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By Neil Randall

Sometimes software seems so mind-bogglingly stupid that it's almost impossible to believe any human being other than the programmer actually worked with the product before its release. In fact, this is almost never the case, except perhaps with some one-person shareware or freeware offerings. Software from the major publishers routinely undergoes a process called usability testing, in which participants put specific features through a variety of different tests. The results of these tests frequently influence the software design itself, thereby making the program easier, more efficient, and more pleasant for the user to work with.

Since this seems like the most reasonable goal in the universe for any software manufacturer, or for that matter anyone who makes anything from can openers to automobiles, you might think that usability testing goes without saying. But except for safety testing, usability testing in the past took place largely in the worst possible arena: the marketplace. In other words, determining whether or not a product was usable was primarily the task of consumers, and only after the product's release. To see this trend, think of the first VCRs: Programming them to do multiday recording tried both our patience and our belief, and most users just didn't bother. Think as well of early computer programs, such as pre-Windows WordPerfect or Lotus 1-2-3, where new releases frequently incorporated suggestions from users. Although bug testing was high on the list of prerelease activities, questions of usability often surfaced only after a package was on the market.

Formal usability testing, on the other hand, is a relatively recent concept, and it became a recognized procedure in the computer industry only about a dozen years ago and a fully integrated procedure only in the past half a dozen or so. Companies have always recognized the need for usability testing of one kind or another, but formal testing takes time and money and can easily delay a product's release. When usability testing is integrated with product development, the test results must be incorporated into the design itself, and obviously this does nothing to speed things along or to keep the budget crunchers happy. But if the result is a more satisfied customer, then a bit more time and money is a smart investment.

Neil Randall is the author of The Soul of the Internet (ITCP) and Special Edition Using Microsoft FrontPage98 (Que).

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Published as Tutor in the 10/6/98 issue of PC Magazine.