Design FAIL
My takeways were:
- Design without usability is like the awesome vintage Camaro in my neighbor’s driveway…It has no engine. It’s beautiful to look at, but it doesn’t take you anywhere.
- The brand of an organization can be destroyed by horrible customer experiences – whether on the web, or in person.
Strategy is key. It appears American didn’t have a strategy with their web design. It almost seems like things were added on with disregard to usability. In fact, the web architect explained to Dustin that the problem with the website didn’t lie within the abilities of his web team, but in the corporate culture of AA. He went on to say,
The group running AA.com consists of at least 200 people spread out amongst many different groups, including, for example, QA, product planning, business analysis, code development, site operations, project planning, and user experience. We have a lot of people touching the site, and a lot more with their own vested interests in how the site presents its content and functionality.
This unnamed person also explained that many departments never even went through his team when implementing their own content.
Unfortunately, this happens in many of our churches. Everyone wants a piece of ownership, but ultimately no one owns it.
Take a look at the entire redesign of the site as well as Dustin’s interaction with American Airlines.
About the Author
Bobby Chandler Has Written 66 Articles For Us!
Bobby is the founder of ChurchKreatives and the Director of Communications at Sugar Creek Baptist Church in Sugar Land, TX. His background includes serving as a pastor, church planter, and art director at an ad agency.
