Commentary: Usability in Theory and Practice

This commentary discusses Noam Tractinsky’s article “The Usability Construct: A Dead End?” (Human–Computer Interaction, 2017). That article debates the conceptual qualities of “usability” as a key concept in human–computer interaction. It provides two main conclusions: (a) the usefulness of the concept of “usability” to human–computer interaction theories has been limited and (b) a notion of “construct” is useful for identifying weaknesses of the concept of “usability” and thereby provides reasons for its limited usefulness. The article is interesting and provides an in-depth analysis of the concept of usability. Unfortunately, the use of this analysis is not convincing. Instead, redefinition of “usability” should be based on a constructive approach.