Chapter #6 - Plan for Peripherals

Continuing her kiosk story, Marie brings us Chapter 6. In cased you missed them or want a refresher, the earlier chapters can be found here, here, here, here, and here.

Chapter 6 - Plan for Peripherals

Often people think that the only thing they have to do is install their kiosk and they are going to be up-and-running. If only it were that easy.

Throughout the life of your kiosk program, you'll encounter a number of unforeseen situations -some positive and, unfortunately, some negative. Let me tell you about a catastrophe I witnessed in the mall during the busiest of shopping seasons -Christmas. I came across what appeared to be a newly-installed kiosk complete with a huge handwritten sign reading "Cash Register Out of Order!" With my curiosity piqued, I stopped by to ask what the problem was. The kiosk owner proceeded to tell me all about how she had been open for 6 weeks with software problems causing her computer system to malfunction. All she was able to do was take down people's names as they stopped by to contact at a later date to see if they were still interested in purchasing her product. Wow! Can you imagine the lost revenue caused by the unexpected error?

Many times, problems you'll encounter have little to do with the kiosk design, but rather they involve the equipment used to operate your business -things like printers, computers, touch screens, audio and video, and point-of-sale systems and software. Crafting a fully-operational kiosk that can properly accommodate these peripherals is like solving a multidimensional puzzle in which all the pieces affect all the others. That's because not only does the kiosk have to house all these components, it must also create adequate space for transactions, offer proper ventilation and room for wiring, and secure components to deter theft. Fulfilling other requirements, such as United Laboratories (UL) certification or providing easy access for maintenance, can pose even more of a design challenge.

Designing a kiosk so that all these pieces effectively work together takes time. It helps to hire a firm with experienced designers and engineers that can help address these situations. It also is beneficial to incorporate a testing phase into your roll out program. That way issues that come up can be more easily-managed and dealt with in this smaller scale.

Here's a list of other things to keep in mind when deciding on peripherals for your kiosk:

1. The kiosk's size and the environment it'll be placed in.
2. Service and maintenance issues (best considered during the design phase).
3. If and how UL and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) rules will affect your kiosk.
4. Any budgetary restraints. (Can I do what I want to do with the money I have?)
5. Equipment/component requirements, the vendors that supply them, and whether the components will be compatible.
6. Be sure to communicate your responses to 1-5 to your designer.
7. Request the layout of the components within your kiosk, reviewing it for "human factors" with customer service in mind.
8. Consider building a prototype so you can actually place your components within your kiosk, see if the layout works, and move forward if it does or make changes if it doesn't.