Usability for Developers
Usability for Developers — “If there’s one thing that’s caught my attention in the past six months, it’s an increase in the variety of web roles incorporating usability. I’ve noticed this across a number of areas: job posts, industry events, online discussions and personal tagging on social networking sites such as Web Connections.”
November 30th, 2006 at 5:59 am
John,
Hi John, interesting observation, but overall, do you think this is a good idea? Can a developer serve two masters?
Years ago, I’ve worked purely as a developer with a keen interest in usability but was still guilty of “self-referential design” where I would frequently assume that I was the user and that was as far as usability got in the process. The reason was simple, we never got to meet our users.
If presented with the common dilemma of “easy to code” versus “easy to use”, the former will always win out because getting the job done is how developers define success. Alan Cooper provides an interesting insight into this situation in “The Inmates are running the Asylum”
Would love to hear your opinions?
November 30th, 2006 at 8:52 am
Developers serve many masters and wear many heats. I think this is perfectly fine and can lead to great variability and flexibility. Having an open mind as a developer is important.
Easy to code doesn’t always win if there is budget and time. Although that doesn’t happen as much as most of us would like, it does happen.
I’m very much in favor of trianing developers in the art and science of usability. I wrote an entire article about it a while ago:
Investing in Usability: Testing versus Training
http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/investing_in_usability_testing_versus_training
So, I agree thta there are issues. But, usability is a complex animal. I think most developers who truly understand it will profit in the long run. Stated another way, “easy to code” and “easy to use” are not mutually exclusive. It is often the case that usability drives down the complexity of technology, which leads to less code, which means easier to code.
December 1st, 2006 at 7:40 am
“Stated another way, “easy to code” and “easy to use” are not mutually exclusive. It is often the case that usability drives down the complexity of technology, which leads to less code, which means easier to code.”
Absolutely true. Good usability work often makes developing applications easier since the design works makes the artefacts that need to be implemented more explicit. Expressing these in the code makes life easier for everybody.
My experience has been that the more educated everybody involved in the development process is with usability issues the better the end product. The idea that developers are somehow incapable of understanding these issues is a harmful myth.