Patty Michaud's Profile

Another issue I have to explain is that user acceptance testing and training are
not the same as usability testing.

When I explain real usability testing, I sometimes get a shocked reaction: “You
mean, you aren’t going to teach them anything first?

As is often the case, pure innovation was less important than making the new
stuff work well.

The counter-argument is that usability is the only reason Mac
survived. Compared to the PC, it was much more expensive, had only a
fraction of the specialized applications, and was cursed by Apple's
business-hostile attitude.

But something else emerged in our analysis: none of these great products were
the first in their product area. It was as if the previous generations, with
their bloated functionality sets, were required for the simplified, better
designs to emerge.

The external force we realized was the customer -- the individual making the
purchase decision -- that determined the stage for the products that were
competing in their category. Customers decide how bad of an experience they'll
tolerate. Their tolerance starts high, but shrinks as the market matures and
competitors start to offer better experiences.