Prototype Testing - Margaret Hadley

Scenario 1
I think this would be good for my husband since I'm often out most of the day and he has trouble walking.
Can it call more than one person at once?
What happens if the line is busy and it can't get through to the contact?
If both me and my husband leave the house, will it end up setting off on its own?

Scenario 2
What happens if you can't reach the alarm button?
Clarify where the alarm button is/how to access
Would both my husband and I get a remote, or do we just need one? What happens if it gets pressed by accident and all of a sudden a load of emergency people arrive at my house?

Scenario 3
How does the system alert me to the fire?
Clarify that the alert comes from the remote
What happens if my husband and I are apart in the flat, and he has the remote? I wouldn't hear anything then, would I?
My husband sometimes has difficulty hearing things. What if the speaker volume is too low on the remote? Is there anyway to change it?

System interface
What about if I want to watch TV and just quickly switch a light on? Can I do that without losing sight of the channel I'm watching?
Am I going to be stuck with all different remote controls for the TV and the system? My husband gets confused just with one!

System Features - Manage My Home
This seems useful, especially for my husband. He's always leaving the light in the hallway on.
My house has two floors, will I be able to control things in rooms I have that aren't shown on those screens?
People couldn't get access to the system and control my house without my permission, could they?
Would I be able to set the hot water through the system as well?
Sometimes I like to set my central heating and water on a timer. The system doesn't seem to have a way to do this right now. Could that be added in?

System Features - Shopping
I don't really like this idea. I do all my own shopping anyway.
Does it hook up to your bank account or something? What if someone pinched all your money from there or the order went wrong and they took too much?
I have a friend the same age as me who doesn't even have a bank account - how would it work for her?
Can't you pick which shop you want to buy from?
It all seems a bit complicated. I have the same sort of shopping list every week - would I have to add it in every single time I wanted shopping delivered?

Remote Design
It's not going to be heavy, is it? That would be a pain to carry around all the time.
Pressing the alarm button seems a bit complicated. Surely if it's an emergency you need to be able to press it as easily as possible?
Can I talk into the speaker bit as well? Would that do anything?


Ideas/issues derived from this evaluation:

• Emergency contact - a list of people to contact? If a call doesn't get through, e.g. busy tone, problem with phone, regularly re-try?
• Need to refine time periods etc. for sensors and motion detectors to trigger emergency responses.
• Possibly need a way to cancel an alarm signal?
• If multiple people in the home, remote not an efficient way of alerting users to potential problems such as fire? E.g. users are separated, only one will hear the warning etc.
• Volume control for the speaker on the remote - required for hard of hearing?
• Could possibly integrate menu system into the TV more effectively e.g. as an interactive sidebar without having to change channel?
• TV remote AND homecare remote required?
• Interface and functions require customisation to particular homes
• Switch hot water on and off as well?
• Timer functions for central heating/water?
• Security is a big concern for elderly people
• Concerns about financial implications of shopping aspect - how it connects to bank accounts etc. Impractical for users without bank accounts?
• User may have particular shop preferences and be restricted by the current system.
• Concerns about having to input the same shopping list each time. Either save a standard shopping list, or just set a standard one to be regularly delivered so a user only has to access the shopping aspect of the system to change that list rather than every single time they want shopping delivered?
• Remote should be light and not too big if it's going to go around the user's neck.
• Alarm button - needs a simpler activation method
• Speaker - only produces sound. Possibly could also allow sound to be accepted from the user to allow voice-activated features? This would help arthritic and otherwise disabled users access features of the system without physical restraint.