Profile 7

Profile 7. Microsoft Bob

Profile Author: Terry Winograd

Microsoft released its Bob software in early 1995, promoting Bob as a new class of software for a new population of computer users. Bob's target was the home computer user—not the office computer user who brings work home, but rather the novice who might buy a computer and software primarily for home use. Realizing that the intended audience was widely seen as computer-phobic, Microsoft's designers addressed the intimidation factor head-on. They consciously designed every aspect of the software, the promotional campaign, and the larger periphery, to create an impression of a new genre—something dramatically different from previous software applications.

In Chapter 7, John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid point out the contextual information that is conveyed by the binding and physical design of books. We differ in our interpretations, for example, of the Encyclopedia Brittanica and a children's encyclopedia, even though both may contain information about George Washington. In a similar way, Microsoft wanted Bob to be accepted as a computing environment that is fundamentally different from office software, even though both may have a word processor, calendar, electronic mail, and so on.

The Bob interface immediately sets a tone that distinguishes it from Windows, the various Works packages, and the other popular operating environments. In place of the familiar desktop metaphor that has dominated user interfaces since the Xerox Star (Profile 2), the user is faced with a cartoon picture of a room in a home (Figure 7.2). A cozy fire burns in a fireplace, surrounded by comfortable furniture. Familiar objects, such as a calendar, a checkbook, and a notebook, are scattered throughout the room. By clicking on these objects, the user moves into specialized applications for household information tasks, such as scheduling, bill paying, and letter writing.

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Figure 7.2. At Home with Bob The designers of Microsoft's Bob carefully crafted its interface to avoid the peripheral cues of office software, hoping to attract a new user group. The cartoon-style drawings, homey themes, animated characters, and conversational interaction style all conspire to create an atmosphere that distinguishes the product from offerings in the office market. (Source: Microsoft Corp., reprinted by permission.)

The room-based metaphor was not original to Bob—it appeared in a number of early Hypercard applications (see Profile 10) and is the basis for the Magic Cap interface for portable communicators. In Magic Cap, as well as in interfaces to several on-line services, (such as Apple's E-World), the metaphor is extended to include multiple rooms, streets, and whole cities. The design assumption behind all these interfaces is that novice users will find it easier and less daunting to operate in a computing environment that mimics the literal look of their physical environment, rather than being focused on a desktop. The message to the user is clear. Bob conveys an immediate impression of "This is not an office—it's not heavy-duty business or technical stuff."

Bob goes further toward pop culture in employing cartoon characters as the primary representation for interactions with the user. Rather than using the abstract dialog boxes of most current interfaces, Bob communicates with the user through an animated character, such as a cute little bunny rabbit, or a squawky petulant parrot (the user gets to choose from among a cast of characters with different personalities). The use of characters is based on research done by Clifford Nass and Byron Reeves at Stanford University, on social responses to communication technology (Nass and Reeves, 1996). Nass and Reeves study how computer users project human social traits onto the computers (and other communications devices) with which they interact. For Bob, they developed ways to take advantage of this natural act of projection, attempting to increase the user's feeling of mastery and connection to the program. Even the wording for each message is tuned to the personality style that the user chooses for her personal guide. Hopper the bunny might say "I think you might want to save this file before quitting." Ruby the parrot might squawk "Hey! You forgot to save that."

In more subtle ways as well, Bob's interface attempts to convey a sense of simplicity and absence of difficulty. For example, representing applications with physical objects in a room leads to a feeling that you can easily know everything you need to know. You do not have to cope with a disk full of complex file hierarchies containing applications and files. Bob presents a small closed world with only the things you need—a few standard simple-functionality applications for common tasks. This simplicity is carried through in the finer details, such as in the menu of different styles for composing a letter, which offers a few standard formats for different styles of correspondence. Making choices in Bob is more like choosing food at McDonalds than like shopping at the supermarket. Facilities for common tasks come prepackaged with a few standard variants, so the user has little need to remember alternatives, to master skills, or to make complex decisions. Unlike much software on the market, Bob does not entice the user to become an expert—there is no challenge of mastery. The message to the beginner is "You’re as good at using the system as anyone else is, so go ahead!"

In addition to "It's simple," the other predominant message is "It's fun." The cartoon characters (referred to as "Bob's friends") are intended to be amusing. They engage in a social idle when the user is not doing active work: They perform animated sequences (like the ones in Broderbund's Living Books for children), make comments, and in general try to keep the user amused. A character's responses to the same inputs may differ from time to time in nonmaterial ways (they convey the same message, but say it differently or perform a different animation). Like KidPix (see Profile 3), Bob blurs the boundary between productivity software and entertainment software. You are getting tasks done, but you are also being entertained.

The messages conveyed by the software itself are reinforced by the peripheral elements. The name Bob, to start with, sets a tone unlike the one conveyed by Microsoft Works, or OS/2. No manual comes with Bob, but in the box you find the premier issue of Bob Magazine, which is formatted like a magazine, and contains stories such as "Setting up Bob: Simple steps to put Bob on your computer." The packaging and advertising prominently feature a nerdish smiley face, with glasses bearing a resemblance to the ones worn by Microsoft founder, Bill Gates (Figure 7.3). The slogan under the logo is "Introducing hard-working, easy-going software everyone will use," and the examples on the front of the box include "Write a letter to Mom" and "Get the pet to the vet."

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Figure 7.3 Bob's Personality Bob's logo of a smiley-faced nerd serves, along with the name Bob and other peripheral messages, to create an impression that precedes the use of the product, shaping users' expectations about what they will encounter. (Source: Microsoft Corp., reprinted by permission.)

The press releases and extensive advertising campaign for Bob further reinforced a consistent image. Radio advertisements urged "Be the first on your block to meet Bob," against a background of country music and what sounded like a friendly neighborhood get-together. Print and TV advertisements struck a similar note.

Although Bob stands out as a notably large, carefully orchestrated, conscious attempt to design the periphery of a product, it is not the first. Many successful designs have exploited peripheral communication to help lead users to understand and adopt new technologies. Brown and Duguid (1994, p. 13) describe the original Macintosh packaging.

To make the point that it was not "just another computer," for instance, the Macintosh was not shipped in just another box. Designers produced a skillfully designed portable context that would travel with the computer and help new users cross the distance between their everyday world and the highly circumscribed environment of the device. Opening the box began a carefully structured physical and conceptual induction into Macintosh practice. Objects were oriented to be manipulated, boxes nested within boxes, and icons intriguingly directed the new owner toward a computational world of objects, nested files, and icons. The Tour of the Macintosh began long before the user actually ran the program of that name.

When we speak of designing the user's experience, we are speaking of the periphery as well. The experience of a software design does not begin and end with running the program, but encompasses a larger world, that includes the box, the product name and promotion, and more. This larger world, as well as the software itself, is a challenge for effective design.