User Interface Design for Programmers Quotes

“Usability, fundamentally, is a matter of bringing a bit of human rights into the world of computer-human interaction. It's a way to let our ideals shine through in our software, no matter how mundane the software is. You may think that you're stuck in a boring, drab IT department making mind-numbing inventory software that only five lonely people will ever use. But you have daily opportunities to show respect for humanity even with the most mundane software.”
― Joel Spolsky, User Interface Design for Programmers

“In any case, even if a usability test resolves a dispute, it doesn't do it in any kind of a statistically valid way. Unless you test thousands of people from all walks of life under all kinds of conditions, something that not even Microsoft can afford to do, you are not actually getting statistically meaningful results. Remember, the real strength of usability tests is in finding truffles—finding the broken bits so you can fix them. Actually looking at the results as if they were statistics is just not justified.”
― Joel Spolsky, User Interface Design for Programmers

“When you're designing for extremes with software, the three most important "extremes" to remember are:
1. Design for people who can't read.
2. Design for people who can't use a mouse.
3. Design for people who have such bad memories they would forget their own name if it weren't embossed on their American Express”
― Joel Spolsky, User Interface Design for Programmers