invisible

picture from here.

I strongly believe that the best technology is the one that is invisible to the user. A book, a pencil, a knife, a toaster, all of these are a form of technology. They all help us do a job. They do not need a manual, they are intuitive and only need directions on how take care of it.

Usability success: Making a technology invisible allows the core to operate.

Too many times we believe we need to explain, document, or train for the use of a technology. Their are exceptions, but many times things can be intuitive enough for a person to figure out for themselves. Creating a tool that self teaches is the fastest way to reach usability success. This is done by giving a person simple routines to accomplish a goal without needing to think about the technology.

Many people wrongly let technology lead usability. Doing this only creates frustration and angst due to lack of control. It is a major problem many people in technology falls into and goes directly against invisibility. (See Need Documentation Blog entry.)

Workflows are the best balance of technology and a business process. It naturally puts the business process ahead of any technology and creates a quick win due to the clear ROI of process elimination.