User Expectations (part deux)

It's strange how the current generation (don't get me started on the following generation) has become accustomed to certain expectations for software. CTRL-C should *always* mean "I want to take whatever is selected, and use it somewhere else." Menu -> File should *always* contain "Save as..." so I can take what I've written and save it as a different version. (speaking of which -- when will Operating Systems start implementing integrated version control?)

For those of this generation who have used any version of a search engine well enough to know how to "manipulate" it (i.e., correctly use it) to find relevant results, we know that "-" (the minus sign) means "please, don't include this word in my search results".

I am not a frequent ebay user, but it delightfully participated in my "reality" by accepting that "-airsoft" as a search parameter meant I wasn't searching for an airsoft gun.

For better or for worse, users have already set standards for how our programs should function. To go against these "traditions" is to go against any other established societal standard -- to drive in the left lane; to turn a screw to the left in order to tighten it; to have the "power" button on the right-hand side of the TV remote-control; to defy gravity...

As any good citizen of the human population, our job is to question tradition; however, some traditions are so ingrained and so untouchable that we must acquiesce to the norms and toe the line.

When designing user interfaces, first ask yourself -- "would this be most natural to me?" As any HCI professor would tell you, that's not enough. You must think outside your own inclinations and actually consider the input of those who are not accustomed to thinking "behind the scenes" of an application -- who can actually (I might say "without bias") say "ladies and gentleman of the jury -- this. does. not. make. sense..

I wish that you would just leave
Because your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone
These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase
-- Evanescence - My Immortal

User Expectations

I put in my dollar bill, my quarter, my nickel, and my dime (notice that decreasing size dominates decreasing value). I pressed the "Mr. Pibb" button. And what happened?

Out came a Cherry Coke.

Strangely enough, I didn't really mind. I may not especially like Cherry Coke, but it suited me just fine: it had sugar and caffeine and that oh-so-great bitter-sweet cola taste.

My confusing experience at the vending machine is analogous to what users may feel while experiencing our applications. In my case, the supplier incorrectly loaded that particular slot; or, perhaps, loaded it correctly but didn't bother to change the label. Both cases pretty much sum up what we as coders are prone to do -- either not detect or not care about interface discrepancies.

Users can find these "mystery boxes" to be annoying, especially if they eclipse major functionality of the program. For instance, when no soda comes out at all after I've inserted my money and pressed a button -- well, I guess that's what Customer Service numbers are for...

What's bizarre to me is that I have heard of cases where a QA Engineer has discovered and fixed a "bug", only to cause Customer Service to become inundated with complaints regarding the missing "feature".

It shouldn't be so much of a stretch to imagine someone who uses who is used to pressing Mr. Pibb in order to get a Cherry Coke. But they've learned: either through their own mistakes or through someone else's -- that kind of knowledge is acquired, not explicit. Either way, money has been spent without total satisfaction.

Do you think that person would be annoyed if, unexpectedly and unannounced, a Mr. Pibb started coming out when they pressed Mr. Pibb?

Embrace your mistakes. Bugs *can* be features. If you still feel that serving up ice-cold Mr. Pibb is worth your while, make sure that it is clearly labeled, fully stocked, and that those who came for Cherry Coke can still get Cherry Coke.

From this time, unchained
We're all looking at a different picture
Thru this new frame of mind
A thousand flowers could bloom
Move over, and give us some room
-- Portishead, Glory Box