Usability Questions

Hi

I was Interviewed by Dr Eric recently and the questions asked are compiled for you all.
Come up with answers if possible and lets share it!

- What is bad about drop-down boxes?




- What should be the error message in the following case? Its important that a user be at least 21 to become a member.



- How much space, in terms of percent, should be left to accommodate European languages?

- If a user enters 4,ooo (instead of 0, user enters alphabet o) as salary by mistake, what should be the error message?

- July 7, 2005 – submitted by Ravi Sharma of Mumbai, India

- What should be the best way to design any code for identification process of huge amount of products or materials, or anything?

What key points and care should be addressed while designing such a coding system.

Eric's response: There is SO much more to code design than most people realize. Here are some principles that pop to mind...

Keep the code as short as possible
Make Alpha, Numeric, or a mix depending on typing style (standing bank clerks use all numbers, as their hand is on the numeric keypad for example)
Leave out frequent confusions (like V and B for a code read over the phone)
If the code list is longer then five digits chunk it (123-121-9991)
For expert typists avoid using the same key twice in a row (it breaks up the keying pattern)
Consider a check digit to validate the entry


- What is your assessment about the branding treatment in the above shown website snapshot?


- Should there be help on an e-commerce site for providing help on how to shop?

- What is your assessment about this e-commerce site?