RE: Usability abuse? (Take II)

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

> 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. 
> 

The subject of usability is not related to "objectivity," but the very
"subjective" act of trying to use something. That's about as subjective as
one can get. The whole thrust of this discussion has been that you need
many, not few, "subjects" to develop an understanding of what may or may not
be wrong with your software.

So, subjectivity is a good thing: you want your testers to be awake and
aware, in short, to be subjects with the ability to judge what is good and
what is not good.

> If you want to be trusted to make objective judgements, you 
> have to possess to knowledge of the environment, technology, 
> and market. 
> 

Not only is no judgement in all of creation "objective," but what's desired
in usability is the judgment of many highly subjective people.


Bonnie Granat
http://www.GranatEdit.com 
Cambridge, Massachusetts



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