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Actually, individuals vary greatly in their ability to discern
usability problems and to posit possible improvements...just as
individuals also vary greatly in other areas of talent and skill.
Usability is rapidly becoming a discipline with a set of standard
approaches to the problem, but that does not in itself negate the
input of those who are skilled but, perhaps, untutored in the formal
usability methodology.
The rub is in determining how to weight the suggestions of a variety
of individuals, so that the most meaningful suggestions and questions
are noticed and acted upon...and the ones of more universal
applicability separated from the more idiosynchratic comments.
When a usability expert is doing an analysis, it has been my
experience that individual comments and suggestions are considered in
light of the experience of others with the product to see how they
respond to the same conditions that prompt the comments and
suggestions. By contrast, it is very rare that these experts do not
consider such comments as valuable input, whether or not they are
later determined to be serious enough to justify changes in the
product or its documentation.
The relative newness of usability as a separate discipline and the
shortage of skilled professionials within it should suggest a fruitful
area for more study by technical writers seeking to expand our fields
of understanding. Sharpening our skills in every area in which we can
be helpful to the ultimate success of the products we document should,
I think, be a given.
In the past, I have recruited company staff not on a given project to
try some feature or other that seemed unduly difficult (with the
approval of all concerned, of course!). This has often verified my own
observations and added weight to my suggestions for interface changes
or different or additional documentation. In addition, when dealing
with developers or project managers I try to consider their concerns
up front as completely as I can so that I can deal with their
potential objections in advance.
Most commonly, though, I find a few well-placed questions often can be
effective in eliciting help to resolve problems at the lowest levels
of a project hierarchy--the coders themselves. Usually, these
questions are most effectively couched in a form that challenges the
developer himself to solve a perceived difficulty *I* am having by
making a revision in the interface. Something like: "I'm having this
problem and I thought you might be able to explain it to me. When I'm
at this point in the app, I do this and then this happens. Is there a
way I can simply do thus-and-so to get what I need to happen?"
More often than not, the developer wants to feel good about showing me
how "simple" it is to solve the problem by making a change in the
interface...thus looking like a hero to me and to his own management
for making a progressive change. Since I rarely worry about who gets
credit for any given item and am quite willing for the developers to
get it, this can often be a highly effective method...but it does
require that the developer have enough of a favorable impression about
me based upon my having demonstrated enough expertise that he (or she,
of course!) considers me a colleague and not simply a nuisance.
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