Topics in Usability
Kiosks, Touchscreens and Special Displays

Kiosks and TouchscreensInteractive TV

Related Topics:
Handheld Devices
Wireless
Accessibility

Kiosks and Touchscreens

The Human Factors of Touch Input Devices - Beta Research, Inc.

Baber, C. Beyond the Desktop: Designing and Using Interaction Devices. North Light Books: Cincinnati, OH,1997.

Sears, Andrew, Catherine Plaisant, and Ben Shneiderman. 1992. A New Era for High Precision Touchscreens. Edited by H. R. Hartson and D. Hix. Vol. 3, Advances in Human-Computer Interaction. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corp.

Kiosks.org - a website devoted to issues about kiosks with a good list of developers and equipment vendors as well as information about the KioskCom conferences and KioskStore.

The HCIL (Human Computer Interaction Lab) at University of Maryland has several research reports on touch screens. Abstracts are available online, along with full text for some papers at http://www.cs.umd.edu/projects/hcil/pubs/tech-reports.html

The Interface between Humans and Interactive Kiosks Part 1 and Part 2 by Kurtis J. VanKampen

Keys to Successful Kiosk Implementation - presentation that shows software and hardware usability options.

Touchscreen Application Tips from the EloSystems web site

Kiosk Design Guidelines
Chauncey Wilson

1. There are no expert users.  Users might gain some knowledge with repeat visits, but the visits are far apart so retention is minimal.
2. Make all buttons large (people may be carrying purses, briefcases, or children) and label the buttons clearly.
3. While the kiosk may not be international, there may be users who speak little English so language variants may be needed. Make it easy to switch languages.
4. Do not use standard controls like scroll bars and close boxes. For non-computer users, these controls are not intuitive.
5. Provide simple, but clear instructions for navigation and provide tips on what to click (since some users may never have used a computer).
6. Review ATM literature for tips on designing for a wide range of busy users.
7. Provide adequate time-outs for general information and shorter time outs for private information.  For example, if the purpose of your kiosk is to get medical information from a patient before an exam, you should build in a short time-out for the screen so the information isn't there if the patient is suddenly asked to go to an exam room.
8. If a person has to fill in personal information (medical or financial, for example), consider designing the kiosk so that each user has some privacy.
9. Make navigation linear and provide very clear exits.
10. Provide clear feedback about the actions the users take and make sure that titles clearly provide context.  Provide a way to start over easily.

WebTV

A crash course in designing for the TV - InteractiveTVWeb. Includes tables for safe-viewing pixel dimensions. (2004)

Broadcast design specs - The Troupe (2005)

Designing for Interactive Television - Whitney Quesenbery, Todd Reichart and Paul Hoffman (1996)

TV Meets the Web - Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox for (Feb 15, 1997)

Multimedia User Interfaces For Interactive Systems and TV -  Final Online Style Guide - ACTS Project AC010, GSM Software Management AG

WebTV Usability Review - Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox (Feb 1, 1997)

The CD-I Design Handbook Philips Interactive Media Systems (ISBN 0-201-62749-3). The official guide to CD-I design

Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction (Second Edition) by Dr. Ben Shneiderman. Addison-Wesley Publishing, 1992 (ISBN 0-201-57286-9) Excellent general reference on interface design

Television Production Handbook (Fifth Edition). Herbert Zettl. Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1992 (ISBN 0-534-14826-3) Standard college text on television production.

Digital Video in the PC Environment. Arch C. Luther McGraw Hill Book Company, 1989 (ISBN 0-07-039177-7) Good technical reference.