Larry Tesler's Blog
Ramblings on the user experience
Products their own companies can't use

Various blogs, including Dvorak Uncensored have cited an academic study suggesting that half of consumer product returns are due to usability issues. This doesn't count the people who can't use the product but keep it anyway (like me and my Timex, below).

One finding was that managers at Philips couldn't figure out how to use their own company's products.

2006-03-08 15:50:04 GMT
Comments (1 total)
Author:douglascrockford
The original story was from Reuters, and it has echoed all over the web. The story cites a thesis by PhD candidate Elke den Ouden at Technische Universiteit Einhoven. The weird thing is, I can't find independent confirmation. Elke den Ouden doesn't have a website, which is surprising. She does seem to have a presense at Einhoven, on the program of Masterclass Mobiele Telefonie with a 30 minute slot titled "Let's make better mobiles." I can find nothing else, not even the title of her thesis.
2006-03-08 18:24:43 GMT
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