Media: New Architect offers Better Usability, less Cost, less Resistance

"The Culture of Usability" by Janice Fraser of New Architect asks how one might spend less and get more from one's usability-testing program. She identifies a whole raft of recurring problems with what she calls the classic approach:
* It's poorly timed.
* The scale is unmanageable.
* It doesn't promote employee growth.
* It isn't the consultant's fault, really
* It provides lackluster results.

Juxtaposing a usability culture, she offers more frequent testing, smaller scale projects with internal ownership and the opoortunity for immediate fixes. 'If developers are a site's heartbeat (pushing out new code on a regular basis), and designers are the lungs (infusing it with fresh, life-sustaining energy), then usability testing is kind of like the liver. It's a filter that siphons out the toxic sludge from your interfaces. You can't just add in a usability test every six months or so and hope to have a clean interface. When you overload your liver, the unfiltered crud spills over into your bloodstream and makes you sick. To be effective, usability testing needs to be done a little bit at a time, all the time,' she says.

Associated Link: New Archictect: The Culture of Usability

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