What makes software usable? Because usability is highly subjective (unlike other types of testing), the answer depends on who you ask. So to help you get a better understanding for your next dev or testing project, I wanted to share 15 quotes – from a range of sources - related to usability. You can thank me later.

Here they are, in no particular order:

“Usability testing is the killing field of cherished notions.” – David Orr

“It is far better to adapt the technology to the user than to force the user to adapt to the technology.” – Larry Marine

“If there’s a ‘trick’ to it, the UI is broken.” – Douglas Anderson

“The most common user action on a Web site is to flee.” -  Edward Tufte

“Popularity is the product of two factors: (a) how compelling material you offer, and (b) how easy it is to access it. Host free pirated movies and users will flock to the site, even if it’s difficult to use.” – Jakob Nielsen

“The joy of an early release lasts but a short time. The bitterness of an unusable system lasts for years.” – Anonymous

“The public is more familiar with bad design than good design. It is, in effect, conditioned to prefer bad design, because that is what it lives with. The new becomes threatening, the old reassuring.” – Paul Rand

“A picture is worth a thousand words. An interface is worth a thousand pictures.” - Ben Shneiderman

“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” – Winston Churchill

“When I’m working on a problem, I never think about beauty. I think only how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.” – R. Buckminster Fuller

“It is impossible to design anything that is foolproof because fools are so ingenious.” – Groucho Marx

“Supposing is good, but finding out is better.” – Samuel Clemens

“The chief cause of problems is solutions.” – Eric Severeid

“If we build it, they will complain.” – John (JR) Morris

“We know very little, and most of what we know is wrong.” – George Casaday

Got a usability quote to share? Leave it in the comments section!