The role of human factors in product design
I recently attended the O’Reilly Solid Conference in San Francisco, a fascinating few days examining hardware, software and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Among the 1,800 attendees, there was an invigorating mix of professionals, entrepreneurs, startups and the big dogs in technology like Microsoft and Cisco.
The developments in biological
engineering were fascinating, if more than a little above the head of a solid
B-student in high school chemistry. Not surprisingly, it was the user and
sociological challenges of the IoT that resonated the most profoundly with me.
As I have been learning and writing
about the IoT, there’s been a nagging issue on my mind that rarely gets discussed. Fact is, the
IoT is too focused on individuals. Having an environment that responds to my
preferences and mood sounds fantastic. However, I don’t live alone. So if I
prefer the house to be 70 degrees and my husband is a bit of a polar bear, who
does the Nest listen to?
Consultants Anna Shaw and Morgan
Freelan’s talk at Solid,
“Connecting home: Designing for the systems of the whole family,” was a
thought-provoking discussion of this issue. To me, this seems like the elephant
in the “smart” room. More than 63 percent of U.S. households are comprised of
two or more people while many connected products/services largely work through
a “master operator” framework. That means one person has ultimate control of
the smart features of the house.
Sounds great, but for most of us it’s
not reality.
Individual control isn't always realistic. Designing connected devices that work for families is the elephant in the “smart” room.
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