# Bad user interface design **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 1, 2015, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-user-interface-design/721359 "2015-06-01T17:17:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JcWoman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jcwoman/32/2889_2.png) [@JcWoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JcWoman)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-user-interface-design/721359/1 "2015-06-01T17:17:33Z")
This could really go either here, the BBQ forum or the humble opinion forum, but since I’m posting it just to shoot the breeze rather than rant, I’ll put it here. Over the weekend, a friend (Mary) and I did a trip to another city in a rental car. We rented a GMC Suburban because we needed space for gear and three dogs as well as ourselves. Typical for rentals, the car owner’s manual was not in the glove box, so we couldn’t read up on anything. (We’d looked for it for some question about the nav system.) Another friend we met at the weekend event figured out because it was similar to his own vehicle that it had the remote start feature. That’s the cool feature where if you need to warm up your car in the morning but want finish your coffee while it warms up, you can start it up from the comfort of your breakfast table (sort of…). Mary had never had a car like that, so as we were leaving the event she decided to try it out. Before I explain what happened, I need to describe the remote control. As is typical, it had a button to lock the doors, a button to unlock the doors, a couple of other buttons I didn’t pay attention to, and a button with a swirly sort of arrow icon on it that I also ignored. So the other friend figured out that to do the remote start, you had to press the lock button twice and then the swirly button. After we got our gear loaded, the dogs loaded and only needed to give our friends hugs goodbye, Mary did the remote start, tossed the keys into the driver seat and shut the door. If you’re at all faster than we were mentally, you’ve caught on to the fact that pressing the lock button on the remote locked the doors before it started the car. So, yes, she locked the keys in the car. Kind of a dumb design. I know the GMC designers never intended for someone to remote start the car, toss the keys in and shut the door, but… well, we did. Maybe a better key combo would be pressing lock, unlock, and then swirly. Although I know if you live in a rough neighborhood, you don’t want someone jumping in your car while you’re sucking down your coffee in the morning and making off with it, so having it locked while it warms up does make sense. But it should have a safety feature where it unlocks if it senses the keys are inside. ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-user-interface-design/721359/2 "2015-06-01T17:21:44Z")
Um, why did she throw the keys into a car she just locked twice? It sounds like it’s _her_ user interface that needs some maintenance. ---
**Author:** ![JcWoman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jcwoman/32/2889_2.png) [@JcWoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JcWoman)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-user-interface-design/721359/3 "2015-06-01T17:41:12Z")
Yeah, I agree it was a tad ditzy. She wasn’t thinking “I just locked the car twice”, she was thinking “I just started the engine”. After that ordeal, midway through the return trip when we stopped for lunch, she did actually put the keys on the hood to do something, got in behind the wheel and had to get out again to fetch the keys. :smack: 😃 It wasn’t our best day. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-user-interface-design/721359/4 "2015-06-01T17:58:50Z")
So what did you have to do to get into it again? ---
**Author:** ![JcWoman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jcwoman/32/2889_2.png) [@JcWoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JcWoman)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-user-interface-design/721359/5 "2015-06-01T18:50:03Z")
She called the rental company who offered to send AAA in an hour. Not acceptable given that dogs were locked in, so she hung up with them and called the local police. The nice cops showed up in 5 minutes and tried to jimmy both doors open but couldn’t because of the anti-theft protections. So they left and then she called the rental company back and said “don’t you guys have On Star or anything that you could just unlock the doors?”. Of course they did. Why they didn’t offer to do that in the first place is another question. Also why they needed to be sure there were no people standing in front of or behind the truck when they unlocked it. Apparently when those On Star folks press a remote control button they can’t be sure what will happen as a result… or something. That was odd, too. But we had a happy ending and managed to make it home alive, dogs and all. ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-user-interface-design/721359/6 "2015-06-01T18:53:09Z")
Three clicks to open. One click to close. Two clicks to self destruct. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-user-interface-design/721359/7 "2015-06-01T19:20:49Z")
When remotes for car door locks were first invented the change opened a bunch of new error paths that didn’t exist before. So naturally lots of folks invented new ways to lock themselves out of cars. Mot folks have since learned how to avoid the new traps. While remote start or pushbutton start cars are still being popularized now, the change is opening / has opened a bunch of new error paths that didn’t exist before. So naturally lots of folks invented new ways to lock themselves out of cars, drive off without the keys, walk away from a locked running car, etc. Most folks will eventually learn how to avoid the new traps. Meantime it’s fun to watch. 🙂 Although if you’re gonna have a remote start button on a key fob, I sure as heck wouldn’t use the door lock button (or unlock button) as some kind of [are you sure?] keystroke. From a UI design perspective, remote key fobs are now right at the borderline where an array of single-function buttons are too confusing, but there isn’t size or power budget to implement a screen-based dynamic UI. So that’s when you get kludges like multi-function buttons with shift keys, keystroke chord sequences, “press twice for \*this \*and 3 times for _that_”, etc. ---
**Author:** ![JcWoman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jcwoman/32/2889_2.png) [@JcWoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JcWoman)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-user-interface-design/721359/8 "2015-06-01T19:38:09Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Although if you’re gonna have a remote start button on a key fob, I sure as heck wouldn’t use the door lock button (or unlock button) as some kind of [are you sure?] keystroke. Okay, did a quick Google and found this: [how does the Chevy remote starter work? | GM Inside News Forum](http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f19/how-does-chevy-remote-starter-work-22355/) Apparently it’s press Lock once and then hold down the start (swirly?) button for a few seconds. Some interesting comments about how the hold-down time of the start button might be pretty brief for some cars. But… yes… the lock button. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-user-interface-design/721359/9 "2015-06-01T19:52:36Z")
I can sort of see their thought process. Imagine the remote start button has some other confirm button. So Mom has the car in the driveway and unlocked. From inside the house she pushes remote start and confirm; car starts on cue. Kids playing outside see running car and climb in while Mom is nowhere nearby. Kids put car in gear. Tragedy ensues. Mom sues GM for gigabucks. Solution: ensure it’s impossible to remote-start car unless it’s locked first. Easiest way to do that? Make lock button a pre-confirmatory button-push for remote start. Viola! Seems to me the real design error was in making the lock button operate the locks while any door is ajar. Enforcing the sequence that all doors must be closed before locking takes effect would eliminate a lot of error paths. It guarantees there’s a human on the same side of the locked doors as the key fob is. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-user-interface-design/721359/10 "2015-06-01T20:07:52Z")
> [@JcWoman](#): > > After we got our gear loaded, the dogs loaded and only needed to give our friends hugs goodbye, Mary did the remote start, tossed the keys into the driver seat and shut the door. If you’re at all faster than we were mentally, you’ve caught on to the fact that pressing the lock button on the remote locked the doors before it started the car. So, yes, she locked the keys in the car. Kind of a dumb design. I know the GMC designers never intended for someone to remote start the car, toss the keys in and shut the door, but… well, we did. Maybe a better key combo would be pressing lock, unlock, and then swirly. In New York, that’s required by law: it’s illegal to run a remote starter with the car doors unlocked. The law is a reasonable one. People usually start the car remotely when they’re a distance from a car (often, in winter, while they’re still in the house). If the car is running with the doors unlocked, it’s easy to steal. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-user-interface-design/721359/11 "2015-06-02T12:54:31Z")
> [@JcWoman](#): > > But we had a happy ending . . . Nice that, midst all the confusion, you took the time for that. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-user-interface-design/721359/12 "2015-06-02T14:40:59Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Seems to me the real design error was in making the lock button operate the locks while any door is ajar. Enforcing the sequence that all doors must be closed before locking takes effect would eliminate a lot of error paths. It guarantees there’s a human on the same side of the locked doors as the key fob is. My key fob won’t let me lock the door until it’s physically out of the car. It often trips me up because I try to lock the car as I’m exiting it, but I’m ok with that if it keeps me from locking myself out. Overall it seems about 95% a case of bad human behavior and 5% bad UI design. Why throw the keys in a car you just locked? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-user-interface-design/721359/13 "2015-06-02T14:52:11Z")
I’m thinking that Mary was focused on her actions being the “secret code” to remote start, not internalizing the idea that she just hit the Lock button. Total agreement that it’s bad engineering to “require” locked doors to activate the remote start, but “not require” closed doors to activate the remote start. My car also refuses to lock the door with the fob if a door is open, it just gives an annoyed beep if you try that. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-user-interface-design/721359/14 "2015-06-02T14:56:31Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I can sort of see their thought process. > > Imagine the remote start button has some other confirm button. So Mom has the car in the driveway and unlocked. From inside the house she pushes remote start and confirm; car starts on cue. Kids playing outside see running car and climb in while Mom is nowhere nearby. Kids put car in gear. Tragedy ensues. Mom sues GM for gigabucks. > > Solution: ensure it’s impossible to remote-start car unless it’s locked first. Easiest way to do that? Make lock button a pre-confirmatory button-push for remote start. Viola! > Seems to me the real design error was in making the lock button operate the locks while any door is ajar. Enforcing the sequence that all doors must be closed before locking takes effect would eliminate a lot of error paths. It guarantees there’s a human on the same side of the locked doors as the key fob is. FWIW, every remote start car I’ve seen will turn the car off if you press the brake pedal (required to put the car in gear) without having first put the key in the ignition. To prevent just your scenario, or the more likely scenario of a passerby jumping in your running car and driving off with it. ---
**Author:** ![SpeedwayRyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@SpeedwayRyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpeedwayRyan)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-user-interface-design/721359/15 "2015-06-03T15:52:00Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Make lock button a pre-confirmatory button-push for remote start. Viola! Voila…a viola! [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viola](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viola) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-user-interface-design/721359/16 "2015-06-03T17:01:09Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > FWIW, every remote start car I’ve seen will turn the car off if you press the brake pedal (required to put the car in gear) without having first put the key in the ignition. To prevent just your scenario, or the more likely scenario of a passerby jumping in your running car and driving off with it. And for the many modern cars which don’t have slots into which to put keys this works exactly how? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-user-interface-design/721359/17 "2015-06-03T17:08:30Z")
> [@SpeedwayRyan](#): > > Voila…a viola! > > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viola](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viola) You misspelled “voilà”. Since my keyboard doesn’t have the proper accented vowels, I’d rather make that failing obvious and deliberately use the musical instrument word as a joke, rather than look like a goof who doesn’t know proper French spelling. Sorta like calling appetizers “horse doofers” in preference to misspelling “hors d’oeuvre” (plural) as so many folks do. Besides, it annoys the heck out of a certain class of wanna-be pedants. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-user-interface-design/721359/18 "2015-06-03T17:23:42Z")
I looked into getting a remote starter from two different aftermarket places. They tell me that even with their starter, you can’t drive the car away without putting the physical key in the ignition – other wise the steering coumn remains locked as an anti-theft feature. Presumably this is different from a car that has the built-in keyless system/ ---
**Author:** ![SpeedwayRyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@SpeedwayRyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpeedwayRyan)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-user-interface-design/721359/19 "2015-06-03T18:00:36Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > You misspelled “voilà”. I’m actually a little confused on the how and why of the use of the accented character when using the term in written English. The fine folks at Washington State University don’t use the accent even on a site explaining the difference between it and “viola.”: [https://public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/voila.html](https://public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/voila.html) They explain it thusly: > [@](#): > > It comes from a French expression literally meaning “look there!” In French it is spelled with a grave accent over the A, as voilà, but when it was adopted into English, it lost its accent. Google’s built-in dictionary feature doesn’t either, instead showing the origin as French “voilà” as the basis for the word “voila” in English use, and showing the accented character version as what looks like an acceptable alternate: [https://www.google.com/search?q=voila&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#](https://www.google.com/search?q=voila&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#) ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-user-interface-design/721359/20 "2015-06-03T18:21:55Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > And for the many modern cars which don’t have slots into which to put keys this works exactly how? Mine works the same way - if I remote start it, but don’t have the key in my pocket when I get in the car, it will shut off as soon as I press the brake pedal. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-user-interface-design/721359.md?page=2)