Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 1
Introduction
48% of returned products are not attributed to a violation of product specifications
(Den Ouden et al., 2006). This finding was the initial motivation for this research
project. Brombacher, den Ouden and colleagues (e.g., Den Ouden et al., 2006;
Brombacher et al., 2005; Koca et al., 2009) found that an alarmingly increasing
number of returned products, in 2002 covering 48% of returned products, are tech-
nically fully functional, i.e. according to specifications, but they are returned on the
basis of failing to satisfy users' true needs (28%), or purely because of users' re-
morse (20%) (Den Ouden et al., 2006). Brombacher et al. (2005) introduced the
term 'Soft Reliability' to refer to these situations where
“in spite of meeting with
the explicit product specifications, a customer explicitly complains on the (lack of)
functionality of the product”
.
How is this finding different from Suchman's well-known case at XEROX in
the '80s where users were found to have problems in using a feature-rich photo-
copier (c.f., Suchman, 2006)? While product designers were aiming at improving
the instructions for using the product, Suchman argued that learning is an inherently
problematic activity, and suggested that
“no matter how improved the machine in-
terface or instruction set might be, this would never eliminate the need for active
sense-making on the part of prospective users”
(Suchman, 2006, , p. 9). Since the
'80s, a wealth of theories, methods, and design guidelines have been developed in
the field of Human-Computer Interaction with the aim of making products more
easy to learn and use in the long run. Thus, one might wonder, do Brombacher's and
den Ouden's findings replicate what was found at XEROX almost 30 years ago, or
do they introduce a new and as yet unaddressed problem? Should these consumer
complaints be attributed to bad design practices, to apparently inescapable interac-
tion flaws in first-time use, or do they suggest a new emerging problem in the user
acceptance of interactive products?
Den Ouden et al. (2006) identified a number of trends in the consumer electron-
ics (CE) industry that have resulted in radical differences of the current market in
comparison to that in the '90s. They argued that the emphasis in the CE industry
has shifted from the production of high volumes at competitive prices to the intro-
duction of highly innovative products at higher prices. This leads to a shift in the
