Cars are cool. So are smartphones. So what happens when our on-the-go lifestyle literally collides with the ways we do all of that “on-the going”? Distracted driving is a very real danger, but at Audible, a majority of our users listen to audiobooks behind the wheel. How do you create a great experience when you have to balance a user’s desire for a “killer app” with one that will not get them killed? At Audible, we took on the task of optimizing our highly-rated listening experience for playback behind the wheel. We quickly figured out that it wasn’t going to be that easy. I will present an overview of a year-long engagement on the Audible car project, including contextual research insights on how users engage with their devices in the car, and the surprising ways those insights expressed themselves in a radically redesigned application. I will include the cognitive science that influenced our design decisions including why multi-tasking is so dangerous, and why choosing images over text is better for "quick glance" interfaces.

1. IF UX CAN KILL
IT PROBABLY WILL
Design for the 70 MPH Interface
Trip O’Dell
Senior Interaction Designer, Audible.com
@tripodell
Wednesday, January 30, 13 1
Trip ODell, Senior Interaction Designer with
Audible
In-House Counsel asked me to change the
title of this talk to...

2. IF UX CAN KILL
IT PROBABLY WILL
Design for the 70 MPH Interface
Trip O’Dell
Senior Interaction Designer, Audible.com
@tripodell
Wednesday, January 30, 13 1
Trip ODell, Senior Interaction Designer with
Audible
In-House Counsel asked me to change the
title of this talk to...

3. UX might be bad if you are
potentially distracted
Design for the 55 MPH Interface
Trip O’Dell
Senior Interaction Designer, Audible.com
@tripodell
Wednesday, January 30, 13 2
While a little bit of a bummer, its an
interesting point, and speaks to the purpose
of this talk. The conversation around
distracting tech is being led by lawyers and
politicians. Where is design in the
conversation?

4. “ HE SAID HE
NEVER SAW
THE PEDESTRIAN
STEP INTO
THE ROAD ”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregoryjordan/
Wednesday, January 30, 13 3
Its seems nearly every story we hear about
distracted driving begins with a quote like
this.

5. WHY DO WE CARE ABOUT THIS AT AUDIBLE?
Wednesday, January 30, 13 4

6. ABOUT AUDIBLE
• 1 million members in the US alone.
• Our UX goes wherever our users go.
• Audible books are often used while doing other things
(crafts, chores, driving, exercising)
• Most of our users listen (at least some of the time )
while driving.
5
Wednesday, January 30, 13 5
We are a membership business, and a
lifestyle product, not just a book store.

7. AUDIBLE IS PART OF A
CONNECTED
LIFESTYLE
Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/noise64/3595899694/
Wednesday, January 30, 13 6
Audible is a continuous part of our user’s
lifestyle. It crosses contexts such as home,
in the car, in the office. How users interact
with it needs to scale with changing
contexts.

8. DISTRACTIONS CAN’T BE
ELIMINATED IN
THE CAR
Photo
courtesy
of
my
Wife 7
Wednesday, January 30, 13 7
Using a cell phone or smartphone, Eating and drinking, Talking (or
yelling), Grooming, Reading, including maps Using a navigation system
Watching a video Adjusting a radio, CD player, or MP3 player

9. YOU CAN’T PREVENT USERS
FROM DOING
THE WRONG
THINGS
Credit: http://idrivelikeagirl.blogspot.com/2011/11/when-is-cigarette-like-cellphone.html 8
Wednesday, January 30, 13 8
Using a cell phone or smartphone, Eating and drinking, Talking (or
yelling), Grooming, Reading, including maps Using a navigation system
Watching a video Adjusting a radio, CD player, or MP3 player

10. IMPOSING FALSE
CONSTRAINTS
Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mroach/2765757383/
9
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If you build your experience to create barriers, users can be
alienated.

11. ENCOURAGES
CREATIVE
SOLUTIONS
Credit: http://thereifixedit.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/129093664286279532.jpg
Wednesday, January 30, 13 10
And will devise their own, less-safe
alternatives. The responsible thing to do is
to build an experience that works well
regardless of the context.

12. YOU CAN’T
DESIGN
FOR STUPID
http://www.smosh.com/smosh-pit/photos/20-people-doing-it-wrong-pics 11
Wednesday, January 30, 13 11
Designing for the edge-case is a route to
failure

13. BUT YOU CAN MAKE STUPID
UNNECESSARY
http://www.smosh.com/smosh-pit/photos/20-people-doing-it-wrong-pics 12
Wednesday, January 30, 13 12

14. We have a limited supply of
resources for processing
mental tasks.
Wednesday, January 30, 13 13

15. When we overtax that capacity
we become overwhelmed and
make mistakes.
Wednesday, January 30, 13 14

16. WE MAY
PRETEND
WE EVOLVED
INTO THIS
https://plus.google.com/+projectglass/posts 15
Wednesday, January 30, 13 15

17. BUT WE ARE WIRED
EXACTLY
LIKE THIS GUY
I hear the
new iPhone
is dope!
Modern Hunter-gatherer
Credit: Natural History Museum of Denmark 16
Wednesday, January 30, 13 16
The “modern” human brain evolved around
50,000 years ago.

18. HOW CAN
DESIGN
ADDRESS
CONTEXTUAL
DISTRACTIONS?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregoryjordan/
Wednesday, January 30, 13 17
There are hazards throughout the day in
contexts we don’t control.

19. HOW WE
EXPERIENCE Central
Executive
Episodic Buffer
Phonological Visuospatial
Store Sketchpad
Declarative Procedural
Memory Memory
Baddeley & Hitch’s Working Memory Model
Wednesday, January 30, 13 18
This is the Working Memory model.
It is how we experience the world.
It is critical to understanding why people get
confused and distracted.

20. ATTENTION &
Central TASK SHIFTING
Executive
SYNTHESIS &
Episodic Buffer
INTEGRATION
Phonological Visuospatial SHORT TERM
Store Sketchpad MEMORY
Declarative Procedural LONG TERM
Memory Memory MEMORY
Wednesday, January 30, 13 18
This is the Working Memory model.
It is how we experience the world.
It is critical to understanding why people get
confused and distracted.

21. Semantic Muscle
Memory Memory
• Facts Central • Driving a Car
Executive
• Figures • Using a Fork
• Concepts/Schemas • Typing
Episodic Buffer
• Language • Throwing a rock
Phonological Visuospatial
Store Sketchpad
Declarative Procedural
Memory Memory
Wednesday, January 30, 13 20
Long term memory is where all the
important, skill-related information is stored
- all information that can be “learned” or
“known”

22. Central
Executive
Episodic Buffer
Phonological Visuospatial
Store Sketchpad
Declarative Procedural
Memory Memory
Wednesday, January 30, 13 21
Short term memory puts the Work in
working memory, it rapidly gathers
information but it is extremely limited.

23. Lingual STM Perceptual STM
Central
• Words • Spaces
Executive
• Letters • Relationships
• Numbers Episodic Buffer • Values/Qualities
• Quantity • Pictures
Phonological Visuospatial
Store Sketchpad
Declarative Procedural
Memory Memory
Wednesday, January 30, 13 21
Short term memory puts the Work in
working memory, it rapidly gathers
information but it is extremely limited.

24. Short Term Memory is Extremely Limited
Wednesday, January 30, 13 22

25. MEMORY BITS ARE
VERY SMALL
• Letters
• Numbers
• Words
• Pictures
• Schemas/Objects
• Compressed “Chunks”
of Information
23
Wednesday, January 30, 13 23

26. MAXIMUM
OCCUPANCY
7
BITS OF INFO
CAN BE RETAINED
IN MEMORY BEFORE
DATA LOSS*
* Actually its 7+/- 2
(7 is the safe bet)
24
Wednesday, January 30, 13 24
Our limited capacity has been measured to contain on average 7
spots for small pieces of information. This varies between
individuals and the kinds of information retained - letters take less
space than words, children retain more than the elderly.

27. Central
Executive
Episodic Buffer
Phonological Visuospatial
Store Sketchpad
Declarative Procedural
Memory Memory
Wednesday, January 30, 13 25

28. Integrative Layer
Combines stimuli from Phonological and
Visuospatial layers and associates them
THIS IS WHERE
with knowledge from Long Term Memory Central EXPERIENCE
Executive
HAPPENS
Episodic Buffer
Phonological Visuospatial
Store Sketchpad
Declarative Procedural
Memory Memory
Wednesday, January 30, 13 25

29. Central
Executive
Episodic Buffer
Phonological Visuospatial
Store Sketchpad
Declarative Procedural
Memory Memory
Wednesday, January 30, 13 26

30. So, what’s with
this leftover bit? Central
Executive Why is it
important?
Episodic Buffer
Phonological Visuospatial
Store Sketchpad
Declarative Procedural
Memory Memory
Wednesday, January 30, 13 26

31. The Central Executive
IT WORKS VERY
Central SLOWLY COMPARED
Functions Executive
TO OTHER PARTS OF
• Focused Attention
THE BRAIN
• Planning/Decision Making
• Troubleshooting
• Novel/Dangerous Situations
Central
• Inhibition/Self control Executive
Wednesday, January 30, 13 27

32. LONG STORY SHORT...
NOT HERE Dude, “don’t
make me
Central think”!
Executive
DESIGN FOR
HERE Episodic Buffer
Phonological Visuospatial
Store Sketchpad
28
Wednesday, January 30, 13 28

33. Design for the
HUNTER
GATHERER
BRAIN
Modern Hunter-gatherer
Credit: Natural History Museum of Denmark 29
Wednesday, January 30, 13 29

34. YOUR
BRAIN
IS A CHEAP
BASTARD
30
Wednesday, January 30, 13 30
We have evolved compression “hacks” for
more efficient thinking which is great - it is
what allows us to do amazing things,

35. Brains evolved to get
MAXIMUM
RETURN
FOR MINIMUM EFFORT
Modern Hunter-gatherer
Credit: Natural History Museum of Denmark 31
Wednesday, January 30, 13 31
but it also has down sides, like ignoring
information that might be relevant, or even
vital to survival.

36. DESIGN FOR
THE BRIAN’S
AFFORDANCES
32
Wednesday, January 30, 13 32
Schemas and chunking are just two
examples of the short cuts the brain uses to
work around its limited capacity.

37. CHUNKING
Phone Numbers
33
Wednesday, January 30, 13 33
Chunking is one of the tricks our brain uses
to compress information, and associate it
with other pieces of information. It sort of
functions like metadata.

38. 14088675309
34
Wednesday, January 30, 13 34
This number has 10 digits, its hard to retain.

39. vs.
1(408) 867-5309
35
Wednesday, January 30, 13 35
Breaking down the number into chunks
makes it easier.

40. SAME
vs.
AREA
CODE
867-5309
36
Wednesday, January 30, 13 36
Creating relationships to knowledge in long
term memory (like my own area code)
make the remaining 7 pieces of information
even easier to retain.

41. SCHEMA
Bird
37
Wednesday, January 30, 13 37
Schema are mental models we develop
over time to represent ideas or groups of
things
We create them as children and refine and
branch them as we learn and develop over
our lives.

42. 38
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nottsexminer/8250792366/
Wednesday, January 30, 13 38
We develop schemas over time, but revise
them to fit new information.

43. VS.
http://jerry-coleby-williams.net/2012/10/05/port-moresby-a-gritty-city-with-heart/southern-cassowary-casuarius-casuarius-nature-park/
39
Wednesday, January 30, 13 39
We can recognize this as a bird, but
recognition takes longer cognitively
because the cassawary does not fit neatly
into most people’s schema of what birds
look like. We evolve schemas as we learn
new things. A child may not even realize its
a bird.

44. The Power of
OBVIOUS
40
Wednesday, January 30, 13 40

45. Fitt’s Law
The time required to rapidly move to a
target area is a function of the distance to
the target and the size of the target.
Big buttons are easier targets.
Especially in the car
41
Wednesday, January 30, 13 41

46. Hick’s Law
The time required to rapidly make a choice
is a function of the number of possible
choices and the capacity of working
memory.
42
Wednesday, January 30, 13 42

47. SENSORY INTERFERENCE
Reduce cognitive load by giving the user
fewer things to process
43
Wednesday, January 30, 13 43

48. WHICH WORD IS GREEN?
44
Wednesday, January 30, 13 44

49. GREEN
RED
BLUE
Wednesday, January 30, 13
45
45

50. GREEN Central
Oh...
Executive
“WTF?”
Episodic Buffer
Phonological Visuospatial
“GREEN”
Store Sketchpad
46
Wednesday, January 30, 13 46

51. 2011 Ford Edge Interior. Courtesy of Ford Motor Company 47
Wednesday, January 30, 13 47

52. WE BECOME
CONFUSED AND
FRUSTRATED
WHEN WE
OVERWHELM
OUR MEMORY
2011 Ford Edge Interior. Courtesy of Ford Motor Company 47
Wednesday, January 30, 13 47

53. AN
OVERLOADED
BRAIN
MAKES BAD
DECISIONS
Credit: CS Monitor - http://www.csmonitor.com
Wednesday, January 30, 13 48

54. HE DID NOT SEE
THE PEDESTRIAN
IN THE
ROAD
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregoryjordan/
Wednesday, January 30, 13 49

55. HE DID NOT
REMEMBER
THE PEDESTRIAN
IN THE
ROAD
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregoryjordan/
Wednesday, January 30, 13 49

56. MESSING WITH SUCCESS
Redesigning Audible’s 4.5 Star App
50
Wednesday, January 30, 13 50

57. Audiobooks are different
How many
people think
of digital Audiobooks
51
Wednesday, January 30, 13 51

58. Books on Tape
START FINISH
52
Wednesday, January 30, 13 52

59. Digital Audiobooks
BOOK FEATURES APP FEATURES
CHAPTERS LIBRARY
BOOKMARKS SHOP
PARTS STATS
BOOK DETAILS PREFERENCES
SHARING
BUTTON FREE MODE
START FINISH 53
Wednesday, January 30, 13 53

60. 54
Wednesday, January 30, 13 54

61. Key Research Insights
Long-form listening
• Audiobooks are not music
• focus on the “big three”
Simple is safe
• Fewer choices, faster reactions
• Obvious is powerful
Make safe better
• Make it hard to lose my place
• No Special Modes
55
Wednesday, January 30, 13 55

62. Audiobooks are not music
Hide/Close player Album
Skip forward
Play/Pause
Random
Skip back Repeat
Amazon cloud player
Wednesday, January 30, 13 56

63. Timeline Scrubber
Sleep Mode Chapters
Share
Back to Library
Gesture Mode
Play/pause Playback Speed
Jump back 30 seconds
Bookmark
Chapter back Chapter forward
Rewind Fast forward
Current Audible Experience
57
Wednesday, January 30, 13 57

64. Simple is Safe
58
Wednesday, January 30, 13 58

65. Simple is safe
59
Wednesday, January 30, 13 59

66. Simple is safe
Remove Distractions, make it
hard to loose my place.
X
X X
X X X X
59
Wednesday, January 30, 13 59

67. Simple is safe
Remove Distractions, make it
hard to loose my place.
Make listening easy
everywhere for everyone
59
Wednesday, January 30, 13 59

68. Simple is safe
Remove Distractions, make it
hard to loose my place.
Make listening easy
everywhere for everyone
“blind and all thumbs”
59
Wednesday, January 30, 13 59

69. 60
Wednesday, January 30, 13 60

70. The New Audible Player
Back to Library Title Info
Play/pause
Jump back 30 seconds
Bookmark
Sleep Mode
Playback Speed
Chapters
60
Wednesday, January 30, 13 60

71. So where is this going?
61
Wednesday, January 30, 13 61

72. Credit: Wolf103FM - http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=540907 62
Wednesday, January 30, 13 62
How many people are using their phones in
the car today.

73. http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2011/09/most-new-vehicle-interior-
63
problems-are-design-related-says-jd-power-study.html/myford-touch-4
Wednesday, January 30, 13 63
Soon, most cars will have some form of
data integration

74. http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2011/09/most-new-vehicle-interior-
63
problems-are-design-related-says-jd-power-study.html/myford-touch-4
Wednesday, January 30, 13 63
Soon, most cars will have some form of
data integration

75. 64
Wednesday, January 30, 13 64
But
data
doesn’t
always
“enhance”
or
support
the
driver’s
experience.
Lists
and
hierarchy
vs
chunks
and
clear
schemas.
Too
many
op=ons,
too
many
similar
labels
and
func=onali=es.

76. 64
Wednesday, January 30, 13 64
But
data
doesn’t
always
“enhance”
or
support
the
driver’s
experience.
Lists
and
hierarchy
vs
chunks
and
clear
schemas.
Too
many
op=ons,
too
many
similar
labels
and
func=onali=es.

77. 65
Wednesday, January 30, 13 65
Only
one
of
these
op=ons
is
useful
with
any
frequency.
MAKE
THE
SYSTEM
SMARTER.
It
should
be
smart
enough
to
know
I’m
not
driving
a
hydrogen
powered
car,
or
an
acura.
How
frequently
do
I
need
to
buy
electronics
and
parts
(hopefully
never)

78. http://www.teslamotors.com/models/design 66
Wednesday, January 30, 13 66
Some cars are experimenting with
enhancing many surfaces of the vehicle
with data.

79. Systems which
REACT
TO DISTRACTION
and Stress
https://plus.google.com/+projectglass/posts 67
Wednesday, January 30, 13 67
Ultimately, I think the real experience will be
a system of shared agency - where the app
experience in the car reacts to users, and
adapts to their mental or physiological state

80. THANKS FOR
LISTENING
68
Wednesday, January 30, 13 68

81. QUESTIONS?
(oh! and come work with me, we’re hiring!)
Trip O’Dell
Senior Interaction Designer, Audible.com
@tripodell
Wednesday, January 30, 13 69