Observing people

I've spent most of the day, and will spend most of the week, observing people how they interact with a new booking dialogue we are launching in a month.

I've been an observer in usability tests before, and it's always fun and interesting to hear what people say. Our company has a brand recognition of 96-97% which means everybody has an opinion. We have also been around for more than 40 years so people expect things as well. Even though times have changed they expect things or some products to be exactly like they were back in the good old days.

Then we have the new generation who see us as any other company which are starting to have a rather decent homepage. For them booking on-line is normal and when telling them that this and this are new features they just wonder what planet we come from. Features like that are expected.

So today's conclusion is that it's a thin line to walk to not be too cool and new, or not to be too old and boring.