Juice Based Findability

I recently returned from an e-commerce assessment project in Cape Town. The project went well, and the client was absolutely wonderful - very welcoming and extremely keen to strengthen the asset categorisation of their products and the search and browse support they offer.

My stay was extended somewhat by the antics of an Icelandic volcano - yes me too. While I was on 'volcation' I enjoyed a number of visits to the hotel's 'full breakfast buffet'. Sitting there, sipping my coffee, I received a lesson in 'Juice Based Findability' - bear with me, it will make sense soon.

My hotel had the usual juice section - glasses close to a variety of freshly squeezed juices. I probably sat near this juice area 10 times during my recent stay. Whilst idly watching my fellow breakfasters I noticed at least 5 occasions when the guests could not find the glasses for the juice. The thing was that the glasses were lined up below the juice bar, and the table top on which the juice bar was sitting was wide enough to obscure the glasses to the guests who were standing next to the juices. On a number of occasions, guests approached the juice area intent on getting a drink, and all too often they were unsuccessful - they could just not find the glasses. Some looked around quite determinedly, some spent longer than others trying to track down the errant glasses. Some asked members of staff for help, some just walked away and got a coffee or tea instead.

Some people tried harder than others to solve the problem for themselves and get a glass of juice, but everyone with the problem was unsuccessful in solving it. The same staff were asked to solve the same problem day in day out, and yet they never altered the juice bar area. They never changed the location of the glasses or added any signage explaining the location of the glasses.

This experience is very similar to information finding challenges online. All too often sites do not make information finding tasks as simple and as fast as they should be. Also, when faced with real people having real problems, some sites ignore them, others help individuals via customer services centres, but most don't fix the root of the problem.

Faced with problems, frustrated by confusing navigation, strange search results, or missing information, most web users will go elsewhere with their business. If they do let the site owner know the problem, then please website owners, fix it at the root so other people don't encounter it.

Sometimes information architects and website owners are too close to things - too focused on their issues and their plans. They need to regularly take a step back and watch their customers and users interacting with their websites.

Next time you have a moment, look at the key information tasks your customers or clients have, sit back and ask, "How easy it it to get to the juice?" Analyse search logs, sit with people and watch them use your site, there are lots of ways to do it. Then, act on what you see, focusing on helping most of the people most of the time. I guarantee that valuable lessons will be learned and findability will improve.

Dow Jones Client Solutions offers audits targeted at improving information findability through enhanced asset categorisation, browse navigation and search support. Let me know if you would like to get more value out of your information.

Ian

photo by Leonid Mamchenkov