Userability Podcast #6 – 20 Years, No Improvement?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:12 — 8.2MB)

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Duration: 14m | 8 MB
Recorded: March, 2009
Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer
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This week’s episode features a surprise guest for Jared and Robert. Actually, every guest is a surprise, but this one is a surprise and an ambush by a friend of UIE, the always entertaining Scott Berkun. Scott wanted to know, what gives?

Don Norman’s seminal, The Design of Everyday Things, is approaching it’s 20th year in print. It explained why so many basic things in life are poorly designed and hard to use, such as pull handles on doors that need to be pushed. Since the world has been aware of these design flaws for two decades, why are so many basic usability failures still around?

Listen in to hear if Robert and Jared’s answer is what you would’ve said. Would you have answered differently? Leave a comment below.

Have a serious UX question? Send it in and Jared Spool and Robert Hoekman, Jr. will answer it with a healthy dose of levity. Please send your deep, vexing questions to us at [email protected]. We’d love to feature you on the show! Till then, if you think you know why so many usability failures remain, let us know in the comments!