Communication on Products

In Pursuit of User-Friendly Design

At the Design Center responsible of design for Fujifilm products, the usability evaluation is promoted for user-friendly design. Since 2001, usability conferences have been held to offer suggestions to the sales planning divisions and development divisions, and for in-house promotion. I Usability Conferences Held to Date
2001.3 2001.6 Photo print ordering machine, Frontier JOY, at a shop Digital camera print ordering machine, Seven-Navi, in a convenience store Digital camera, FinePix F601 Digitized photo service, FUJICOLOR CD Digital camera, FinePix 2600Z PC software, FinePixViewer Digital camera, FinePix M603 Internet ordering net service for photo print, Ver4 Digital camera, FinePix F401 Digital photo printer, Printpix CX-400 FUJI XEROX DocuTech, Color DocuTech Digital minilab equipment for store-printed photos, Frontier 340E Internet ordering net service for photo print, Ver.5 Photo print ordering net service by mobile phones Photo print ordering on the Internet, Easy Print Digital camera, FinePix A303 Cell phones with built-in cameras, four models Digital image diagnosis system, FCR Pico DVD file image display equipment, LF-C1 Print reception machine for digital cameras of other companies:, four models Digital camera, FinePix F700 Digital camera, FinePix F710 Digital image diagnosis system, FCR (upcoming product)

Report
Usability Conference
At usability conferences we try to understand why a user had difficulties operating a product and then use that information to make changes that will improve the overall function of product and ease of its use. Also, one of the important features of this usability conference is the premise that the conference is held for the purpose of finding practical solutions to problems, not just for collecting information

Fujifilm Universal Design and Usability Promotion Team

The Fujifilm universal design and usability promotion team employs the action cycle of listen to users, observe, analyze, and adopt. As part of this action cycle, usability conferences have been held since 2001.

2001.8 2001.9 2001.10 2001.10 2001.12

1. Recruitment of Test Users Preparations for the Usability Conferences

We recruit 6-10 test users depending on the product to be evaluated. The most typical test user is a person who has never used a product such as a digital camera before. In some cases, the condition maybe narrowed down to foreign or elderly. In case of medical equipment, they maybe doctor, nurse, or radiology technician. Depending on the subject for evaluation, an effective approach is selected each time. In the steps of preparation, evaluation categories are narrowed down as needed. Eventually, a number of findings that are unexpected turn out to be valuable ideas for development.

4. Analysis and Improvements

Analysis is made from all possible angles in an effort to gather valuable information obtained from the conference for future development. Based on the analysis results, discussions are held for improvements that are to be used in product development promptly.

I Analysis of the Results of Assignment Achievement

This is an assignment achievement analysis graph of the time consumed for each process by eight test users. It shows that the wrong action was made date resetting by nearly everyone and about half for 8 made mistakes in switching flashes.
Average value 1: Unable to operate 2: Took too long to operate 3: Took some time to operate 4: Able to operate

What is A Usability Conference?

Unlike normal claim response or monitor surveys, it starts by observing the thoughts of users. Evaluation conferences are held before, during, and after the development of a new product or when a new feature is being added to a product. Fujifilm studies products made by other companies as well. Through these evaluation conferences, we make efforts to listen to issues which do not always reach our lines of communication. The issues that users experienced that caused inconveniences resulting in their attributing the products poor usability to the fact that that they had not read the manual. They resolved problems of struggling with the products operation by asking others. The usability evaluation activity is to discover these unheard issues and resolve them one by one so that they are reflected in the development of new products. (Please refer to the page on the right).

2002.1 2002.7 2002.9 2002.11 2002.12 2003.1 2003.1 2003.1 2003.1 2003.6 2003.7 2003.7 2003.8 2003.9 2003.9 2003.11

2. Implementation of the Conference

Each test user will spend about two hours on the assignment. The assignment is simple, since it is new to the test user and he/she normally struggles along through the assignment. An observer and a camera operator stay in an adjoining room to the test user who works on the assignment alone. The method of operation and the comments from the test user are monitored by and recorded by the observers and the camera operator. G A digital camera assignment The test user is given a new unopened product and a digital camera assignment. The test user look at the manual and follows a series of assignments shown as below. Please shoot. Please switch to sensitivity XX and shoot. Please return to the normal sensitivity and shoot with flash. Please confirm the images shot. Please delete the third image. Please put in the date. Please terminate shooting. Please take the medium out and put it in the case.
Elderly Foreigner Nurse

Level of achievement

4 3 2 1 0

Take out of the box

Battery Insert

Insert Smart Media

Power on

Date resetting

Shoot

Flash switch

Communication on Products

I Case 1: Date Setting on a Digital Camera.

Given the instruction please conduct the date-setting, the test user set the date, and pushed the arrow key down since they wanted to move to the second tier setting. However the action only changed the date from29 to 30, and prevented them from moving ahead.

As for products environmental considerations, go to P33 37.

I Flow of Usability Conference Implementation

Development of new products and the addition of new functions
Requests Consultation Suggestions Consultations Requests Consultation Suggestions Consultations

In-House Enlightenment Activity

Verification of existing equipment Verification in mid-development Verification after production Verification of others on the market, etc

Before After

To move down the arrow key had to be pushed in the right direction. To give a image associated with Move to right and then down, the line indicating right down was displayed on the screen.

Marketing divisions

Development divisions

Analysis and improvement

Consultation

Design Center

Implementation of usability conferences

The Design Center started its barrier-free activity in 1998. Various in-house enlightenment activities such as listing all kinds of information on barrier-free connections on the company website or assignment of a consultation office contacts for inquiries. These activities are continuing under the usability evaluation activity.
Barrier-free activity
A list of contents appeared on the in-house intranet in the past

Before
Six to ten people in a separate room, the person evaluating the activity along with the development team members (planning, project and design) observe and record the way the test user responds to given assignments.
How observation is made from a separate room

After

Towards an aging society Barrier-free activity, barrier-free products of other companies Non-businesss dealing with barrier-free Ways to enjoy photos by the vision impaired The world of the persons with cataracts, refractive errors or narrowed field of visual Renting out goggles for the vision-impaired and their use Requests by the vision-impaired Requests by persons with dysfunctions of lower extremities and those in wheelchairs Requests by pregnant women Barrier-free for healthy persons About universal design Universal design in other companies Universal design on the market and views on the cost About usability evaluation activity

Current and Future Activity

In the future ,this activity will be strengthened around the universal design and usability promotion team that started in 2003. Some of the ongoing activities include the creation of guidelines for the development of products such as digital cameras and photo print reception machines, and the recompilation of the points of concern for those who are colorblind or have weak color vision. This will lead to the redevelopment of our database so that the developer can make more practical use of it.

I Case 2: Manual Setting of a Digital Camera

When asked to make a White balance change, the test user checked the operation manual. In the table of contents White balance was found and operated as per the instructions; however, the setting screen did not appear.

3. Interview
After the assignment is over, the observer asks questions about any incorrect operation and the points of concern they have. For example, after a question like Why did you push the button at that point in time? Is followed by one such as What would you have done if you had not pushed the button then? In this way, reasons for the wrong operation and suggestions by the test user are sought.

Before

The cameras shooting mode had to be switched from Auto to Manual mode for the white balance setting mode to appear. In the page for white balance of the operation manual, a description such as please refer to the page on manual setting when settings are made.

After

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2004 FUJIFILM Sustainability Report

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