The Usability Licence

Usability

The discharge of information was so full of buzz words and bling bling, so light on fact it almost made me physically ill. I would start to notice the forceps marks on the side of his head, and as we embarked on the second and third hour I would gaze out the window at the trams going over the bridge. His words became noise with no meaning. My head swam while the fabric of reality started to fray - all I could do was mark time.

The inspiration keeping me going was the notion that it would eventually come to an end. They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger - but the scars remain.

Welcome to usability. I had a rough initiation to say the least. My advice is that if you ever find yourself on the receiving end of a usability regurgitation - get out - leave!

The usability specialist has a need to be important; to be the authority; have the last word. Motivated by self, the focus on usability is lost. Exaggeration creeps in. The tools and techniques seem far fetched and inappropriate.

When you are left by yourself to decipher the information, to employ the tools, to exercise the techniques, there is little if nothing there. And people walk away thinking it is stupid. Reduced to a half baked pseudo science, people spruik to make buck. I don't blame people for throwing out the baby with the bathwater - anything to get this animated turkey out of their faces.

But usability is important; the big problem is that some use it as a free licence to talk sh!t.