nina eleanor alter — oldsite ≤ 2009

Key Usability & Design Challenges:
• Mental-models used to design the device's existing software were those of a PDA user, by executive directive.
Because users are physically interfacing with a form-factor more akin to a laptop and with no stylus, this
created much confusion.
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• Hardware shortcomings limited the device's ability to "pair" (wirelessly connect) with Palm Treo or 3rd Party
smartphones... and a fluid out-of-box-experience wizard to introduce users to this process in an intuitive and
easy to remember (in a good way) fashion, was required.
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• Existing OOBE flow was packed full of door-slam interaction models and dependencies on confusing product
(smartphone) screen-shots. After multiple attempts over a weekend, I was almost in tears trying to just pair
the fully-updated (firmware) Treo 680 and Foleo that Palm provided to me to work with.
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• Additional hardware shortcomings limited the device's ability to display color, there were severe pressures on
the internal design team to appease Hawkins' strict disdain for anti-alias typography, and the ovarall aesthetic
of the interface had received a heap of criticism for feeling "stodgy."
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• Internal re-design after re-design had resulted in cabbage-soup variety "design fatigue," and the full product
team was hungry for fresh eyes and a disciplined approach to bringing all of the applications & the system
software, back on track.

Timeframe:
I was initially given 6 weeks to accomplish the first phase, for Foleo's initial product launch: System Software,
OOBE, and Mail Client. My first proposal to the team outlined a timeframe in which this could be accomplished.
My first presentation thereafter, provided 2 solutions possible within the timeframe provided in the initial
proposal, and 2 additional solutions possible within an extended timeframe and a pullback in scope of non-
critical features.
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With so many more usability challenges addressed in the latter solution, the team agreed to open the range of
possibilities, and to a slightly more generous timeline. From there, additional high-level scheduling extensions
happened to accommodate firmware development, and September 1st Palm announced it was pulling the
Foleo from release, entirely.