Diversity of Users

Lubna Mirza, Kevin Tang, Yordan Machin, Ibrahiem Mohammad

User Profile

The age group of the users would have to include everyone from young kids who are able to access the mirror interface to old adults. Users who are younger in age would need restrictions to certain features of the mirror. Therefore we have implemented a user and pass code system which will not allow a user to access sensitive features such as uber or shopping cart unless they have logged in. This way, our mirror is also protected from younger children messing around with the settings and preferences. For older people, perhaps those who have shaky hands or poor vision we would include an option to make the buttons larger--for better visibility and larger surface touch area.

In relation to gender, our design is accommodating for both men and women, and those who identify as other. Regarding the mirror itself, it functions as any other smart device. We have a suggested clothing option that caters to all genders and is not gender-specific. Women may spend more time in front of the mirror to apply makeup, and our design allows them to--at any given point--remove all the things open on the mirror screen and hide them, so that they may have the mirror open.

On initial setup, the user is asked to set up the mirror and a main preference language option is presented. This will set the main language of the system. Of course, you then have the option of changing the language to something different anytime from the preferences.

The same education level is required to use this as is for a smartphone. Obviously, for some people there will be a learning curve which is mitigated by our design but not abolished completely. This mitigation is presented through smoothly flowing transition screens that take the user step by step to where they want to be. It provides smooth navigation between the apps and the settings. Once you turn on the mirror the login screen appears, from where it is not difficult to sign in and get into the features of the mirror. Afterwards the user sees a small display screen with any immediate alerts. Closing that small display box will send the user is to the home screen. From here the user has access to any apps/settings the mirror provides. Moreover, the user has an easy way to close out the apps (by pressing on the screen area outside the app) and navigate back to the home screen.

Likewise, since smartphones have been globalized, our design will not contain any features that are culture-specific nor will they be difficult to use for any one particular culture. Simply stated, if the user is able to use a smartphone, he/she should be able to use our mirror with ease. Even if the user is not familiar or well-versed in smartphone technology, the menu options are informative and succinct, and are available in different languages upon setup which makes the software accessible regardless of language.

Our goal is that the user will not face any discrimination or difficulty based on their job. Whatever the user does for a living has little to do with how the mirror is used. For example, take a doctor and a construction engineer. None of the features in our mirror provide either of those people an edge because of their profession. Neither does it discriminate by limiting a feature(s) due to a person’s profession. However, both different professions and experiences can be supported through the personalization aspect of the mirror, such as adding your own social media, news outlets, music services, etc.

Novice / First Time Users

First-time users will find ease of use in the fact that everything has been labeled very clearly and categories are well-organized. We have included intuitive paths for more information, such as the feature where pressing the weather will open up a seven day forecast. Most functions are reachable by less than 3 touches, which makes our solution incredibly streamlined and easy to use. Though we did not include a tutorial for use the way that some programs do, we believe that most functions are easy to get to. Additionally, the integration of consistency with icons and menu options makes the user experience more intuitive, especially for first-time users.

Knowledgeable Intermittent Users

For users that have used the smart mirror but do not have extensive experience using the software, the interface will have features and options that are hard to miss through being prominent on the UI. The clickable components of the mirror are either in the selected language of the user, or displayed as icons that can be easily associated with the given task. For instance, the default menu displayed at the bottom of the screen is set in the selected language, and each of those menu items either bring up another menu to select an action or brings up an action immediately. In terms of how navigation is simplified, we decided to limit the amount of sub-menus there are within each option, thus minimizing the amount of item presses needed to use an option. Navigation is made significantly easier using labels in the native language as well.

Expert Users

Expert users who utilize the smart mirror software often will find ease of use in the program considering that most functions are only one or two touches away. Everything is organized in a way that is intuitive and easy to use, and there are multiple ways to get from one function to another (like having weather and calendar available to click through the plan menu and also through pressing the date and weather on the dashboard.) Having one-click shopping makes experiences better for users because they don’t have to go to the browser to find and shop for supplies that they need. Additionally, all clickable icons are left oriented and all the menu options are bottom oriented, which helps with consistency (especially for veteran users.)

Diversity of Tasks

What are the set of commonly used tasks and how are they made easy to do through the interface?

The purpose of a smart mirror is primarily to be able to multi-task and plan, and the strength of a smart mirror lies in its ability to effectively provide useful information to the user that will help them throughout the day. Thus, information that is useful and commonly used will be weather, agenda, notifications, and time/date. We have created an interface in which the user can see the time, date, and weather easily because the information is always displayed on the dashboard. Additionally, we have made further information in those topics (calendar and weekly weather forecast) incredibly intuitive and easy to use because clicking on the weather opens up additional information, and clicking on the time opens up the calendar. This integration eliminated unnecessary steps and streamlines a user’s interaction with the software. Additionally, viewing the agenda, news, health information, social information, and music is just as easy since it only requires one click to get to the information.

What are the less commonly used tasks?

Less commonly used tasks would include music/media, social media, amazon purchases available through the application, and user settings. These functions are also easy to get to, but we can assume that they would be less of a priority for users who utilize the mirror to get ready and for basic planning purposes. The buying option would obviously only be used periodically considering that users will only want to buy once they run out of supplies, so it won’t be used every day.