CCT 333 Cool Runnings Group Project Yuni Choi, Lucas Di Vito, Divya Maharajh & Ryan Rattos

Rogers TV Guide

USER NEEDS AND REQUIREMENTS: -Functional requirements: This system should be able to display the programming schedule for channels available to the user on a daily basis. When the user would like to find a specific television program, they should be able to use the search feature to locate the stations and times that the show will air. A corresponding remote control is used with the system to access the guide and to navigate.

-Data requirements: The current guide contains an excess amount of data. The schedule displays shows on stations that the user has not subscribed to. Instead, this system should contain the schedule only for programs available to the user. As a result, when a user searches for a particular program, there will be fewer results to sort through.

-Environmental requirements: The guide is displayed on a television screen, when the Rogers Digital cable box is connected to the user’s system (physical environment). This makes it available to anyone watching television in their homes (social environment). The digital cable system only operates on the television that the box is connected to, therefore other television systems in the same household are not connected (technical environment). For this system, an organizational environment is not a plausible requirement.

-User: The typical user for this system would be any television viewer who owns the Rogers Digital cable box. The user also needs to understand how to locate the guide using the remote control, as well as how to search for television shows. Also, it is common for many frequent users to become frustrated with the slow response of the guide when scrolling through programs, a factor that the designers of the digital box failed to consider.

-Usability: The guide does not allow users to explore in a customized manner. Every user has to navigate through the guide in the same way. The guide also does not provide options to the user, such as keeping favorite shows in a memory section, or setting reminders when specific shows start. The guide is quite impersonal, which makes it difficult for the user to interact with it.

-Scenario: Suppose I want to know when the show “Everybody Loves Raymond” will be on tonight and on what channels. After pressing “guide” on the remote control button, I select the “browse by” option. I can only search alphabetically, by title. The guide then displays all television shows that begin with the letter ‘E’. After scrolling through the hundreds of shows displayed, I become frustrated and push the scroll button repeatedly. The guide does not scroll any faster. When I finally find the ‘Everybody Loves Raymond” section, the guide scrolls past it because it is still computing the times I have pressed the button on the remote. I become increasingly frustrated by this. Once the guide has stopped scrolling, I then go back to the “Everybody Loves Raymond” section, this time carefully, and find a station that has an episode airing right now. When I select this station, it displays a message that I have not subscribed to this station, and provides the number to Rogers Cable if I would like to call and subscribe. After this ordeal, I simply turn off the television and decide to do something else.

THE PROBLEM The Rogers Digital Cable box revolutionized the way in which audiences watch television. As one of the leading companies to provide interactive features, Rogers allowed today’s television viewers to maximize their experience. In more recent years, other companies have caught on to the design and marketing tactics of Rogers, offering similar options to their customers. Although Rogers remains a leader in the Canadian media industry, maintaining this title requires addressing specific flaws, updating the quality of current features, and bringing the Rogers system to the forefront of successful cable providers. Rogers has taken advantage of digitization by offering a wider selection of channels and better picture quality. However, they have deviated from focusing on key design issues concerning the programming guide. The utility, effectiveness, efficiency, learnability and memorability of the Rogers guide are usability goals that require further consideration. By applying these goals to the re-design of the guide interface, our team hopes to achieve an improved and engaging system for the user. Currently, the abundance of data is a key problem. Users may find sorting through the hundreds of channels offered by Rogers a long and tedious task. The ‘Browse By’ function allows users to narrow their search according to channel, title or theme. However due to the volume of channels and titles, the search feature is more of a hassle than a tool. Another issue lies in the actual layout and presentation of data. The current guide uses unappealing colours with small indecipherable text. This poses problems for users (and non users) who have disabilities. In addition, the lack of customization offered by the current guide greatly inhibits its effectiveness as an interactive tool. The guide has become an indispensable tool that should always complement one’s television viewing experience. It is designed to make the process of watching television easier and more satisfying. A guide that does not function up to par disrupts this process and creates frustration for users. Improvements made on these design factors are imperative to ensure that Rogers maintains its position as an industry leader and that both users and potential users will gain a more fulfilling experience with respect to the Rogers guide. Our proposed solutions will offer insightful alternatives to the guide’s current aesthetic appeal, use of navigation and browsing, layout of data as well as address the lack of internet options.

RESEARCH: Four different research methods were carried out in order to accumulate sufficient data for the redesign of the guide interface. First, a survey consisting of 10 questions for users and non-users alike was distributed to thirty participants. Second, a ‘Quick and Dirty’ evaluation was conducted at the home of a group member, where five subjects interacted with the current guide. Third, the findings mentioned in the Hermes Newsletter special issue on “User interface design and evaluation in interactive TV” (http://www.eltrun.gr/newsletters/1/32.pdf) provided supplemental information on user preferences in terms of interactive television. Finally, when in the field of design, knowledge and awareness of competing markets is a valuable tool. For this reason, the Bell ExpressVu guide interface, the ultimate competitor of Rogers, was analyzed by a group member for unique features preferred by the user. Each method is outlined in further detail below.

The Survey: Participants showed an overall dissatisfaction with the current design of the Rogers guide interface. Some important statistics to make note of are as follows: -Only 68% of those with a Rogers cable box make use of the guide. Of those 68% only 50% said they used the guide ‘often’. -0% found the guide to be ‘great’ (70% chose satisfactory) -On a scale of 1-5 (1 being least effective, 5 being highly effective) features such as “navigation, browse by, data, ease of use and layout” were seldom rated above 3. -Many participants commented on what the guide needed to improve its overall effectiveness. Several responses were directed towards personalizing the interface for specific users. Other responses included more information on particular shows and stations, as well as reducing how often the guide freezes up and is unable to display shows.

QAD: -A significant issue with the current guide is the speed of navigation. Subjects found that all actions took an unreasonable amount of time to complete. All subjects had difficulty scrolling through the main screen. When searching for a show using the “Browse By” feature, subjects also complained of the excess amount of data (i.e. shows) to scroll through. -Users did appreciate the display screen at the top right corner, which allowed them to continue watching their current show as they navigated through the guide. -One subject compared the interface to her Bell ExpressVu programming guide at home, which allows her to save favorite shows and channels in a separate file. She did mention the reminder feature, but said it was only useful for a specific episode of a show, documentary or movie. Her favorite shows did not need reminders. -Subjects also commented on the lack of creativity in the appearance of the interface, using words such as “bland, boring and unappealing”.

Hermes Article: This article draws some interesting conclusions regarding user preferences when designing for interactive television. The studies conducted by several researchers and designers demonstrate that users care equally about the effectiveness and affective abilities of an interface. In other words, success requires designing not only with technical features in mind, but also the overall enjoyment of using the program. Below are two excerpts from the article outlining these points in greater detail.

- “A usability test of three video skipping UIs revealed that user satisfaction was higher for the UI that required more time, more clicks and had the highest error rate. In other words, the most efficient UI was not the most favoured one. This result is opposite to the usability assumptions, which conceive the efficient as more usable and more satisfying. The satisfaction questionnaires revealed that the users regarded their preferred UI as more fun and relaxing compared to the most efficient one (Drucker et al. 2002). Accordingly, Chorianopoulos and Spinellis (2004b) validated that users have an affective preference for a video skipping UI, although it was coupled with a dynamic advertisement insertion feature, which made the navigation between video clips less efficient.” (Hermes).

-“The emphasis on an alternative UI conceptualization for ITV applications does not entail a complete abandonment of the traditional usability paradigm. An ITV news application used in the morning before leaving the home for work should be very efficient. The same application used in the evening after returning home from a long day at work should be more automated and encourage relaxed use (Steve Draper, personal communication). In general, the UI design and evaluation for ITV applications should be regarded to have both an affective and an efficiency dimension.” (Hermes).

THE COMPETITION While the Bell ExpressVu programming guide contains similar features to the Rogers Guide, there are several key differences. The ExpressVu guide divides the channels into categories ranging from sports to movies to local shows. This structure offers many benefits. First, users have the choice to scroll through only the channels they receive, rather than wasting time browsing through hundreds of unavailable stations. Secondly, local channels are grouped by region; therefore users can easily access shows and stations specific to their community. Bell ExpressVu also categorizes their specialty channels (sports, music, history) by genre, further narrowing the focus of their search.

Bell ExpressVu also offers features such as event timers and the favourites lists. The favourites list is especially appealing to users, since they have the ability to customize a program guide containing their favorite shows.

The physical layout of the Bell interface is larger in comparison to the Rogers interface. The channel versus time grid is dispersed widely across the screen, along with a large, clear, bold font. The colour scheme matches the signature colours of Bell. A royal blue background with a mustard yellow foreground and white print are not overly appealing or creative, however the colours are a ‘vision-friendly’ layout. http://www.bell.ca/shop/en_CA_ON/PrsShpTvNew_IPG.page

SOLUTIONS

SOLUTION #1 – Internet-Enable Option In consideration of some of the suggested issues people have with the Rogers Digital Cable interface, one solution we came up with was a complete overhaul of the system. Instead of requiring users to purchase the digital cable box that sits near the television, some sort of new device could be created that would stream an internet feed into the television instead. This would be done in concordance with a redesign of the interface itself into a web based interactive environment. The most evident advantage would be a smaller learning curve because it uses existing technology. By creating the user interface online it would open up a range of possibilities. There would be an added level of customization and cookies could be used to maintain individual settings for future visits. Users could manipulate the environment to look and feel any way they wanted and could do so from the television or any other internet ready access point. This would also correlate with several accessibility options. People could log onto their profile from any computer and check show schedules or even program a device to record a television show. Using the internet to host the interface would also significantly improve the efficiency of the program. Different technologies could be used, such as flash, which would decrease load times and make scrolling through channels much easier. The internet would also make searching and browsing the catalogue of television shows much easier as potentially any search engine could be used in accordance with the interface. While this idea has enormous potential, there are some definite limitations. The turnaround cost of setting up each television with a new system could be unrealistic. However, one could assume that anyone who vouches to upgrade to digital cable would most likely already have high speed internet as well. This would ease any transition into a new system. In addition, future technology could make the use of other peripherals, such as a keyboard or advanced remote control, much more effective and improve the overall television experience. This solution is the direction we would like to go in. However, this solution will be considered later on in the future and not at the present time due to costs.

SOLUTION #2 – AESTHETICS An issue commented upon fervently was the aesthetics of the interface. Currently, the interface lacks the appeal that most innovative and cutting edge technologies possess. In addition, the quality of the interface is dismal especially where HDTV and plasma screens are concerned. In other words, the lack of compatibility between these technologies hinders the presentation factor where the quality of images is reduced. As one participant observed, “I know on my HDTV terminal (it could've changed by now for all I know), the guide is not widescreen and is too low in resolution so it looks [terrible] on a high resolution HDTV” (survey). Another related issue concerning aesthetics was the lack of customization. To fulfill the interactive component of the system, the Rogers guide must attract users by enhancing their overall experience. That is to say, satisfying various technical requirements is not sufficient. The guide must surpass these expectancies by offering users the ability to personalize their systems. Since aesthetics involves the senses and determines the amount of pleasure that one may derive from using such a system (http://www.ergonomics4schools.com/lzone/aesthetics.htm), the visual appeal of the guide should be taken into consideration. Also, enhancing the aesthetically pleasing function of the guide will offer Rogers a competitive edge in their market segment. More importantly, it may contribute to the onset and/or enhancement of other user experience and usability goals. For instance, providing the user the option to change skins according to his or her preferences may add elements of satisfaction and fun. Improving the appearance of the guide may increase its overall effectiveness by frequently involving the user. Thus, common usage will lead to a better understanding and utilization of the guide. Allowing the user to manipulate and rearrange different data such as channels and time slots is another feature that may increase its aesthetic appeal. To further substantiate this claim of satisfaction, it is often considered that “an appreciation of pleasure in product use is fast becoming of primary importance to both consumer and the design industry alike” (http://www.ergonomics4schools.com/lzone/aesthetics.htm). Changing the interface layout to add visual appeal is related to the concept of demographics. By allowing the user to select options that enhance the visual appeal of the system, other demographics may feel inclined to implement the guide in their television viewing experience. This component will address the multitude of tastes and preferences that exists within any given demographic. The Rogers guide can also offer the option to change the colour, font, size, arrangement of data, and layout of the design and allow the user to save these preferences so that multiple users of a single digital box may utilize the guide according to his or her personal preferences. An improvement made on the aesthetics of the Rogers guide is a solution that offers visual and technical appeal along with the benefits of customization and storage of user preferences. These factors contribute to the amount of satisfaction that one derives from using such a system.

SOLUTION #3 - TECHNICAL Our third solution covers the technical features of the guide. The two main issues concerning the efficiency in the overall performance included the navigation and ‘browse by’ search feature. A solution proposed by our team to remedy the navigation in the interface involves a screen jump feature. The new layout will resemble the current design where five channels are displayed across the screen with their air times across the top. When the user wants to view the shows airing on the following ten stations, a single press of the down arrow button will refresh the screen to display the next five shows. In this way, users are not constantly scrolling through individual shows. In order to accommodate those who wish to browse through shows one after the other, the page feature will be a mode that the user can enter by pushing the up/down buttons on the remote control. The Browse By search feature is an issue due to the incredible amount of shows to search through alphabetically. There are too many shows that begin with common letters for a scroll feature to function effectively. Our team has borrowed an increasingly popular feature from the cell phone industry and applied it to the solution for the television guide. We would like to implement a system similar to the SMS text messaging feature to type in and search for specific television shows. For example, if the user wanted to run a search for the Simpson’s, they could use the numbers on the remote control like a keypad on a phone (where 1 corresponds to a, b, c, etc) to type out the beginning letters of the show. Similar to the T9 mode on cell phones, the interface would propose the show the user wishes to view from the combination of letters. In this manner, we believe the guide will perform at a higher level of efficiency, and in turn increase the user satisfaction.

SOLUTION #4 – SIMPLICITY In our discussions with the QAD subjects we discovered that many non-users of the guide generally consist of the older demographic and those that are typically unadventurous with technology (QAD observation). Therefore, transforming the Rogers guide into a very simple and basic structure may compel these non-users to convert. The aim is to reduce the learning curve to promote the learnability and utility of the Rogers guide. In addition, the accessibility and usability of the guide may impede those with disabilities. Consequently, Rogers may consider offering features that provide easier access to their guide to a segment that is currently not addressed by the existing guide. Since the aging baby boomers can account for a significant amount of the market, it is valuable to address the needs of this omnipresent demographic. Varying degrees of visual loss is the most commonly associated impairment that develops with age (http://ihcrp.georgetown.edu/agingsociety/pubhtml/visual/visual.html). As a result, “a decrease in one's ability to distinguish colors, an increased need for illumination, decreased ability to adapt to changing light levels, and general eye fatigue” (http://www.microsoft.com/enable/aging/physiological.aspx), are needs that should be taken into consideration when simplifying the layout of the guide. Presently, the colours that appear on the guide are unappealing and thus make it difficult to discern between texts. The lavender and darker purple are too similar and the pale yellow can cause eyestrain. However, the most significant design issue involves the use of font. The thin and small size of the font currently used may be unidentifiable to those with visual impairments. Opting to use a larger and bolder font may promote further access to the guide. People with more pronounced disabilities such as blindness may benefit from a voice recognition/command system. Users who suffer from visual loss may navigate through the guide by hearing important pieces of information such as the title of a show, times that it airs and channels in which it is offered. The current layout of the guide is somewhat intimidating for novice users. Presently, the Rogers guide displays a significant amount of data. All possible channels, stations, show times, in addition to other more insignificant data such as the date and unidentifiable instructional buttons are displayed on the guide. Besides the visual display of data, the complex features such as the browse by feature further intimidate non users from utilizing the guide. A solution to this problem may be to simplify the overall layout. As previously mentioned, the font size should be increased to assist those with visual impairments. However, this improvement may inadvertently benefit others, as the larger font may facilitate the learnability of the guide. If the font size is increased, the amount of data displayed on the guide will decrease. This permits users to apply direct focus on what they want to see instead of having to sort through infinite amounts of data for channels that are unavailable to them. In addition, reducing the number of days allocated for a particular show is another way of simplifying the guide. Instead of displaying show times for a specific show for the next five hours, it would be more efficient to reduce this span to one or two hours. Simplifying the guide will benefit users and non-users alike and address design issues associated with disabilities.

FLASH TUTORIAL The Flash tutorial will incorporate all the features that we feel are the most significant and will answer the main issues that we have addressed.