D'Bonzon Consulting

06/14/2022

D'Bonzon Consulting is now 3 To 1 Consulting, LLC! Please be patient with us through this season of changing our name across all channels. To learn more about us, go to https://www.3to1experience.com.

06/05/2017

One set of doors, 2 options. What do you really want to do?

12/15/2016

Going to visit a patient in the hospital. I stopped at the nurses desk to ask about the patient. I spoke to the first person behind the desk. There were about 4 persons all dressed alike (hospital scrubs) behind the desk. The person I spoke with gave me the wrong information which had me going back to the nurses desk to ask again. This time I spoke to a different person who informed me that the first person was not a nurse, she was a receptionist. How would anyone no that if (1) everyone is dressed alike, (2) the receptionist responded to my question as if she knew the right information and (3) she was sitting in the same space as the floor nurses. Things that are different should look and perform differently. Things that are alike should look and perform the same.

12/15/2016

TMI...too much information. How do you know when you've reached too much? You are right smack in the middle of TMI if it impedes or delays the goal. Example, I called the local toll authority to update my car's plate numbers. Before the rep even approached asking me for the new numbers, she went through my account balance. I misunderstood her information and there began a longer conversation than I intended. Twenty minutes and ruffled feathers later, we finally got to updating the plate number.

11/21/2016

I got a traffic ticket (citation) last week. I wanted to find out how much I would have to pay. The phone number on the citation does not work. I went to their web site and clicked the "Pay Online" link. After entering my contact info and the citation number, I saw this (see screen shot). I can't call anyone because the phone number doesn't work and when I called the main number for the city, they were not able to transfer me to the correct department, claiming it is a "closed system". There is no email contact info on the citation and the online payment system only ACCEPTS information - not GIVE information. The only possible, (but certainly not proven) path to achieving my goal WILL result in additional costs. The user experience to achieve an OFFERED online goal should not result in additional offline costs of time and money. At the very least, the experience should allow the user to achieve their goal. In this case, how much am I REQUIRED to pay so that I do not end up in jail?

11/18/2016

Sometimes there's a fork in the road for what is opposites and similarities. In a court verdict to be found "not guilty" does not imply innocence, but it does imply guilt either. The same is true if you plead "no contest". Judges often tell you that a plea of no contest does not imply guilt, but again, it doesn't imply innocence either. On the way to water turning from hot to cold, there's a state of warm at varying levels...not implying the water is still hot and not implying the water has reached the cold state, just somewhere in between. In our design projects we have to be careful about assessing the "ease-of-use" on a digital tool it may not be a difficult experience but ease-of-use does not imply that it is an easy either.

10/22/2016

Yesterday, I sat down with a grocery store manager to speak out my complaint. I watched the expression on his face as I provided 2-3 examples of my complaint. He was stone faced - very corporate - not giving away too much so as to lead me think he agrees with me that the issues are real. He spoke words that were intended to assure (rather pacify) me the matter would be looked into, but his facial expression spoke corporate liability internally screaming "Protect the company!" I walked away feeling like I had done something wrong and I had to remind myself that I was the dissatisfied customer. His robot-like posture and verbal response was directly opposite his body language.

Hmm, I know it happens a lot, but I wonder, how often corporate decision-makers (those so far from the products user) dictate design decisions that leave the customer feeling awkward for even using it? For those of you who think UX doesn't matter, think again...and then overthink it.

10/04/2016

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10/03/2016

A grocery store conversation between moms:
Mom1: what do you ladies do?
Mom2: I'm unemployed but looking
Mom3: I don't work
Mom4: My husband is a contractor

After hearing this exchange I wondered what unemployment really means. Words and phrases that we think are pretty obvious and common in meaning can be more outside the realm of "common" than we think.

09/28/2016

while standing in line at a major discount store, a consumer swiped her card and was prompted to select either "Visa Debit" or "US Debit". She was completely at a loss as to what to choose. The clerk, who has clearly seen this look of confusion before, spoke rather rudely, "if you want to use it [card] like a debit card, choose US Debit, but if you want to sign, choose Visa Debit". Wow, how many ways does this situation beg some UX attention. I know it's going to be hard to decide what you want to ask first or write complete paragraphs, but please...tell me your initial thoughts.

09/20/2016

If someone asks, "does UX really matter?" Ask them, "have you ever tried to put together a piece of furniture following the instruction guide?" They may not answer your question but they will have answered their own.

09/07/2016

Check for change of address. Many people still receive their bills by the postal service. Creditors often provide a payment envelope. That envelope use to have a check mark for change of address. I went through a stack of bills yesterday and noticed the check mark was no longer there. Nothing in the fine print of any of the bills advised how to achieve a change of address. When I called, I was directed to either change it online or enter a PIN. According to a 2014 statistics as reported by the ACL, 1 in 7 Americans is over the age of 65. The 65 and older age group are less likely to be familiar with digital access such as web login and PIN numbers, a change of address is more likely to be achieved by phone or in person by 46.2 million Americans.