So easy even a web designer can use it, by Jeffrey Veen

So easy even a web designer can use it

Please do me a favor: the next time you're about to describe how simple a technology is to understand, think twice before using the analogy, "And it's so easy, even my mother can use it!"

I remember speaking at a Web conference back in 1998, and I said something like, "The Web has changed dramatically since '94. We can no longer design just for each other. Our grandmothers are online now, and our designs must accommodate them, too."

After the speech, I was met at the edge of the stage by an older women who wanted to know what on earth I meant by the grandmother remark. Was it older users, or just the female ones who were somehow unable to grasp our very clever Web designs? Then, she wondered if maybe HTML was exceedingly difficult compared to the punch-card programming she started her career with. I realized that I'd included the remark thoughtlessly, and said, "You're right. I'm not going to do that anymore."

The bigger point I made back then still holds true -- a usable interface needs to satisfy the expectations of the entire intended audience, not just the technically inclined. But my example was timelessly inappropriate, ingrained by a culture that still clings to ridiculous notions that "girls are bad at math".

I hear the statement all the time; it's a throw-away comment we use as shorthand to refer to something that is intuitive and usable, but we do so by implying "those people" aren't as smart as we are.

I'm grateful for the friends I have who are passionate about fighting this mindset - who remind me that girls often don't get a seat at the keyboard early on. And age -- any age -- has no bearing on how we use and enjoy technology.

This entry was written by Jeffrey Veen and posted 15 May 2005 at 9:21 PM. It was filed under Personal, Technology.

Comments

1. On 15 May 2005 at 10:11 PM John wrote:

Why not just use your (grand)father as the example? It illustrates the point of age being a factor in design and doesn't have the unintentional gender reference.

2. On 15 May 2005 at 11:06 PM Jordan Moore wrote:

It can be difficult to be politically correct and not step on someone's toes when speaking these days...

3. On 15 May 2005 at 11:10 PM Matt wrote:

I believe it wasn't just the idea of women being looked upon as technically challenged, but that we shouldn't make assumptions about anyone. This person, who happened to be female and on the older side, knew exactly what was going on. My grandfather might not, but there are plenty of older people who do.

4. On 15 May 2005 at 11:17 PM Roy Schestowitz wrote:

There are no safe statements unless you avoid the mentioning of: (1) People (2) Places

There are then just the subtle implications which require you to be alert.

5. On 15 May 2005 at 11:25 PM Justin Michael wrote:

As Roy said, if you want to be totally safe both people and places are usually out of the question in public speaking, especially when making assumptions about them.

It's usually okay to mention that the majority of the people using the Internet today are much less likely to know as much about computers and the intricacies of their user interfaces than people using the Internet a few years ago.

Despite that, I have no doubt made my own share of inappropriate comments in the past. Maybe now that you've pointed this out I'll be less likely to make the same mistake in the future.

6. On 16 May 2005 at 8:11 AM veen wrote:

I must not have made myself clear. I want to be neither "politically correct" nor "safe." Let me explain.

The analogy implies an assumption that being comfortable with technology is harder for some than for others.

I think that's true.

The analogy also implies that older people and females are part of that group.

I think that's unfair.

In fact, I think it's unfair to imply any physical characteristic of a person has anything to do with their ability to use technology. The stereotype bothers me, and I'm motivated to do something about it.

7. On 16 May 2005 at 5:24 PM spcoon wrote:

While I agree that we all have the "ability" to use technology, I'd sooner apply the term "physical characteristics" to accessibility relationships with technology, rather than gender or age per se.

Age is what it is, but has defining attributes based on varied experiences per individual. Gender is static in definition (mostly), yet dynamic in character, based on the experience gathered by age. These terms have extremely complex, evolutionary, dynamic DNA and cannot be used as sole descriptors when defining a relationship in using technology.

Stereotypes are what they are until we each stop feeding and using them. And while I completely agree with your stance on age and gender, I'd feel rather comfortable referring to my mother in a similar analogy, because I know it's not a stereotype.

Am I a Hypocrite? Who wants to throw that first stone?

8. On 16 May 2005 at 9:32 PM Roy Schestowitz wrote:

Discrimination is a sensitive issue and fiddling with it is like playing with fire. You want to play fair? Then say that it's so easy that even a dumb white, middle-aged male can use it.

I remember our last research meeting which took place in UCL. Sir Professor [rather not say more] from Oxford said "Chinese, japanese, whatever... same thing". Some people in the room did not like the comment, me included. Nobody threw any flames luckily.

9. On 17 May 2005 at 2:02 AM Jens Meiert wrote:

It's always good to think first before saying something, but there are also things one need not inevitably start to debate about - for example, if one says "our grandmothers are online now, and our designs must accommodate them". This means "ACK".

10. On 21 May 2005 at 3:12 PM Cherilyn DeVries wrote:

Hey, Jeffrey!
It's great to see what you're doing these days. You probably don't remember me, but I interned with Grand Rapids Magazine (Business Journal, Parent) as a Calvin student when you were working there. I know--ancient history. I got here from a link on Karl Sweberg's site after looking up info on Bush's appearance at Calvin's commencement.

Congratuations on all you've done since then! All the best on your cutting edge future!

11. On 24 May 2005 at 10:18 AM christina wrote:

How about "so easy an SUV driver can use it"?

12. On 24 May 2005 at 8:00 PM Al Abut wrote:

Something that has helped me in this area of avoiding harmful stereotypes is to personalize statements and not expand individual experiences into abstractions.

For example, something I'll often say is "it's so easy to use, even my mother uses it", with *my* mother rather than *a* mother in the statement. She's a good benchmark for my guerrilla usability tests - I call it The Mom Test. I'll call her up to check out a site when I can't find anyone else and I need immediate feedback, since she's close to the average user (not overly technical yet still computer literate) and most importantly, she's always game for trying something new.

It helps avoid people from thinking that I'm implying that all mothers aren't engineers or geeks; I'm talking only about mine, ymmv. And she's definitely not inept - it's precisely because she's intelligent that a particular usability sticking point has to be cleared up, since smart people hate feeling dumb (read some Jakob about how users usually blame themselves rather than an overcomplex interface for their difficulties) and just because you're not familiar with computers from sitting in front of them 9-5 doesn't mean you're stupid.