-- Section 1: Demographics --
Age
80+
Sex
Female
Type of Housing
House
Tenure
Private
Who normally maintains your garden?
Family
-- Section 2: Practicality and usefulness of product --
How satisfied are you with your gardening existing clipping tools?
Neutral
What is your greatest limitation in the garden?
Endurance
How challenging do you normally find cutting branches up to 1/2 inch across?
Very challenging
Can you foresee this becoming more challenging in the future?
Yes
How did you find the tool useful to your gardening tasks?
It saved me effort
What were your initial difficulties using the tool:(select those that apply):
The product was too heavy
The product was too large or cumbersome
I had difficulty cutting branches
The controls were too confusing
How safe did you feel using this tool?
A little uncomfortable
-- Section 3: Device Operation --
How easily did the tool cut your branches?
Significant resistance, the blade frequently got stuck
How many times could you complete your routine gardening tasks on one charge?
1-2 times
Were you aware of the battery power remaining?
unsure
What is your main concern with the product?
Safety
-- Section 4: Cost and purchasing habits --
Who buys your gardening tools?
Son or Daughter
Where do you purchase your gardening tools?
Super Store
Would you consider replacing your old secateurs with these ones?
Most likely
How much would you be prepared to spend?
Up to £50
Wednesday 14 March 2007
User Experience: Mr Harris Yiakoumis
-- Section 1: Demographics --
Age:
60-65
Sex:
Male
Type of Housing:
Cottage
Tenure:
Private
Who normally maintains your house and garden plants?:
Me
-- Section 2: Practicality and usefulness of product --
How satisfied are you with your gardening existing clipping tools?:
Very Satisfied
What is your greatest limitation in the garden?:
Flexibility
How challenging do you normally find cutting branches up to 1/2 inch across?
Moderately difficult
Can you foresee this becoming more challenging in the future?
Yes
Did you find the tool helpful to your gardening tasks:
Yes, it saves me time
What were your initial difficulties using the tool (select those that apply):
No complaints
Did you feel safe using the product?
A little uncomfortable
--Section 3: Device Operation --
How easily did the tool cut your branches?
Very easily, with no resistance
How many times could you complete your routine gardening tasks on one charge?
More than 3 times
Were you aware of the battery power remaining?
No
What is your main concern with the product?
Cost
-- Section 4: Cost and purchasing habits --
Who buys your gardening tools?
Myself
Where do you purchase your gardening tools?
Mail Order
Would you consider replacing your old secateurs with these ones?
Most likely
How much would you be prepared to spend?
Up to £10
Age:
60-65
Sex:
Male
Type of Housing:
Cottage
Tenure:
Private
Who normally maintains your house and garden plants?:
Me
-- Section 2: Practicality and usefulness of product --
How satisfied are you with your gardening existing clipping tools?:
Very Satisfied
What is your greatest limitation in the garden?:
Flexibility
How challenging do you normally find cutting branches up to 1/2 inch across?
Moderately difficult
Can you foresee this becoming more challenging in the future?
Yes
Did you find the tool helpful to your gardening tasks:
Yes, it saves me time
What were your initial difficulties using the tool (select those that apply):
No complaints
Did you feel safe using the product?
A little uncomfortable
--Section 3: Device Operation --
How easily did the tool cut your branches?
Very easily, with no resistance
How many times could you complete your routine gardening tasks on one charge?
More than 3 times
Were you aware of the battery power remaining?
No
What is your main concern with the product?
Cost
-- Section 4: Cost and purchasing habits --
Who buys your gardening tools?
Myself
Where do you purchase your gardening tools?
Mail Order
Would you consider replacing your old secateurs with these ones?
Most likely
How much would you be prepared to spend?
Up to £10
Tuesday 13 March 2007
User Experience: Mrs Kathrin Tomson
-- Section 1: Demographics --
Age:
71-75
Sex:
Female
Type of Housing:
Flat
Tenure:
Rented
Who normally maintains your house and garden plants?:
Me
-- Section 2: Practicality and usefulness of product --
How satisfied are you with your gardening existing clipping tools?:
Dissatisfied
What is your greatest limitation in the garden?:
Strength
How challenging do you normally find cutting branches up to 1/2 inch across?
Very challenging
Can you foresee this becoming more challenging in the future?
Yes
Did you find the tool helpful to your gardening tasks:
Yes
What were your initial difficulties using the tool (select those that apply):
The controls were too confusing at the start
Did you feel safe using the product?
Unsafe
--Section 3: Device Operation --
How easily did the tool cut your branches?
Very easily, with no resistance
How many times could you complete your routine gardening tasks on one charge? More than 3 times
Were you aware of the battery power remaining?
Unsure
What is your main concern with the product?
Safety
-- Section 4: Cost and purchasing habits --
Who buys your gardening tools?
Spouse
Where do you purchase your gardening tools?
Local Store
Would you consider replacing your old secateurs with these ones?
Definitely
How much would you be prepared to spend?
Up to £15
Age:
71-75
Sex:
Female
Type of Housing:
Flat
Tenure:
Rented
Who normally maintains your house and garden plants?:
Me
-- Section 2: Practicality and usefulness of product --
How satisfied are you with your gardening existing clipping tools?:
Dissatisfied
What is your greatest limitation in the garden?:
Strength
How challenging do you normally find cutting branches up to 1/2 inch across?
Very challenging
Can you foresee this becoming more challenging in the future?
Yes
Did you find the tool helpful to your gardening tasks:
Yes
What were your initial difficulties using the tool (select those that apply):
The controls were too confusing at the start
Did you feel safe using the product?
Unsafe
--Section 3: Device Operation --
How easily did the tool cut your branches?
Very easily, with no resistance
How many times could you complete your routine gardening tasks on one charge? More than 3 times
Were you aware of the battery power remaining?
Unsure
What is your main concern with the product?
Safety
-- Section 4: Cost and purchasing habits --
Who buys your gardening tools?
Spouse
Where do you purchase your gardening tools?
Local Store
Would you consider replacing your old secateurs with these ones?
Definitely
How much would you be prepared to spend?
Up to £15
User Experience: Mr John Smith
-- Section 1: Demographics --
Age:
76-80
Sex:
Male
Type of Housing:
House
Tenure:
Private
Who normally maintains your house and garden plants?:
Me
-- Section 2: Practicality and usefulness of product --
How satisfied are you with your gardening existing clipping tools?:
Neutral
What is your greatest limitation in the garden?:
Strength
How challenging do you normally find cutting branches up to 1/2 inch across?
Moderately difficult
Can you foresee this becoming more challenging in the future?
Yes
Did you find the tool helpful to your gardening tasks:
Yes
What were your initial difficulties using the tool (select those that apply):
I had difficulty cutting some branches
Did you feel safe using the product?
A little uncomfortable
--Section 3: Device Operation --
How easily did the tool cut your branches?
Significant resistance, the blade frequently got stuck
How many times could you complete your routine gardening tasks on one charge?
1-2 times
Were you aware of the battery power remaining?
No
What is your main concern with the product?
Breaking it
-- Section 4: Cost and purchasing habits --
Who buys your gardening tools?
Son or Daughter
Where do you purchase your gardening tools?
Super Store
Would you consider replacing your old secateurs with these ones?
Most likely
How much would you be prepared to spend?
Up to £10
Age:
76-80
Sex:
Male
Type of Housing:
House
Tenure:
Private
Who normally maintains your house and garden plants?:
Me
-- Section 2: Practicality and usefulness of product --
How satisfied are you with your gardening existing clipping tools?:
Neutral
What is your greatest limitation in the garden?:
Strength
How challenging do you normally find cutting branches up to 1/2 inch across?
Moderately difficult
Can you foresee this becoming more challenging in the future?
Yes
Did you find the tool helpful to your gardening tasks:
Yes
What were your initial difficulties using the tool (select those that apply):
I had difficulty cutting some branches
Did you feel safe using the product?
A little uncomfortable
--Section 3: Device Operation --
How easily did the tool cut your branches?
Significant resistance, the blade frequently got stuck
How many times could you complete your routine gardening tasks on one charge?
1-2 times
Were you aware of the battery power remaining?
No
What is your main concern with the product?
Breaking it
-- Section 4: Cost and purchasing habits --
Who buys your gardening tools?
Son or Daughter
Where do you purchase your gardening tools?
Super Store
Would you consider replacing your old secateurs with these ones?
Most likely
How much would you be prepared to spend?
Up to £10
Monday 12 March 2007
User Experience Questionnaire
Motivation: The following questionnaire is used to identify areas where our product could be improved. The questionnaire will be complimented with actual observations of the product in use. This is because a) answers are not always accurate. b) Observations allow us to take into account the physical environment and how the product is being used
-- Section 1: Demographics --
Age
60-65
66-70
71-75
75-80
80+
Sex
Male
Female
Type of Housing
House
Flat
Maisonette
Cottage
Tenure
Rented
Freehold
Council
Private
Housing Association
Other
Who normally maintains your house and garden plants?
Me
Family
A private gardening company
Housing maintenance
-- Section 2: Practicality and usefulness of product --
How satisfied are you with your gardening existing clipping tools?
Very Satisfied
Neutral
Dissatisfied
What is your greatest limitation in the garden?
Strength
Endurance
Flexibility
Co-ordination
Cost of tools
How challenging do you normally find cutting branches up to 1/2 inch across?
Very challenging
Moderately difficult
No problem
Can you foresee this becoming more challenging in the future?
Yes
No
Unsure
How did you find the tool useful to your gardening tasks?
It saved me time
It saved me effort
Neither
What were your initial difficulties using the tool:(select those that apply):
No complaints
The product was too heavy
The product was too large or cumbersome
I had difficulty cutting branches
The controls were too confusing
How safe did you feel using this tool?
Safe
A little uncomfortable
Unsafe
Very unsafe
Section 3: Device Operation
How easily did the tool cut your branches?
Very easily, with no resistance
A little more resistance than I would like it
Significant resistance, the blade frequently got stuck
Very badly, the tool was unusable.
How many times could you complete your routine gardening tasks on one charge?
More than 3 times
1-2 times
I had to recharge the tool once to complete the task
I had to recharge the tool more than once to complete the task.
Were you aware of the battery power remaining?
yes
no
unsure
What is your main concern with the product?
No concerns
Safety
Cost
Breaking it
Other _______
-- Section 4: Cost and purchasing habits --
Who buys your gardening tools?
Myself
Spouse
Son or Daughter
Other
Where do you purchase your gardening tools?
Local Store
Super Store
Mail Order
Other
Would you consider replacing your old secateurs with these ones?
Definitely
Most likely
Probably Not
No
How much would you be prepared to spend?
Up to £10
Up to £20
Up to £50
More than £50
-- Section 1: Demographics --
Age
60-65
66-70
71-75
75-80
80+
Sex
Male
Female
Type of Housing
House
Flat
Maisonette
Cottage
Tenure
Rented
Freehold
Council
Private
Housing Association
Other
Who normally maintains your house and garden plants?
Me
Family
A private gardening company
Housing maintenance
-- Section 2: Practicality and usefulness of product --
How satisfied are you with your gardening existing clipping tools?
Very Satisfied
Neutral
Dissatisfied
What is your greatest limitation in the garden?
Strength
Endurance
Flexibility
Co-ordination
Cost of tools
How challenging do you normally find cutting branches up to 1/2 inch across?
Very challenging
Moderately difficult
No problem
Can you foresee this becoming more challenging in the future?
Yes
No
Unsure
How did you find the tool useful to your gardening tasks?
It saved me time
It saved me effort
Neither
What were your initial difficulties using the tool:(select those that apply):
No complaints
The product was too heavy
The product was too large or cumbersome
I had difficulty cutting branches
The controls were too confusing
How safe did you feel using this tool?
Safe
A little uncomfortable
Unsafe
Very unsafe
Section 3: Device Operation
How easily did the tool cut your branches?
Very easily, with no resistance
A little more resistance than I would like it
Significant resistance, the blade frequently got stuck
Very badly, the tool was unusable.
How many times could you complete your routine gardening tasks on one charge?
More than 3 times
1-2 times
I had to recharge the tool once to complete the task
I had to recharge the tool more than once to complete the task.
Were you aware of the battery power remaining?
yes
no
unsure
What is your main concern with the product?
No concerns
Safety
Cost
Breaking it
Other _______
-- Section 4: Cost and purchasing habits --
Who buys your gardening tools?
Myself
Spouse
Son or Daughter
Other
Where do you purchase your gardening tools?
Local Store
Super Store
Mail Order
Other
Would you consider replacing your old secateurs with these ones?
Definitely
Most likely
Probably Not
No
How much would you be prepared to spend?
Up to £10
Up to £20
Up to £50
More than £50
Scenario - John
The actor:
John Smith
The environment:
The small garden outside John’s home
The time:
Early morning, around 9:00 am, on a sunny Monday, mid June
The task:
John is one of the individuals using the EasyTrim tool. John decided to use it to prune the orange trees in the small garden.
The need:
John wants to take care of his orange trees, he is neglecting for so long. He has to start by removing dead, injured, diseased and crossing branches, suckers and branches growing downward. Orange trees usually respond well to hard pruning, and John wants to see his orange trees increase their production in fruit.
The story:
John found the day exceptional sunny and since he was feeling good he decided to use the newly acquired pruning tool, EasyTrim, to prune his orange trees in the small garden outside his house. He has already used it once for pruning on a different occasion, with great success and he is quite pleased with the tool’s performance. Still, today he is putting it in a greater challenge, since he knows by firsthand that pruning the orange trees is one of the harder gardening tasks he has to deal when taking care his garden.
John, having used the tool before, knows his operation very well, and he has no trouble handling it. He removes the tool from the plastic cover case, removes the safety catch and releases the safety button. He finds the first tree to prune and by pressing the button that triggers the spinning saw, he cuts off small branches with ease. However when he tries to cut off one of the thickest branches, he runs into the first difficulty. The branch has a diameter wider than 2cm, and the saw is just not wide enough to cut the branch all the way through. The safety cap comes in contact with the body of the branch, disallowing the saw to cut any further. John is forced to move himself on the other side of the branch, find the exact point where he was cutting, and continue the cut basically rotating the saw into the gap he created before.
This requires extra effort and time on behalf of John, since several branches of the orange trees have diameter a bit wider than 2cm. Still, John is determined to finish the pruning today so he continues to use the tool, even if he occasionally faces some difficulties. Nevertheless, as John continues to uses EasyTrim, it seems that the saw is losing power. Eventually, after some time of usage, the saw stops to spin, despite all the tries of John to press the button next to his thump harder. John is wondering what the problem might be but sooner or later he figures it out. The batteries of the tool need recharging. Although he has not finished the pruning, he decides to postpone it for another day. He packs EasyTrim and heads back into the house.
The outcome:
Although John was pleased with the overall performance of EasyTrim, he found some difficulties when having to cut branches a bit wider than 2cm. The tools cutting saw must then be refined to accommodate this situation, since a citrus tree garden is quite likely to have trees with thick branches such these. Also John found difficulties in managing the power resources of the tool. The main problem was that he was not aware of the battery charge levels, so he couldn’t estimate the working time he had available.
John Smith
The environment:
The small garden outside John’s home
The time:
Early morning, around 9:00 am, on a sunny Monday, mid June
The task:
John is one of the individuals using the EasyTrim tool. John decided to use it to prune the orange trees in the small garden.
The need:
John wants to take care of his orange trees, he is neglecting for so long. He has to start by removing dead, injured, diseased and crossing branches, suckers and branches growing downward. Orange trees usually respond well to hard pruning, and John wants to see his orange trees increase their production in fruit.
The story:
John found the day exceptional sunny and since he was feeling good he decided to use the newly acquired pruning tool, EasyTrim, to prune his orange trees in the small garden outside his house. He has already used it once for pruning on a different occasion, with great success and he is quite pleased with the tool’s performance. Still, today he is putting it in a greater challenge, since he knows by firsthand that pruning the orange trees is one of the harder gardening tasks he has to deal when taking care his garden.
John, having used the tool before, knows his operation very well, and he has no trouble handling it. He removes the tool from the plastic cover case, removes the safety catch and releases the safety button. He finds the first tree to prune and by pressing the button that triggers the spinning saw, he cuts off small branches with ease. However when he tries to cut off one of the thickest branches, he runs into the first difficulty. The branch has a diameter wider than 2cm, and the saw is just not wide enough to cut the branch all the way through. The safety cap comes in contact with the body of the branch, disallowing the saw to cut any further. John is forced to move himself on the other side of the branch, find the exact point where he was cutting, and continue the cut basically rotating the saw into the gap he created before.
This requires extra effort and time on behalf of John, since several branches of the orange trees have diameter a bit wider than 2cm. Still, John is determined to finish the pruning today so he continues to use the tool, even if he occasionally faces some difficulties. Nevertheless, as John continues to uses EasyTrim, it seems that the saw is losing power. Eventually, after some time of usage, the saw stops to spin, despite all the tries of John to press the button next to his thump harder. John is wondering what the problem might be but sooner or later he figures it out. The batteries of the tool need recharging. Although he has not finished the pruning, he decides to postpone it for another day. He packs EasyTrim and heads back into the house.
The outcome:
Although John was pleased with the overall performance of EasyTrim, he found some difficulties when having to cut branches a bit wider than 2cm. The tools cutting saw must then be refined to accommodate this situation, since a citrus tree garden is quite likely to have trees with thick branches such these. Also John found difficulties in managing the power resources of the tool. The main problem was that he was not aware of the battery charge levels, so he couldn’t estimate the working time he had available.
Scenario - Kathrin
The actor:
Kathrin Tomson
The environment:
The small back yard garden of the building where Kathrin lives
The time:
Late morning, around 11:00 am, on the first Saturday of April
The task:
Kathrin has been selected as one of the individuals to test the EasyTrim tool. Kathrin decided to use it to prune the rose plants in the small garden.
The need:
Bush type roses should be pruned in the early spring when the leaf buds begin to swell, but before growth starts. All wood killed or injured during the winter must be cut back to solid tissue, as well as all weak and twiggy growth branches. The plants must be shaped by cutting strong canes back to a uniform height, removing as little healthy wood as possible and very old canes must be removed totally.
The story:
Kathrin has been postponing the trimming for too long because lately it was a hard task for her, but now that she has a new tool she feels more confident and enthusiastic about pruning the old rose plants. However, this is the first time she is using a power tool of this kind, so she feels a bit reluctant in using a tool that has a self-powered spinning saw. She is wondering whether this tool is safe enough to be used as a gardening tool, and she is very cautious while handling it.
After finding the first plant to prune, and deciding which branches to cut off, Kathrin removes the plastic cover case of EasyTrim. What firstly made an impression to her, it was the fact that this tool was quite lightweight, far lighter than what she had in mind when she was thinking about power tools for trimming. Holding the tool in her hands she sees that is fully closed and kept in that position with the safety catch that binds the two handles together. She removes the safety catch and EasyTrim comes to a fully open position, due to the spring that the tool has between the handles. She holds it in one hand and she sees that it is easy to open and close it.
Still the saw is not operating so she looks for a way to get it started. There are two buttons at the top handle, one being exactly next to her thump, and one at the side of the handle. Kathrin is not quite familiar with this kind of tools, so she randomly presses one of them. She is surprised to see that the button next to her thump cannot be pressed and for a moment she thinks that the tool might have a problem. There is still the button at the side of the top handle, so she presses that one to find that it pops out. The saw still does not work but she thinks that guns have a similar safety button, as far as she knows. So, she once again tries to press the first button. Now the saw starts to spin, in a surprisingly not loud high frequency sound. She removes her thump from the button only to find that the saw stops to spin. Kathrin notices that the saw is spinning faster as she presses the button harder with her thump. While the saw is still spinning, Kathrin places the branch that she wants to cut between the lower safety cap and the circular saw. She presses the handles to close and unexpectedly easy the saw is sinking into the 1 cm diameter branch, as the lower handle pushes it against it.
The branch is easily detached from the plant. She is still pressing the button that made the saw spin, but once she releases it, the saw stops to operate. Kathrin follows the same procedure to cut the remaining branches from the rose plants, with ease. At the end she remembers to push the safety switch back to the locking position. She closes the secateurs with the safety catch and she puts it back to the plastic cover case.
The outcome:
Kathrin found the use of EasyTrim very easy, but she had some difficulties in recognizing the buttons that operated it. She did not immediately notice the two buttons, and she failed to see the difference between them and to recognize their operation in advance. Thus, it is obvious that some sort of modification is in need, in order to make these two buttons recognizable.
Kathrin Tomson
The environment:
The small back yard garden of the building where Kathrin lives
The time:
Late morning, around 11:00 am, on the first Saturday of April
The task:
Kathrin has been selected as one of the individuals to test the EasyTrim tool. Kathrin decided to use it to prune the rose plants in the small garden.
The need:
Bush type roses should be pruned in the early spring when the leaf buds begin to swell, but before growth starts. All wood killed or injured during the winter must be cut back to solid tissue, as well as all weak and twiggy growth branches. The plants must be shaped by cutting strong canes back to a uniform height, removing as little healthy wood as possible and very old canes must be removed totally.
The story:
Kathrin has been postponing the trimming for too long because lately it was a hard task for her, but now that she has a new tool she feels more confident and enthusiastic about pruning the old rose plants. However, this is the first time she is using a power tool of this kind, so she feels a bit reluctant in using a tool that has a self-powered spinning saw. She is wondering whether this tool is safe enough to be used as a gardening tool, and she is very cautious while handling it.
After finding the first plant to prune, and deciding which branches to cut off, Kathrin removes the plastic cover case of EasyTrim. What firstly made an impression to her, it was the fact that this tool was quite lightweight, far lighter than what she had in mind when she was thinking about power tools for trimming. Holding the tool in her hands she sees that is fully closed and kept in that position with the safety catch that binds the two handles together. She removes the safety catch and EasyTrim comes to a fully open position, due to the spring that the tool has between the handles. She holds it in one hand and she sees that it is easy to open and close it.
Still the saw is not operating so she looks for a way to get it started. There are two buttons at the top handle, one being exactly next to her thump, and one at the side of the handle. Kathrin is not quite familiar with this kind of tools, so she randomly presses one of them. She is surprised to see that the button next to her thump cannot be pressed and for a moment she thinks that the tool might have a problem. There is still the button at the side of the top handle, so she presses that one to find that it pops out. The saw still does not work but she thinks that guns have a similar safety button, as far as she knows. So, she once again tries to press the first button. Now the saw starts to spin, in a surprisingly not loud high frequency sound. She removes her thump from the button only to find that the saw stops to spin. Kathrin notices that the saw is spinning faster as she presses the button harder with her thump. While the saw is still spinning, Kathrin places the branch that she wants to cut between the lower safety cap and the circular saw. She presses the handles to close and unexpectedly easy the saw is sinking into the 1 cm diameter branch, as the lower handle pushes it against it.
The branch is easily detached from the plant. She is still pressing the button that made the saw spin, but once she releases it, the saw stops to operate. Kathrin follows the same procedure to cut the remaining branches from the rose plants, with ease. At the end she remembers to push the safety switch back to the locking position. She closes the secateurs with the safety catch and she puts it back to the plastic cover case.
The outcome:
Kathrin found the use of EasyTrim very easy, but she had some difficulties in recognizing the buttons that operated it. She did not immediately notice the two buttons, and she failed to see the difference between them and to recognize their operation in advance. Thus, it is obvious that some sort of modification is in need, in order to make these two buttons recognizable.
Sunday 11 March 2007
Naming Decision Final
After reviewing the votes and thoughts that everyone had, we have choosen the name for our new tool to be EasyTrim!
Naming the product: Demetris's Opinion
I think a product's name should always be something that points out to the consumer a general advantage that the user will obtain from buying a certain product instead of other similar products. Therefore, since our product aims to make the task of gardening for the elderly easier, I vote for EasyTrim.
Naming the Product: Gavin's Suggestion
I feel we should aim for something subtle and that we should do our best to avoid American style branding like POWER-trim, SNIP-AIDE etc. I think Brits tend to appreciate fun sounding names like "strimmer" and "jig-saw". What about the strutter?
Naming the product: Eliana's Suggestion
Hey guys, I think we need to decide on a name for our product. It should be something that reminds the potential user its use and positive attributes. I was thinking something like 'MeanTrim', but I think it shows aggressiveness, and we need to give the user the sense of security instead. Also we need to show that is an easy to use tool but at the same time powerfull. So what do you think about PowerPrunner, or EasyTrim?
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