Results of Task Analysis

ATMs allow easy access to the user’s money through the use of a credit or debit card, and PIN (personal identification number) code, while avoiding the inconvenience of long bank lines and the scrutiny of curious bank clerks. ATMs are everywhere: banks, government buildings, stores, restaurants, gas stations and delis. The fact that they are found in a multitude of quick-stop locations is convenient for users, who often need cash unexpectedly. On the other hand, even though ATMs are aimed at making life and banking easier, they are not very user-friendly and need to enhance the customer experience.

When a user does approach an ATM, he/she must go through a series of steps in order to withdraw money, and the whole process may quickly become tedious. The user must first input their PIN before proceeding to answer the various questions that result in the desired action; make cash withdrawals, view their account balance or to transfer funds from one account to another. However, the questions and its sequence differ from machine to machine, which slows the user, as he/she does not always know what to expect. Also, the layout of each page varies, forcing the user to use additional time surveying.

When redesigning the interface of an ATM, the first of my considerations, which actually should be intuitive, is consistency in design. An organized layout that creates a template for the rest of the screen shots will create the consistency, which users will easily comprehend. I intend to employ a consistent grid plan for the placements of buttons and information, according to users’ expectations.

A common frustration with the ATM interface is the inability to backtrack through a process. If a user needs to move back to a previous step, he/she usually will need to cancel and restart their entire transaction. I intend to design an interface that does only fulfill a ‘back’ option, but also jump back several steps. These steps shall appear in a side bar that will be clearly separated from the main activity onscreen, outlining the pathway of the process, while also allowing the option to move back to that step to modify their transaction.

For additional comprehensiveness, the language used throughout the process will be clear and concise. Furthermore, the number of interactions will be limited to one per screen. This creates for a smoother interaction flow, and thus quicker transaction.

Also, I intend that the design feature a touch screen, eliminating the physical buttons that run along the screen. Living with the today’s technology, a touch screen is intuitive and expected by users.

After conducting a persona study and task analysis, many faults of the interface design became obvious. Learning from this study, the features mentioned above intend to improve user interface and interaction flow while increasing preferences usage, reducing transaction time and increasing customer satisfaction.