Usability Hits the Streets in Boston
The Boston Globe reported on some of the confusing signs that still exist despite experienced sign engineers. The problem is that multiple organizations are in charge of the signs (mainly MassHighway and the Department of Conservation and Recreation [DCR]). This problem is akin to having multiple developers (or usability specialists) working on similar parts of application separately (unfortunately, I don’t think the DCR knows about usability).
Road signs have historically been a huge problem in Boston. In fact, they inspired a City SignWalk at the annual Boston World Usability Day, where a group of people analyze signs around the Museum of Science area. With the Big Dig, one would expect that the new signs would be much better. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out that way.
Of course, I don’t need any road signs at all. I have my GPS. Speaking of, the next iteration of road sign design may involve a symbiotic relationship with GPS devices when they become commonplace.
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