Users define usable | clagnut/blog

Users define usable posted 27th June 2002

“Ultimately, of course, the users’ performance defines what’s usable. If users can easily accomplish what they want to do, then the design is usable.” Pixelsurgeon Interviews Jakob Nielsen.

I have embarked on a project called ukbloggers with Ed from work. It will be a directory of UK weblogs shown geographically on maps. Watch this space…

grinning: Walking from the station to the office this morning, a peculiarly large number of people appeared to be smiling; almost chuckling to themselves. While this is entirely laudable behaviour, in London it is enough to make one feel somewhat paranoid. On a different note,…
Home time: Jakob’s latest rant is his Top Ten Guidelines for Homepage Usability which, while providing useful food for thought, is a desperately transparent plug for his latest book (blast: there’s another plug). Personally I would recommend the Home Page chapter of Steve…
’Ello, ’ello, ’ello: Here in the UK, Home Secretary Blunkett is pushing through proposals (“opening up a discussion”) for national identity (“social security entitlement”) cards. Let’s just state here and now that this is flawed thinking and just plain wrong. George…
Accessible interfaces: The Disability Rights Commission publishes an inaccessible website demonstration. Try the simulation of a user who has difficulty controlling a mouse. Nielsen argues for separate interfaces for sighted on non-sighted users, saying that auditory methods need a 1-D approach.
Boxed in: “You can’t get an XBox, it’s a big, ugly, tacky hulk of shit. Who cares about the technical stuff and what the games are like? What counts is what they look like when switched off and stowed in the corner.”