BETWEEN HUMANS AND MACHINES: A NEED FOR DESIGN

Human interaction with machines has for too long been dictated by engineers and software developers, says regular columnist Justin Zhuang. It is time for the experience of working with technology to be humanised.

What do we need to carry out work today? A table, a chair, and for many of us, some kind of electronic device. Whether it is preparing documents, organising schedules or even meeting colleagues, ‘work’ is mostly done through interactions with machines – ranging from the photocopier to the computer to the smartphone.

Yet, conversations revolving around the design of work environments are largely stuck on the physical work space.

Even as designers update office furniture and rearrange layouts toward new definitions of ‘ergonomic’ and ‘productivity’, the virtual office where workers spend their time tapping, clicking and typing away – often in silent frustration – is regarded as the domain of the IT department.

As a result, workers are often equipped with generic input devices – typically a computer manufacturer’s default keyboard and mouse hardly designed with the type of care that we expect from quality office furniture. Whenever new software or a new machine is introduced, workers are more often than not expected to simply cope with ever-more complex user interfaces. Anyone who has ever tried to use a photocopier beyond making a single copy or set-up a projector would understand. The design of how humans interact with machines has long been dictated by engineers and software developers. But as computers, devices and digital platforms become a part of all aspects of a business, designers need and have the opportunity to pay more attention to human-computer interaction design.

Despite the technological advancements over the decades, most of us continue to work on our computers through a keyboard and mouse. While these traditional interfaces work fine for writing an email or typing a document, they can create a communication bottleneck as computers can process things ever faster than before. Today, tablets, touch screens and the stylus are becoming increasingly common, and they are encouraging new ways of working. Rather than typing out lengthy messages, workers can now simply scribble digital notes and communicate via illustrations. Another up-and-coming form of technology is voice recognition; just imagine being able to dictate an email and send it out hands-free!

Improving how humans interact with machines is not simply about leveraging on emerging technologies. It is also about considering how user-friendly those technologies are. Watching cashiers struggle in front of point-of-sales terminals is only mildly frustrating until you step into their shoes. The proliferation of self-checkout terminals in grocery stores and even eateries is giving consumers a taste of the perils of poor user-interface design. The perplexing number of buttons, poorly worded instructions and lack of reassuring feedback are all signs of how little thought has been given to their human-computer interaction design. And to think that these will only increasingly become a part of our everyday lives.

Amidst fears that machines are out to replace humans at work, it is ever more important for designers to provide them with a language that can bridge this gap. It should speak of how humans can work with machines rather than for them. But that is hardly the message today when workers often bear the burden of adapting their ways of doing to how machines function, or making do with less-than-intuitive interactions. Consider how it is much easier for workers to personalise their physical desktops with personal memorabilia or even working aids, rather than their virtual screens or machines. This simple gesture could make toiling through hours with them more pleasurable. By reimagining our everyday interactions with machines, design can make work more efficient and productive. But more importantly, it can give meaning and even inject a sense of delight.

Justin Zhuang is a writer and researcher with an interest in design, cities, culture, history and media. justinzhuang.com