Usability - Not Just for Toilets

The other day on This Old House they visited a major bath fixtures manufacturer and I was impressed by their design methods.

It's not surprising they'd be so thorough - one seriously malfunctioning toilet could ruin their business. What was refreshing was their attitude and approach to design.

Thorough, comprehensive research and testing is the foundation of their business, not just annoying project plan line items holding up a product launch date.

Sure, you might say, it has to be - they make things that if not well designed, will sink (har har) their business. But that's true of most businesses.

No matter what is created or for whom, if the end users and good design methods aren't part of the process, it'll miss the mark and the company will suffer - from technology companies to toilet makers.

Before the fixtures manufacturer begins designing a new piece, be it a gorgeous pedestal sink or porcelain throne, they do extensive research to build upon past successes. Design styles or functionality users preferred (or didn't) in the past, or new, modern styles and features popular today.

Based on all the research, many sketches are done and from those, plaster prototypes are built to ensure what they've imagined can be successfully built.

From a proven, plaster prototype they make the porcelain piece and subject it to exhaustive quality testing. The acceptable failure rate is 0. Zero. It must test as 100% functional before they proceed with user testing.

Yup, that's right - they user-test new designs to gather customer input. That feedback is factored back into the overall design process.

I can't tell you how many projects I've worked on where little or no research was done before kickoff - even basic user/audience research. Or even answering the question, What's the goal of the xyz?

Most projects have severely limited budgets and timelines, but just a small amount of forethought and research can save time and money in the long run. Rushing something to market never works out well, so why does it happen?

I Drove a Pickup Truck

Yes, it was a big weekend - drove a Ford 150 pickup truck, and now I understand why people love their trucks.

Compared to my sensible little station wagon, that truck hauls ass, along with large items I couldn't houdini into my wagon. And I had way better visibility down the road - it helps to be tall.

At the root of all this is HGTV, a channel my friend "Jeannie," aka Shauna, says I shouldn't watch because they broadcast subliminal messages.

The only messages I'm picking up are "STOP LIVING WITH CLUTTER," "CLEAN UP YOUR HOVEL," and "IT'S OK TO GET RID OF UNUSABLE SHIT."

Jeannie thinks she gets messages like MUST GO SPEND MONEY AT HOME DEPOT. Maybe those messages are there, but I'm not receptive to them. I don't have any money and I hate Home Depot, so I should be OK.

Work had been slow the past few months and that led to hours and hours of HGTV while I went about de-cluttering the house and redesigning rooms to be more functional.

We dropped off a full carload of donations to Goodwill and now have more recycling than we have bin space - it'll take at least three weeks to dispose of it all.

And then I decided to get rid of an old desk that serves only as a clutter magnet and replace it with a computer armoire - at least I'll be able to close the doors if it starts getting messy. So onto Craigslist to search for a gently used solution.

Found a great piece and the only way to get it home - rent a truck. Unfortunately they don't rent gun racks, but the truck alone was great. It made it so much easier to get the armoire home and I got to experience the thrill of a V8.

Now we just need to rip up the old linoleum, paint, put in a new floor, then move everything back into my office. After only 6 years of having a half-assed room/office/storage space/nightmare, it'll be a place where I can actually work.

Soon I'll have Before and After pics to post.