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

[Adrian Howard]

On 17 Jun 2007, at 02:44, Ziya Oz 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?
[snip]

Why do we need that separation? We design stuff, we check our designs  
against reality, we take not of where reality diagrees, we change our  
designs. Repeat until done.

Usability issues aren't bugs. They're design mistakes.

Adrian