2. PANIC! PANIC! PANIC! Luis Diego Cabezas Ulate – Olin College – Human Factors & Interaction Design – 10/14/2005 Panic can render people useless and have catastrophic effects. Panic is well-studied, how to design for it is not. It is hard to deal with once it occurs, and should thus be avoided. If you can’t design to avoid it, design to lessen its dangerous effects. 2/7

3. PANIC! makes users useless Luis Diego Cabezas Ulate – Olin College – Human Factors & Interaction Design – 10/14/2005 A scuba diver thinks he has no air and swims frantically to the surface, causing his lungs to explode. His tank was full. As a car rolls towards a group of people, the driver slams on the accelerator thinking it is the brake. He notices something is wrong but presses harder, certain his foot is on the brake. A pilot flying solo hears a banging sound, and looks frantically for the source, allowing the plane to nose-dive and crash. It was a seatbelt buckle that got trapped outside by the door. At a formal dinner, a woman rises quietly and walks to the bathroom, where she dies from the piece of food stuck in her throat. She was too embarrassed to inform anyone. 3/7

4. PANIC! is well studied Luis Diego Cabezas Ulate – Olin College – Human Factors & Interaction Design – 10/14/2005 Panic is “a discrete period of intense fear or discomfort that is accompanied by at least 4 of 13 somatic or cognitive symptoms... often accompanied by a sense of imminent danger or impending doom and an urge to escape or flee.” Anxiety elicits evasive action; panic occurs when we can’t do anything, or choose the wrong action, or when it has ineffective or incomprehensible results. 4/7

5. Symptoms of PANIC! Luis Diego Cabezas Ulate – Olin College – Human Factors & Interaction Design – 10/14/2005 Accelerated heart rate Sweating Trembling or shaking Sensation of shortness of breath Chest pain Nausea Feeling dizzy or faint 5/7 Feeling dizzy or faint Derealization or depersonalization Fear of losing control or going crazy Fear of dying Paresthesias (tingling sensations) Chills or hot flushes

6. Ways of reducing PANIC! Luis Diego Cabezas Ulate – Olin College – Human Factors & Interaction Design – 10/14/2005 Competence training – simulations lead to understanding of how to respond. Desensitization – causing real panic and fear improves natural response. Product design – better design avoids interaction mistakes and lessens their effects. 6/7

7. Product design & PANIC! Luis Diego Cabezas Ulate – Olin College – Human Factors & Interaction Design – 10/14/2005 Identify the sources of panic in studies. Offer a gentle initial learning curve. Ensure early success experiences. Take the “for power users” feel out of products. Let it be fast, familiar, and forgiving. Approach software and product design as if you were designing for airplanes. 7/7