Usability

Usability is a notion that appears to be modern. As our devices have become more complicated usability is a quality which has not been taken seriously enough.

The saying about video recorders is a case in point. They can record well into the future only a minority of users master this function with confidence. This is not the fault of the customer. It is the fault of the designers.

But it's not just video recorders. This is the keypad of my own mobile phone, made by Ericsson. It is a good phone and I am happy with it. I do not use, or know how to use all its functions.

But more importantly, I had to consult the manual to find out how to switch it on. As an exercise I hand the phone to friends and ask them how they would attempt to switch it on. The ones that don't own an Ericsson reply, 'I would press the YES button.'

A reasonable and logical answer, a perfectly good guess. But it's wrong. You press the NO button. Hardly intuitive. Other functions are just as obscure. My Sharp digital cordless phone is even worse with 4 of the 6 button labels being meaningless.

There are very many web sites, some belonging to household names which are not easy to use, being tortuous to navigate because so-called design features are in reality barriers to the presentation of information.

I first learnt the lessons of usability when designing newspaper pages. The lessons carry over to web design. Keep it simple, keep it readable, keep it navigable, keep it quick and easy to use.

These are the qualities a usability survey highlights. Ultimately your web site or your paperwork, or anything you make or use, can be made better if subjected to a usability survey. Best carried out by somebody new to the item, but familiar with what usability means.

Hire me, Mr Ericsson and Mr Sharp, at the design stage of your next phone. The benefit will accrue to you.

Usability is related to profitability and effectiveness.

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