InformalPrototype:Recycling Casino
From IEOR 170 Spring 2007
Contents |
[edit] Team Member Contributions
[edit] 1. Yang Hung
Testing the prototype with different users and providing results, final analysis of our findings, and also the performance measures.
[edit] 2. Ryan Jue
Researching more background information, providing mission statement, and surveying the future locations of our product through interviews and observations.
[edit] 3. Johannes_*Leholmm*
Testing prototype with different users, interviewing and surveying users for feedbacks, observing user’s behaviors and responses, and providing the tasks analysis.
[edit] 4. Andrew Prasetyo
Providing sketches and product description details, helping build the prototype, and gathering more data through interviews and observations.
[edit] 5. Ricky Surachman
Building the prototypes, finding product shortcomings through observations, improving and shaping the prototype.
[edit] Background
One of the larger environmental problems on the college campus has been recycling efforts. While numerous recycling containers are available on campus, many students still neglect to use these in favor of the even more plentiful, and more convenient, trash bins. The Jackpot Recycler is a slot machine that takes recyclable items as tokens aims to fix this problem. The product looks similar to casino slot machines with slight changes to accommodate for the different environment, function and token type. The product was designed as a way to increase recycling on college campuses by providing an incentive and reward for making the extra effort to recycle. Given the demographic of our intended users, our experiments and tasks to examine revolve around the college campus and high trafficked areas.
[edit] Mission Statement
The Jackpot Recycler aims to make recycling a fun and rewarding activities for apathetic college students.
[edit] Prototype Descriptions
Our low-fidelity prototype is mainly made of carton box and poster boards. The prototype includes almost all the features of the actual machine, except the electronics and mechanical features, which are replaced with humans (experimenters) during experiments. For simplicity, we also replace the jackpot with a throw of three dice in order to include the randomness into our system. The prototype and its parts are shown in the figure.
[edit] Sunshade
The purpose of the sunshades is to provide better viewing for the LCD screen. We observed several ATM machines around Berkeley area which are directly hit by sunlight, and the screens on these machines are not visible during the day. Thus, having sunshades will ensure the visibility of the screens even during a sunny day. The sunshade is made of carton box.
[edit] Slot-Handle / Bar
The slot-handle functions similarly to the one in a slot machine. Once pulled, it will rotate the slot, and if it’s released, it will return to its original position. In the prototype, the slot handle is made of wooden dowel, and a rubber band is used to pull the handle back to its original position as shown in the figure below. We also use another dowel as a support
Dowel in its original position
When the dowel is pulled, the rubber band will tighten up
When it's released, dowel will return to its original position
[edit] Buttons
We paste pictures as replacement for buttons.
[edit] SPIN Button
The “SPIN” button is used for spinning the slot. It serves the same function as the slot handle. The purpose of the button is to provide options, i.e. press the button or pull the handle, for the users. This is because, as we observe in the experiments, users may become tired after pulling the handle several times.
[edit] ? Button (HELP Button)
The “?” button is the HELP button which will provide users with further instructions, FAQ’s, and customer supports. The helps will be displayed on the LCD screen.
[edit] LCD Screen
We draw several pictures as replacement for the LCD displays. Each picture represents a display on the LCD screen. The main page will display the instructions and “Help Page” can be displayed if the user presses “?”. The “Help Page” consists of several displays which can help the users. For this prototype, we only show several examples of “Help Page”, which may or may not be used in the real product.
Main Screen
HELP Page
LCD Sample Display 1
LCD Sample Display 2
Another function of the LCD screen is to provide warnings if error occurs. Two types of error so far, i.e. users pull the handle multiple times and user is inserting unrecognizable materials into the hole. Though our machine may accept the material, the material cannot be accepted as “token” for playing the slot.
Error Message
Type 1 Error
Type 2 Error
[edit] Slot
For the prototype, the slot is made of paper. For the purpose of experiment, we only replaced the spinning slots with a throw of three dice. If a dice shows a sequence of 4, 5, and 6, then we will put the number 4, 5, and 6 on the slot. Thus, it represents the outcome of the slot. Depending of the outcome, the prize money will be generated according to the prize list.
[edit] Prize List
The prize list displays the list of prizes for different outcome. It is placed below the slot machine so that it’s easier for the users to compare the slot outcome with the prize list.
Sample Prize List
[edit] Insertion Hole
This hole is used to insert cans or bottles. The insertion hole will accept the materials as a “token” for playing the slot.
[edit] Tray for Prize
We replace the money tray with a piece of paper. The prize will be generated in quarters (25¢). The tray will be similar to the tray of a vending machine.
[edit] Method
[edit] Participants
Our team wanted to choose the same target user groups and persona types that we identified in our previous reports. Because we all regularly visit the UC Berkeley campus, using the college student user group and further identifying special personas within this group is what we choose to do. In our experiments we chose college students aged 18-22 both female and male. We also chose specific personas; we interviewed and tested the apathetic college student who seldom recycles. We hoped to see some type of increase in motivation for recycling within this group. While a majority of our tests focused on this group, we also tested and wanted to know about the opinions of people more active in recycling and to see if they think this can work.
People we tested:
1. Jill, 19, Female. Jill rarely recycles and is apathetic about the environment.
2. Marcy, 22, Female. Marcy hates recycling because she feels it is a waste of money. We assure her that this prototype actually doesn’t recycle, yet.
3. Shaquilla, 19, Female. Shaquilla wants to help the environment by recycling when she can, but sometimes its too hard to find a bin.
4. Jacob, 18, Male. Jacob enjoys recycling, but doesn’t usually recycle on campus.
5. Bill, 22, Male. Bill likes to camp and recycle a lot. We wanted to know what he thought of our ideas.
[edit] Environment
We do our experiments on the UC Berkeley campus. To find many eligible testers, we placed our product near well used trash bins near food establishments on campus. The environment is an outdoor setting and on a school campus (lots of foot traffic). We perform the majority of our experiments near the Golden Bear Café on the south end of campus. We test when the area is crowded and many people are around.
[edit] Tasks
Our group wanted to focus on the tasks that we felt were the most important and useful to our users. We will test each user on each task to understand where our design works well and where the design needs improvement.
We have separated our tasks into three complexity levels: easy, medium, and difficult. We will test one task from each complexity level. Our easy task will be to insert a recyclable container into our machine. Our medium task will be to play a game using the machine. Finally, our difficult task will be to locate one of our machines.
We decided on the complexity of each task based on our previous research and the feedback we received in our contextual interviews. For example, during our contextual interviews we found that once a user had found a trash can or recycling bin, it was relatively easy to insert the container that they wanted to recycle or dispose. Difficulties only surfaced when the user wanted to recycle a specific type of container, but was not sure where to place the container. Our Jackpot Recycler avoids this confusion, however, by introducing a constraint; our product includes only one insertion slot with a clear sign telling users which container types will be accepted. The complete task will be to find and insert their container into the machine.
Our medium task will be to play the game. Because we only have a low-fi prototype of our product, we had to be creative to simulate the way the game plays so that it accurately represents how the users would use the real design. This task begins after the user has inserted the container. The user needs to pull the lever or press the spin button, wait for the random results, understand the results, and collect his/her prize if he/she wins. Our low-fi model allows this by having a human do the work the machine would do; when the user pulls the lever or presses the spin button, a human will roll 3 dice and display the results on the machine. This task is a little more difficult than inserting the container (the easy task) because it involves more steps and the user would need to read the prize key to understand if he/she won or lost.
The difficult task that we will test is to locate our Jackpot Recycler. In our contextual interviews we found that many users that intended to recycle often did not when they could not immediately find a recycling bin. They usually did not want to take the time to search for a recycling bin, or carry around their empty containers until they found a recycling bin, so they ended up disposing their containers in the first available trashcan found. Finding a recycling bin proved exceedingly difficult for over 60% of the users that we interviewed. Because of this we have decided that this task is the most difficult. This task will include finding our Jackpot Recycler in areas where we think this product will be most successful. In these experiments we place our product near trashcans and other recycling bins on the University of California at Berkeley campus. Starting in different locations, the users will be asked to locate and go to the low-fi prototype we have constructed. We will use the amount of time it takes for a user to find our product to determine if our product placement and initial design work well.
[edit] Procedure
In the experiment, Ryan was responsible for a brief introduction of the Jackpot Recycler and explaining to the user the nature of the experiment. Yang and Johannes were responsible for explaining to the users the tasks involved as well as the subsequent time data collection efforts. Ricky was responsible for rolling the dice, which was used as a proxy to simulate the wheels of a slot machine spinning. Finally, Andrew was responsible for acting as an LCD help screen interface for the user if they requested for help.
Our script procedure is as follows:
1. Introduce the user to the prototype and talk about the background – the user is shown a sketched prototype of the Jackpot Recycler and given a map of the U.C. Berkeley campus, with dots where the machines might potentially be located. We then ask the user to sign the disclosure form and also to purchase a drink that uses a glass, plastic, or aluminum can. We then ask the user to consume the drink as he / she is proceeding with step two where they are shown video clips on a laptop.
2. Show them clips of recycling and playing slots in real life – the user is shown a brief four minute video clip on how recycling works, then is shown a short one minute clip on someone in Las Vegas operating a real slot machine. They are not given explicit instructions on how the Jackpot Recycler will work.
3. Completing task one – the user will be prompted that the first task is successfully locating the Jackpot Recycler within the vicinity of the food court area and the subsequent navigation required in order to get to the location of the Jackpot Recycler. We define the boundaries as the areas including the seating area as well as the actual restaurants and storefronts themselves so that the user does not stray too far off in trying to find the machine. We will place the Jackpot Recycler next to a trash bin within the borders that we defined above.
4. Completing task two – the user will be prompted that the next task after the successful location of the machine and navigation of the location will be to insert the empty plastic, glass, or aluminum can or bottle that they have in their hand into the prototype of the Jackpot Recycler machine. We do not tell the user how many potential holes there are to insert a can or bottle nor do we tell them of any specific technique in doing such an action.
5. Completing task three – the user is then prompted that the final task will be to successfully play the Jackpot Recycler game. Although the user sees that the machine has both a lever to pull on as well as a play button to push on, we do not tell him / her how to play the game, we also do not recommend to the user the best technique (push the button or pull the lever) that they should use to play the game. If the user presses the help button at any time before completing task three, Andrew will act as an interactive LCD help screen using various paper sheets as the different potential menus of the help screen.
6. Simulating a slot machine – Ricky will roll three dice in succession. After the end of each dice roll, he will also put the number that was rolled onto a plastic sheet so that the user can see the results of each roll as it progresses. Upon completion of all three rolls, Andrew will determine if the combination of the three rolls is good enough to win a monetary prize.
7. Completing a short questionnaire form – the user is then asked to complete a one page questionnaire form (see appendix) regarding the details of the three tasks they have just completed.
[edit] Test Measures
The data that we gather will be collected during the experiment process when the user completes the three tasks as well as the data that we collect from the questionnaire form.
The specific data that we collect during the experiment will include the following:
1. Total number of cans or bottles that the user brings to the machine
2. Time that the user takes to find the Jackpot Recycler machine
3. Time that the user takes to find an insertion hole for the can or bottle
4. Time that the user takes to insert the can or bottle into the hole
5. Time that the user takes to either pull the lever or press the play button
The data that we collect from the questionnaire form will include the following
6. Basic user information (age, gender, recycling habits)
7. Opinions regarding the first task (locating the Jackpot Recycler machine)
8. Opinions regarding the second task (inserting the bottle or can into the machine)
9. Opinions regarding the third task (playing the game and receiving the prize)
[edit] Results
The results of our experiments are summarized below:
1. Most of the users had only one bottle / can that they brought to the machine. One user had two bottles only because he had an empty bottle that he forgot to throw away in his backpack from the previous day. Based on this data, we will make the assertion that most of our student population users will only have one or two bottles with them at one time. This is in contrast to a person that brings their bottles to a recycling center, where they could potentially have bagfuls of bottles and cans at one time.
2. All of the users looked around the boundaries of the food court for a trash bin when prompted to find the machine. Since this food court was not too big (seating capacity of around 50-60 people), all of the users located the Jackpot Recycler within one minute. The time it took for the user to talk to the location of the Jackpot Recycler ranged from 10-20 seconds depending on their starting location and their distance to the machine’s location
3. On the prototype, we have two holes, one in the front next to the prize description, and another on the right side next to the lever. It took less then 5 seconds for the user to locate the hole on the front end. To find the hole next to the lever, users on average took an extra 3-4 seconds.
4. Once the user found a hole, it took them less then 2 seconds to insert their can into the hole. The user with two bottles took 5 seconds to insert both cans into the hole. 75% of the users chose the hole on the front end to insert their bottle or can while 25% of the users chose to hole on the right side to insert their bottle or can.
5. The time it took the users to either push the button or pull the lever was almost negligent (less than 1 second). On an interesting note, users were split 50-50 on their choices of either button or lever. None of the users decided to pull the lever and press the button at the same time. We think this is because the affordance of the lever and button combination present an either / or signal to the user.
6. Our users were aligned very closely to the previous report’s personas. Our three personas from the previous report were 1) the 11 year old male junior high student, 2) the 21 year old male graduate student, and 3) the 18 year old female college student. In terms of recycling habits, none of the users admitted that they were active recyclers. However, when talking about their weekly recycling results, the number of cans or bottles that the users admitted to recycling ranged from 3-4 all the way to 9&more. We think the reason why the users would have different recycling numbers even though they all admit to being non-active recyclers is because their perception of what defines active recycling is different.
7. The difficultly of locating the machine was an average of 3.5 points. 75% of the users thought that the potential locations for the Jackpot Recycler were adequate. The average number for the number Jackpot Recyclers needed on campus was 6.5 machines.
8. The difficulty rating for locating the slot to insert a can or bottle was an average of 2.5 points. The difficulty rating for inserting the can or bottle was an average of 1.5 points. 75% of the users thought that there should not be more than one hole on the machine to insert a can or bottle.
9. The preference for lever or button was split 50-50 in accordance with the experiment results. 75% of the users thought that the payoff provided enough incentive to recycle more often. 100% of the users enjoyed playing the game.
[edit] Discussion
Our experiments revealed some very interesting facts about our target user groups, identified personas, and their reactions to our Jackpot Recycler. We gathered information from our experiments in two ways: we observed our test subjects and recorded data, such as time and we asked our subjects to fill out survey. Both sets of data centered on the three tasks that we have identified.
The easy task that we wanted to test was inserting the container into the Jackpot Recycler. On our prototype we had two clearly identified slots to enter all types of containers. Because of the clear identification, users had very little problems finding the hole. From our observed data we found that it took about 5 seconds for users to find the hole in the front of the machine, and about 8 seconds to find the hole on the side of the machine. Once the user had found the hole it took less than 2 seconds to insert 1 container and less than 5 seconds to insert two containers into the machine. This shows that our identification of the container insert slot is very clear; users find the hole relatively quickly, and once they did find the hole, they quickly inserted the container. We found that people preferred the hole on the front of the machine 75% of the time and 25% of the time on the side of the machine. Two insert slots may have confused users, and increased the time to insert the slot. We will look into including only one insert slot on the machine. In fact, from our survey, we found that 75% of the test users thought that there should be only one insert slot. The surveys also indicated that users had a more difficult time locating the insert slot than inserting their container. Because of this, we thinking limiting the machine to 1 one insert slot and placing it closer to the middle of the machine would be helpful.
Our medium task was playing an actual game on the machine. The users rally enjoyed this part. In fact, in the survey, 100% of the users said that they enjoyed playing the game and would play regularly if there was one on campus. Our container has two methods to initiate the game: pull the lever and press the spin button. We used the same ideas from a common slot machine in any casino. Because those machines are very successful and thoroughly researched, we simply copied the two methods to initiate the game and display the results. In both cases, whether users pressed the spin button or pulled the lever, users took about 1 second to initiate the game. About 50% of the users used the pull lever while the other 50% used the spin button. 0% thought they needed to press both. As noted in the results, we think that this interface is well understood and affords a binary either or activity. Users understood the payouts and the game really well too. Many were familiar with slot machines and so when they saw the prize key, they understood what the payout would be. 75% of the users thought that the prize incentive was enough for them to regularly use the machine.
Our difficult task was locating the machine. We wanted to know how long it takes users to locate the Jackpot Recycler and know whether or not the trouble of finding the Jackpot Recycler deterred users from using the machine. In our experimental setting near the GBC on the south side of campus, users located the jackpot Recycler within 1 minute. 0% of the test users took more than 1 minute, and the average user found the Jackpot Recycler in 23 seconds. Once the product was spotted, users took an average of 25-30 seconds to walk to the machine. 70% of the users said that the design and description of the Jackpot Recycler was enough for them to spend the time to locate and walk to the Jackpot Recycler. Our team was pleased that there was so much interest in our product, but we thought the time to locate the product was a bit too long. We are considering making the Recycler bigger, and perhaps making it a brighter color that would allow users to spot it more easily. Another way to make the Jackpot Recycler stand out would be to use sounds, much like the coin operated merry-go-rounds do outside of popular retailers.
At the end of the experiments our team was very satisfied with our low-fi model of the Jackpot Recycler and we were really surprised with the positive responses. We also found out a lot about our targeted users and will use this information to make our product better.
