User Friendly - Yeah Right :-(
Two articles In the New York Times on-line
technology section caught my eye today, both are related to user interface
design although only one is about a computer program. As a techie I sometimes
come across programs and web sites that are difficult or confusing to use,
but still manage to make them do what they're supposed to. In the "real
world" however, I've encountered technology that totally baffles me
and keeps me from accomplishing tasks.
The first article http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/11/technology/circuits/11cops.html
is about the user interface of the San Jose Police Department's patrol
car computer system. Clearly the designers of this system have never sat
in a patrol car while it was on duty. Similar to this are the struggles
I've witnessed lately in retail stores. Here in the Greater Boston area
we've had several retailers open new stores. While its typical for new
employees to be slower when checking out a purchase, its interesting to
see what the sales associate has to do manually versus what the computer/register
does on its own. In my experience, supermarket chains get it right. This
isn't to say that there aren't some glitches along the way, but by and
large your purchases are scanned, the correct price is charged and you're
on your way. One clothing retailer I visited this week runs regular promotions
that last for several weeks/months. Purchase one pair of jeans, tees, etc.
and pay X, purchase two of the item and pay Y. Surely this should be programmed
into the system. Certainly that's what I expected. Instead what I saw was
that the sales associate would scan in each of the items and then manually
override the scanned price with the promotional price. Not only does the
sales associate need to remember all the items being promoted and their
promotional prices, but it takes longer to ring up the sale making customers
stand in line longer.
The second article to catch my eye,
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/11/technology/circuits/11face.html talked
about the difficulty in setting hotel room alarm clocks. I know this problem
well. When staying at hotels I have regularly seen alarms set for PM instead
of AM. I have also on occasion called the front desk to ask for a wake
up call because I'm not sure I've set the clock correctly. Copy Machines
continue to baffle me as well. I can remember when copy machines were easy
to operate. Then along came computerized copy machines and simplicity went
out the window. Sure the do a lot more now - that is if you can figure
out how to make them perform their tasks. The same is true of Microwave
Ovens. The one I have at home is long in the tooth and very simple. You
put your food inside, close the door and turn the dial to the number of
minutes you want the food to cook. newer models have a touch pad with presets
and a number pad for entering times along with various other buttons.
Many times I've put food in one of these, punched in some numbers and not
had the timer display change. There must have been another button to press
that indicated I was entering a time setting, but I wasn't able to tell
which it was. The only saving grace is that I'm not a computer phobic person.
I have no compunction about punching buttons, any buttons, just to see
what will happen, just to make something happen. This doesn't always get
me what I want, but it does give me valuable feedback. I still wish that
these devices were easier to use, and that in public or corporate spaces,
the manuals were readily available.
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