May 8, How Usable is USB? Making USB an Ease of Use Asset Actions Taken & What to Be Aware of Moving Forward Paul Sorenson Intel Corporation

May 8, Simplification Reliability Ease of Use Vectors Focus Has Been on Simplification Power Management OOBE (Set-up) Easy Expansion Front Panel I/O Color Coded Connectors Automatic Update PC Health Center of Digital World Faster Boot Driver reliability Interoperability No Crashes Natural Interaction Always available Icon Clutter

May 8, Top USB install problems from RT Users installed wrong USB drivers (user didn't properly load vendor's driver) User cannot get USB device working after initial failure because OS doesn't fully remove software from prior attempt Users didn’t know which USB port to plug their keyboard and mouse into How Usable is USB? - Overview Usability Studies (Intel’s) A WIN ME Usability Test showed USB device install one of top problem area 5 additional independent Intel usability studies confirm many of these install usability problems ¶ ¶ Industry Round Table (RT) data for 2000 show that USB is top-5 customer support problem – – One RT OEM cites USB 5-10% of total call volume. Other RT OEM’s cite 1-4% – – RT data confirms problems no different w/ WIN ME – – RT top USB problems are with USB install Bottom Line Addressing Usability Problems can: making PC simpler reduce end-user calls => more user satisfaction & less cost, and Accelerate legacy-removal,

May 8, Top USB Usability Issues Users follow many paths to install a USB device... Incorrect USB Mental Model : Which USB port does my device plug into ? 2 User Guidance Conflict: IHV doct’n says SW first; OS doct’n says plug in first. 1 Pop-up Alert Too Quick Users cancel out of wizard. fixed 4 CD Not Inserted : Users fail to put in CD when requested--can result in wrong drivers 7 User Selects Wrong Printer/Driver – fixed (add hw wizard) 3 USB Power Trap : “Port doesn’t have enough power ? ” Where to move it ?” 10 USB High Speed Trap : “Hmm, my new high- speed peripheral seems slow Port Selection Error : Users are asked to select legacy printer port for USB 6 Wrong/Partial Driver Installed : “Wizard says install complete, but printer won’t work. 8 Bundled SW not installed : User doesn’t realize it’s not installed USB bandwidth exceeded : I need to move my USB device, but where? Problem Description User plugs device into PC USB port User plugs device into PC USB port User sees pop-up new HW wizard alert User sees pop-up new HW wizard alert User puts install CD in PC User Installs Optional Bundled Device SW User Installs Optional Bundled Device SW User progresses through pop-up install wizard User progresses through pop-up install wizard User Installs Required Device SW (drivers) User Installs Required Device SW (drivers) User tries to install Required Device SW (drivers) User tries to install Required Device SW (drivers) Installation of required and bundled SW complete Installation of required and bundled SW complete Installation of required SW complete, not bundled SW 9 9 First impressions of high- speed printer in full-speed port Printer app used while other USB device apps are active User Begins Install User opens Add New Printer Wizard from Control Panel Pop-up HW Wizard Vendor’s Install Disk Control Panel HW Wizard INSTALL COMPLETE, USAGE FOLLOWS Installation of required SW complete, not bundled SW

May 8, Common User Problems User Problem Recommended Solution Ease of Use Recommendations

May 8, Power Trap w IHV’s – If your device is bus-powered, with high power requirements: u Ensure install instructions direct users to plug device into any USB port on PC chassis u or, into a self-powered USB hub accessory w Bus-Powered Hub Vendors – Prominently state hub’s ports are for low-powered devices like mice u Keyboard hub vendors – please take note: action now saves calls & dissatisfaction later Ease of Use Recommendations

May 8, Power Trap w USB IF – Continue to actively discourage further proliferation of bus-powered hubs. Encourage self-powered hubs only w OEM’s – Industry should continue to place at least half of USB ports on PC chassis front. This will reduce tendency to use keyboard hub Ease of Use Recommendations Continued

May 8, Bandwidth Trap w Provide the minimum bandwidth consumption requirements for your peripheral w This enables automatic resolution of the “bandwidth-exceeded” scenario, rather than requiring user intervention w This is a requirement in the USB specification Ease of Use Recommendations Peripherals Vendors

May 8, That’s USB 1.X – We’re building 2.0 now – so its all better, right? Well, maybe not….

May 8, Hi-Speed USB Overview and Status w USB 2.0 rollout amidst 1.X devices/hosts/PCs identified as an immediate opportunity for action at the January 2001 Consumer PC Ease of Use Roundtable – Concerns raised about user-confusion from mixed environment w Tag team comprised of RT OEMs (IBM, Gateway, Dell, Compaq, NEC, HP) and other industry players (Intel, Microsoft,) formed – Several additional peripherals vendors invited, but did not engage w Tag team assessed the situation & decided our relatively late involvement meant that only minimum, necessary and sufficient, actions to address the most pressing issues could be undertaken

May 8, USB 2.0 Overview and Status w Plan approved and in progress: – Design guideline for use/placement of a Hi Speed USB icon for Host/PC ports – Other labeling left to USB logo program & whatever PC and Peripherals OEMs choose (e.g., stickers) – Tag-team now considering other USB 2.0 issues in advisory role to USB IF w Design guideline is complete & will be posted USB Industry Forum, Inc. website soon – watch for it The Best ROI for Hfe/usability Involvement Comes From Early, Continuous Participation With Marketing and Engineering During Design of Specifications

May 8, USB 2.0 Hi-Speed Icon Guideline w Based on trident-design, with minor addition (“+”) that is detectable, but not salient w For placement near Hi-speed, A-receptacle PC and Host ports w Not intended for use on cables or connector- housings w USB logo program for other labeling needs

May 8, Next Steps / Action to Take w Check out the USB Developer’s website – watch for the icon guideline: – w Look at the Ease of Use Roundtables’ website for more on peripherals and PC usability: –

May 8, Next Steps / Action to Take w Remember: – Top USB Usability problems are u Users expect “1 port for 1 device”, and call asking “which USB port should I plug my x into” u Users don’t understand terminology like “hub, controller, bus powered” u Watch for USB 2.0 mixing with 1.1 in the market. – Pay attention to the installation process, most errors occur here w Contact with questions: – Paul Sorenson ( / Continued