There is a reason that you're a bad judge of the "usablity" of your product. You already know how to use it. your numb to it's mistakes and flaws. New team members dont suffer from this!
One of the best things my company does is allow me to sit down on a chair next to the people who use my products as they use them.
I just sit there with a notebook and write things down, and talk to the users as they're using the product.
Once you start doing that, you understand that it doesn't matter how many terabytes of "telemetry" you gather, you will never understand how people use your product as well as actually speaking to them.
The tech industry really needs to get over its fear of other human beings.
Early in my work life I had a job on the UI side of things.
Watching people use your app behind a 2 way mirror was probably the most illuminating thing ever. Users from outside the tech bubble have a very different take from most of the HN set. It influences how the look at, use and think about applications.
You can watch 7 people DO the right thing and then tell you, out loud, that it sucks for the same reason. Every app is filled with problems like this. If you aren't testing with "inexperienced" end users you are likely missing a LOT!!
This was even covered in our school. Test your program on your classmates, and then the rest of the school. This was way before smartphones though, it had to be in the computer rooms.
If you aren't testing with "inexperienced" end users you are likely missing a LOT
Conversely, if you're only testing with "inexperienced" end users, your app will never become the professional's choice: there's just too many guardrails needed for inexperienced users that get in the way of an expert's workflow.
This is exactly correct. The software should be adapted to the usage patterns of the users, not for developer ergonomics. If the two happen to align, that's great, but it's a rarity.
I wish all companies did this. Even better, record the experience.
It’s astounding how many UI developers never watch a real customer using their product. All UI is compromise, but you see a very different set of possible compromises when you watch someone (particularly a new user) use the product.
My favorite is the whole “let it be a user setting” compromise. If you don’t get the “correct” default, then a non-obvious user setting does nothing. And if you do get the default right, then you probably don’t need the setting.
One of the best things my company does is allow me to sit down on a chair next to the people who use my products as they use them.
I just sit there with a notebook and write things down, and talk to the users as they're using the product.
Once you start doing that, you understand that it doesn't matter how many terabytes of "telemetry" you gather, you will never understand how people use your product as well as actually speaking to them.
The tech industry really needs to get over its fear of other human beings.