A contextual usability exploration of cash and ticket machines

Abstract

Today, many services, such as ticket purchase and cash withdrawal, are provided by stationary machines such as ATM and ticket machines placed in train stations and travel centers. Personalized service is not always available, and users are referred to machines and automats. Previous research on ATM and ticket machines mostly focus on user interface and do not take the contextual conditions into consideration. A well-designed interface may not work under conditions such as poor lighting and time limitations of the service which affects the usability. The focus of this paper is not the physical or digital design of ATM and ticket automats as such, but rather how they function in their environment, and how that will affect users; especially old people with some sensory limitations such as limited eyesight and partial motor skills. The empirical study indicates that the physical environment of these machines and automats is crucial for how the service works. Identified parameters that affect usability are light conditions, auditory conditions, the liveliness of the setting and time limitations of services. If the contextual conditions surrounding the automat or machine does not work, it will be inaccessible to many users, however deliberate the design of their physical and digital interface.