Crystal ball: predicting end-user experience with a digital media adapter

Computers are moving out of the home office and into other areas of the home. The problem today is not whether the technology that enables this transition is available, but whether people can use the technology as it is presented today. Unfortunately, for the average user, the initial experience of setting up and using some of the newest and most interesting digital home devices is challenging, at best, and impossible for many. This paper describes a unique research technique that has been used to create tools that predict the end-users' experience when setting up and using a variety of products (Lind & Michalak, 2001; Lind & Michalak, 2002). Most recently, we applied this approach to a new category of products called "Digital Media Adapters" (DMAs). As with its predecessors, this tool not only allows the prediction of an end-users' experience but provides guidance on how to improve their experience.