OK, it's time for you to put your Don Norman hat on. The purpose of this assignment is to give you a better appreciation for design (or lack thereof) in the real world, and for you to observe how people interact with devices to perform tasks.

Over the next couple days, carefully observe objects or devices in your surroundings and find one that you feel has a design flaw. Observe how people interact with it and what occurs. (Avoid computer interfaces for this assignment.)

What you should turn in:

1. A description of the object or device, ideally with a picture or drawing to help describe it.
2. A description of the breakdown or problem with the device. Describe the difficulties that it is helping to generate.
3. A characterization of the root of the problem. What is the design flaw or flaws? Use your reading of DOET to help you articulate a more formal characterization of what the breakdown is and why it's occurring.
4. A suggestion or idea of how the design flaw might be fixed. What principles does your suggestion follow?