Google+ Add To Circles Interaction: Some Good & Not-So-Good UX

This is an impromptu video of me interacting with the Google+ “add people to circles” feature.

Like most things we interact with in the world, there’s some good and some not-so-good to the experience.

First, the good:
1. The people “cards” are just the right size. The picture is just right also – big enough so I can recognize the person, small enough to fit their name.
2. It was also a smart idea to just show the target’s name (or email if the name is unavailable). It makes for easier and quicker scanning and target acquisition.
3. The whole card is a click target.
4. You can select multiple cards with clicks; no CMD+ or shift+click necessary. However, using a key combination (which some people will carry over from the desktop software interaction paradigm) works just fine as well.

The not-so-good:
1. Drag and drop appears to be the only way to get people into circles. Really? Given Google’s demonstrated commitment to accessibility, I *can’t* believe this is the only way to manage circle assignment. I must be missing something. That just can’t be.
2. A few times I highlighted multiple cards and then inadvertently deselected them. I have no idea why or how.
3. Believe it or not, on first view I thought Google+ had only found 28 (7 x 4) people I knew. It took more time than it should’ve to realize that the card area was scrollable. I might not be able to pin that on Google however. I used Safari on Mac OS X 10.7, which together are a walking advertisement for iOS disappearing scrollbars.

So what does this little spiel demonstrate? I guess it shows that even cutting-edge design with massive resources behind it can still occasionally be a struggle for users. Oh, and don’t forget the accessibility.