hmmm.....Usability - an ugly word ?

I gather you've all read the MM press release by now - Jacob Nielsen has been asked to join MM "to focus on improving the usability of rich Internet applications and content "

"Nielsen will be developing best practice guidelines for creating usable rich Internet applications with Macromedia Flash MX. Macromedia Flash MX, which began shipping in March, contains features that enable designers and developers to be more productive while ensuring their work is both usable and accessible. Macromedia Flash MX is the fastest way to create rich Internet content and applications that deliver a better return on investment"

MM admitted that there's been tremendous innovation and development from the community of Flash developers but this move basically tells me that they still feel that Jacob's 'Flash 99% bad' remarks have to be addressed.

Your thoughts ?? Personally Im not too excited with the prospects of Nielsen coming in.I dont believe usability is a bad word , on the contrary , its part of the entire creative process, but to ask someone who's not a designer or a rich media developer for that matter to develop such guidelines, it could well turn out to be

a

[Edited by Aria on 06-11-2002 at 09:26 AM]

Let's look at this rationally.

MacroMedia is working with one of the most respected experts in the field of usability. For JN to support Flash technologies is a major boost for the community.

JN is not the enemy of Flash. He is the enemy of poor usability and design. Sometimes usability and access to information for all users is a site's reason for existing.

His views are as relevent as yours or mine and as such should be respected. Let's see what he can contribute before slamming the proposal.

jb

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Originally posted by jhbiddle
Let's look at this rationally.

MacroMedia is working with one of the most respected experts in the field of usability.

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you know thats arguable :) :p

He's a self-proclaimed guru in this field and Id argue that there are other professionals out there right now undertaking considerable research on the subject and who are willing to offer their knowledge and expertise just as much (and probably at lower rates too)

Ill throw some links here to get it started

http://www.macromedia.com/desdev/mx/..._good_CH08.pdf

and of course http://www.flazoom.com

a

[rant]usability is not an ugly word and i wish people would stop associating it with that media hound nielsen, he thrives off creating a reaction and getting his name mentioned all the time. Whenever there is a 'usability' issue in the media they call on him because that's the only name pundits associate with the art, and so people get this screwed up view of what usability is. It's no wonder he goes out there yelling and screaming like a petulant child about flash, it's an easy target, a lot of users are wary of things like flash and the flash community will always givehim some good sound bites to use in his next tirade. He's the Al Sharpton of usability.[/rant]

usability is a fine art and should be part of any developers tool kit, but not nielsen's extremist, reactionary ideas, rather the ideas of real experts like jeffery veen or steve krug.

as for your original point, i'm glad to see MM taking the bull by the horns, so to speak. The demos for flash mx showed that MM want to establish flash as a tool for web applications using CF as a backend. I imagine this move is part of an ongoing campaign to legitimise that goal, to get web developers interested in flash as a real tool.

I'm hoping this new association with neilsen is more for that kind of publiciy than practical purposes at MM, i've read neilsen's book and while he has a lot of good points and his views are somewhat misrepresented he's not, in my opinion, the man for this job. There are many better usability experts out there more in tune with flash in particular, they just wouldn't generate any publicity.

You know, amusingly enough I just filled out a survey from Macromedia about the usability of Flash MX. :)

I voiced many of my opinions when the article was posted over at Flazoom, but I'll gladly recap here. First off, I think that Macromedia was focused on Usability and accessability long before Jakob came on board. And honestly, I was somewhat dismayed by their choice - I think Jakob Nielsen's view of usability is rooted in old hypertext concepts, and Macromedia bringing him on board gives the impression that they felt obligated to respond to the 99% Bad article. I would rather have seen them promote some of the other usability "gurus" in the web space, indicating that new technologies demand new paradigms, and that JN is not the "be all end all" of web usability.

That having been said, it does make our jobs as designers easier, because we can now knock back all of the "99% bad" parrots who only look at the surface of an argument by saying "well, now Jakob works for them". No need to mention that Jakob will speak well of whomever is lining the walls of his wallet.

I hate to shamelessly copy-paste other articles, but this one is making the rounds in the Flash blogs today, and I thought it was worth repeating here:

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WaSP on usability and accessibility: "Zeldman says the time has come to address the other, possibly tougher roadblock to universal Web accessibility: those who build sites, not browsers." This echos that "bowie" point below... how well does your creation actually fit the needs of the audience? There are multiple related elements: accessibility and standards determine how wide an audience you can reach... usability determines if they can understand your message once received... effectiveness determines whether they actually act as you desire upon your message... efficiency determines whether you can create such a message at low enough cost so everyone finds it profitable.

-John Dowdell

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http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,53026,00.html

Interesting article on Usability:

Web design 'causes confusion'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci...00/2041040.stm

Also, similar discussion going on here:

http://board.flashkit.com/board/show...hreadid=321418

I would have to agree with the thoughts of:

Aria - Usability good, Nielsen bad (or at least annoying).

aversion - Usability is a part of design. The problem is not with a particular technology, but with the designers using that technology.

My own thought is that I'm really sick of usability meaning that all sites need to be like each other and this is the message I get whenever I read anything by Nielsen (and I may be missing the point - I kind of hope so). I don't think homogeny==usability. As long as the navigation, content, and purpose of a web site is clear and understandable to the intended audience, then it's usable.

-monster.

(I do admit JN is a dweeb)

Flash, being a particularly powerful visual medium, means people can create sites that are visually stunning, challenging (in the right context) and offer the user an enhanced experience.

However, this freedom brings increased responsibility for the designer and clearly many (myself included) fall into traps, to the detriment of usability. The reason why Flash got a bad name for itself is because there were some shockingly confusing sites designed out there.

I also see Flash as a new technology, and new technologies or designs often begin their lived in a divergent fashion, but are gradually converged over time. It may be that design guidelines come about naturally, over time.

Rant rant rant.
jb

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Originally posted by monsterfx

aversion - Usability is a part of design. The problem is not with a particular technology, but with the designers using that technology.

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ummmm, yeah i agree, did i seem like i didn't? I wasn't saying anything about flash being bad was i?

Aversion,

Sorry for the confusion. I was just saying I agreed with your thoughts and put them in my own words. Nothing else.

-monster.

oh right, sorry :)

there's another thread about usability here http://board.flashkit.com/board/show...hreadid=326273

it links to an interesting article.

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Originally posted by monsterfx


My own thought is that I'm really sick of usability meaning that all sites need to be like each other and this is the message I get whenever I read anything by Nielsen (and I may be missing the point - I kind of hope so). I don't think homogeny==usability. As long as the navigation, content, and purpose of a web site is clear and understandable to the intended audience, then it's usable.

-monster.

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thats an interesting point !!

Functional Design doesnt necessarily mean Nielsen -compliant sites!

a

http://www.acm.org/archives/wa.cgi?A...web&O=D&P=5204

More proof that CHris should be MM's usability "guru". :)

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Originally posted by CNO
http://www.acm.org/archives/wa.cgi?A...web&O=D&P=5204

More proof that CHris should be MM's usability "guru". :)

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great post from Chris !!

Im also 'impressed' with Nielsen's U-turn !

a

Fine hire the guy, make him richer but who cares about the "U" word? OK OK, we care about it but why should we care about other people caring about it? If a site isn't U-compliant it will flonder and die < insert Darwin > Only the useable will survive.

Also, I don't understand what MM is going to do with his opinions? Are they going to be factored into F6 with new tools or something? I think Flash provides damn near all the useable features necessary, it's up to the makers of sites now to worry about how to use them.

IMHO.
.aaroncrunchie