I complain quite a lot about poor usability: for example, of ResearchFish and electronic health records, so it's good to be able to celebrate good usability (or at least good user experience) too.
Last week, my car gained a puncture. On a Sunday. Not a good experience. But sorting out was as painless as I can imagine: it was quick to find a mobile tyre replacement service (etyres, in case anyone else suffers a similar fate), to identify a suitable tyre amongst a very large number of options and to fix a fitting time. All online (apart from the actual fitting, of course), and all clear and simple. It just worked.
I've had analogous experiences with some home deliveries recently: rather than the company leaving a note to say that they tried to deliver the parcel and it has been returned to the depot, and I can pick it up at my convenience (sigh!), they have notified me that it's ready and asked me to choose a delivery time that suits. All online; all easy.
Of course, neither tyre selection and fitting nor parcel delivery is as complex a task as data management of complex records. But it's delightful when the service is designed so that the digital and the physical fit together seamlessly, and digital technologies really deliver something better than could be achieved previously.
Last week, my car gained a puncture. On a Sunday. Not a good experience. But sorting out was as painless as I can imagine: it was quick to find a mobile tyre replacement service (etyres, in case anyone else suffers a similar fate), to identify a suitable tyre amongst a very large number of options and to fix a fitting time. All online (apart from the actual fitting, of course), and all clear and simple. It just worked.I've had analogous experiences with some home deliveries recently: rather than the company leaving a note to say that they tried to deliver the parcel and it has been returned to the depot, and I can pick it up at my convenience (sigh!), they have notified me that it's ready and asked me to choose a delivery time that suits. All online; all easy.
Of course, neither tyre selection and fitting nor parcel delivery is as complex a task as data management of complex records. But it's delightful when the service is designed so that the digital and the physical fit together seamlessly, and digital technologies really deliver something better than could be achieved previously.
