Crazy E-Z Pass Account Updating

Yet another baffling experience with the E-Z Pass website, which has the worst usability of any site I've ever visited. This time, I received a notice that the credit card on file was about to expire, and I needed to update the information. Here's what happened.

I signed in, found my old card listed - indeed it was about to expire. I clicked "New Card" and entered the new information.

As you may know, E-Z Pass draws money from your account at their convenience, whenever your balance reaches a certain point. Now, my purpose here was simply to give them a new card to use whenever that next replenishment point occurs, but on the form, there is no "Save" button, only a "Make Payment" button!


So, whether it's time for replenishment or not, the only way you can update your account is by making a payment now! Since the replenishment point was not due for a while, I decided to make a lower payment now. I clicked the "Edit" button next to the Payment Amount. Rather than letting me simply edit the amount, however, the system kicked me back to new entry screen, where I had to re-enter the credit card details as well as entering a new amount. But after clicking "Make Payment," I got this informative error message:


My card could not be validated! Bummer! No indication of what the problem might be, or what I might do to fix it! But recalling the notorious stupidity of the E-Z Pass site, I had a hunch. I went back to the data entry screen, re-entered the details a third time, but this time restored the amount to the $30 level that I know they want. Guess what - now it worked.


The so-called validation error was triggered by foolishly not supplying the number they wanted to hear. Here I thought that by offering the option to edit the amount, they would actually let me edit the amount! Silly me - this is not customer service, this is E-Z Pass!

Research vs Design

I responded the other day to a post on the Interaction Design Association message board (ixda.org), entitled "Say No to Genius Design."

Referring a perfectly cogent interview with Dan Saffer in 2006 the poster noted that "some newbie designers take it as the secret path to grand design success, which is not a good thing from my understanding."

This reminds me of a debate I used to have about instructional design. My friend liked to contrast the "scientific" approach, based on research, with the "intuitive" approach, based on... well, he would said nothing but instinct. I would say that while the scientific approach breaks everything down into individually verifiable tidbits, the intuitive approach makes a many - just as rational - decisions at once.

Of course, the catch is that the results are good only when the person making the intuitive design decisions is really smart, understands technology constraints, and has a great instinct for users as well. When Steve Jobs does it, it usually comes out pretty well (ipod) but not always (Newton - or was he gone then?)! Anyway, good designers do have - or develop - a reliable intuitive sense of what works and what doesn't.

BTW another factor in the Jobs/iPod success is that the designer was the CEO! He had the power to see the concept through to complete expression in all aspects and at all levels; many great product concepts get compromised or destroyed through bureaucratic compromise, turf wars, etc.

Sure, some testing is better than no testing, and before release is better than after, but keep in mind some critical limitations of testing:

- Testing is not design. Testing reveals problems, but simply reversing the condition you tested is seldom the best design solution. Usually there are clusters of related issues. To address them all well takes creative design, which always involves some degree of "intuition" or "genius."

- You can't test everything. During development, you can test the bit you're unsure about and improve them, but some aspect you thought was a no-brainer could turn out to be the most problematic for users (or buyers).

- Don't forget the factor of fashion! Sometimes the market likes something that doesn't make a lot of sense but just seems new and fresh. These market hits seldom come out of research!

In short, a bit of research never hurts, but it's no substitute for creative design.

Traveling in "Airplane Mode"

+ I fly a lot and can't help noticing certain changes and trends in the experience, including the little speeches given by flight attendants. For one thing, I've noticed they have started to say when you can use your device is "airplane mode." As far as I know, only the iPhone has something called "airplane mode," so I take this as another index of the product's popularity.
+ (I love my iPhone, by the way, by I have no idea exactly what gets turned off in airplane mode. Apple doesn't explain it, but that's because the folks at Apple are so convinced that their products are easy to use that they never explain anything. They are easy, of course, but a few hints on some points would be nice.)
+ I still don't understand why my iPhone has to actually be off during take-off and landing. What I like to do is crosswords - they are not sending or receiving radio waves. Can it be that filling out a crossword cause interference with air traffic control? Somehow I doubt it.
+ Lately I've noticed another warning - you are not supposed to leave your cell phone, PDA or Other Electronic Device loose on the seat next to you! I'm guessing this has nothing to do with radio interference but with the danger of small object flying through the air and hitting people in the head. So be it, but then where is the proscription against untethered tomes by Stephanie Meyer or Peter Drucker? Surely, a flying 500-page book can do more damage than a PDA!
+ Ah the mysteries of modern life. Perhaps someday all will be revealed.