RE: Usability abuse?

["Bonnie Granat" <bgranat -at- granatedit -dot- com>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: TechComm Dood [mailto:techcommdood -at- gmail -dot- com] 
> Sent: Sunday, November 14, 2004 3:32 PM
> To: Bonnie Granat
> Cc: TECHWR-L
> Subject: Re: Usability abuse?
> 
> > He qualified what he said by writing: "If the way you work 
> is broadly 
> > representative, and you experience problems, then many other users 
> > will experience similar problems--that makes you an expert 
> in the use 
> > of the tool, and an expert judge of whether that tool is effective."
> 
> I challenge you to find someone who does *not* tell you that 
> the way they work is broadly representative of their 
> software-using peers.
> When you do find that person, then you *know* that you can 
> trust that the info they give you is niche-only. Everyone 
> else you get feedback from will be a wild card. ;-)
> 

There is no implication in my understanding of what Geoff wrote that you
would be the *only* person offering feedback. Surely there should and will
be others; but to say that your feedback is worthless is unreasonable, in my
opinion.

> > Geoff didn't say that it was, and I think he clearly made the 
> > distinction, saying that valid user feedback can be helpful 
> along with 
> > formal usability studies.
> 
> ...if you know what to do with it. Most people do not.

Most people aren't in a position to act on usability issues; we are talking
about the ones that are, and if they're employing usability experts,
presumably they will listen to them. Individual sources are not worthless,
though.

> 
> > Again, he's not saying this is a replacement for usability studies. 
> > He's saying that both usability studies and individual feedback are 
> > important in ascertaining *actual* usability.
> 
> But that is not a correct statement. Individual feedback *can 
> be*, but seldom *are* the individual info bits relevent to 
> anything but how someone would like the product changed to 
> their benefit.
> 

Not necessarily. Usability experts aren't perfect; they may overlook
something that an individual finds.

> > > And frankly, I think you're misleading writers saying they can do 
> > > this with no training or experience. They can't and they 
> shouldn't. 
> > > We should not be encouraging inexperienced writers to go sticking 
> > > their noses into an area of design and development that 
> they are not 
> > > qualified to do.
> > 
> > I didn't get the impression he was promoting what you say he was.
> 
> I certainly did, which is why I also replied in opposition to 
> Geoff's post.
> 

I don't know how you got that impression; though, perhaps *I* am misreading
him. I didn't hear him say that individual feedback is a replacement for
usability studies, though.

> > Feedback is generally not considered to be griping.
> 
> TomAto, tomAHto... It all depends on how it's presented and received.
> Most customer feedback *is* griping. Not to say it's wrong 
> for them to provide such feedback, nor to say that all 
> griping is not valuable, but let's call a duck a duck here. ;-)

But here we're talking about a technical writer who's attempting to document
the software, not a typical user who's mad as hell and isn't going to take
it anymore.

> 
> > > > Just state
> > > > your case helpfully, as a team member, rather than
> > > proclaiming from a
> > > > position of overt moral superiority.
> > 
> > Technical writers do this with great success all the time. 
> It's very 
> > easy, actually.
> 
> I find that many technical writers are actually quite poor at 
> providing this type of feedback to their project teams. It's 
> amazing that someone whose job is to develop a successful 
> message can botch good project relationships by not 
> considering their internal audiences as well. Not to say this 
> is an epidemic case, but it happens more so than not.
> 

I suppose I've been lucky in having good role models, then. ; )

> > If you're documenting a product and can't find a simple feature, or 
> > driving an automobile and can't see out the rear window properly, 
> > you're an authority on using the product in your particular 
> circumstances.
> 
> Which may or may not be relevant. If I'm using Word to create 
> mechanical drawings and can't find what I need to properly 
> scale the drawing, I'm not using the product correctly. 

Did you see where I said "a simple feature"?


> Likewise, if I've turned my rearview mirror into a coathanger 
> or curio hook, I'm not using it correctly to see out the rear window.

That was not at all the scenario offered. The scenario was normal use. 


> > If a software element is hidden or too complicated to get 
> to, you'd be 
> > negligent in your job as a technical writer if you didn't 
> mention it.
> 
> But this isn't a usability issue, per se. It might be, but it 
> isn't always the case.
> 

What kind of issue do you think it is, if not a usability issue? The line
between usability and design is inherently blurred.

> > If a GUI issue comes to my attention that I feel needs 
> talking about, 
> > I don't hesitate to ask a developer about it and explain my 
> concerns. 
> > I've found that most people view questions about GUI as 
> just another 
> > topic; nobody feels threatened.
> 
> All well and valid, and you should continue to do so. But, 
> this type of feedback isn't necessarily a replacement for or 
> a portion of proper usability practices. In fact, how you 
> present this info to the team may be counter-productive to 
> usability goals!
> 

Nobody said it was, did they? I don't think so. Certainly I didn't. I am
only countering the view that such feedback is worthless. ; )


> > I feel it's a disservice to my client if I ignore things that may 
> > cause ultimate market rejection of a product. Asking never hurt 
> > anyone, and the notion that developers think I'm "jamming my nose" 
> > into design issues because I ask a question or offer an 
> opinion that 
> > something is a bit difficult to find is an unjust projection onto 
> > developers of unreasonableness.
> 
> There's nothing wrong with that. However, please bear in mind 
> that there are many writers out there who work on a day to 
> day basis not knowing the make or break points of their 
> market's acceptance of a product, nor would they know good 
> software design from bad. It's all relative, which is why you 
> need someone in place to keep all this in mind and be the 
> stop-gap for all product feedback and user testing.
> 
> 

Absolutely. I could not agree with you more. But they, in turn, need to be
adjudged qualified to make those judgments.




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