What is usability? Most people I’ve talked to think it has to do with the simplicity of using items, applications and ilk. They’re not wrong… but that’s only a part of understanding what usability means more specifically. According to Developing Connections among Usability, Rhetoric and Writing (2018), the authors state “Usability is about users. [It is] concerned with anticipating users’ needs and expectations as well as designing texts, documents text, documents, systems, platforms, spaces, softwares – and may other things, with a purpose in mind that is appropriate to and tailored for that audience of users.”
In much simpler terms, we could say that usability is all about designing objects and products with a strong consideration for an intended audience. For example, the study of universally accessible design falls under this category, since you’d want to make sure an intended product is most usable to its audience with universal simplicity. Unsurprisingly, in most cases products that are considered most usable by the general population are the ones designed to aid those with a physical disability.
Take the advent of SMS texting, for example. Texting was initially a feature introduced on phones in order to help those with speech or aural difficulties communicate via their personal devices. Nowadays, we see that more people send texts rather than call each other. This is because we realize in most cases, it would be more convenient and simpler to text. This is because we consider texting a more usable form of communication.
Having a strong consideration for an intended audience isn’t solely restricted to considering “How many people will be able to use my product? “. Effective usability also requires considering “Who is my audience? ” Understanding the demographics (age, gender, location) and context (Kairos, economic, cultural) of our intended audience is necessary if we wish to make sure that our product usability would be maximized by considering their specific needs and expectations.
Ultimately, usability is fundamentally and truly understood through individual experience. It’s only by using products that we can understand:
- How convenient and easy we find using them
- How much and how frequently we’d like to use them
- How we ultimately prefer using them (regardless of how they were originally intended to be used)
I intend to explore and elucidate the concept of usability more in my future post. I personally believe that it is critical to effectively understand the importance of usability, purpose and audience if an individual wishes to succeed in an industry, since industry works within society, and society essentially comprises of people. People all have their need and expectations, and it is an industry’s job is to maximize its social utility in order thrive, and does this by understanding the demand of the intended demographic/audience.
Sai's Blog 