Usability

Usability

Real Life Example

Memorial Day weekend of 2003. I decided to take a risk. I drove my car until the gas was just about gone. The engine was sputtering when I pulled off at a gas station near no others and went to fill up. I pulled up to the first pump and it had a “credit cards do not work” sign on it.

I went in to pay cash and the cashier explained it was full service. There was no service man out there. I got rather angry seeing the long line of cars waiting to use the few pumps that worked.

I drove off to find another gas station. I then realized there were no other close gas stations. I went back. I almost got into a wreck on my way back to the gas station. Now I was enraged.

I arrived at the gas station and waited in line again. The car in front of me would not back up to let the person who just finished pumping, out. I had to wait until the van on the other side was done. I then had to wait for the guy who would not move to finish.

Negative Advertising

I was finally ready to pump my gas. I tried to use my credit card, but after about a minute of processing, a warning flashed up at me: “Please See Cashier…System Down.” On the pump it stated “pump then pay.” So I tried to pump. It did not work.

I went inside and asked the cashier what was up. While snacking on his food he said, “(crunch) Sorry, I had not got around to turning your pump on yet.” Mind you it said pump THEN pay. I had been trying for a few minutes at this point.

I went back outside and pumped my gas. I left vowing never again to visit that gas station. It was a Mobile in Mystic, Connecticut (just off the interstate), and I still vividly remember the sign in my head as well as the cashier who was snacking while he should have authorized my pump.

If That Gas Station was a Web site

What was the point of that tangent about a gas station? It took longer to tell the story than it will take to make my point. I was reading Designing Web Usability by Jakob Nielsen about the same time I had that bad day, and this nugget of truth came to me—there is no page that is so important that I cannot go elsewhere. If that gas station was a website, I would have left.

Many people find your website through search engines. Other sites may link to your inner pages. There is no way to tell where traffic will come from.

I never see the shopping cart on many sites because they make it a challenge just to get there. I have abandoned many shopping carts. Most websites have miserable usability. I must admit some of my sites needs some work in this area too…it is one of the most neglected aspects of web design.

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