Talking Usability: “That’s Cool!”
We introduce another guest blogger today, David Dick, president of the Usability & User Experience SIG. David will be posting monthly on the importance of usability and what it can bring to a...
View ArticleTalking Usability: Don’t Disturb Me, I’m Sleeping
Did you know that many of Apple’s products do not have an On/Off button? I read it in the book about Steve Jobs called Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson. Mr. Jobs did not like the Off button because he...
View ArticleTalking Usability: Be a User Advocate
This truth I know to be self-evident: a well-written user guide is a not a solution for a poorly designed product. The user guide might win an award in an STC publication competition, but users will...
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At the Summit: Leadership Day
We bring you another guest blog post from the Summit, this one by David Dick. Several things came out of this year’s Leadership Day: We are a community. We are a network. We thrive through the hard...
View ArticleTalking Usability: User-Friendly Web Applications
You may have noticed that for every one Web application, there are a dozen similar Web applications. Do you know what makes a well-designed Web application? Usability, that’s right. You probably have...
View ArticleTalking Usability: The Power of Observation
Will Rogers once said, “People’s minds are changed through observation and not through argument.” This is why all usability tests involve observation whether intrusive or unobtrusive. Watching a user...
View ArticleTalking Usability: Judging the International Summit Awards
This year I served as Lead Judge for Team 10 in the International Summit Awards (ISA) competition. I learned a few important lessons that I want to share with you. Provide a thorough assessment....
View ArticleTalking Usability: User Acceptance
As technical writers, we do not drive user acceptance, but we can influence it by writing about a system’s new features and functions, provide training, and answer users’ questions. I believe we can do...
View ArticleTalking Usability: Not Everything Is Intuitive
Have you ever noticed instructions in the most unlikely places? The restrooms at restaurants have instructions on how to wash hands. A ladder has instructions to position and erect it. Gas stations...
View ArticleTalking Usability: Bugs, Defects, Glitches, and Other Excuses for Poor...
Would you be comfortable knowing that a heart-monitoring machine has a few glitches, but otherwise has 98% accuracy? Would you be comfortable knowing that the software you are using to calculate your...
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Talking Usability: A Cost-Saving Tool for Software Development
I met Nicki Davis at the 2013 Summit. She talked to me about the ethnographic research she was doing and I thought her research might be of interest to you. Encouraging her to write about her research...
View ArticleTalking Usability: The Foundation of Innovation
During the holidays, I saw a line of people sitting on the sidewalk in front of Best Buy. Not wanting to miss an opportunity to stand in line for something, I asked the greeter at Best Buy why everyone...
View ArticleTalking Usability: Technology Makes Us Lazy
I am convinced that technology is making us lazy. Once upon a time, visiting a friend or family member meant traveling; nowadays we are satisfied with a few minutes on FaceTime or Skype. We friend and...
View ArticleTalking Usability: Why Training is Not an Option
Why do organizations overlook training users about new business applications or changes to existing ones before making them available enterprise wide? Do CEOs and CIOs assume that users don’t need...
View ArticleTalking Usability: Watching the Wheel Go Round and Round
Why do so many applications consume more processing power than the average PC can support? Maybe that’s why I spend more time watching the wheel go round and round as applications try to boot up. Is...
View ArticleTalking Usability: What I Learned as a Competition Judge
Editor’s note: Below is a revised version of the original blog post. I was in a meeting with a client reviewing my user guide for use in training users on a new system in development. The client asked...
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Talking Usability: Is the Future Glass?
Do you think consumers are ready for (Google) Glass? I think so. I am co-author of Web Services, Service-Oriented Architectures, and Cloud Computing: The Savvy Manager’s Guide. In the book, I describe...
View ArticleTalking Usability: What I Learned Testing Software
I work on a small project team that has just enough people to keep the project somewhat on schedule. When the quality assurance manager asked for help to test software—I volunteered. My manager was...
View ArticleTalking Usability: Why Mental Models Are Important to Usability
A friend purchased a smartphone to replace her aging cell phone. She used the smartphone for one thing—to make phone calls. The other features and functions of her smartphone are unknown to her because...
View ArticleTalking Usability: Usability for Left-Handed People
At the Communities reception at the Summit somebody spoke about the difficulties of left-handed people using household appliances, technologies, and software. If you are left-handed then you probably...
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