When: annually, every second Thursday of November.
The second Thursday in November is World Usability Day. This day is also known as Make Things Easier Day. A day dedicated to usability, usability and opportunities to achieve universal usability. The day has been around since 2005.
Chances are you won’t be doing anything yourself on this day. The day is there mainly for those concerned with usability. So usability, user-friendliness or accessibility. These are things that can always be improved. The day challenges individuals to think critically about their role in this process. Whether you are a designer or implementer. What can be improved and what is good?
Not always human errors
Too often, mistakes are assumed to be committed by people, when in fact it is about not understanding things. For example, because the design is too complicated. Another cause may have to do with some philosophy behind the design. It may make perfect sense to the person or persons who conceived it. Is the same true for the persons who will eventually use it?
Then it remains to be seen whether everyone can use it. Not in all cases are certain options available to everyone. What is ‘easy’ to use for one person may not be possible for another due to physical discomfort, illness or disability, for example. The question then arises: has sufficient thought been given to this? This can lead to frustration.
At worst, it can also be detrimental to the providers of the products or services themselves. If user adaptation does not materialise because something is seen as complicated or difficult, sales will be disappointing. Then again, you may have put in so much effort.
UXPA
World Usability Day or Make Things Easier Day emerged from a discussion in 2004 between two members of the User Experience Professionals Association (UXPA). Elizabeth Rosenzweig and Nigel Bevan thought it was a good idea to establish a day of awareness. So that there could be some critical thinking about these kinds of issues. So since then, there has been this day.
Dangerous situations
This day is not just about user-friendliness and the ways you can use a device or service. An improperly designed device or service can also lead to dangerous situations. That too is something that should be given due consideration. In addition, it is good to think about what the social consequences might be.
More information
A dedicated website is available with all the information about World Usability Day. It can be found at worldusabilityday.org.
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