UX stories > Evil USB port
Evil USB port.
I was on a bus waiting for a trip from Milan Central Station to Malpensa Airport. My phone battery was less than 30%, so I started searching for a USB port or a plug to recharge it.
The first thing I did was look in front of me, as those ports are usually placed there, but I found no port or plug. Then I started to check near the armrest, and again, nothing there.
I thought, 'Okay, I’ll give up. No music during the trip, and it’s better to power off the phone.' Just as I was stretching my neck to look up, a miracle happened. There were two USB ports near the air conditioning settings. I connected the cable to my phone and then plugged it into the USB port.
The happiness ended very quickly because, after a few seconds, I realized that it would be impossible to use my phone while it was charging.
Here are the reasons:
The cable wasn’t long enough to hold the phone while charging.
There was no typical bus pocket integrated into the back of the seat in front of me.
Because of the short cable length, it was impossible to rotate the phone to interact with it. There was no way to watch a video, send messages, or call someone.
Another fun fact is that, of course, I tried to interact with the phone while keeping the cable connected to the USB port, but due to the road conditions, I received enough jolts to make me decide to detach it (frustration... a lot of frustration).
I started looking around to see if anyone else had the same problem. Usually, I see many people charging their phones on a bus, but that day, in that bus, no one had their phones charging.
The question I asked myself was:
Did they test it?
The importance of testing an idea is crucial, not only to understand if that idea will work and how it will function, but also to prevent confusion, problems, frustration, and so on. It helps to avoid financial loss in several areas:
Money in terms of people
Money in terms of materials
Money in terms of time
Money in terms of rebuilding
Speaking of rebuilding, honestly, I don’t know how to redesign something like that, but I can say, without a doubt, it will require consideration of all three points I mentioned above.
A Design Thinking approach would have been very helpful because I believe there is a lack of empathy and testing:
We are living in an age where people often use their phones. That bus was used for travel to the airport, and for several years, it has been possible to save check-in information in a digital wallet, so a discharged phone could be a problem.
I’m considering those people who might find it difficult to extend their arms without standing up. Of course, it’s possible to do this while the bus is stopped, but what about while driving along the road? It can be dangerous!
Before implementation, it should have been obvious that combining charging and usage would be impossible. It seems they missed the opportunity to test with users.
Design Thinking, a non-linear process
A lack of empathy affects the definition of the problem to be solved. Without it, the definition will be incomplete. Ideation and prototyping were done—poorly, in my opinion—but they were completed. The real problem here is the lack of testing, because:
It can be very helpful to learn more about users while testing to understand their needs and the behaviors they will exhibit.
It can reveal new insights to redefine the problem.
It can generate new ideas.
As a conclusion to this experience, I would like to emphasize the importance of testing. Proper user testing can prevent the delivery of a bad product, service, or function.
Test, test and again test.
Thank you for reading about my experience. I hope it was interesting and provided some food for thought.