HCI VISTAS, VOLUME-II, 2005-2006

  

Are All Usability Problems Real?

  

Dr. Dinesh S. Katre

Article IRN-4./Oct. 2005
 
Is the world full of usability problems? Are the usability professionals sniffing dogs that immediately detect usability errors in a given product? And do they have solutions to all usability problems? Don't we give birth to new usability problems while solving the previous ones? Or is it like curing the disease by taking a medicine and then taking some more medicines for fixing the side effects? While discussing with Prof. Ravi Poovaiah, we both agreed that at times usability professionals are overdoing it. He supported a broader view of being appreciative to any design, contrary to starting with a faultfinding approach. In my view, it is an evolving maturity model of usability wherein it improves from one level to the next level. I think any matured designer will subscribe to such balanced approach.
 
I recall, while working on Multimedia Dnyaneshwari, Sakhare Maharaj had desired me to announce a prize of one rupee for every typographic error found by the proof-readers in the text of Dnyaneshwari. He thought that this incentive would help in perfecting the text. I am not too sure whether the scheme would have really worked. Because, those who make living out of errors and problems, will tend to find or invent more of them. Therefore, we can summarize- 
 
Accepting the usability of design is loss of opportunity.
In other words, finding problems with usability creates opportunity for business.
  
The question remains what is really usable and non-usable? I strongly feel that there is a need to produce scientific proofs to prove both usability and non-usability. If it is so, is 'usability' a subjective matter like 'art' ? If it has scientific basis, one should be able determine which design is most usable. And once it is scientifically proven then there should not be deviations in the basic design. The cosmetic changes could be permitted but the core design shouldn't change. It is like the aircraft requiring to have full compliance with aviation principles to make it fly. Is 'usability' as fundamental as that? If yes then there is a need to define its principles.
 
Both Nielson and Molich have stated that usability evaluation by different experts reveals different usability problems. If the usability experts have divergent views on the specific aspect of design then there is bound to be lack of scientific basis in their approach; or they are driven by the perceptual attributes; or in other words they are dealing with art and aesthetics, which is highly subjective. Bertrand Russell says, science needs objective attributes and not the perceptual attributes. But this is half true. In my view, many perceptual attributes can be defined but it is very complex.
  
Physical usability is easier to define compared with
the psychological usability as it depends on human perception. 
  
How could we objectively define the perceptual attribute of design if they are affecting the usability? The most fundamental problem is how to objectively define the usability problems. Because solutions can be provided to only defined problems.
 
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Perspectives
The article is very well written and brings out the many limitations of the field today. However, I would like to take the freedom to share following views.

I think usability engineering is not all about finding problems. It provides a methodology to develop user interfaces by putting USER in the center of software development process. We all know that UI is the product for the end user. However, in overall development process User is taken for granted on many fronts. The process is dominated by the bunch of managers and developers who are experts in technology but do not have any knowledge about the interface designing.

Involvement with user during the development process and iterative design methodology can definitely help us to build products, which are more efficient and satisfactory for users. Off course, this could be validated through proper usability testing only. Overdoing of usability is not advisable but at present overuse of technology is already happening. People are coding interfaces without any knowledge of user.

I agree that it is still under an evolving stage. In addition, it will take time to justify itself as a science. We cannot prove many things in black and white. However, it allows putting our foot in user's shoe with certain methodology. It tries to establish the link between user and development team at every stage of development.
Rajesh Gode (Usability Analyst, Persistent Systems)