Cart before the horse - a designer's perspective (Score 1)

Want to make usable software? Start from the human user perspective. Ask what the person does, not what the software does. Adapt the software to the (generalized) user/person. Sounds simple but it is so rarely done especially with non-commercial, custom proprietary and open source software. Usually it's done exactly backwards with software function first and usability bolted or cobbled on at the end, if at all.

Ask the kinds of questions about software that most developers dismiss as "stupid:" What is it? Who uses it and how? Why?

I have been quite surprised to find that these questions had never been previously asked and answered for a lot of the (paid) projects I've been involved with. "It's obvious" isn't an answer - obvious to you is not enough. If I could get one usability concept through developers' heads, it would be that the software you're writing is not about you.

Unfortunately, such suggestions are often met with the reaction that designers are idiots and nobody cares what some Photoshop moron thinks anyway. Hence the reluctance of designers to get involved in the first place, especially with volunteer projects. I would love to contribute to certain open source projects if I thought my contributions would be welcomed.