[Sigia-l] "Getting the design right, and getting the right design"

[Stew Dean]

On 17/06/07, Ziya Oz <listera at earthlink.net> wrote:
> Jonathan Baker-Bates:
>
> > "We need to discover what users need before the project starts, for once
> > started, the direction has already been determined."
>
> > That sound you just heard were my fuses blowing.
>
> Don Norman called and wants an explanation. He asked why you'd object to the
> preceding paragraph:
>
> "Usability testing is like Beta testing of software. It should never be used
> to determine "what users need." It is for catching bugs, and so this kind of
> usability testing still fits the new, iterative programming models, just as
> Beta testing for software bugs fits the models. I have long maintained that
> any company proud of its usability testing is a company in trouble, just as
> a company proud of its Beta testing is in trouble. UI and Beta testing are
> meant simply to find bugs, not to redesign."
>
> Do we divide this process into two:
>
> Alpha == architecture/design
> Beta == usability?

Rant mode engaged.

in this case Alpha = Beta.

Archiecture and design and usability in a project you want users to
find usable, in my view, are inseparable.

Usability testing is indeed just bug tracking, but that is not really
usability, that's an old outdated notion of what usability is and
deserves to die a death.

Instead we have the world of user experience. User experience includes
usability, architecture, interaction design, content strategy,
accessibility and a bunch of other stuff (what ever it takes).

If I had X dollars for a project and could spent 10% on 'usability' I
personally would not do any usability testing, instead I'd do user
research and find out what I really need to create my new project. If
it's a redesign you should already know what's broken  - if not you've
got problems as all the information will be available via usage.
Instead In the past I have put users in front of OTHER PEOPLES sites
/products - get then to feed you information about what they want to
see, what works for them, how they do things.  Far more useful and
informing.

Usability testing has it's place as part of a process, but not at the
start and not at the end. You'll learn very little from it at the
start compared to some quality ethnographic research (talking to users
away from a computer for most of the interview) and at the end - were
it's too late and is really QA not usability.

Okay rant over.


-- 
Stewart Dean