At work, they changed our phone system such that instead of dialing 9 to get out, we dial 7. The reason was that we were accidentally dialing 911 far too often, and it was costing money, etc. Fair reason.
I am SUFFERING every time I try to dial out. I keep dialing 79 and then the number. Because mentally, I’ve stored the 9 as the first digit of anything I’m thinking of dialing while at work. So, if I’m calling 617.692.7000, I mentally translate that to: 916176927000. 9 to get out, 1 for Long Distance. Get it?
So, throwing a 7 in there instead of the 9 has WRECKED my dialing out.
With computers, I have a similar but worse usability problem. I’m currently using the following operating systems:
Windows XP (and Server 2003)
Mac OS 10.1.5
Red Hat EL 3
Ubuntu 5.10
When I’m using something as simple as a web browser, I have to “translate” between the various keyboard commands to make something happen. Opening a tab in Firefox is CTRL-T on Windows, it’s COMMAND-T on Mac. There are variations to this theme in abounds.
A HUGE barrier to getting people to buy into whatever it is you’re selling (software, technology, cereal, YOU) is making sure you match the customer’s expectations of usability *or* at least improve them in an intuitive way. This relates to how you do business, how you approach people in life. It’s as basic as conversation.
Do you know WHY people talk about the weather? Because it’s just plain built into our genetics to do that kind of social throat clearing when more than one of us are gathered. We need a certain level of “protocols” to be cleared at the lower levels of our interaction. It’s expected, or required.
Next time you’re in a situation where you’d normally mention that cold breeze, try turning to the person and saying, “When I was little, I thought I’d grow up to be a molecular biologist.” Watch the other person just FREEZE. If they were the phone system, you’d hear those three tones. “We’re sorry. The conversation topic you just breeched requires that you dial a 1 first.”
Usability matters in LOTS of ways.
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tags: usability, userexperience, design