Over two three years ago, I had written a post sharing my experiences on using Automated Teller Machines (ATM) and the inherent need for a fresh user interaction model for ATMs. Roughly around the same time, Well’s Fargo, a diversified financial services company headquartered at San Fransisco with worldwide operations, commissioned Pentagram to work on new User Interfaces for their 7000 ATMs.

Holger Struppek, an ex-Pentagrammer, shares some of their experiences on working on the interfaces. One of the features that I had envisioned back then was a single click cash dispensing option that suggests an amount based on the user’s transaction history. Its good to learn that this feature has been adopted in Pentagram’s work -

A great feature of the Wells Fargo ATM UI has always been the Quick Cash button. It allows you to quickly withdraw $40 from your checking account with the press of one button. There is no need to go through the steps of selecting an account, selecting an amount, and confirming the transaction. However, few people knew that this feature could be customized with a different amount and account.

The article talks about the research, decision on using grid-based visual design, color palette, user testing and other stuff that went in to redefining the ATM interface design paradigm.

Its been brrringly cold here the past few days and in an attempt to keep warm, I’ve been wearing layers and layers of clothing. I really don’t mind the cold, but whats bugging is the dryness that it creates on the skin. Apparently, the only way to deal with dry skin during winters is to use moisturizers, which I absolutely hate – they make you feel so girly!! To keep the room warm, my roomies and I have closed all the doors and windows (barring one – to avoid suffocation), switched to yellow bulbs and leave our notebooks running through the night in the hope of generating enough heat to allow for a comfortable sleep. (I wish we could get one of those DLP projectors they use in the insti – they generate so much heat that it feels comfortably numb just sitting next to them) Although we haven’t been able to crack the ‘comfortable sleep’ part, our room has indeed become slightly warmer compared to the other rooms in the hallway which is a good sign. Now for more research on inexpensive ways to keep warm.

It’s been more than a week since I got back from Udaipur, but I haven’t posted my photos nor written about the trip yet. Time for amends, so with due apologies, here’s my travelogue of the trip.

Ramp Attack at RGB was an opportunity for me to experiment on fashion photography. Since I was using a normal lens (which had no luxury of zoom) I had to be close to the stage in order to capture some decent photos. There was ample scope for experimentation and I did manage to learn to quickly switch settings on the fly to capture the images based on ambient light. I’m quite happy with the results and would love to hear your thoughts on it as well.

Software companies, BPO’s and other medium to big organizations across the country have adopted stringent security measures. (actually this is nothing new. They’ve been having this for quite some time but its only recently that I’ve been annoyed to the extent of me having to write this.) They’ve basically outsourced the work to various security services companies in the country. Thats good news. However, whats really annoying is the processes that these companies adopt in the name of security.

The ‘process’ begins the moment you step into the facility. Image capturing devices including camera-phones aren’t allowed in the premises. If you happen to have one, you need to surrender the phone before entering the facility and take it back on your way out. This is pathetic. For a person who’s work depends a lot on telephone, this really put me off. I’d rather ask the person I need to meet to come out instead. By asking visitors for phones, they are indeed inviting trouble. I was tempted to take some shots of the facility just for the heck of it and publish it online.

Then comes the register entries. Signing registers is a must and not doing so is almost sacrilige; before you actually get to the purpose of your visit. If your work involves moving to different floors within the same building, you need to sign-in and sign-out each time you move from one floor to another. They do this to track movement of visitors or contractors within the facility. All I see is, stack of register with pages and pages of crap. Small wonder, why forests in the country are fast depleting.

The point is, one needs to spend almost 15-20 minutes complying with these security procedures for a work/meeting that would hardly take 5 minutes. And this is repeated every time you walk into the building. A popular argument would be that this helps keeping trouble out. But does it really? Here’s the twist.

This particular organization (an MNC) that I’ve been frequenting for the past few weeks, have security personnel that work on a shift basis. I know most of them because of my frequent visits (duh!) and as such, they are quite easy with me on a few of the procedures. Now I happily carry my cameraphone, skip signing a few registers and even drink coffee whenever I feel like. Thats the level of security that we were talking about earlier. Now all I need is some RDX, a liquid that aids explosives (whatever that may be) and the media informed before setting off the bomb. The next morning, as we all can expect, the bombing will be somehow linked to Lakshar-e-Toiba/Al-Qaeda and the current peace process with Pakistan will come to an indefinite halt.

Ok, so whats the solution?

Instead of having a lot of security personnel hovering around each floor and inviting trouble from otherwise normal people (like me), they can reduce the workforce and increase the use of technology. Every visitor could be given a smartcard embedded with an RFID tag that gives them controlled access within the facility. Simply put, this means giving access rights to areas in the facility that the visitor wants to go. Other areas will be not be given access without prior approval. The access rights can be remotely programmed on to the smartcard. So all you need is a single card for entering the premises.

From the security company’s view, they can map the location of the visitor in real-time and even set alarms or activate closed circuit cameras upon intrusion into non-designated areas. The security company can maintain a movement log in a database and thus minimize use of paper. On leaving the premises, the visitor hands over the smartcard.

All this is an effecient and time-saving way of doing the same thing. It only invloves utilizing available technologies and making things work better.

I’ve cast my first vote ever for the 2006 State Assembly Elections in TamilNadu.

This has been a first not only for me but also for my family. Its only recently that we’ve moved back to India (all of us) and I’m pretty happy that we exercised our franchise. We set out early this morning and were pleasantly surprised by the security arrangements made for the voters. My only gripe is that the entire list on the electronic polling machine was in Tamil – a language that I unfortunately cannot read or write. It would be better if they had English in addition to Tamil as it would help a significant section of the population in casting their votes. I did, however, know the symbol of the party I wanted to elect and that helped. Nonetheless, it was a good experience and there is a sense of pride somewhere.

Delhi is a beautiful place. I love the wide roads, the manicured lawns and well maintained historical places. There’s something about Delhi that makes me want to visit it again.

Much to my dismay, I couldn’t find the time to post while in Delhi. There were plenty of things to do on the work front and very little time to explore Delhi. However, thanks to a friend, I did do a bit of sightseeing on the last two days of my trip. Saw a few historic buildings and even did “mall-hopping” in Gurgaon, which by the way, wasn’t all that great compared to what I’ve heard about them.

Cannaught Place, referred to CP by Delhiites appears to be the business hub of Delhi. Its like this huge circle with radial roads spreading out in all directions. Its pretty confusing to drive through the area as most of them look identical.

Visiting the Taj Mahal was out of the question as one would need a whole day to travel to Agra and back, which I did not have. So, I’ve left that for the future.

On the last day of my trip, barely 4 hours before I left, a friend and I went for a drive to the India Gate. India Gate is a prominent fixture in central Delhi and cannot be missed. The excusite monument has an aura thats very hard to put in words. Inscribed on top is the following

To the dead of the Indian armies who fell honoured in France and Flanders Mesopotamia and Persia East Africa Gallipoli and elsewhere in the near and the far-east and in sacred memory also of those whose names are recorded and who fell in India or the north-west frontier and during the Third Afgan War.

We spent some time there looking at the splendid form and all the tourists who were spread around posing for pictures. It was a nice evening. There was a lake nearby where you could go boating for almost nothing. While walking around the place I noticed the Rashtrapati Bhavan (Presidential Palace) right ahead. We decided to go there and see it up close.

Where I almost met the President

The Rashtrapati Bhavan has a breathtaking architecture. While we were outside the palace, I got an opportunity to speak to one of the guards there. During the course of our conversation, I candidly asked him what it would take to meet the President. He laughed at first, but when he realised that I was serious, he asked me try another gate which was located at the far end of the palace. We went there and told the guards there our intent. To my luck, one of the guards happened to be from South India, so speaking to him in native language helped enormously. We were let in and asked to contact the Central Registry Office.

Now, normally one would need to take an appointment weeks in advance to meet the President and it should have to do with some issue that needs to be discussed. But we did not have any. We just wanted to meet our President and spend few minutes with him and we were very honest with that. I met a nice person at the Central Registry Office and told him my case. He turned me down saying that it was not possible to meet the President like that which obviously was right. But when I insisted that I’ve come this far, he asked me to write a letter and had it sent immediately to the Personal Secretary to the President (PSP). We were asked to wait.

We were excited with our prospects and spent few minutes looking around while waiting at the office. The palace was massive with lush green grass laid out as a carpet and a few peacocks straying around. After about 5 minutes I got a call from the PSP, saying that it was not possible to meet the President at such short notice more so as he had prior commitments with the visiting Bangladeshi prime minister. They asked us to come back the following morning. I knew at this point it would be futile pushing it any further as I was already getting late for my flight back home. We thanked and left.

Looking back now, I wish I had that one extra day so that I could have met the President. Hopefully some day, I will.

Bangalore Bloggers decided to meet for the 2nd time this year. Lots of new folks this time and highly enthu ones at that. We had a nice time and it was good fun getting to know each and every one of them.

Writeups, pics and video can be found at the following blogs -

• Anand
• Anita
• Bhaskar
• Kiruba
• Krishna
• Muthu
• Prabhu
• Shub
• Suman

Tea time is when we at work relax, kick off our shoes and talk about stuff which are usually non-work related. The general conversation revolves around things currently in news or about some experience that one of us had over the weekend. Interestingly enough, our topic today was ATM – no, not the one thats got to do with mathematics, but the Automated Teller Machine.

Visiting the ATM these days has become quite an ordeal. More often than not, you would end up waiting in a long queue. I’ve been using the ATM for the past couple of years and have had my share of experiences. This particular bank that I’m talking about (and I’m sure others would follow suit), has two teller machines close to my office and is usually crowded during business hours. A typical scene at the ATM is as follows -

1. You go to the ATM with an urgent need for cash only to find a queue that snakes a mile long.
2. You decide to wait in the queue after learning that the nearest ATM of the same bank is about 4 blocks away.
3. While waiting at the queue you notice people cutting in – joining their friend/colleague/spouse who is standing ahead of you. You control your anger by biting your jaw.
4. Almost half way through, you realize that one of the teller machines is not working. The two line queue reorganizes into one at the blink of an eye. You look at your watch and calculate how much longer you’d have to wait. You force yourself to be calm and chew another polo.
5. After waiting for what seems like ages, you have finally one person in front of you when you see the other teller machine up and running. Your brain starts computing enormous differential algorithms and you finally decide to stick to the same queue.
6. The person in front completes his transaction and you proceed to the teller. You gently push the ATM card into the slot and and enter your transaction details. The teller processes it and displays the following message -
   

   Sorry! Your transaction cannot be completed. Please try again later.

7. You gather your wits, cancel the transaction, eject your card and try again. People behind start giving you all sorts of looks. You also notice the speed at which the other line starts moving. You are reminded of Murphy’s Laws. You enter the PIN code slowly this time, making sure you’ve entered them right and wait. You get the same message.
8. You turn around and ask the person behind you to try his card. You step aside so that he can enter his PIN code. He gets the same message. We conclude that the teller has no money in it and make an announcement for the others.
9. You turn to the second line and request the person whose turn is next to let you in after having explained your situation. He agrees and you thank him profusely.
10. You proceed to the teller machine, complete your transaction, thank the person once again and leave.

The “experience” is not the same as what it used to be. The present ATM’s could do with a fair amount of re-engineering in design and usability so as to reduce time spent using it. The design of an ATM should not only include its inherent usability but also its perceived usability. For example, Tracktinsky found that subjects based their overall experience of the usability of the ATM on the look of the machine.

The current process can be listed as follows -

• Insert card.
• Select language.
• Enter pin.
• Choose transaction option.
• Enter details (amount).
• Receipt? (yes / no).
• Withdraw cash
• Another transaction? (yes / no)
• Collect receipt.
• Collect card (beeps)

Essentially, you would have to go through that many steps to withdraw money from the teller machine. This can be reduced to a certain extent by introducing AI into the system, thereby speeding things up. Here’s how -

• If the user selects English as language, it should set that as default and quit asking the next time. (one key stroke less).
• I’ve got the habit of withdrawing the same amount over 90% of the time, so it should allow for dispensing that amount (checking from transaction history) at the click of a single button rather than having me (the user) to enter the amount again. (3 or more key strokes less)
• I’ve noticed slightly taller (6 feet and above) people having to bend down to look at the screen. This can be avoided by having configurable screen settings for individual users. So, certain users can have the screen tilt or the display height adjusted automatically when they insert their card into the machine. This returns to default state when the transaction is completed. Needless to say, the same goes for people of shorter height.

• The display is also difficult to look at under certain lighting conditions especially outdoors. They could have sensors installed that automatically adjust display settings according to the ambience.
• The ATM display could also do with better graphics. Motion graphics (flash) that fade-in and fade-out quickly can be quite pleasing to the eyes.
• The teller could also display the available (or unavailable) currency denominations in the machine on user authentication. This will also alert the user before hand as to the available denominations in which he can withdraw.
• A contact-less smart {proximity} card that stores vital information and configuration settings in encrypted format. This would result in longer card life and also allow the user to activate the teller without having to take the card out of the wallet.

These are some of things I came across over time. Have you felt the same? What are other features that you can think of that can help reduce time spent at the ATM?

Everyone seems to be in a holiday mood today. There isn’t much work being done and we seem to be forming the ‘huddle’ every second hour discussing things from politics to pepsi(?) to noise cancellation(??). Amongst all these, the topic that garnered the most interest was mobile phones.

Yes, you’re right. After the recent MMS scandals (no, this is not an attempt to generate traffic), the mobile phone market is said to be booming. According to the Times Of India, there has been a lot of enquiry on MMS enabled phones and people who had the option are now activating it and learning more (I’m sure!). This has also enlightened a few souls at my workplace as some of them are contemplating on upgrading their existing phones to the ‘all-wonder-camera’ phones.

With multitude of phones with ‘oh-so-many’ features available, deciding on which one to buy can be a difficult process. If ease of use is what you’re looking at primarily, Nokia used to be the only company that could get this right. This has changed a bit- partly because other companies have realized that user testing is important and partly because Nokia has been drawn towards including more and more features on underpowered processors.

Don’t buy a phone that you can’t personally play with if the UI matters to you. Even if the documentation (imagine that) were to show the complete UI, it wouldn’t give a sense of responsiveness, etc. Sometimes I wish consumer electronics companies could realize the value of a web-based simulation of their product’s interface.

Its interesting how the brain works. Let me explain. I got myself a new pair of spectacles today after around 4 years or so. Yes four years, or maybe more!! I never felt the need actually. Till a couple of days back. Today I went to collect it from Lawrence & Mayo at M.G. Road after having given the order the day before.

I got the frame and tried it on. It looked nice, but everything appeared different- crystal clear. The visual feedback was so sharp and clear that it gave me a headache. My right eye power had increased a bit. So after putting on the new glasses, it took sometime for me to focus on what I wanted to see. I wasn’t quite happy with that. I told the salesman. He told that it would take a while for me to get used to it and that it would be fine in a weeks time. I wasn’t satisfied. I told him I was happy with the one I had earlier. He got the optometrist and she explained to me why my power increased – my right eye was more dependent on the left and that its become ‘lazy’. She made me read text of varied sizes and I realized that it had indeed become ‘lazy’. I thanked her, took my new frame and left the place.

On the way back, I started noticing people – the kind of spectacles they wore. It was something that happened sub-conciously, I started looking at the eyewear and how it suited the person than looking at the person itself. Its like some kinda file you registered in your brain. The brain being a complex supercomputer has about 100 billion neurons in it. Amongst all those neurons, one of them registers a ‘new glasses’ file and that appears in your ‘Recent Documents’ list in your brain. So everytime you look at a person, the ‘Recent Documents’ folder tells the brain about the neuron that registered a ‘new glasses’ file. So automatically (without you even knowing it) you look at the glasses and all the associated properties before you actually look at the person. Its interesting how the brain works.