UsableMarkets

Today in usability news:

In case there was some doubt (and who could blame you for being doubtful) Bill Gates is concerned about usability after all. In fact, he’s horrified by Microsoft’s poor usability I quote: “What an absolute mess.”

And Robert Hoekman Jr., author and design expert, rants about the much loved user-centered design (UCD) process falling flat (or being over-hyped, at the very least). To quote:

“No method is perfect, but in my experience, UCD has far too many flaws to come even close. And considering there are so many great apps out there designed and built without an ounce of app-specific user research, it’s safe to say you can indeed create something wonderful by throwing traditional UCD methods entirely out the window.”

Don’t tell Forrester, which sees UCD as part of any successful redesign.

~alex