Back when I was looking for office space, I gained a keen interest in loading docks. One evening, I actually drove around town looking for any building with a loading dock, to see what kinds of businesses had them, where they were located in the building, and how much the truck driver would be swearing in order to try and get the trailer to fit (i.e. what kind of driveway was involved, and whether the truck had to block traffic on busy roads in order to back in). There are all sorts, and I still go out of my way to look around when I come across a new building.
The space I ended up leasing doesn’t have a loading dock, alas (it had everything else on my list, unlike other places I was considering), but at least it’s easy for trucks to get in and out (they can back in without needing to block traffic, and it’s a straight shot).
Now, I’m in the process of improving how I handle credit cards. So, once again, I’m getting geeky with my research, this time looking intently at other sites’ checkout forms, paying for and downloading a 63-page usability report on checkout design (I’m very curious how well that site’s checkout lines up with its design recommendations), and so on.
Eventually, I figure I won’t be able to look at anything remotely commercial without evaluating its pluses and minuses in terms of usability, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
