What happens when you don’t start a software project looking at it from the user’s perspective?

This happens:

I tried once or twice to press this point when I was serving my brief stint in the security world. Unfortunately I didn’t have much clout with the big names of SELinux, because I’ve never been a “real” security guy. I was more of a product & usability guy, living as a guest in their world. It’s a smart world, too. Hell, I’m lucky enough to count many good friends there, and these are not low-watt bulbs, let me tell you.

But it always made me sad that the community never felt willing to really, really internalize a respect for the user, or to entertain the crazy concept that maybe, maybe security doesn’t have to be quite this hard. Yes, real security exposes the thorny complexity of operating systems, and yes, it’s reasonable to say you need to know something about security to do it right. But with the right tools—and perhaps more importantly the right attitude—I think we could make some real usability improvements in the world of security.

 
P.S.: For the record, I was trying to figure out how to disable the audio on a Wiimote.