ADVANCED HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION

ATM machine redesigned



ATM machine redesigned

Introduction

ATM stands for; Automated Teller Machine. It is also referred to as a cash machine, a cash dispenser and 'the hole in the wall' among other names. The ATM is an electronic computerized telecommunications device that allows financial institutions (e.g. bank or building society) customers to directly use a secure method of communication to access their bank accounts. The ATM is a self-service banking terminal that accepts deposits and dispenses cash. Most ATM's also let users carry out other banking transactions (e.g. check balance). ATM's are activated by inserting a bank card (cash or credit card) into the card reader slot. The card will contain the customers account number and PIN (Personal Identification Number) on the cards magnetic stripe. When a customer is trying to withdraw cash for example, the ATM calls up the banks computers to verify the balance, dispenses the cash and then transmits a completed transaction notice.

Discussion

Interacting with ATMs

Although ATM's provide an extremely useful service to banks customers, at times they can be very frustrating to use and therefore there is a lot of room for improvement in the interface design. The interface enables communication between the user and the machine. Therefore good user interface design is imperative for high usability levels. Often there are problems or inconveniences experienced when using an ATM. Some of these problems include:

Waiting in the queue to use the ATM. If users ahead of you in the queue experience difficulties in using the machine, this will increase the time waiting in the queue.

Inability to see the ATM screen well. This depends on the location of the ATM in relation to the position of the sun. At times it can be difficult to view the contents of the ATM menu.

Wrongly inserting the ATM card. This problem is more common with new ATM users who are not familiar with their new card and the ATM.

Getting the required amount of money. Some ATM's may not offer the user the required amount of money they want on the initial cash withdrawal screen. The user will then have to use a few more key strokes to select the required amount (e.g. to withdraw £50 the user might have to select the 'other amounts' option then type in '50' using the keypad and then press 'enter').

Understanding how to perform operations. Some ATM users find the instructions on how to perform operations quite difficult to understand.

Often the ATM card is returned to the user while further operations are required (e.g. the card is returned once the user requests a sum of cash. However the user may want to do further transactions; such as check balance or top-up a mobile phone). This will lead to the customer having to re-insert their ATM card, further increasing their time spent at the ATM.

On some ATM machines the menu options are not aligned with their corresponding menu key. An example of this is illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Typical ATM Menu

The design of an ATM ...