[thelist] User perception

[Chris]

On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 14:14:09 +0100, Andreas Wahlin  
<Andreas.Wahlin at ufl.gu.se> wrote:

> This is perhaps a bit of a philosophical question ...
> I have this form, that you log into. On the login page are instructions
> on what userid/password to use, and on the form input page are
> instructions on how to fill out the form. Still users mail/phone
> questions about how to proceed, some claiming that instructions are
> scarce, and when I say "there's the text answering your question", they
> go "oh, ok thanks".
>
> Now, is this always so? Is it impossible to make it so that everyone
> follows and read instructions? The bulk of the users seem to get
> everything just fine, but there are exceptions.

A while back, I was involved in a project (I was only in charge of making  
images for the project) that used a web application written in ActiveX to  
put a bit of firmware on a piece of hardware for people that were too dumb  
to use Google and download an application.  All the user had to do was  
make sure the hardware was plugged in, hit the "start" button, and leave  
the hardware plugged in until the application said it was done.  To  
reinforce leaving the hardware plugged in, there was big bold text that  
said to leave it alone and a photograph (roughly 200x200) of someone  
unplugging the hardware with a giant "no" symbol on it.  Honestly, I don't  
know how much simpler it could be.

After about a month, the client asks for yet another giant button that  
says to leave the hardware plugged in because his users were unplugging  
the hardware prematurely.  Some users, no matter how simple the form is,  
are too dumb to use it.

-- 
chris