Out-Of-Box Experience

The term Out of Box Experience usually refers to computer hardware or software. It describes the experience a user has when installing and/or performing initial configuration on a piece of hardware or software.

Definitions

Out-of-Box Experience is the interactions and first impressions a user has with a product when opening its packaging and taking it into use; as opposed to the point-of-sale experience or the interaction experience of an expert user.

Example

The "out-of-box experience" is typically the first impression a product creates, such as the ease with which a buyer can begin using the product. For hardware products a positive OOBE can be created with logical easy-to-follow instructions and parts that have a low likelihood of failure.

For software, this often means easy installation and "Welcome" or "Initial Configuration" wizard screens that simplify elaborate set-up. The OOBE can also be the complete lack of such wizards.

A frequently encountered "out-of-box experience" is the process of installing Microsoft Windows XP. While the installation is largely automatic; the user must proceed through multiple screens to acknowledge software license terms, specify partition settings for the hard disk, enter the "product key", select international settings, a time zone, and also configure network settings. After the installation is complete, Windows XP launches an "Out-of-box Experience" application that presents a full-screen wizard to assist the user with critical first steps of using Windows, such as creating a user account, registering the software with Microsoft, configuring Internet connectivity, and activating the software. While this Microsoft application is named after OOBE, the real OOBE began when the user first turned on a new computer, or began to peel the shrinkwrap off the product packaging.

Negative experiences

Poor experiences for OOBE have coined a specific term Out-Of-Box Failure to describe immediate product failures.

ee also

*Interaction design
*Out-Of-Box Failure

External links

* [http://www-03.ibm.com/easy/page/577 IBM ease of Use - Out-of-box experience] - guidelines and insights to help other software and hardware companies design out-of-box experiences
* [http://www.usabilityfirst.com/glossary/main.cgi?function=display_term&term_id=410 UsabilityFirst.com's Definition]