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I think the Google Analytics Team did a very good work with the new version of their toy. However, I have a list of 6 usability problems I have found:

1. Like most of the ajax applications out there, the back button doesn't work consistently. For example, it never remember if you have changed the graphic kind. For instance: change the graphic from visits to pageviews, drill down in any other information, go back, the graphic is again set in visits.
   

    

2. The date-range is consistently being lost. When you define a data-range it is lost while you navigate through the different reports. I can't remember a path to reproduce it, but it has probably to do with the ajax stuff too.
   

    

3. Google commonly doesn't add scrollbars to their applications and uses just the browser ones. This is right in many situations, but when you are watching a lot of  data in a grid, you need to fix the titles. You can't guess the columns titles at the bottom of the list. To solve this, they would need to add scrollbars to the grid at the content level.
   

    

4. Most of the graphics looks pretty well, but some of them make no sense. For example, in the content by title section, why are they showing me the total visits in a timeline? What do I need to see there? I don't know, but something showing me content by title isn't a bad idea. The same happens in languages, etc. They just inserted the same graphic all over the website, without caring about if it makes sense or not in each specific context.
   

    

5. You can not set the time frame in reverse way. This was the first issue I found. I usually know the last day I want to see and then I start going back in my mind to estimate the starting date: so, I put the last day first. But then, when you click a the new starting date, the final date is removed and you have to start again. It could make sense, but I have still an apply button. So? Why don't they put the validation there? Came on!
   

    

6. Pie charts are very informative and they use them to show you referral sources, for example. One thing I don't understand is why are they highlighting the pie chart sections if nothing happens when you click them... This is like "deceptive feedback". What I want? To navigate, and view in detail that specific pie chart section.

Do you have your owns?

Labels: Internet, Usability

# posted by leovernazza : 6/16/2007 12:11:00 AM