norton@manta.NOSC.MIL (LT Scott A. Norton, USN) (06/22/91)
Last month, I used my ATM card over the Cirrus network to get some cash while at an airport, far away from my home bank. I was worried because I needed the cash, and I had never used the network before. After I inserted the card and entered the PIN, I was very pleased when the ATM showed "Welcome to the XYZ Cash Machine, A. Scott Norton" Becuase the machine said my name, I was immediatly assured that it was progressing along correctly on the transaction. In retrospect, I would guess the machine probably got the name from the cards stripe, but the heartening effect was real. On the down side, after the machine used my name for the fifth time, it just got annoying, like a bad mail-merge form letter. The lesson for user-interface designers is that substantive feedback like this has a real positive effect, particularly on an apprehensive user. Scott Norton <norton@NOSC.MIL> "Please state your full name." "Ah... Clem" "Thank you, 'Ah... Clem'" -Firesign Theater
bcarter@claven.idbsu.edu (Bruce Carter) (06/24/91)
In article <2073@manta.NOSC.MIL> norton@manta.NOSC.MIL (LT Scott A. Norton, USN) writes: >... >After I inserted the card and entered the PIN, I was very pleased >when the ATM showed "Welcome to the XYZ Cash Machine, A. Scott Norton" >Becuase the machine said my name, I was immediatly assured that it >was progressing along correctly on the transaction. > >In retrospect, I would guess the machine probably got the name from the >cards stripe, but the heartening effect was real. About half of the ATM machines I have used insist on referring to me as A Bruce Carter (A is my middle initial). This is mildly annoying since I think of myself as THE Bruce Carter... :-{) <-> Bruce Carter, Courseware Development Coordinator bcarter@claven.idbsu.edu Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725 duscarte@idbsu.bitnet (This message contains personal opinions only) (208)385-1250@phone
hollombe@ttidca.TTI.COM (The Polymath) (06/26/91)
In article <2073@manta.NOSC.MIL> norton@manta.NOSC.MIL (LT Scott A. Norton, USN) writes: } }After I inserted the card and entered the PIN, I was very pleased }when the ATM showed "Welcome to the XYZ Cash Machine, A. Scott Norton" }Becuase the machine said my name, I was immediatly assured that it }was progressing along correctly on the transaction. } }In retrospect, I would guess the machine probably got the name from the }cards stripe, but the heartening effect was real. There's a technical problem with doing this. Not all card issuers store the card owner's name in the same format. Some don't put it on the mag-strip at all. With a different card, you might have seen "Welcome to the XYZ Cash Machine, Norton, A. Scott", which is somewhat less friendly, or even "... Norton Scott", which is wrong. -- The Polymath (aka: Jerry Hollombe, M.A., CDP, aka: hollombe@ttidca.tti.com) Head Robot Wrangler at Citicorp Turn the rascals out! 3100 Ocean Park Blvd. (213) 450-9111, x2483 No incumbents in '92! Santa Monica, CA 90405 {rutgers|pyramid|philabs|psivax}!ttidca!hollombe
jtchew@csa3.lbl.gov (JOSEPH T CHEW) (06/29/91)
A few random constraints: * Uniformity. ATMs are increasingly tied together by multibank, interstate networks. It is desirable not only to offer some uniformity, but also to avoid sticking in the fork of "enhancements" and twirling thousands of lines of code into spaghetti. There are also mechanical compatibility issues. If they all look more or less alike they're cheaper. * User skills. Anybody bright enough to walk around unescorted and open a bank account might try to use an ATM. Hence the emphasis on function buttons and prompts rather than ASCII input and menus. * Mechanical issues. These machines take a beating. At any given bogey value of cost, that limits how much you can offer and the technology with which you can implement it. * Psychology. People are suspicious and conservative about money and want reassurance that the machine in the wall is doing something familiar with it. --Joe "Just another personal opinion from the People's Republic of Berkeley"