Be My Eyes: ask a person when a photo leaves questions unanswered
Be My Eyes provides everyday visual assistance for people who are blind or have low vision. Users can take a photo for a description, ask follow-up questions, or contact a volunteer to clarify what is in front of them through live video.
Form your own approach first, then explore the reasoning to check trade-offs and validation you may have missed. There is no single right answer.
Make the next form of help clear
Suppose you are responsible for a photo-assistance page. A user has photographed two tops, but the description still does not say which one has stripes. The page already supports “Add another photo and ask again” and “Contact a person for video assistance,” yet it currently shows only a vague Continue button. For this exercise, human assistance is available only from 06:00 to 23:00, while photo questions are available all day.
- Task: Change only the follow-up action area below the answer. Draw its states at 14:00 and 23:30. Explain what users need to provide for each approach and whether human help is available now. Do not add automatic transfers or appointment booking.
- Deliverable and check: Submit two local sketches with their wording. Ask a reader to choose a next action for two situations: “The photo is unclear” and “I need someone to check while I move the clothes.” Check whether the reader still expects an immediate human connection at 23:30.
Explore the reasoning
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Distinguish adding still-image information from having a live conversation. Name each action in terms of what the user will do.
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Show current availability and its reason in the same place. The nighttime state should be understandable without relying on color alone.
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Use the two situations to check whether the choice matches the intent. When hours are restricted, observe whether the user can explain what is possible now and what must wait.