I go to various gas stations to fill up a thirsy car. The one in my neighborhood takes longer to use because of its strange set up. Most gas stations have the screen and buttons next to each other.
Not this one. The buttons appear near the nozzle and the credit card slot. The screen sits in the middle like most gas station screens. It’s tough to notice the buttons because the panel is slightly covered (indented area) like porches with a roof cover.
To make it more difficult to use, four arrow buttons appear on both sides of the screen. You use these mainly for yes/no questions. But you enter your zip code, other information, and press “Enter” on the other panel.
It feels like a “left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing” situation. I’m sure the designer moved the buttons and credit card slot to its location as protection from weather. But really. The screen and panel should be together, which is what most gas stations do.
Moral: Ensure your content and interactive parts — especially a shopping cart — of your site work together and intuitively. Quick and cheap (free really) way to do this is to have friends and family test the site.
Dennison asked excellent questions in response to How to Do Usability Testing Cheap and Fast:
Tell me if I follow correctly: Do you do the test only on users that have their own PC with them? So if you happen to be in a store where nobody has a machine or is willing to take the test, then, tough luck?
Why worry about having the users test in their own environment (PC)? The focus of the test is on usability. Testing to see if the site works properly across different systems should be part of QA work and can be done separately.
Bill Moore from RadioTime responded:
Bill Moore of RadioTime shared his experience of gathering feedback from users in a sandwich shop. It’s amazing how easy it is to get user feedback with zero overhead, that’s cheap, and leads to actionable results.
I asked him why didn’t he go to the (in)famous coffee shop since their wi-fi usually works well (wi-fi in the sandwich place was flaky). He said the coffee shop is louder. At the sandwich shop, people stay longer and the tables are bigger.
RadioTime.com offers a free complete guide to radio and sells a product that lets you record radio just like TiVO records TV. When doing on location testing, consider the following:
- Pay attention to time and setting: People are less likely to be in a hurry at lunchtime than in the morning before work, for example.
- Make testing clear before starting: Be upfront about time commitment, what you’re doing and why, what the user will do, and any other relevant information. RadioTime lets the user know that there’s nothing to download.
- Keep notes: Be ready by having a form and a clipboard. Perhaps, consider recording the user’s feedback with a non-intrusive recorder. Use a clipboard in case you can’t access the table when making notes.
- Talk with the store manager: This assures the store that you’re not doing anything suspicious and plus you’re building a relationship.
- Wear logo or display company badge: Helps with trust and credibility.
Here’s what Bill said about doing testing in the sandwich shop.
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