limited and she was not able to use it to move her shirt
down her body.
CONCLUSIONS:
Our team concluded that decisions on final prototype would be based on the movements which were easiest
for her to do, even if they were more time-consuming. The user seemed to prefer the maximum degree of
independence achievable in the process, at the risk of it taking greater time.
LIMITATIONS:
User testing did not go as planned in many ways. Since Elsa and the client, Ms O’Donnell, were fatigued
after a long wait (due to some issues in scheduling), our team was unable to conduct as many repetitions of
each mockup to test multiple angles and methods.
For each mockup tested, there were some unexpected limitations. For the H-board, one team member held
the board as the used pushed against it. However, the team member’s strength was not enough to support
the board and keep it vertical it was pushed back. For the dressing bars, the user was not able to get her
head through the shirt’s head hole when the bars were horizontal, so we testeed multiple angles of the bars.
The other two tests were conducted as planned.
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