OnStar and Usability

Originally posted 2004-08-23 10:34:33

Here in the US, OnStar is running a radio ad trumpeting the power of their flagship service. This system allows motorists to press a button inside their vehicles while they drive down the road, which contacts an uber-service for fixing all their problems and curing all their woes. You can read more about it here. DISCLAIMER: I’m not associated with OnStar, nor do I have access to it in any of my vehicles. I have never used it, and know virtually nothing about it.

In the ad, which has run for a few months, a woman notices that her \”Check Engine\” light has turned on. She presses her OnStar button, a helpful OnStar agent responds, and a friendly dialogue ensues. The OnStar agent runs a remote diagnostic, which reveals that the vehicle’s gas cap is missing or otherwise not properly screwed down. The woman breathes a sigh of relief and promises to check the cap at the next opportune moment. Problem solved. Case closed.

Two issues I have:

1. Is this the lone OnStar success story? If so, why would I want the service, as I never forget to screw on my gas cap? If not, why is this the only story they run? It’s been months, so you’d think they’d rotate a new story in.
2. The remote diagnostic certainly wins a gee-whiz award. Honestly, that’s pretty cool that someone sitting in Omaha, Winnipeg, or Bangalore (I’m guessing–I have no idea where their call centers sit) can remotely debug a vehicle flying down the highway. Once you get past the technical wizardry, however, you can’t help but wonder: why do I have to notify a call center to determine the disposition of my gas cap? The vehicle evidently diagnosed the problem without any remote assistance, as it lit its \”Check Engine\” light. Presumably, it knew at that time that the lid was askew. Why the middleman? Why make the harried driver press a button and chat, when the vehicle could have used some sort of rewritable display (LEDs, LCD, whatever) that said \”Check gas cap\”? Indeed, the car could have announced it: \”*Ding* Please check your gas cap.\”

As software developers, we fall into the same trap: we display error codes in our applications and expect users to Google for the full error description and possible remedies. Either that or we just crash!