Slide 6 of 10
Notes:
Suppose the new skill is "Playing the Piano," let's go through the Learning Curve. Sitting someone in front of a piano and allowing them to explore will probably result in them quickly discovering that hitting the keyboard produces sounds; that these sounds are arranged from low frequency to high frequency as you move from left to right; that it is possible to hit more than one key at once; and that it is possible to pick out a basic melody by hitting keys in a sequence. This would correspond to the "Guessability Phase" - the number of things you can learn to do with minimal to no help.
But is this the end of the story? Hardly. Would this behavior be described as "being able to play the piano?" No. In order to become more proficient, the budding pianist has to learn how to co-ordinate hand/finger movements to hit complex key combinations in order to play tunes. This corrsponds to the "Learnability Phase," where improving a skill requires training and practice.
Finally, the pianist reaches the point where it is possible close his or her eyes and play the piano freely, without the need for a teacher or even the prompt of a musical score. This is the "Experienced User" Phase.
This model can be applied to any skill. For example, learning to drive, using a computer keyboard, baking a cake, getting dressed, or even using a spoon. And just like any other behavior, learning to use a communication device follows the same model.
