There's no success like failure, and failure is no success at all - Bob Dylan. One of a famous usability guru's recent postings was on Information architecture mistakes. Another list of top 10. How do you keep criticizing folks and still stay in business?
My take:
1. Don't have a theory, just report data to your clients.
2. Don't bite the hand that feeds you - blame the users for being ruthless.
3. Claim that things are getting better, as if market forces (the usable survive) were based on application of your design advice.
4. Since no theory means you can't prevent problems, you are guaranteed new problems so that your paying clients continue to need your services.
5. Clients would feel short-changed with a few simple principles, so be sure to provide at least 10 top problems in every list.
for example:
Other Top-10 Lists
Most of the following top-ten lists are still highly relevant for today's websites. Even as we get new mistakes, the old ones don't go away, though (happily) they do become less common.
* The ten very worst design mistakes of all time
Summary based on the main elements of the other lists.
* High-Profit Redesign Priorities
* Usability in the Movies — Top 10 Bloopers
* Most violated homepage guidelines
* Top homepage usability guidelines
* Good deeds in Web design
* Web design mistakes (2005)
* Web design mistakes (2003)
* Web design mistakes (2002)
With cartoons.
* Web design mistakes (1999)
* Web design mistakes (1996)
My first list. Luckily, many of these mistakes have been fixed by now.
tags: humor usability
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