Don Rickert was engaged at the NCR Human Interface Technology Center (HITC) as a consultant in the User-Centered Design Group from 1995-1998. One of the most interesting of the many projects Don worked on for NCR involved a new ATM design.
NCR is, of course, known for its Automated Teller Machines. NCR needed a "portable" (a relative
term!) unit to compete with a new product from another company. The new machine had to be usable by very small people as well as very large people, driving up in a wide variety of vehicles. Of course, the goodness of the design needed to be established before going to production!
Don Rickert designed the consumer research methodology, which involved approximately 100 participants in a comparative experiment. A competing unit was purchased on the "gray market" and weighed something like five (5) tons, as the machine still had part of the parking lot where it had been installed attached to it...our supplier swore that the branch had closed BEFORE the ATM had been removed.
To make the NCR prototype appear to function in a realistic manner, NCR staff members took turns sitting inside of the prototype, receiving and dispensing cash, typing messages to appear on the screen, and so forth. This is called the "Wizard of Oz" technique for obvious reasons.
The ATM unit that evolved from the research is shown above. Click on the image for a larger view.