My first lesson on usability

November 4, 2006 Public Spaces No Comments

During the fall of 1972, I was a senior in high school and Editorial Page Editor of “The Galleon,” Monterey High School’s student newspaper. As a member of the wrestling club, I sold candy and snacks during wrestling matches. I noticed that there were four fire hose boxes in the gym, and three of them were broken. One had, as I recall, no glass, hose and extinguisher. Another, the glass was broken, and the extinguisher was missing. During a wrestling match one evening, I thought that I might write an editorial about the state of these boxes and asking why the hose and extinguisher were not maintained.

For reasons I do not recall, while looking at the last box which appeared intact, I decided to open the box. The metal door stuck at the bottom corner, it flexed, and the glass in the door broke, shattering on the concrete floor. Now I could have run, but it was just an accident. The end of the story is that I was summoned to the Vice Principal’s office. He wanted to know what I had been doing. I told him I was thinking about writing the editorial. All I really wanted was an answer to the question as to why these essential life-saving devices were not maintained so they could be used as intended. He suggested that I could have brought the problem to his attention, and informed me that I could be suspended for this “vandalism.”

I was shocked. Me, the former Junior Class President? The Editorial Page Editor? The proverbial good guy? I told the faculty newspaper advisor the story, and he organized a meeting of concerned individuals. Three days later the Vice Principal told me I would, in fact, be suspended for three days for vandalism. And when the Vice Principle heard about the advisor’s plans for a meeting, the teacher was called in too. Not yet tenured, he was told in effect to back off and to mind his own business.

So I was suspended for vandalism. My teachers were surprised and supportive. Technically, they did not have to allow me to make up work missed during the suspension. All gave me advance copies of my homework and I had three days off.

What did I learn?

1) People don’t trust your motivations.

2) Watch out for yourself.

3) If something doesn’t work, it isn’t neccesarily because you are doing it wrong.