We love when our clients give us exciting and innovative designs to test and often we agree that an interface that is not immediately intuitive is learnable and so can be considered to be usable for the target audience. Several factors affect whether an interface that requires learning time is usable.

1. Does the effort outweigh the benefits? The effort required to learn the interface sometimes outweighs the benefits of presenting that content in a complex interface. We feel that innovation is essential, however, sometimes the user is required to do a little too much to access content and they quickly lose interest in the content and the interface as a whole.
2. Will the initial effort required to come to grips with an interface put the user off? It is essential that the interface provides very simple and intuitive core functionality to ensure that users are not discouraged during initial use. This will allow users to use core functionality and learn more advanced nuances of the interface over time.
3. Does the interface hide the purpose of the website? When the interface is too complex or excessively visually based the purpose of the content it provides can get lost.
4. How often will the user visit the interface? Some interfaces will be heavily used and re-visited regularly. In this instance the user has the opportunity to learn the interface and become familiar with its features and nuances, however, where a user visits the interface irregularly or perhaps only once, the opportunity to learn a complex interface does not exist.
5. Who will use the interface? Different user groups are more willing to learn and explore than others. While it is true that younger and more technically savvy users will get used to an interface more quickly, these are often the ones that give up fastest. In comparison to older users who are often more cautious and systematic in their approach, more proficient users assume knowledge and are typically less forgiving of an interface that requires learning.

As web technologies advance we hope that this will enable designers to create increasingly interesting and innovative interfaces, however, we hope that the users don’t get lost in the process.

Forty years ago not many people would have been able to accurately predict the advancements made in technology at the turn of the century and beyond. However, one prediction that has held true (relatively) is Moore’s Law conjured up in 1965.

Moore’s Law states that technology and computing will develop at an exponential rate. That is, every 18 months or so performance of technology is double that of what it was two years ago. In essence, technological growth is continuously accelerating.

But accelerating towards what? Exponential laws have no finishing point, they merely continue to grow at an enormous rate. So is this trend really to continue at the same rate or will there one day be a plateau? You would think there would be what with a limited number of resources in the world, but then again, I continue to be amazed by the latest products to come out.

Figure 1 The exponential growth of the number of transistors in computer processors (Taken from www.intel.com)

So without an end in sight, what does all this new technology mean? Well, put simply, those of us working in the computer and technology industry will have jobs for many years to come.  There is always something to push us forward, whether it be a competitor’s latest release, or a new idea that has only just taken off (3D television comes to mind). For us at UsabilityOne it means we will always have something else to look forward to testing, and for those of you who are thinking of updating websites, softwares or other technologies, it means you have a range of options that are always changing and always improving. So which one do you choose?

Although it can sometimes be overwhelming to try to take in the seemingly limitless amount of technology around us, we should not despair but should embrace. The most important thing we should take away from Moore’s Law is that we should always be on our toes, because as the nature of the law suggests, now more than ever before there will be new gadgets and gizmos coming at us.

Now, you may be sitting there thinking “I have all these proposals on my desk for website improvements and new designs but how do I know what is going to work best”. Of course there is no one simple answer – it depends on your business, your goals, your budget, etc. One tip we can give though is to work from the top down: What does your company do? What are your goals? It is crucial to have a clear sense of what you are aiming to achieve by implementing a new design technology. A couple of examples are listed below:

• A company wants to increase its sales so it implements an eCommerce feature on its site
• A university wants to improve its student interaction with its online learning facilities so they aim to implement a more interactive website using javascript and videos

To make the most of the myriad of available technologies, first decide what you want and/or need, then conjure a plan to best implement what is available. Identify the goals and objectives of the business, any boundaries which impact on your decision, and assess your timelines to choose a suitable direction in which to proceed. You may not need the best technology, you just need the best technology for you.

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has just launched yet another new venture, one that has the potential to meet a pressing need in digital payments. Square is an iPhone app that allows people to make credit card payments using only their phone. The system works by using a small device that plugs into the headphone jack and collects the cards swipe data, then users can sign on the phone’s screen to complete the transaction. In addition to its basic function of processing payments, Square also claims to simplify the sales and record keeping process for both retailers and customers by offering several features such as directly emailing receipts to customers, adding meta data such as location to receipts and allowing retailers to set up alternate workflows for common transactions.

Whilst it is unclear whether customers have to already have an account to benefit from most of Square’s features, this is definitely an exciting release for small retailers. Not only will small businesses such as couriers, street vendors and market stall holders be able to cheaply and easily accept credit card transactions, but larger retailers can now also offer on-the-spot transactions to rival the Apple Store’s system with minimal overhead.

Square is not yet available in Australia, but we look forward to getting our hands on it and seeing how the app works. We have recently conducted research for a number of clients looking at attitudes towards mobile payments, especially in the area of security. What we have seen is that products like Square will quite likely face a challenge when it comes to overcoming user’s perception that mobile and online payments are not secure. The behaviors we have observed suggest that, regardless of fact, people still see online transactions as carrying a higher risk than traditional transactions (yes, people will happily give their credit card to a stranger over the phone yet not enter it into a secure form on Amazon), and mobile transactions are even further out of there comfort zones. So the first step that a product like this will have to make is to ensure its design suggests safety and security, and to step users through the process and why certain steps are necessary in order to alleviate any security concerns.

Hopefully Square will be able to overcome the issues and persuade people that using it for payments is a safe alternative. The iPhone (and now the iPad) have opened up a new platform offering interactions that may not previously have been considered, and  designers and developers are rising to the challenge of designing for these interactions with vigour.

One sunny day several months ago, my partner decided he just had to check out the new Mazda MX5 and towed me along to the nearest showroom. Whilst we were there, I fell in love with the CX7 but that is a story for another day as I was instead, firmly steered towards the MX5 which stood ready for a test drive.

We drove sedately enough out of the gates, but once we were on the road he put it through its paces. Suffice to say I had a death grip on the armrest by the time we slowed and turned into a residential area. As the road turned out to be a dead end, we needed to make a three-point turn to get back out onto the main road.

It was at this point that my partner realised he couldn’t put the car into the reverse gear.

“What do you mean you can’t put the car into reverse?!?” was my calm reply.

The unattainable reverse gear.

He pointed out that the sixth gear was where the reverse normally was (it was a manual car), and the indicated reverse gear was to the left of first. Only the gear stick wouldn’t move any further left than first gear. I wasn’t convinced until we had made several jerky movements forward until we were merely centimetres away from someone’s garage door.

As my partner tried to call Mazda to find out what to do with the gears, I was frantically looking through the car for a manual. Thwarted, I moved the search to the internet on my mobile. Then, we heard a car horn behind us. The owner of the garage (in a massively intimidating Hummer) wanted in. We had to explain the problem to him and he was all ready to tow us out. Finally, Mazda rang us back. It was easy, he said. “Just press down on the gear and hold whilst shifting it left”.

Just in time. The owner of the garage had had enough. I was scared to death that he would attempt to tow us out and break the bumper making us liable for the damage! We sat in embarrassed silence all the way back to Mazda.

“Well, we’re here,” I said.

“Yes. Yes we are.”

“You know it wasn’t our fault right. The label doesn’t say anything about pushing down…”

“They’re still going to laugh at us.”

Driving. Not that simple.

When a design defies established conventions, there needs to be a obvious indication of how the new design works. Clear concise labelling can be important for guiding the user in learning to use it.