Nature versus Nurture: The Tech Intuition
There are two users of software (so the saying goes): those who when something goes wrong blame themselves and those who blame the program. While this does over generalize a bit I’ve witnessed it in action. It’s not just experience that differentiates the two types: I think some tech users have a kind of intuitive way of interacting with it. And this intuition cannot be taught.
To the case study! My mother has been using a computer for longer than I have. She had one for her business accounting back when you needed to know DOS, well before the WYSIWYG word processor. Yet, she remains to this day remarkably unintuitive with her computer.
Perhaps mum isn’t a good case study; she does tend to have technology break down on her far more frequently than is normal. I have long suspected her of emitting a kind of disturbance signal that causes things (VCRs, computers, cell phones, digital cameras) to malfunction in creative ways. This unfortunate ability is stangely joined by an enthusiasm to be on the bleeding edge of tech, which leads her to be an early adopter of some of the least usable tech toys going.
For myself, I first learned about computers on a Mac, having been not quite truthful about my experience in order to get a temp secretarial job while travelling in England. My first day on the job I didn’t know how to turn the computer on. When I left (four months later) I was teaching new hires the basics.
Maybe tech intuition is like an affinity for music. Some people are born musicians, some people struggle even after years of practising scales. Do we all have the same ability but only some of us can tap into it properly?
This is why tech designers cannot rely on a user instinctively knowing how something will work. While there are many conventions that are now ingrained in anyone who uses a computer (i.e., Exit is found under the File menu) it is far better to design a product that flows naturally with the user’s tasks. Especially for those who are not natively intuitive.