| Violins and monkey consultants |
[Mar. 14th, 2005|11:46 am] |
Someone once told me that useability is all about removing the challenge from life. Useability, he said, was all about treating people like monkeys. Then he called me a monkey consultant. Then we had six more beers each and I threw up in a urinal.
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| Why vendors must excel at UCD |
[Aug. 14th, 2004|07:45 pm] |
Today, while I was renting a DVD from Civic Video, I had a flashback while the clerk behind the counter - who'd been working there for only one day - efficiently checked out the DVD.
Back in 1991, I began my IT career as a clerk in a small video store, deep in the heart of the suburban equivalent of Northern Siberia. The front counter was mostly occupied by what was then a state-of-the-art PC, sporting a computerised system for keeping track of video tape movements. This being my first job, I was anxious to please and impress, and set to learning VideoTracker v2.4 with gusto.
It was a difficult time for me.
VideoTracker v2.4’s developer, a bald chap named Mike who ran a small computer hardware store on the periphery of the business district, was to programming what Salvador Dali is to art. I remember phoning him, almost in tears, as rental after rental was botched by my obviously inept fingers, and asking him how a confused kid like me went about, say, checking a movie out. The conversation went something like this…
Mike: So you’ve tabbed to the “reprocess vd details” and entered “y”?
Me: Yes.
Mike: And you’ve scrolled down the screen to the “Enter id” field and put in the 8 digit code on the side of the video tape?
Me: Yes.
Mike: So now, what you need to do is press Control and “R” - that should get the “Rent video y/n/w” text blinking.
Me: O-o-kay.
Mike: Now all you need to do is re-enter the 8-digit code, tab to the “execute reprocess” text, type in “y”, and hit F3!
Me (scribbling):…and press F3. Ok, now what?
Mike: Now keep on entering in “Exit” until you get back to the main screen, and you’re done. Anything else?
Mike and I had many such dialogues, and I developed many pages of scribble which let me navigate the tricks and traps of the VideoTracker software. I felt like an expert, and when a new kid started some weeks later, I derived great pleasure watching him struggle through the labyrinthine processes and minefield keypresses. A fortnight later, I charged him 5 bucks to photocopy my scribbleware.
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| Skiing lessons |
[Aug. 10th, 2004|09:43 am] |
Last weekend, I went skiing for the first time. Skiing is bloody brilliant - you get to go really fast and shout "Wheeeee!". When you're older than 11, opportunities to do this tend to become rare, so despite the fact that I fell over a couple of times at speed, and that I hurt every single fibre of muscular tissue in my body, I'm dying to get back to the slopes again. For me this proves two things:
1. Skiing is more addictive than chocolate-flavoured cigarettes, and
2. I have a deep inner need to be 11 years old again.
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| De-fuzzying user centred design |
[Aug. 5th, 2004|09:14 am] |
User centred design is sometimes seen as being warm and fuzzy. If you've ever consulted to a hard-edged project manager with too little time, too few resources and too much scope creep, you've probably had a conversation that goes like this:
Consultant: I can make your user interfaces useable! I can align your system with your clients' business processes! I can deliver you user acceptance! I can make you popular! Hurray!
Project manager: How much and how long?
Consultant: $20,000 and 6 weeks. Oh, and I'll need some developer time.
Project manager: Someone call security.
( Read the full article... ) |
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