Mandel consults with businesses on how they can make their software easier to use. Set up guidelines for software developers for interface design at the Swiss Bank Corp., where he also worked with developers to design the software used by tellers. Worked with developers at USAA Insurance Co. in San Antonio to create in-house customer service software that was easier to use. Watching work To figure out how people use computers, Mandel puts people in front of computers and watches them work. Usually it's because the developers assumed the user will know what to do next, and they have no idea.
Developers are always shocked.
They're saying, 'Boy that person is dumb. Eventually it sinks in that maybe it's not the user who is dumb, it's the software. Thinking these steps through sometimes takes extra time, and sometimes, more money to develop. But in Mandel's mind, companies that create software that requires a computer science degree to understand don't survive. Stuart Greenfield, an analyst for the state comptroller, called on Mandel to help the agency in its efforts to put tax information on Texas companies online.