In a long yet engaging article, noted software development guru Joel Spolksy has weighed in on software usability. The piece is a bit self-serving and at times seems to conflate usable interfaces with software usability more generally. The interesting part comes when Joel looks at "social interfaces" and their importance for successful products. This is increasingly germane from a content management perspective, as enterprises strive to overcome static, linear workflow approaches (hard-wired in many CMS software packages), and instead try to bend the tools to support more fluid and collaborative editorial process that mimic how people actually work collectively in the real world (as opposed to individually in the usability lab). All the more reason to test out any prospective content management solution for "social fit," before you buy...
Read "It's Not Just Usability"