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> Andrew Plato responded to my examples of problems reported by users
> (specifically, for a car): <<This isn't usability testing, that is
> griping.>>
>
> No, it's usability testing. All that a usability expert does in
> _conducting_ a usability test is collect a list of what you call
> "gripes"--both those reported by the test subject and those observed by
> the expert. If a particular comment appears sufficiently often, then
> it's a real problem, not just a gripe.
Riiiight...What is the difference between these two statements:
A: "I think this is designed poorly, its hard to use."
B: "75% of our beta users said they didn't like this
feature, it was hard to use."
"A" is a SUBJECTIVE judgement of something based on a single individual's
experience. In other words, griping.
"B" is a OBJECTIVE judgement based on the gripes of many people or a market
segment. In other words, usability analysis.
When a writer starts griping about the product, they can either be an A or B.
It depends on a lot of factors. The most significant factor is how much the
rest of the team trusts the writer to be able to make objective judgements.
Merely using the product doesn;t make you objective. Just because you can click
buttons and navigate screens doesn't mean you understand the job being done or
the market being sold into.
If you want to be trusted to make objective judgements, you have to possess to
knowledge of the environment, technology, and market.
This notion that somehow all writers are usability experts is nonsense. A lot
of writers can even *$(#+@ write, let alone be trusted with usability. So
suggesting that they should start offering suggestions on how to make
applications better is asking for trouble.
Andrew Plato
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