Empathetic Design

An old sport saying goes like this “I could beat them with one arm tied behind my back.” Well, after six weeks with my arm in a sling, I am in awe of whoever tries that because everything is a lot harder. Like washing your hand and then drying it, becomes more of a challenge than it once was for many reasons. For example, paper towel holders that require two hands.

Let me tell you, someone calculated the tension on those towel holders to the strength of two hands pulling on that flimsy paper towel. A one-hand pull generally means you get a very tiny piece of paper towel. There is generally a wheel that will let you advance the paper, but only some machines remind you of that.

Oh, and don’t try to get lunch at a buffet alone one-handed unless you are in the mood to create comedy.

If being down an arm complicates one's life, try being down a leg. Navigating the real world using a wheelchair or scooter will give you a brief, yet eye-opening, taste of what their users go through. If my childhood dream of being an architect magically came true today, the facilities I would design would be vastly different than before these recent experiences.

Dealing with these temporary physical setbacks reminded me of how inaccessible the world can be at times. Recently I was editing Phil Factor’s recent editorial Xerox Stars For Accessibility, and I realized that a lot of these issues were probably due to a lack of empathy. When software designers test software, do they know what their basic users go through?

One immediate example comes to mind. At every car dealer service center I have visited, before they hand my keys back after a pre-paid, packaged service call, the person at the desks types so much that I honestly wonder if they are writing a sequel to War and Peace on company time.

Did the software writer ever have to sit down and do that job for a living? Probably not. What about for a day? And what if the person doing this job has any physical challenges, either temporary or permanent? Obviously, certain parts of what they were typing needs to be manually typed. A lot of problems with a vehicle need to be captured in the customer’s words. But not enough for one to have to stand there for 5 minutes being serenaded by the typing of a physical keyboard.

So, when building software, consider the range of possible users of that software in the coming years. Put yourself in their place. And then put people of all abilities in their position too. Not every ability deficit can be predicted or handled in every piece of software, but far more than we tend to handle, even in 2023.

Louis Davidson (@drsql)

Join the debate, and respond to the editorial on the forums

In an SSDT-Flyway hybrid development, the required database changes may be delivered as a DACPAC, but we get far more control over merge operations and deployments if they are done using Flyway migrations. This article demonstrates how to automate as much as possible of the work required to extract a Flyway-compatible migration script from a DACPAC.

Last week IBM held its annual Think event in Orlando, FL. The venue was near “Islands of Adventure,” which I felt was an interesting backdrop as corporate IT has...

This article provides SQL code to determine what f...

I discuss my roller coaster of emotions since lear...

SQL Server 2022 introduces an exciting new feature...

I wrote recently about finding multiple backups in a file. This post looks at how to restore one of those. The one you choose. Another post for me that... The...

Overview Azure SQL offers both Platform-as-a-Servi...

Evaluate the reliability posture of your workloads...

Microsoft has announced the release of its Azure C...

[Edit: CETAS demo video.]The familiar concept of D...

As AI transforms jobs and workers fear for their future, Italy plans on putting some $10 million into improving the digital skills of people whose jobs are at high...

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Your digital life isn’t as permanent as...

Preparations for Summit 2023 are in full swing! Be the first to hear about the pre-cons and learning pathways, as well as future announcements and news. Join the mailing list!

Join us for the second webinar in our PostgreSQL 101 series. As a SQL Server developer or DBA, you have a broad skill set and have become accustomed to interacting with the larger #SQLFamily community. Now, by choice or necessity you've begun to explore PostgreSQL and things feel oddly familiar and foreign at the same time. Join Ryan Booze on May 25th to find out the things that often trip up SQL Server users when they first start exploring PostgreSQL.

People periodically tag me in social media or send...

Today, AI and ML are everywhere. Whether it’s ...

A BSOD isn't necessarily the end, as you can conti...

MC556772 – The latest version of Teams Rooms on ...

Database and development teams often load data from plain text files into their MySQL databases. To help with the import process, MySQL provides the LOAD DATA statement, which reads rows from a text file and inserts them into the target table.

Another blog post based on recent client experienc...

If you are moving your on-premises SQL Servers to ...

This article will cover how to create multiple relationships between the same tables in Power BI to build the data model you need.

Is your tooltip going off the page of your Power B...

Six months ago today, Microsoft announced that SQL...

We are pleased to announce the support for SQL Ser...

A new study showed that nearly half of IT professi...

As ChatGPT adoption grows, the industry needs to proceed with caution. Here's why.

Microsoft has been caught scanning for malware in ...

Researchers are worried about Google’s .zip and .mov domains, because they are confusing. Mistaking a URL for a filename could be a security vulnerability.

Today, we got a new service request where our cust...

Have you ever used the NTILE function? Or have you...

In this article, we look at the many uses of the S...

This article will guide you through the steps to m...

All too often there are questions asked about miss...

How to find UDT in SQL Server?How to check user-de...

I’m heading to Austin today for Redgate’s inte...

In the early days of business analysis and underwriting, data was managed with simply a pen and paper and, of course, Excel spreadsheets. As technology has advanced, databases, warehouses,...

The latest version of SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) [Version 17.6 GA] was released in May 2023. In this episode of Data Exposed with Anna Hoffman and Subhojit Basak,...