Check-in” and “Passenger Pick-up.”
However, some airports like Brussels,
Belgium, are still using Helvetica type
which is one of the poorest fonts for readability. And, with car rental return signs,
drivers are still being confused at such
airports in Orlando, Fla., and Florence,
Italy, according to the blogs and newspaper accounts.
In the same manner, analytics need to
convey and capture the right measures,
such as key performance indicators in
the organization’s executive dashboards.
It needs to not only report on what has
happ ened (descriptive analytics), but
also what will happen (predictive analytics) and ultimately what are the optimal conditions (prescriptive analytics for
optimization).
We can learn what still needs to be
done in analytics by looking at airport signage to increase customer satisfaction.
First, don’t get fancy with the airport signage – people want to be able to recognize the signs quickly (whether driving or
catching flights in the airport). The signs
need to clearly communicate the intent,
both visually and content-wise. In much
the same way, analytics should use the
KISS philosophy (keep it simple, stupid)
and provide the appropriate messages
and signals.
Second, design signs with the lowest
common denominator in mind. That is, as
a na l y t i c s
international and domestic visitors travel throughout airports, include universal
symbols, colors and verbiage so that the
typical traveler can understand. Analytics
can also use this guidance in terms of their
respective end users.
Finally, continue to embed an analytics culture throughout the organization in
the same way that airport signs should
also be intuitive.
Similar to using analytics for improving the business user’s experience, I am
also trying to suggest ways to improve
the airport signage for the average traveler. And, it’s not just in the airline industry; it applies across other transportation
industries as well. For example, I noticed
that there was an electronic sign at the
front of each Amtrak car that stated,
“Exit,” and whether the rest room was
occupied. Why couldn’t the sign also include the train stop at each embarkation?
Call me crazy, but I’m still “waiting for
a sign.” ❙
Jay Liebowitz ([email protected]) is the
DiSanto Visiting Chair in Applied Business and
Finance at Harrisburg University of Science and
Technology, Harrisburg, Pa. He will be a keynote
speaker at the Analytics Conference 2014 in Las
Vegas on Oct. 20-21.
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