This article originally published in Self-Service World magazine, Mar/Apr 2006.
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| Kerry Bodine, Forrester Research |
Bank of America's ATM was the only kiosk to pass our recent review of kiosk usability, though retail checkout kiosks at Home Depot, Stop & Shop and Wal-Mart almost made the grade. Photo-processing kiosks varied widely, from nearly passable to horrendous, and the transportation industry kiosks came in dead last, struggling with usability issues other kiosks nailed. One lowlight: Greyhound's kiosk is plagued by so many system errors that we had to return on multiple occasions to complete our review.
During our reviews, missing or hidden content added time and frustration to our tasks, undermining the value the kiosks provided. Most content gaps revolved around one critical piece of information: price. Two brand-name photo kiosks neglected to put prices on print selection and order-summary screens. Greyhound provided ticket prices, which ranged from $16 to $32 for the same destination, but failed to explain differences in fares. And Stop & Shop provided prices for individual items, but only displayed the order total if the user explicitly asked for it.
Many of the kiosks we reviewed included confusing language and bad grammar. Another photo kiosk displayed photo prices — but in a confusingly labeled "indicative price list." Wal-Mart's check-out kiosk instructed users to "key in the items [sic] barcode or PLU." While familiar to retailers, "PLU" is a foreign term to most shoppers, and the missing apostrophe in Wal-Mart's instructions erodes the kiosk's perceived professionalism.
We also found pacing problems that could intimidate first-time kiosk users or those with trouble reading screen prompts quickly. Citizens Bank's kiosk flashed two paragraphs of text promoting financial planning services for just fractions of a second. Home Depot displayed its final instructions to credit card users for only a few seconds, not taking into account the time required to walk several feet from the credit card reader back to the screen. And the Amtrak Fuji, and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority systems all reset after a period of inactivity — without first prompting users to see if they need more time.
Bring in professionals for kiosk software development
Tempting as it may be to let in-house developers or Web site staff handle kiosk software design and development, those existing resources typically don't have the appropriate skills to get it right. To maximize the effectiveness of kiosk software, companies should:
Engage a design agency to bolster brand image. A kiosk that constantly breaks down doesn't bode well for a transportation company, and a 10-year-old kiosk undermines the image of a company that touts "innovation" as a brand attribute. Top design agencies understand how interactive experiences can support — or thwart — a company's brand. So hire an agency like Antenna Design, which captured JetBlue Airways' brand image in a quirky check-in kiosk that's visually stunning and a pleasure to use.
Develop personas to gain customer-centric perspective. Many of the usability problems we encountered could have been avoided had the kiosk development team started with a clear understanding of the users. 
At the beginning of your next major design project, invest in creating a set of personas — composite descriptions of real people who represent your primary customer segments. Personas, usually developed with the help of a skilled design agency, help companies make informed design decisions — like what content and functionality to include — by creating a shared picture of target customers' behaviors and attitudes.
At the beginning of your next major design project, invest in creating a set of personas — composite descriptions of real people who represent your primary customer segments. Personas, usually developed with the help of a skilled design agency, help companies make informed design decisions — like what content and functionality to include — by creating a shared picture of target customers' behaviors and attitudes.Let professionals do the writing. Don't put software programmers in charge of writing or proofreading kiosk copy. Instead, hire professional copywriters and editors with proven experience in creating content for digital media. A knowledgeable writer will focus on the target users' background knowledge to turn unfamiliar technical jargon into clear explanations and instructions. And a skilled editor will fix grammatical errors that might hinder a users' ability to digest kiosk messages or instill doubt about the kiosk's quality.
Run real usability tests in the lab and on site. You only have a few seconds to grab a user's attention and communicate the value of your kiosk — so make each one count. Employ usability specialists to test your opening screen or sequence with real users in a lab, using eye-tracking equipment to determine where users focus their attention and which design elements are most salient. On location, observe potential users, noting how many people actually engage with the kiosk and how many seconds they devote to figuring out what it does before they get bored or give up.
