Usability Memes

The classic developer-user relationship in its natural habitat. The programmer sits there in shock watching the user drink software straight from a cup like it's morning coffee. Meanwhile, the user has no idea why anything's wrong – they're just trying to use the product in ways no sane developer could have anticipated. After 15 years in this industry, I've learned that no matter how idiot-proof you make your interface, the universe just builds a better idiot. The real skill isn't writing code – it's predicting the creative ways users will break it.

Ah yes, the tea bag floating on top instead of steeping properly—exactly how features work without documentation. Developer thinks it's "common sense" that you're supposed to remove the staple and dunk the bag. User just plops the whole thing in and wonders why their experience tastes like disappointment and metal. Six months later, the same developer will stare at their own code wondering what dark magic they were attempting.

Developer: "Tea bags are so intuitive they don't need instructions." End user: *dunks entire tea bag, wrapper and all, into hot water* And that's why we write documentation for even the most "obvious" features. Users will find ways to break your software that you couldn't imagine in your worst fever dreams. The line between intuitive and incomprehensible is thinner than your project deadline.

BEHOLD! The eternal lie every developer tells themselves when skipping proper documentation! "Don't worry, it's super intuitive, the user will know how to use it" they proclaim with unfounded confidence, while the poor user (represented by that absolutely CONFUSED dog) tries to figure out how to enter a doghouse THROUGH THE ROOF instead of the gaping entrance! This is the EXACT SAME ENERGY as releasing software with zero tutorials and then wondering why users are filing 47,000 support tickets! The audacity! The delusion! The sheer hubris of thinking your UI is "intuitive" when users can't even find the login button! I'm having flashbacks to every product meeting where someone said "it's self-explanatory" and I nearly threw my laptop out the window!