Our view on Usability

There are many different meanings and interpretations of the term usability. A common perspective is that it has something to do with design issues – e.g. where a button should be placed or the colour of a particular user interface element. We like to think about usability as comprising of much more than this.

From business to technology

Our view of usability goes all the way from business to technology via users. An IT system or service is not usable for an organisation if it does not help the organisation to meet the business goals which were the reason the system was developed or procured in the first place. An e-commerce site in which customers do not succed to buy anything or an internal administrative system which is very complicated to use does not yield the benefits that it could do if it was more usable. In that sense usability is a business issue.

At the same time usability is of course important for the individual user. For her it is about getting access to the right functionality at the right time and way in order to realise her goals with using the system.

Finally usability is also a technology issue. Usability is shaped by the possibilities and constraints of technology, but it also put demands on the technology. Demands which the technology has to realise in order for the users, and in the extension the organisation and business, to reach their goals.