[Sigia-l] Comment - The New Nielson

[Listera]

"George Olsen" wrote:

> As Nielsen points out, it's hard to get engaged with something that's
> unusable.

Usability (or lack thereof) is a relative term. Given (artificially)
restricted options, people get used to just about anything. Witness an OS
with high popularity but low usability or the horrible intranet apps
everybody has learned to use in many companies.

One of the chores of redesigning apps in these situations is deconstructing
the existing interface/workflow patterns and trying to get users to
understand that something can be done differently and better. It's not
automatic, it takes an effort, as they have already spent months/years
getting used to the old patterns.

Again, usually in these situations, the client will say something like, "We
need something appropriate, conservative, you know, business-like." As if
the very same users who will be using these apps are not the ones who have
been reading glossy magazines, watching TV or movies with incredibly high
'production values' for years. As if 'business' should necessarily mean
'drab', a la Nielsen.

Like I said, where's Martha Stewart when you need her? :-)

Best,

Ziya