When I wrote my first post about this back in February I mentioned that I would get back to this and here I am.

Back in 1994 Rubin* identified many many reasons why so many products and systems are difficult and frustrating to use. According to his handbook:

• A broader user base with greater discrepancy between user and designer in terms of skills & expectations
• System components related to usability are developed independently by specialized teams
• Product development emphasis on machine or system, not on the person who is the ultimate end user
• Design of usable systems is a difficult endeavor, yet many organizations treat it as if it were just common sense.

Although these conclusions were applied to the ‘offline’ business they also can be extrapolated to the online one. When developing a product or a system that it is intended to be used by a Human we should focus on:

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