SirValUse conducted a so-called Out of the Box-Test for Panasonic to observe respondents while using a DVD recorder equipped with a hard disk. The User Experience-Test, however, aimed at checking the interface and the instruction manual of the test device regarding their usability and operator convenience in typical user scenarios.
Consumer Electronics products (CE) offer increasingly comprehensive modes of operation. Manufacturers are hence facing the challenge to design devices whose operation, although growing in complexity, is so simple that even technical laymen will be able to manage them immediately and without difficulty. The installation of a CE-device as well as the use of technical terms in the instructions bear a particularly high potential of frustration for inexperienced users.
In addition to examining the use of the main functions, for instance the Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) and the recording onto a DVD, the Out of the Box-Test focused on the installation of the DVD recorder. Special attention was devoted to investigating whether the participants could fully comprehend the instruction manual and the menu navigation.
The results of the User Experience-Tests enabled SirValUse to provide concrete recommendations as to the optimisation of both, the interface and the operating manual, thus contributing to simplify the future installation and operation of the device that won the test.
Usability method Out of the Box-Test
