Duration: 31:43

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5

Software projects prove time and time again that we are great at developing complex software. They also show that we tend to forget putting ourselves into the position of our users and testers. It's understandable to some degree, after all, usability and testability conjure images of hand-holding, hair-stroking and frolicking in fields. It sounds like something hippies would talk about. And much of the information available is fuzzy and wishy-washy.

In this talk, Alex looks at real examples where usability and testability are frequently neglected, making the software we write harder to use, harder to test and harder to love. She starts by proposing why we should care so much about these --abilitys before looking briefly at some typical usability guidelines.

Having got the theoretical stuff out of the way, she moves onto concrete examples from projects she's worked on to exemplify how small changes can make a big difference. The focus is on killing two birds with one stone - changes that will help both usability and testability. Finally, she suggests some "bad smells" that might help you identify problematic areas to look at in your own projects and some methods to make sure you're thinking about your --abilitys at the right time.

This talk is aimed at project leaders and product owners as well as developers and testers - anyone who has a stake in how their software is seen by others.

This talk was held at Eclipse Con 2013 in Boston, and was one of the 10 best rated talks :)