Not So Bright Idea

There’s a new post on my Uneasy page that takes a look at a user experience problem with trendy light fixtures.

Three Laws

Isaac Asimov wrote in his science fiction stories about laws of behavior programmed into robots to prevent them from harming humans or destroying humanity entirely. They formed a hierarchy based on human safety and utility:

First Law: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

Second Law: A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

Third Law: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Many of Asimov’s robot stories are interesting because they deal with situations that introduce ambiguities and unknowns that cause the robot to fail to act appropriately. He later wrote that these concepts were obvious and applicable to any human tool:

First Law: A tool must not be unsafe to use.

Second Law: A tool must perform its function efficiently unless this would harm the user.

Third Law: A tool must remain intact during its use unless its destruction is required for its use or for safety.

Many of our tools are now embodied by software. While some of these are, indeed, mission-critical and/or safety-related, most of them are pretty ordinary. I propose here a set of usability laws for software and related devices that we all must use regularly:

First Law: Software must not automatically or by default piss off the user, or through some inexplicable delay or aborted function cause the user to become pissed off.

Second Law: Software must perform its functions efficiently unless it produces a surprising, nonsensical, counter-productive or useless result that would surely piss off the user.

Third Law: Software must perform updates as needed in order to maintain and/or improve its functions, unless the update actually degrades its functions; or the timing, duration and sheer frequency of those updates would cause the user to become pissed off.

The Usability of Everything

A book is a tool, a pen is a tool, Wordpress is a tool: for entertainment, for remembering, for communicating with words.

A knife is a tool, an oven is a tool, a sous vide machine is a tool: for cutting, for baking, for precisely heating food.

A yoga mat is a tool, a dumbbell is a tool, running shoes are a tool: for exercising and stress relief.

A job is a tool: for earning money to pay rent, for structuring your time and helping you feel useful. Maybe even for improving the lives of other people.

The usability of tools can be observed and evaluated. (Feel free to substitute the word “system” or “organization” for the word “tool” if it helps.) Can you get the tool set up and ready to use? Can you perform some simple tasks with the tool that it was designed for? How many mistakes do you make with the tool the first time you use it? After reading the instructions? After using it the second time? Can you achieve your goals with the tool? Can you clean and maintain the tool? Do you sometimes inadvertently hurt yourself or others with the tool?

The skillful use of tools can be improved over time with attention and practice–even bad ones. But that doesn’t excuse bad design.

We’ve advanced far enough that we shouldn’t need to tolerate bad tools anymore. There are a lot of Point of Sale systems, but some work really well and others suck to use. There are somehow still bad websites. We’ve had examples of good websites for 20 years now. We know what they look like, how they work and who makes them—there’s no Earthly reason to put up with having a bad website any more.

A bad website, a bad pair of running shoes, a bad knife, a bad organization: the existence of these things mean that the responsible parties simply don’t care enough to even just copy something that’s already good. It means that actually using the tool wasn’t important; simply selling or having the tool was more important.

If you regularly find yourself, while engaged in earnest effort, thinking, “Why is this so mind-bendingly stupid?” it’s time to: a) get a different tool, or b) modify it for your use. And if you don’t know what a good one—a useable one—looks like then get curious and look around. Maybe you’ll even be in a position to make one that’s already good even better.