Bad Human Factors in Entertainment
By: Rory Klingensmith
We all know the
movie scene where the main character needs to wire an urgent ransom to the
kidnapper, but the banking app is confusing. In these entertaining scenes, we see missed opportunities for human factors
research and engineering. Had the software for the wire transfer undergone one
or two rounds of formative human factors testing or an expert review, perhaps the
high-stakes situation would have been resolved with ease. Although it would
take away from the intensity of the movie scene, it would likely save our main character
from sending money to the wrong person.
Examples of human factors – or the lack thereof – are ever-present in
our everyday lives, even in our entertainment. The following are a few more
examples of products in movies where integrating human factors principles into
the design process and conducting human factors research could have made all the
difference:
- The Incredibles (2004) - In a memorable scene, the family is chased by a robot and has to quickly activate a remote control that’s supposed to shut it down. They take turns pressing the wrong buttons repeatedly, trying to get it to work while racing against time. The remote’s buttons are confusing and unresponsive, which heightens the tension as they desperately try to figure it out. This scene emphasizes the importance of an intuitive user interface during emergency situations and how stressful it can be when products don’t work the way we expect them to. Watch the clip here, starting at 1:28.
- Spongebob Squarepants: The Movie (2004) - Spongebob and Patrick are attempting to leave Shell City, a remote island, and return to Bikini Bottom by flying on a Bag of Winds. Spongebob reads the instructions for the Bag of Winds out loud, while Patrick follows each of the steps in real time. When Spongebob reads the last step– “Remove string from bag releasing the winds–” Patrick obeys, accidentally losing the Bag of Winds before they can get on it. This is a great example of why manufacturers should not rely solely on their instructions for use (IFU) to reduce risk. IFUs are open to misinterpretation, skimming, and misreading. Watch the clip here.
- Office Space (1999) - Peter, Samir, and Michael struggle to use the office printer throughout the movie. The printer repeatedly shows unexplainable errors such as “Print Jam” when there seems to be no print jam, or “PC Load Letter” which does not make sense to Michael, the intended user. The gang grows angrier as the movie progresses and ultimately takes the printer out to the yard to destroy it, doing exactly what we all wish we could do to our non-user-friendly products. We see participants in usability studies often express frustration when interacting with user interfaces. Providing representative users with an opportunity to think critically about the issues they face and a chance to describe possible solutions can guide the design of a product and keep it from being smashed to smithereens. Watch the clip here.
Unlike in the movies, intended users of products can encounter real
risk, and there is no audience waiting to be entertained. At Core Human
Factors, A Rimkus Company, we specialize in helping manufacturers minimize
use-based risk to the end-users and cut the dramatic scenes out of their lives.
Each aspect of the user interface matters. The bad-interface drama works for
the movies, but not for real life.