What is usability? Usually, usability measures objects or processes: is a product easy to use? Does a website make sense to visitors? So what is “information usability” all about? Information, ideas, and thoughts also vary in usability. Some ideas are hard to understand, some are easy. Some information flows to us in a natural, easy way, some gets caught in all kinds of barriers and obstacles.
As an example of unusable information, consider the idea of a “blind spot” when driving. You may have heard “always check your blind spot before changing lanes.” But a blind spot only exist when rear-view mirrors are incorrectly positioned, when the information from your mirrors is not very usable. Car manufacturers design vehicles to not have blind spots, and if you set your mirrors properly you can see cars on all sides of you. Try it! Your middle mirror is already set correctly, to look straight back. To properly set your left mirror, put your face directly against the left window, and adjust the mirror outward so you barely see the back of your car. To set the right mirror, put your head directly in the middle of the car and again adjust the mirror outward so you just barely see the back of your car. Your mirrors will now provide you with usable information about what cars are around you.
To use another another example related to driving: gas prices posted at gas stations provide an example of usable information. When the sign says $3.499 per gallon, you know that 10 gallons will cost exactly $34.99. Tax is included in the price, in contrast to most other retail prices. In department stores and fast food restaurants, customers only have a vague idea of the total bill because tax is added to the displayed price. And to add to the complication: every city can have a slightly different tax rate. For airline tickets the taxes, fees, and surcharges became such a large part of the total price than in 2012, The U.S. Department of Transportation made a rule that airlines must show the total price in their advertising. This made the information of airline prices much more usable. On the other hand, the information about how much governments and airports charge for taxes and fees became at the same time less usable, since those amounts are now hidden in the total price.
The way information is presented and communicated can have a huge effect on how well it is understood. This site tells that story and encourages you to become better at making the information around you more usable. We live in a world awash in information, so it makes sense to think carefully how to make that information more user-friendly, more human-accessible, and more human-friendly.
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