Worst user experience ever….

Michael Dain, Friday, December 14, 2007 @ 10:58 am

We were in a meeting talking about possible ways to showcase user experience design when I brought up statistics or quantifiable metrics. Everyone groaned, as they do when I bring things up, but mainly because it tends to be a bit of a sore spot in the world of usability, It seems obvious that good user experiences lead to more popularity, sales and general peace and happiness. However, percentage gains and metrics are suspect since there is no way to have a double blind scientific study of 'usable' vs 'unusable'. Thus, the practice of reviewing and refining the user experience can often be considered optional or put off till after release or just too hard to 'bake in' to the process because it doesn't produce hard numbers. In my defense I did come up with a situation where hard numbers and user behavior told a very interesting story.

The 'worst experience ever' in the title came to mind as an illustration of the confusion and opportunities that surround metrics and usability design. I speak of last months release of Radioheads "In rainbows" (since decommissioned). If you haven't downloaded the music yet, or heard the story umpteen times, it happens that Radiohead created a sanctioned way to pre-offer their new record it for download as mp3. Radically, customers could pay what they wished for it, including nothing. The real story as I saw it came from the way they managed this transaction - in the most confusing, user unfriendly way possible. The site is garish and difficult to comprehend, even though the download to the music is the only goal. You are asked to pay before even sampling the album. When purchasing, the amount is left blank, and in pounds, so no translation of other currency, no 'suggested' price. If you enter an amount below 1 pound you are greeted with errors, any questions or advice explaining the process all appear in popup windows, its a mess. When the user is finally able to complete the transaction, they receive nothing, but wait for an email with download instructions.

With all these hurdles, it only seemed natural to pay nothing, which I did, since it all seemed like some kind of con, as trustful as I am of their brand. After a few days (I did it before 'release'), an email arrives with a download link. Then you can finally sample what you (didn't) pay for. It was my intention to check out the record (which was quite good, actually), then return to offer a few buck donation to the cause. However, you have to essentially re-purchase the record as another 'person' so it seemed as though I would be guilty of 'stealing' it the first time, and I got busy and...well...

Even though it has been a kept secret of the band, news stories came out speculating that as many as 60% of people did not pay. Many commentators used this metric as somehow holding some significance of why and how people think of paying for music. No one mentioned the horrible shopping experience, outside of a few blogs like this one. In all, it should be noted that every person using the site did complete the task successfully, and no animals were harmed in the 'stealing' of the music. The only casualty was the business model. If the goal was to monetize the download, it failed in every respect by making it difficult and unwieldy for the user to pay a fair amount. However, the user was satisfied by getting the music they wanted. So perhaps usability is better defined as aligning business strategy with user goals? I know the statistics on the user behavior was much reported, so perhaps it's time for a double blind study for their next record - with a better user experience will people pay more? Can't wait.

user experience design

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   [...] made everyones news with releasing their record as a “how much would you like to pay” model. My problem with this was how difficult, confusing and somewhat rinky-dink the download/pay experience was handled. It [...]

   Pingback by Pathfinder Development » Download my album for money?, Wednesday, June 25, 2008 @ 12:07 pm

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