Elevator Instructions—imaginary.persona

Posted on September 11, 2024 by imaginary.persona
  1. If a button is pressed on one of the existing floors (1 through 6) go to the corresponding button pushed floor. 
  2. Once arrived at the existing floor signal whether you (the elevator) are going up or down.
  3. Open the doors once you arrive on the chosen floor.  
  4. Whether you are going up or down, wait 10 seconds before trying to close the door. 
  5. If the door while closing bumps into an object causing the door to not close fully, reopen the door and repeat step 4. 
  6. If you are going UP but someone presses a number under the floor you are currently on, proceed up and stop at the needed floor (which you will know by which button the passenger presses).

OR

  1. If you are going DOWN but someone presses a number above the floor you are currently on, proceed down and stop at the needed floor (which you will know by which button the passenger presses).

OR

  1. If you are going UP and no one presses a number above the floor you are currently one, proceed up and stop at needed floor (which you will know by which button the passenger presses).

OR

  1. If you are going DOWN and no one presses a number under the floor you are currently on, proceed down and stop at needed floor (which you will know by which button the passenger presses). 
  2. If none of the up or down buttons are pressed for thirty minutes on any floor, return to the main floor (first floor). 
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1 Response to Elevator Instructions—imaginary.persona

  1. davidbdale's avatar davidbdale says:
    September 25, 2024 at 4:13 am

    There are some really nice instructions here, i.p.; for example, the instruction to open the door if an obstruction prevents it from closing.

    But there’s lots of confusion here, too.

    For example, you don’t appear to distinguish buttons INSIDE the elevator (you’d need a name for them) from button OUTSIDE the elevator. That’s essential.

    And you sometimes tell the elevator more than you need to (which translates as “more than you should” because any extra language leads to misunderstanding).

    For example, “Repeat step 4” is completely redundant. And “wait 10 seconds before trying to close the door” is too human. 3 & 4 could be:

    1. Whatever
    2. Whatever
    3. Open the doors once you arrive on the chosen floor.  
    4. After 10 seconds of inactivity, close the door.

    By and large, the best instructions won’t be numbered at all. Almost nothing has to be described as a SEQUENCE of events.

    If you elect to revise PLEASE DON’T start a new post. Just open this one in Edit, make your improvements, and click Update.

    Reply

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