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I can use a car, does that mean I am a auto mechanic?
No. A car is a tool. Just like a software application. My ability to use a tool
does not mean I understand or are skilled to start redesigning or repairing
that tool. Auto mechanics must undergo extensive training, testing, etc. to be
skilled at repairing cars.
Likewise, merely posessing the skill to use a tool does not make me and expert
in usability.
Just because you can click, fill in boxes, and understand HTML does not grant
you the right to be a usability expert. Furthermore, usability is one of those
fuzzy areas of design that is hard to define. I would argue that usability is
as much a factor of subjective creativity and marketing than it is some
empirical analysis.
Don't assume because you write documents you're an expert who can tell the
developers about usability. If you want to be treated as a usability expert,
you had better understand the application, the market, and the users inside and
out.
And in my experience, many TWs do not take the time to learn about the
technologies and market relevant to their documentation.
Typically, as writers become more and more familiar with a product, its design,
the users, and the marketing, they become better situated to assist with
usability. But those other issues are prerequistites. If you storm in on day
one proclaiming your expertise as a usability guru, you're likely to be shoved
into a corner and ignored.
Andrew Plato
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