Categories: Software Part 1: Making Software Easier Through Usability Testing Part 3: Talkback: Tell us about usability gaffes you've found Related Stories: 1999 Software Sneak Preview Next: Installing programs

By Neil Randall

Previously, we looked at how usability tests are conducted, and we briefly touched on how specific features in certain Microsoft products have undergone changes as a result of usability testing. This time we'll look at some usability problems in a variety of software products as a means of demonstrating the kinds of problems that usability testing should have caught or should catch for future releases. None of these examples are obscure; each is apparent to anyone using the software with any degree of frequency. As a whole, they represent the kinds of problems that make us all wonder how anyone could have let such glaring usability glitches get through the final release.

All of these examples are simply observations and not the results of formal testing in any way. But the ultimate usability test is conducted by the buyers and users of the software. As any developer knows, no amount of testing of any kind will reveal as many issues as simply having the software on the market for a month. Users will find things developers never imagined.

When reading these examples, it's important to keep in mind that usability issues should not be confused with technical issues. A feature might work as well as possible from a technical standpoint but still be less friendly than it could be or should be. We're not concerned, in other words, with technical possibility; we're only concerned with whether the thing is efficient to use. At the same time, we must judge features according to what they were designed to do, not as our fancy might remake them. Usability testing isn't about discovering missing features but rather discovering issues with using existing features. Let's take a look at some common usability problems.

Neil Randall is the author of The Soul of the Internet (ITCP) and Special Edition Using Microsoft FrontPage 98 (Que).

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Published as Tutor in the 10/20/98 issue of PC Magazine.