What works in the world of computers does not work so well in the world of portable devices.They may have tolerated sub-optimal experience in computers, but users will not tolerate complex and cumbersome portable devices that ignore their needs.
The computer users operated using the “Mohammed goes to the Mountain” model. Using a computer involved some learning and you had to jump through many hoops to accomplish your tasks. But devices-to-go for users-on-the-move should be as easy as a-b-c.
In the user experience realm, what we need to focus on is very clear.
Human Device Interaction. You heard it here first.
Continue Reading January 17th, 2006
A research study on customer satisfaction with online shopping has found that usability aspects (user friendly interface, interactivity, search capabilities) of the web site were only moderately important. The findings surprised the researchers themselves as previous research rated usability as critical for e-commerce sites.
The research was conducted among computer literate and net savvy under graduate students. The authors think this may be the cause for this rather contradictory finding.
The paper was published in the Journal of Electronic Commerce Research and can be found here (PDF)
Be warned though, academic papers are usually written for fellow academicians and do not make for easy reading by the general public. I shall soon post my take on this.
July 31st, 2005