Riddle: A man gets on an elevator. He presses the button next to the letter “P”. When the door opens, he steps out and walks through the front door of the hotel. What country is he in? Answer: Finland
A recent All Hands discussion posed the question, “How many times are you on an elevator trying to figure out which button represents the lobby, ground floor or the way out?” Is it the “L”, the “G”, the “P”, the one with the star next to it… and why do we need a star anyway? Can the IESC (Intergalactic Elevator Standards Committee) not come to agreement on this?
Or, perhaps we are just asking the wrong question or considering the wrong need. Las Vegas Casinos – modern day masters of usability and manipulation of human behavior – solve this dilemma by simply writing “Casino Floor” on a large, elongated, backlit bar. Problem solved. They want you to go to the casino floor. Often. The goal and the need — theirs, not yours — are clear. The solution is then obvious.

During the USA-USSR space race, both countries were confronted with the issue of writing in zero gravity. The Americans invested in trying to make a zero gravity pen. The Russians went with the pencil and moved onto the next issue. Likely, they asked a better question.
Closer to our interest, a recent study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology compared the use of GPS devices, traditional maps and a “direct experience” (walking with a guide, then alone) showed the GPS travelers walked slower, longer distances, with more stops and more mistakes and they rated the experience more difficult. In other words, low-tech won. Thus, the book on interactions between a GPS devices and humans is far from closed. Have we essentially accepted this small screen experience in getting from point A to B because that is the only option we have been presented? Personally, I would prefer a GPS-enabled iPod with Gwen Stefani giving me voice directions… but I digress.
If usability – be it product design or interactive experiences – starts with asking the right questions let’s ask ourselves a broader set of questions:
  - Where have we settled?
  - Are we forcing technology solutions where low-tech would
    be better?
  - Have we become enamored with the small screen – that
    of the iPhone, Blackberry and GPS device?
  - Are these devices our modern day zero gravity pen and
    where are the pencils?
In other words, what current interactive experiences are not Mr. Right, but Mr. Right Now?
James Heughens
btw: According to a well-travelled colleague, Pohjakerros means ground floor in Finnish. Thus, pressing “P” gets our hotel guest to his desired floor. The things I learn on this job!