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What an everyday utility has to prove

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We want to judge our first utility by an ordinary week of use.

A successful demonstration gives us a starting point. Repeated use has to show that the product handles normal variation, completes the job, and communicates clearly when it can't.

Our development questions cover the whole experience. The task needs to recur. The controls need to make sense. The result needs to be dependable. Price and upkeep need to fit the people the product is for.

We also want to understand how much checking the owner has to do. A device that repeatedly needs someone to verify or redo its work can give effort back to the person it was meant to help.

The document below sets out the standard we're working toward. It describes what we need to establish through development, rather than results from a finished product.

The document · 5 pagesDownload PDF ↗
What an everyday utility has to prove. Page 1 of 5. The product standard Useful through an ordinary week. What an everyday utility has to prove. The questions guiding our first product. vh.do
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What an everyday utility has to prove. Page 2 of 5. A reason to keep using it The need comes back. The job should recur often enough to justify another object in someone's life. We need evidence of repeat use and a benefit people can recognize. Ease of use and breadth of need both count. vh.do
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What an everyday utility has to prove. Page 3 of 5. Dependable performance The ordinary conditions count. People use products with different habits and different levels of attention. The device needs to handle that variation within a clearly defined job. A prepared demonstration is a starting point. vh.do
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What an everyday utility has to prove. Page 4 of 5. Feedback people can understand Make the outcome clear. Show when the task is complete. Explain when something needs attention. Make any limits understandable. The owner should be able to understand what happened without diagnosing the agent's internal decisions. Clear feedback is part of simplicity. vh.do
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What an everyday utility has to prove. Page 5 of 5. Good to own The whole experience has to work. Price and upkeep belong in the design. The core job should work locally. Each utility should stand on its own. Our first product is still in development. These are requirements we need to establish. vh.do
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