The Over-the-Phone Test
One of the design heuristics we use at Mozilla Labs, especially as we work to create a more invisible browser, is the “Over-the-Phone test”.
If your friends have ever got it into their heads that you might be good at technology, I’m sure you’ve found yourself trying to explain some aspect of computing over the phone. Probably something trivial and difficult to explain. I give you my condolences. Trying to troubleshoot a GUI over the phone is like giving driving directions to train conductor.
For instance, it’s difficult to tell Grandma how to spellcheck in a web mail application that doesn’t have spellcheck:
- “Ok, Grandma, select everything by clicking anywhere in the text and typing Control-A.”
- “Now copy the text by typing Control-C.”
- “Open Word by going to the Start Menu, clicking ‘All Programs’, clicking ‘Microsoft Office’, and finally by clicking ‘Word’.”
- “Paste your text into Word by typing Control-V… No, Grandma, I don’t know why it’s ‘V’–maybe because ‘P’ is already used for printing?”
- “Click the little icon on the top of the bar that has a checkmark and some letters. You don’t see it? Okay, describe what you see. You see something that looks like a coffee cup? I have no idea what that is. Actually, forget it. Just select ‘Spell Check’ from the ‘Edit’ menu.”
- “Click ‘Start Checking’. Grandma, I know you just told it you want to spell check; I don’t know why you have to tell it again.”
- (Time passes as Grandma spell checks her document.)
- “Click the ‘Done’ button. Or maybe it’s called ‘Finish’. Uh, just click either the ‘Done’ or the ‘Finish’ button.”
- “Select everything by typing Control-A.”
- “Copy the text by typing Control-C.”
- “Switch back to the email you were writing. What’s that? You can’t see the email you were writing? Well, um… Move some windows around and try finding it.”
- “Is the text of the email still selected? No? Okay, click anywhere in the text.”
- “Select everything by typing Control-A.”
- “Paste in your spell checked text by typing Control-P. Wait, no, Control-V…”
- “You’re done! wasn’t that easy?”
At every step something can go wrong, your mental model can get out of sync with the state of the computer, or you might remember a button name incorrectly.
Thus our test: We ask ourselves, “Would I be willing to teach my Grandma how to use this over the phone?”. If the answer is “Definitely”, we know we’re doing well; if the answer is “Maybe”, we know we can do better; and if the answer is “No”, then it’s often time to rethink the whole thing.
This is one of the heuristics that informed Ubiquity.
RT @aza The Over-the-Phone Test | Follow @aza on Twitter | All blog posts
Evelyn
My first reaction to the entire post was, “Well of course it’s control-V! People use copy and paste so often the shortcuts have to be next to each other!”
And then I realized that it’s not all people, it’s only people (like me) who have to transfer images/data between multiple programs all. the. time.
Graydon
I wonder if either of your grandmothers would appreciate being portrayed as an example of a technologically helpless person.
:)
Or you could go over and install email software with spell-checking built in.
David
Nice post. Maybe you should design TVs, Aza – you would’t believe the number of times my gran rings up, asking me how to find the right channel on her TV. All I can say is – it’s a good job she doesn’t have a computer :P
Greg
A better step 1. Go to Firefox.com and click download. :)
Ankur
Not all tasks can be designed for the LCD-type user. =)
Brian Tkatch
Not a bad idea. It does seem like a good test, but i do believe some tasks should be necessarily hierarchical. In that case, losing context is always an issue, but not to hard to get back to.
And about ctrl-v, i still use shift-insert as well.
alfons bedoya
Why not just go by, visit granny, and fix it for her…I am sure she would love the visit…and probably cook something nice for you!
mickerlodeon
Some of the most annoying problems I have with software could be solved if every developer would just ask themselves this simple question.
شات
thank youJ
debt managemet
This is really a nice post. You have shown a better steps. Some of the weird irritating queries can be solved.
buy 8gb m2
An interesting article for people in central London. Would it be possible to speak to the app developers about gaining data from iphones across the UK and on the different networks so an accurate map could be created? Rather than the worthless pieces of junk the networks provide which have no relation to reality at all.I tested O2 vs T-mobile (ok, not an official provider, but I’ve finished my contract and the O2 one is unlocked) where I live, Sheffield S11. O2 regularly averages less than 100kbps whilst T-mobile got over 1600 kbps.In addition, I tried a Vodafone sim a couple times. I could hardly get a strong enough signal to make a voice call, so I didn’t bother testing data speed.
Danielle Smart
My gosh I know exactly where you are coming from. My mother calls me I swear every thursday asking how to you send an email again dear.. I tell her to go over to the White Shelves near the window and pick up the scrap book and read the instructions I had to write as I am soooo sick of telling them the same thing over and over again.
Karesh
420greyfox on August 24, 2011 ffrrfeeestuef.webs.com is a REAL place to earn cash in your pp account and points to spend on amazon products. Get clothing, electronics, ANYTHING! wont you join me?
xiayti
GskPLs smhbefxepeyi
elektrik
tebrikler, başarılar :)
termal jel
of course if you didn’t like the tune, you’d have an incentive to speed up.
someone
“You see something that looks like a coffee cup? I have no idea what that is.”
Your grandma does Java.
BTW. Is that a hidden message
For some reason I didn’t like Ubiquity either… sorry? :-/
Ronny
Nice post Aza. Call me old-fashioned, but I believe there are tasks which we don’t have to run thru this test. Try to get your grandma add an exception for the saved passwords feature in Firefox…
This is what great tutorials with screenshots or screencasts are for. Just send her a link (thru a simple to use program of course), and follow along with her.
Another concept which helps remote support tremendously is error coding, only problem is most of the time we don’t run into errors but just don’t know how to use a feature. But again, that’s the role of a good documentation.
To conclude, I don’t think everything should be made grandma-proof (even if Office 2007 was a huge step forward); But anything should be easily Googlable™.
Zayıflama Lida Fx15 Ve Biber Hapı Zlfvbh
My first reaction to the entire post was, “Well of course it’s control-V! People use copy and paste so often the shortcuts have to be next to each other!”
Pes 2011 Patch
i think its very easy..
porno
And then I realized that it’s not all people, it’s only people (like me) who have to transfer images/data between multiple programs all. the. time.
Sex
My first reaction to the entire post was, “Well of course it’s control-V! People use copy and paste so often the shortcuts have to be next to each other!”
gucci belts
It mens belts retains the cheap gucci belts new shape Stretch Jeans cheap louis vuitton belts for men Slender cheap desiger belts September Have gucci belts on sale you ever thought louis vuitton belts cheap it was a method as one million U.S. dollars without sacrificing comfort;
sikis
There is a good reason why innovative products seem to flow out of Apple like water from a faucet. Although they may begin with Steve Jobs’s vision, they are due to the way the company is organized. Whereas many companies have siloed divisions that separate user interface designers and hardware designers, at Apple they work together to create holistic products.
Good.
sikiş izle
One of the design heuristics we use at Mozilla Labs, especially as we work to create a more invisible browser, is the “Over-the-Phone test”.
بنت الكويت
ahbbbbbbbbk good
basur
Nice post Aza. Call me old-fashioned, but I believe there are tasks which we don’t have to run thru this test. Try to get your grandma add an exception for the saved passwords feature in Firefox…
شات كتابي
thaank you saudi woman
منتديات
We’re left in an interesting position.
Noor
ksortleryx1 on October 24, 2011 This really does work.. It’s called freebie trading.. I’m a freebie trainer.. Send me a message if you have any questions about it
وظائف 2011
At every step something can go wrong, your mental model can get out of sync
شات صوتي
Why use an app when you can do what bicycles usually do in Toronto, ride like you own the roads, sidewalks, and anything else that they can ride on.
وظائف 2011
your friends have ever got it into th
wholesale beads
China wholesale beads store, with free shipping
بنت فلسطين
gooooood
Pes 2012 News
haha.. funny posting..
Jeff Goldblum Interview
I liked up to you will obtain carried out right here. The comic strip is attractive, your authored subject matter stylish. nonetheless, you command get got an impatience over that you would like be delivering the following. ill for sure come more formerly again as exactly the same just about very ceaselessly within case you shield this increase.
شات صوتي
thnks
goooooooooooood
min:)اااkk
Ayako Durett
I normally learn something after i prevent by here, Eric. Many thanks!
jaka drukarka do biura
This was a genuinely consequential post. In theory I’d like to initiate like this also – getting time and staunch go to make a beneficent content… but what can I say… I aside alot and in no practice part of to arrange some thing carried out.
kwiaciarnia internetowa Gdańsk
Desmond Mcgrone
Larry Weltman
I think this is among the most important info for me. And i am glad reading your article. But wanna remark on few general things, The website style is great, the articles is really great : D. Good job, cheers
Natural News
Hey! I know this is kinda off topic however I’d figured I’d ask. Would you be interested in exchanging links or maybe guest authoring a blog article or vice-versa? My website discusses a lot of the same topics as yours and I think we could greatly benefit from each other. If you are interested feel free to shoot me an e-mail. I look forward to hearing from you! Excellent blog by the way!
Christian Louboutin 2013
Please review the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use before using this site.
curso de liderazgo
No sé habría muchas cosas que comentar , de todas formas gracias por lo contado aquí, me parece muy interesante, si bien no estoy del todo de acuerdo. Un saludo todos los que nos leen.
visit the following web site
We absolutely love your blog and find most of your post’s to be precisely what I’m looking for. Do you offer guest writers to write content available for you? I wouldn’t mind producing a post or elaborating on a number of the subjects you write about here. Again, awesome web log!
hair growth treatments
I do accept as true with all the ideas you have presented in your post. They’re really convincing and will definitely work. Nonetheless, the posts are too short for novices. May just you please lengthen them a little from next time? Thanks for the post.|
replica oakley oil rig
Hi! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say I genuinely enjoy reading your blog posts. Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that go over the same topics? Thank you so much!
Path of Exile Leveling
Hello there! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading this post reminds me of my old room mate! He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this page to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thank you for sharing!|
replica cartier pasha pasha seatimer watches
replica bell %%%amp; ross br01 96 watches is known to manufacture watches that have perfection, elegance, quality, precision, beauty and simplicity all in one piece of timeless and classic watch
visitez le site
I’m commenting to make you know what a fabulous discovery my child experienced reading your site. She learned plenty of things, most notably what it is like to possess an awesome giving heart to get other individuals with ease gain knowledge of some very confusing subject matter. You really surpassed people’s desires. Many thanks for imparting the beneficial, trustworthy, informative and in addition unique thoughts on this topic to Sandra.
http://www.stryker-hip-recall-info.com/stryker-hip-implant/
Oh cool! We have rellies in maine and will put this on our list for positive thanks!
Winfred Bunnell
Please let me know if you’re looking for a article writer for your site. You have some really good articles and I feel I would be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d really like to write some material for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine. Please blast me an e-mail if interested. Regards!|Have you ever considered about adding a little bit more than just your articles? I mean, what you say is important and everything. Nevertheless think of if you added some great images or video clips to give your posts more, “pop”! Your content is excellent but with pics and clips, this website could undeniably be one of the very best in its field. Awesome blog!|Awesome blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere? A design like yours with a few simple adjustements would really make my blog stand out. Please let me know where you got your theme. Many thanks|Hey would you mind stating which blog platform you’re using? I’m planning to start my own blog soon but I’m having a tough time selecting between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your design seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something completely unique. P.S My apologies for being off-topic but I had to ask!|Hey just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in your post seem to be running off the screen in Ie. I’m not sure if this is a formatting issue or something to do with browser compatibility but I thought I’d post to let you know. The design look great though! Hope you get the problem resolved soon. Cheers|With havin so much written content do you ever run into any problems of plagorism or copyright infringement? My site has a lot of unique content I’ve either authored myself or outsourced but it looks like a lot of it is popping it up all over the web without my authorization. Do you know any techniques to help protect against content from being stolen? I’d definitely appreciate it.|Have you ever considered publishing an e-book or guest authoring on other websites? I have a blog centered on the same information you discuss and would really like to have you share some stories/information. I know my visitors would appreciate your work. If you are even remotely interested, feel free to shoot me an e mail.|Howdy! Someone in my Myspace group shared this website with us so I came to give it a look. I’m definitely loving the information. I’m book-marking and will be tweeting this to my followers! Outstanding blog and excellent design.|Fantastic blog! Do you have any tips and hints for aspiring writers? I’m planning to start my own blog soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you suggest starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many choices out there that I’m completely overwhelmed .. Any recommendations? Thanks!|My developer is trying to persuade me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the expenses. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on numerous websites for about a year and am worried about switching to another platform. I have heard great things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can import all my wordpress posts into it? Any kind of help would be really appreciated!|Does your site have a contact page? I’m having trouble locating it but, I’d like to shoot you an e-mail. I’ve got some recommendations for your blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great site and I look forward to seeing it grow over time.|It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d certainly donate to this excellent blog! I guess for now i’ll settle for bookmarking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to fresh updates and will share this website with my Facebook group. Chat soon!|Greetings from Los angeles! I’m bored to tears at work so I decided to browse your site on my iphone during lunch break. I love the info you provide here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home. I’m shocked at how quick your blog loaded on my mobile .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyways, very good blog!|Hey there! I know this is kinda off topic nevertheless I’d figured I’d ask. Would you be interested in exchanging links or maybe guest authoring a blog post or vice-versa? My website discusses a lot of the same subjects as yours and I feel we could greatly benefit from each other. If you might be interested feel free to shoot me an email. I look forward to hearing from you! Excellent blog by the way!
best captcha software
An impressive share, I simply given this onto a colleague who was doing slightly evaluation on this. And he actually purchased me breakfast as a result of I found it for him.. smile. So let me reword that: Thnx for the treat! But yeah Thnkx for spending the time to debate this, I really feel strongly about it and love studying more on this topic. If attainable, as you develop into expertise, would you thoughts updating your weblog with more details? It is highly useful for me. Huge thumb up for this weblog submit!
auto captcha software
I want to show thanks to the writer for rescuing me from this issue. As a result of researching throughout the online world and finding notions that were not productive, I figured my life was done. Being alive without the answers to the problems you’ve resolved all through your entire website is a serious case, and those which could have in a negative way damaged my entire career if I hadn’t noticed your blog post. Your own personal skills and kindness in maneuvering all the pieces was very helpful. I am not sure what I would’ve done if I had not come upon such a solution like this. I am able to now relish my future. Thanks for your time very much for this impressive and effective guide. I won’t hesitate to endorse your web sites to any individual who needs to have guidance on this situation.
Frankie Blakney
What I have seen in terms of laptop memory is the fact there are requirements such as SDRAM, DDR and so forth, that must match the features of the mother board. If the pc’s motherboard is reasonably current and there are no main system issues, upgrading the memory literally takes under an hour or so. It’s one of many easiest pc upgrade types of procedures one can consider. Thanks for revealing your ideas.
Derick Rakich
Do you have a spam issue on this website; I also am a blogger, and I was wanting to know your situation; many of us have developed some nice procedures and we are looking to swap methods with others, why not shoot me an email if interested.