Xero Product Ideas - Improve navigation & search
There seems to be a trend to hide the button that is used to post a discussion or submit a product idea amongst others. It appears that you click on a link that you think should take to the "submit new product idea" page, and when you get there and enter in your idea, you realise it was a search box that is searching for existing ideas. Fair enough, force me to search first, patronising but I guess it reduces Xero's workload (not mine though). But where is the button to submit the product idea? And how do I get rid of that drop down search box so that I can see if the submit new idea button is behind it? After some time, I discover that to submit a new idea, I need to
1) ignore the search box that I am presented with,
2) click on the "Browse Ideas" button which is not intuitive because I was just forced to search through ideas and didn't find one so why would I want to browse ideas now?
3) be presented with another search box that now turns out to be one where you can submit your new idea.
Why make it so hard? And why through implication do you want to misdirect the user?
Why use the search box in one page where the user expects it to be used to submit ideas as a search only box and then in another page where the user expects the box to be used for searching only (that's why to get there you need to click the "browse ideas" button), why use that search box as one that can submit ideas?
On the first page, you suggest initially that the user will be able to submit ideas only to teach the user that the box that looks like it should submit ideas doesn't submit them, it only searches.
On the next page, you suggest that the link will take you to browsing through ideas and present another search box but this time, when the user isn't expecting it, this search box can also submit new ideas.
When designing new interfaces, count the number of clicks required and justify each and ever extra click you add to the process. And when justifying, try to ignore things that make Xero's workload easier, because Xero is here not to serve Xero, it's here to serve the users.
With the new product ideas page, change the names of buttons so they accurately reflect what the button will lead to.
When guiding the user (or forcing the user) to search first before submitting, make it clear that is what you are doing. Don't present a search box without clear and express writing saying that before you can submit an idea, we want you to search whether it has been suggested before.
When deciding whether to make the user do something, like search existing ideas, ask yourself whether the user is 1) the best suited person for that job and 2) if it is appropriate to have the user do something that Xero should be doing itself. Xero staff will be much more familiar with the existing new product ideas so they will be able to do a better job searching and will be able to do it quicker. And why would you want to have a user (who you have already frustrated due to the confusing process to submit a new idea) have that user do the search when you know they won't do as good a job and Xero staff will probably have to search for duplicates themselves anyway?
Martin Danger
shared this idea
Appreciate the feedback, Martin. As you noted you do need to search ideas first and to create one you'll need to enter a forum and search where you'll then get an option to Post a new idea if lone of the results doesn't match what you're after.
Understand how this could be simpler and while we don't have any immediate plans on this, we;ll update you here if any are made.
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Martin Danger
commented
How about amending the wording?
You say that "to create one you'll need to enter a forum and search where you'll then get an option to Post a new idea if lone of the results doesn't match what you're after." Why don't you tell users that in the first place?The product ideas home page doesn't even mention that you can submit an idea unless "sharing an idea" is supposed to mean submitting an idea. "Sharing" has a meaning in the social media context that people will use here - which is to send that link/info/idea to friends - that isn't submitting an idea to Xero.
And if you can figure that "sharing an idea" means submitting it xero, the page gives you zero clues about how to "share that idea". As the user, you have assume that you will find out how to do that soon, maybe on the next page?Keep the language simple. Tell users the information they are looking for (how to submit an idea). No need to sacrifice the readability of content just so you can use more popular industry jargon that doesn't quite fit the scenario.
The search box - have text that says something like "enter your idea here:"
and when you enter it and it searches automatically, include in the search result "Your idea isn't in these search results. Click here to submit your idea."I'm not sure how you test these interface designs, but it seems to me that the people who test them might be too familiar with them to see these issues that users will encounter.