today I want to talk about unexpected usability problems. A lot of products are tested and tested and tested to ensure a high user experience and to find severe usability problems. One of these products is flight entertainment solutions.
Three weeks ago I flew from Munich to New York with Lufthansa and next to me sat an elderly man - about 75 to 80 years old. He tried to use the entertainment system and he couldn't figure it out the main issue .... "How can I navigate?"
What do you think was his problem?
His problem was that he didn't recognize or know that the screen is a touch-screen. He tried to use the space on the right side of the screen (what is actually the cup holder) like a mouse pad.
This example showed me again how important it is to test the application with end-users (because there is a gap between what you think is useable and how the end-user acts) and to test it in the correct - the real-life - environment.Br Claudia