Designers Know Best

1
Designers Know Best

• Jon Callas
• CTO/CSO
• PGP Corporation

2
Testing Isnt All Bad

• Testing has its place
• It can tell you what color to make a button
• It can tell you where to put the button
• It can tell you if the customers want to fit fire
  nasally

3
Testing Can Be Good!
4
It can tell you what you did wrong
5
It Can Kill Bad Ideas!
6
It cant tell you what to do right
7
Testing Can Impede Progress

• All users know that change is bad
• People like what they are used to
• They forget how much they hated what they have now

8
Innovation is Change

• If training is required
• If something is new
• Testing will show that it sucks

9
Usable Security Requires Change
10
The last release was the pinnacle of achievement
11
This release sucks
12
And We Have the Data to Prove It!
13
Design is an Art Form

• Like writing, painting, film, etc.

14
Plot Selected By Focus Group Does Not Bode
Well
15
Testing Can Be Bad

• What happens when they want fire to be fitted
  nasally?
• I do too!
• Breathing fire would be so cool!

16
Sometimes You Just Have to Say

• Thank you for your suggestion. We value our
  customers opinions about our product and strive
  to include them in our product. A copy of your
  suggestion has been mailed to the developer
  responsible for this product.Unfortunately, we
  cannot commit to the specific release that that
  incorporates your suggestion nor its date of
  release.Also note that your suggestion may
  undergo some modification in functionality as it
  progresses through user testing and user
  experience review.

17
This is Especially True in Security

• HCISec is hard
• Thats why were here
• Thats why this is a fun discipline
• At least we know our limitations

18
Were Designers For a Reason

• Any coherent vision is better than no vision at
  all
• Testing can help refine coherency
• Testing can help us break out of bounds
• When you run out of red, blue often works

19
Ultimately

• Every useful thing was designed
• Even the one-button mouse
• All that we now love once sucked

20
Embrace The Suckiness