–Virupaksha K. M.
This idea won a prize at STC India Regional Conference at Bangalore in July 2009.
Software products are easy to demonstrate to clients – the products can be carried around or accessed electronically. But what about hardware products? My product is a security panel for homes. It is a physical product that is difficult to carry around and show to prospective clients.
My idea was turning this piece of hardware into a software simulation that would help users get a feel of the product, albeit electronically. Users could play around with the simulator to learn about the product and its features; Marketing folks could carry it around and demonstrate the product features to prospective clients.
I took digital photographs of the various screens of the panel and created a PowerPoint presentation file where these pictures were arranged in the same sequence in which a user would see when actually using the panel. I then converted this presentation file into a PDF document. In the PDF document, I created transparent buttons on the page to exactly superimpose upon the user-input areas such as the numeric keypad, menu buttons, and so on. I then inserted links from source to destination screens. I limited the navigation in the PDF document to ensure that one could move to the next screen or menu item only by clicking the option keys or numeric keys (which actually were the transparent buttons with links to the destination pages). I then set the PDF document properties to open in full screen view. I also included user assistance (in the form of highlights) on each page, leading the user to perform the intended action. For example, pressing a four-digit code on the numeric keypad would unlock the panel (a message would be displayed) and lead a user to the Welcome screen and then, appropriate keys would be highlighted so that a user knows which keys to click. The key combinations would lead a user to the next screen, with scroll-menu buttons to navigate to succeeding and preceding pages, each with their own menu.
Users could thus get a real-life, hands-on experience of the product.
Tools used for the simulator: Canon S2IS digital camera, Microsoft Office Suite 2003, and Adobe Acrobat Professional 7.
About the Author
Virupaksha K.M., is an Electrical Engineer and an MBA from Bangalore University. He began his career as a Trainee Journalist with The Economic Times, Bangalore. He is currently working as Lead Information Developer with Honeywell. He presented a White Paper titled, “Adopting Mistake Proofing Methods in Documentation,” at the 2006 Annual STC Conference in Bangalore. He is a cinephile, an aspiring shutterbug, and an inveterate biker. He is currently preparing to run a full-marathon.
Recent Comments