Why write about usability?
Written by Andoy MontielI love things that are easy to use. These things would range from obscure kitchen utensils (such as the Good Grips Smooth Edge Can Opener) to websites (Google just works!).
Curious as ever, I often asked myself “Why am I attracted to these? Why do I use them? Why do they just work?”
- The Good Grips noted earlier is a wee bit on the expensive side, but I still bought it because it makes opening canned food a snap. It sticks to the side of my canned tuna and effortlessly glides through the metal cutting process. Whereas my former can opener used to jump out of the rim at least four times every time I used it.
- Google was visually sparse when compared to the other leading search sites before, but whenever I wanted to look for something online, it was the ONLY site I would use. Having a page that only contained a text field with submit button told me “Hey, we know that you’re here because you want to search for something particular. Go ahead; we’ve made it easy for you.” It didn’t distract me with links or images to horoscopes or news. It just went straight to the point – search!
It is this love for things that are easy to use – bundled with brimming curiosity – that lead me to the formal study of usability. I found it nice to know the explanation on why things are user-friendly. For example:
- Amazon knows that once you get a package, you just want to open the box and get the item inside. Enter Amazon’s Frustration-Free Packaging. No more fiddling with clamshell casings and wire ties. I sense that they developed some personas (tangible representations of target users) and used these to see the users’ pain points.
- Gmail shows a message when something is happening. Simple yellow notes that contain “Loading…” or even “Could not connect…” tell the user that the system is doing (or trying to do) some action. These notes also inform the user about the status of the action. For example, Gmail tells you when it has failed to establish a connection with the server. Usability principle behind this? Visibility of system status.
As mentioned earlier, I’m curious. I like to learn something new each day. I can learn by reading some article or studying about various usability topics. More than that, I enjoy learning from the observations of other people. I fancy the wisdom gained from listening to the reflections of April and other fellow practitioners (we’re a noisy bunch and rarely keep our thoughts to ourselves). This site will try to capture those insights and comments (both positive and nasty).
Will this site be an academic narration about usability? Nope (or at least I sure hope not). This log will contain simple musings about usability from two usability practitioners – April and me. As the blog header says, this site will house folksy couch conversations about usability.
And with that thought we welcome you to Talk Usability. 
Nice job guys!
Thanks, Regnard!
Until the next Usability event.