Usability in the real world

With Usability being such a huge buzz word these days on the web, I've been wondering lately about it's application to other areas of life.

I was in a coffee shop last weekend; one of the large chains, sitting near the door.  The doors were those big double ones, with large symmetrical/identical silver handles on each side. The left door was locked.

I sat near these doors for what must be about 30 minutes, in which time, at least 10 people had experienced problems getting in - either pulling on a handle instead of pushing (an obvious mistake, why have a handle to push?), or trying to open the locked door.

With some simple signposting ('This door is locked, use other door'), or re-design (removing the handle from the side of the door which cannot be pulled open), the customers could have experienced a more pleasant first impression of what should have been a relaxing, un-embarassing social event.

With usability and accessibility being two core issues of modern web development, I'm beginning to think that the virtual world of the internet is becoming more considerate than that of the real world.

_{Author: Dan Zambonini, Technical Director, Box UK}