A conceptual model is an explanation, usually highly simplified, of how something works.
Ex. There are folders in screen, but it doesn't means there is really a folder in disk
Ex. User browse data in PC and think it's a data in PC, but data is in cloud actually.
Ex. User browse a page and think there is a real page, but it's runtime generated
A product has many kinds of conceptual models
Ex. User's conceptual model
Ex. Advanced driver's conceptual model
Ex. Engineer's conceptual model
Ex. Designer's conceptual model
Conceptual models are often inferred from the device itself. Some models are passed on from person to person. Some come from manuals.
Some conceptual models come from experience, so wrong conceptual models let devices hard to use
How things work come from user perceived structure
Signifier
Affordance
Mappings
Ex. Scissors
The number of actions are limited
Holes for putting something into
Only fit for finger(s)
Only accept possible fingers
Only one thing can do after putting fingers
Actions are visible
Anti-Ex. Digital Watch
Many buttons, unable to know conceptual models
Not visible, need read manual
Sometimes click longer time, sometimes need press more than one button at the same time
Conceptual models provide a way to predicate what things will going to behave and what will not happen
A bad conceptual model let user can only try to remember what will happen in every actions
Anti-Ex. Freezer control. It shows deepfreeze and fresh food are separated when it's not.
It may provided wrong conceptual model when freezer may affect refrigerator
