The case study describes my creation of personas to explore usability and accessibility of the laundry interface at Brown.
UI/UX Designer and Front-End Developer
February - March 2024
Figma, HTML, CSS
This case study examines a public interface through the lens of accessibility and usability, considering users with different experiences, needs, and abilities. The goal is to learn the perspectives of these users through interviews and observations, and ultimately create personas to understand how this interface does or does not meet the needs of these users.
The interface I chose to examine is the laundry machine interface in the dorm buildings at Brown University. One problem with this interface is that it is confusing. The process has many steps, some of which feel unnecessary, and are easy to do incorrectly. By understanding how users currently interact with this system, I can examine pitfalls and understand how this interface could be improved.
The laundry interface consists of a screen, which integrates closely with the washers and dryers themselves, but I will focus on the screen. The problem this interface is trying to solve is enabling students to do laundry. The touch screen, which is physically separate from the washers and dryers, is where users select machines and 'pay' (laundry is free for Brown students, although they must swipe their ID cards).
After creating my sketch of ths interace, I then brainstormed the questions I needed to ask users to understand how they use the interface and whether it meets their needs. Below is the list of questions, and if you click on one, you can read about what I hope to gain by asking each question.
This question indirectly gains an understanding of how long the interviewee has been using these laundry machines. Asking a student "About how many times have you used the laundry machines at Brown?" could lead to overestimation, to avoid appearing like they don't wash their clothes enough.
This question aims to understand the interviewee's main priority while they're washing their clothes, without asking directly what they care most about. This question should prompt users to talk about whether they're focused on getting their laundry done quickly, or thoroughly, or just to getting it done at all.
This question aims to get users thinking broadly about the laundry machine interfaces and give a general summary that might reveal their perspectives on the features or flaws of the system. This question also sets up the next couple of questions by prompting the interviewee to step into the mindset of a new user.
If the interviewee remembers their first experience with the laundry interface, they will hopefully recall the challenges faced when learning the system. This can reinforce areas of improvement for the interface in terms of learnability.
This is a follow-up question to 4 that aims to further explore whether or not the laundry interface meets new users' expectations. This further digs into the question of whether this interface is designed to be learnable, and what frustrations might be common in the process of using this interface.
Turning to focus on the interviewee's current use of the interface, this question aims to illustrate a user that is more experienced with the system and has learned its quirks. This also prompts the interviewee to consider how their experience has changed over time, and how the memorable and efficient the interface is.
Although this question is more direct than former questions, these previous questions have put the interviewee in a mindset of comparing their past and present experiences with the laundry interface. This question therefore aims to specifically understand how the laundry interface may still not be meeting the needs of experienced users.
Finally, this is an open-ended question that asks broadly about what the interviewee might change about the system. This change could reveal a feature that could make the interface more learnable, memorable, or efficient, or further highlight what flaws currently prevent the interface from meeting users' needs.
After preparing my questions, I observed 3 Brown students using this laundry interface in the Goddard dorm. To respect their privacy as users, I received consent before observing them. When interacting with the system, they did not need to input any sensitive information, so this digital system poses little risk to user privacy. However, the physical act of loading a laundry machine with clothes is somewhat vulnerable, althuogh I will not focus on physical privacy concerns.
As I observed, I also asked these users my interview questions, and their answers are summarized below:
1. What is your class year at Brown?
The
first and third students I interviewed were juniors, and the
second student was a sophomore. These students have all used this
laundry system for at least 3 semesters, and could be considered
experienced users.
2. Whenever it's time to interact with the laundry interface at
Brown, what's the main thing on your mind?
The first user answered that their main focus was checking
one of the chores off their list of weekend to-dos (I conducted
these interviews on a Sunday). The third also emphasized getting
it done and getting their clothes clean for the week. Somewhat
differently, the second user said their main focus was getting the
laundry done as quickly as possible, since sometimes when they try
to do it, there isn't a machine available.
3. How would you describe the laundry interface to someone who
has never seen it before?
The general pattern outlined was the process of
loading their machines, using the touch screen to select the
machines, swiping the Brown ID, and pressing `Start`. The third
user mentioned that you have to swipe your card with the metal
strip facing left, awknowledging that they mix this up a lot
(since a lot of the other card readers on campus are oriented the
opposite direction).
4. Describe your first time using the laundry screen at
Brown.
Each of the students had to think to recall their first time
using the screen to do their laundry. The first user described
that they didn't remember having any difficulty doing their
laundry at Brown since they've always done it at home. The second
user mentioned that they found the interface a little strange the
first few times they used it, since you need to swipe your Brown
ID, even though the laundry is free.
5. In that first experience using the laundry screen, did it
work as you expected it to?
Similar to the previous question, the interviewees didn't
exactly recall what they had expected the first time they used the
machines. The second user emphasized that their main expectation
was to get their clothes clean, and the screen interface enabled
that for them.
6. Has your comfort using the laundry screen changed since your
first semester?
The general pattern in answers was that all 3
users had gained comfort using the laundry interface and machines
since their first time using it. The second user mentioned that
they no longer had to think about what they were doing when using
the screen interface, and just clicked the same buttons as
always.
7. Have you recently had any difficulties using the laundry
screen?
The first user mentioned that sometimes the
buttons on the laundry screen were slow to respond to taps, but
generally they had recently found the process smooth. The third
user again noted that the direction of the card reader was
annoying and tricky, but besides that, they hadn't had recent
issues.
8. What would you change about how this laundry interface
works?
The third user suggested having a clearer label
indicating which way to swipe your Brown ID on the card reader
that's part of the interactive screen. The first user couldn't
think of any suggestions, and the second user proposed more clear
advice on how to use your phone to complete these interactions
(the app hasn't been working for them lately).
After recording my observations and conducting my interviews, I created two personas that represent patterns I identified in the 3 users I interviewed. This patterns of behavior and interaction with the interface are drawn from both their descriptions of their current interactions as well as those when they first used the interface. These two personas are represented in the two empathy maps below.
Nervous First-year Persona
Rushed Upperclassman Persona
After creating my personas for the Nervous First-year and the Rushed Upperclassman, I chose to create a storyboard for the Nervous First-year. The storyboard displays this user's entire user journey from start to end. As depicted below, the Nervous First-year is doing their laundry at college for the first time, and will face several challenges interacting with the laundry interface (with a main focus on the screen).
The User Journey of a Nervous First-year
The troubles that this Nervous First-year faced (including not knowing how to change the settings, swiping their card the wrong way, and not understanding why they need to swipe their card for a free service) are not necessarily isolated to new users.
Many of the required actions are inaccessible to users with limit physical mobility, and increases the barrier to use. Beyond accessibility, as revealed in my interviews, these are also issues with all three components of the usability — learnability, memorability, and efficiency — of this screen interface.
My findings suggest improvements that Brown could make to their laundry system to better meet students' needs. For example, the university could stop requiring students to swipe their Brown ID, given that laundry is free and only Brown students can access the laundry rooms. Or, at least add a clearer affordance for which direction to swipe the Brown ID. This would save new and returning users time and increase the usability of this interface.
Regardless of these points for improvement, this case study was a useful exercise in understanding and illustrating users' needs and experiences based on my observations. This experience was also a great reminder of how important it is to design both physical and digital interfaces with accessible features in mind.
Thank you to those students who participated in interviews!
