It occurred to me today that restroom stall doors whose locks are broken probably stay that way for so long because the people who are responsible for their upkeep don't ever try to lock themselves in to make sure they work. They should.

If they care, that is. I don't really expect gas station employees everywhere to start confirming that the door will in fact lock behind them on those rare occasions when they go in to clean. More customer service-inclined establishments, however, especially those restaurants and hotels that work so hard for their 4 and 5 star ratings, might find it a useful addition to their cleaning repertoire.

That's not really my point though.

It made me think that the "cleaning people never trying to lock the stall doors" is the same problem as the "designers couldn't possibly have tried using that <insert product here>" problem.

And for the record, "using" is not the same thing as "testing." Almost every designer tests his/her creations, but far fewer use them before unleashing them on the public.

Not that there's anything revolutionary about the notion of using your product the way your customers use it. I just thought this odd but everyday example might serve as a helpful reminder to the design community. =)

PS. I swear I haven't forgotten about "Search design part five: Results pages" -- and, yes, I realize I'm pushing the boundaries of "soon" (oh OK, so I crossed that line a long time ago) but I'm almost done. Really. But keep in mind I'm packing and driving across the country next week.

October 31, 2003