August/September 2003

Volume 44, Number 1

Unusability is your best friend

by Ron Arner

Unusability is my best friend. This statement may sound funny coming from someone pursuing a career in technical communications, especially since I just completed the usability requirement towards my M.S. in Tech Comm last spring. Nevertheless, I find more and more that unusability is just as valuable to me as a technical communicator as usability is.

Most of you are continuing to read this article out of curiosity. Some of you may be thinking, "How ridiculous." A few of you actually agree with me, although you may not know it. Have you recently purchased a new product and tried to assemble or configure it using the manufacturer's instructions? If you have, and you still don't think unusability is your best friend, then you're missing a fantastic opportunity.

The opportunity I'm talking about is the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of others, which we can and should do every time we encounter "unusability." How many times have you laughed or even sneered at the amateurish literature that accompanies many of the products we use every day? You may even feel smug about the poor quality of a document, knowing that you could produce a much more user-friendly set of instructions. What do you do when you see bad advertisements, confusing road signs, and poorly drawn illustrations? You should be making a mental journal of these failed attempts at technical communication, and you should be asking yourself what is wrong with them and what you would do differently if you were hired to create them.

There are more ways unusability can benefit you. How many times have you wrestled with a software program? It's easier to master a graphics program if you are familiar with desktop publishing. It's easier to learn a desktop publishing program if you have already mastered a word-processing program, and so on. I used to curse every time I opened a new software program if it wasn't GUI-based. You know the ones I mean—screens that look like DOS was bred with Windows 3.1, with functions no fancier than cut and paste, etc. Well, I no longer rue these "archaic" forms of computer programming. I have come to realize that by taking the time to patiently explore these programs, I gain an understanding of where more modern programs come from, and I am better able to find valuable functions and shortcuts in advanced programs by applying what I have learned from simple ones.

There's more to this unusability thing. I think I'm actually getting smarter from spending more time on the computer. No, really, I'm not joking. Last weekend I misplaced my sunglasses. I decided to approach the problem as one big unusability experience, and use a computer-style, problem-solving method to find them. Most programs have a Find and a Help menu, right? Well, I want to find my sunglasses, but can't remember where I put them, so I need some help. I pictured a .GIF image of my sunglasses in my mind, but instead of clicking on My Documents and successive folders to the one containing the image, I traced my steps to the last known location of my sunglasses. They weren't there as far as I could tell, but I knew if I tried adjusting a few of my "preferences" I would find them in no time. There they were, in the car where I had last seen them. They'd fallen under the seat, so I missed them the first time I checked the car.

When I encounter unusability, I like to remember the expression "No pain, no gain." Sure it hurts. Sure it's hard not to get angry and speculate on how much someone was paid to create "that piece of (insert adjective)!" But instead of having a negative outlook at these times, I remind myself how much I will gain by avoiding the same mistakes myself. I think about how many people I can help by creating usable documents.

But above and beyond all else, the best thing about unusability is the inside humor it provides us. You're probably familiar with Web sites such as "Vincent Flanders' Web Pages That Suck" ( http://www.websitesthatsuck.com). Unusability is like the Dilbert of technical communication. So the next time you encounter unusability, take a picture, cut it out, or copy it, and hang it in your cubicle. Then, when you're stressed over a project and feel so frustrated you're ready to give up, settle for mediocrity, or just go with what you've got and hope for the best, look over at your humorous reminder of what it is that makes you good at what you do. Chuckle a little bit, go back to work with a smile on your face, and create something that will never be hung up in someone else's cubicle to be his or her humorous example of unusability.