Usability testing is everywhere
As a friend recently pointed out, every time I try something new it's like I'm in a usability study. Here's an example.
We went to a concert recently and got a great space on the street. This part of Boston has "multi-space parking meters", where there's a machine every couple of spaces You pay, get a ticket and affix it to the inside of the driver-side window.
That's great, but this was night time and the machine was in the dark. I could just about read the instructions, but it was hard to find where to put the coins. It said to "press the green button" to dispense the ticket, but it was too dark to see color.
I've used these machines in the daytime, and they're not too hard to use. And I recognize that it's hard to design something like this that anyone might walk up to. But nighttime is a typical use case and they don't seem to have tested that situation.
The latest entry in my Usability Lessons blog has more photos of machines like this. You'll also see the daytime version of this machine.
The Usability Lessons blog
Usability testing is fascinating and I've learned a lot observing study participants. This blog shares some of my observations. Recent entries include:
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