Developers: Higher Than The Sun

There has been an underlying assumption that because humans are so inherently flexible and adaptable, it is easier to let them adapt themselves to the machine, rather than vice versa.

 

Developers traditionally have been more comfortable working with the seemingly ‘‘black and white,’’ scientific, concrete issues associated with systems, than with the more gray, muddled, ambiguous issues associated with human beings.

 

Developers have historically been hired and rewarded not for their interpersonal, ‘‘people’’ skills but for their ability to solve technical problems.

 

The most important factor leading to the neglect of human needs has been that in the past, designers were developing products for end users who were much like themselves.

There was simply no reason to study such a familiar colleague.

 

 

Jeff Rubin, Dana Chisnell, "Handbook of Usability Testing"

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