Paper Reading #3: The Coffee Lab: Developing a public Usability Space

The Emoti-Chiar at the Coffee Lab, Toronto
Reference Information:
Title: The Coffee Lab: Developing a public Usability Space
Author: Maria Karam
Presented at: CHI 2010, April 10-15,2010, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Summary:
The coffee lab is a public usability space situated in a coffee ship in Toronto. It's a pilot project aimed at supporting usability studies in a mixed-use space, where a variety of software applications, hardware systems and other interactive technologies are put to the public for evaluation. One advantage to this approach is to facilitate the collection of usability data from a large and diverse population of potential users.
- Infrastructure:
Wired and wireless network connections, a touch screen, multiple computers to run systems, web cameras for visual input and monitoring interactions.
- Participants:
Staff, performers, students, spectators and local customers who frequent the coffee shop.

The five evaluation stages:

• Exposure: The first contact the user has with the technology.


• Experience: Researcher's interactions with the user while they are gaining experience with the system. Second stage participants often provide valuable feedback or report problems, if any.


• Experiment: Laboratory style experiments that are designed to evaluate a specific feature of a system. This stage is very similar to lab studies, but is simplified where possible to account for the potential distractions that occur in public space.


• Extension: This stage offers an in-depth look at one or more users over time, providing a more detailed perspective of the user's interactions.


• Exploration: This stage occurs once the system has been evaluated, or when the research is between stages. Participants may leave feedback or provide comments.

Although quantitative data obtained through a Public Usability Test (PUT) may be less stringent or precise than a lab study, these results maybe instrumental in serving as pilot tests for empirical studies that are in the planning stage, or for formulating hypothesis.
Two main systems that are currently part of the Coffee Lab pilot tests are the Emoti-Chair (pictured above) and iGesture. Emoti Chair is a tactile audio system while the iGesture system is used to control the music at the Coffee Lab.

Discussion:
I thought this method of evaluation of a product was extremely ingenious and creative, just like the 'Wizard of Oz' approach developed by John Gould. It was a nice way to get people know about the new product, know about their feedback and advertise the product. It's similar to have people test drive a car before they make a decision. I also like the notion of choosing a Coffee Shop as a venue for performing this experiment. Since coffee shops attract all kinds of people from various backgrounds who have different type of moods, the tests can provide fairly accurate results.