Usability means they care

Today is World Usability Day. A perfect day to take a moment to think about all the things that work well – be they everyday objects like doors or coffee makers, or online services like web banks or online stores. Just look around you: what have you used today – what went so fluently you didn’t even notice it? That’s what usability is at its best: it helps you to do your tasks efficiently and with ease.

The thing is that usability isn’t there by chance. It didn’t just happen; there are people who designed it that way. These people are usability experts.  They knew something about human mind and its interaction with technology. They studied the main goals and contexts where people use the object or service. And they prototyped, tested and iterated it so that it finally became usable.

And why did the usability experts do it? Because they care. Because they want technology to help people to reach their goals, not make it more difficult. They truly want peoples’ lives to be easier.

So the next time you use something that really works well, do take a moment to appreciate it – someone did it to help you! :-)

 

Happy World Usability Day!