koldfront

User interfaces

I think today is my official "The World Has Bad User Interfaces"-day. At first I arrive at the inspection site with the car. I walk up to the registrars office. A sign on the front door has an arrow to the right that says "Inspection", so I walk in through the front door and take the first door on the left (like everybody else). You can choose between two kinds of tickets when you wait for your turn. Each type of ticket has a list of what the line is good for. None of them say "inspection". I return to the car and read the letter that called the car in for inspection. It just says "Pay at the office 15 minutes in advance". So I re-enter the office, again noticing the arrow pointing at the door, and I chance on ticket line number 2. After some waiting I reach the counter, looks good it has a slot for creditcards, and I say that I want to pay. Wrong place, mister, you need to go around the building to the right!

Scene two: I enter the central train station. I want to buy a ticket. Inside the door there are two ways to go. To my left there is a glass door to something that reads "Travel Center". To my right, there is lines with signs over them saying "Tickets". I ponder what to do. After a while, I decide that since I know where and when I'm going, all I need is a ticket. So I stand in line. Wrong. To get a ticket I don't need the desk that says "Tickets" I need to go to the "Travel Center". Finally I get my ticket.

On the bike ride home, I enjoy the niceness that all the other bikers that cross my path actually make their signs! Good user interface.

Scene three: I look at the ticket. It doesn't say the destination I asked for anywhere on the ticket. I'm not sure whether it should. Perhaps it shouldn't. The ticket is probably correct. But....