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Woman v. Machine
Author: Jeannie Walters
November 8, 2007
Today is World Usability Day, a whole day devoted to ensuring that services and products “are easier to access and simpler to use.” In our industry, we talk a lot about usability. We discuss it at length with our clients and regularly apply usability standards when reviewing websites. However, usability is a term that shouldn’t solely be reserved to online interfaces. It’s a term that permeates our everyday lives as we have officially become a self-service nation.
Everywhere you turn these days there are opportunities to (literally) “help yourself.” You can pay for gas at the pump, check in for a flight and check out of a hotel; all without having to deal with a single pesky human being.
As part of the never-ending quest to make our lives easier and more convenient, we as a society agreed to this. We said, “Bring it on!” Who needs a bank teller when it’s faster, easier and, in some cases, more secure to get cash via an ATM? Plus, with self-service, you’re often rewarded with shorter lines and less hassle.
So I decided to commit to a little experiment, to test and examine various self-service opportunities. How many ACTUALLY save time? How many are TRULY easy to use?
I’ll be tackling automated systems with a focus on usability and sharing my experiences here.
While there are obvious differences, self-service usability qualifiers do mimic those used when examining website interactions, namely:
Usability Scorecard Criteria
Orientation/Wayfinding — Do I know where to find things? Do I know what to do next?
Search/Help Features — What if I run into trouble? How do I get help?
Legibility — Are the instructions and information clear and easy-to-read?
Intuitive — I don’t want to deal with reading lengthy instructions. Can I figure it out on my own — and quickly?
Ease of Use — Is it truly easy or easier to use?
These will be my guiding factors as I evaluate the true usability of self-service machines, but since this is also the real world, I’ve added my personal usability criteria.
Cleanliness — This isn’t my safe little laptop. I’m sharing these machines with the world. Are they dirty and gross?
Security — When entering personal information or swiping my credit card, do I feel vulnerable to prying eyes, cameras or general scariness?
Convenience — Are they truly faster and more convenient than the human option?
Environmental Factors — Does the layout make sense? Is there a place to put things down? Was it easy to find the automated option?
I’m looking forward to taking on the machines of the world! Stay tuned and let me know if you have ideas on machines I should tackle.
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I would love to see if the self-service check-out machines at the Jewel Osco stores are REALLY as convenient as the company boasts. It appears to me that having groceries bagged by a clerk is a cost embedded in the price of the items. I am totally not thrilled with the thought of scanning and bagging my own groceries while still paying the same prices for my purchases. Who really enjoys this proposed convenience? Please add this to your list of machines/concepts to test.
Comment by Marissa — November 9, 2007 @ 10:51 pm