Media: WebWord interviews Isensee, Righi and Vredenburg

WebWord is carrying an interview with 'UCD innovators' Scott Isensee, Carol Righi and Karel Vredenburg on "Improving Business Through User-Centered Design". The authors of "User-Centered Design: An Integrated Approach" were interviewed by Kerrie Green, Hoover's Online usability manager, consultant and Austin UPA president.

By the thrid question, the interview is getting really interesting:

'Kerrie: "What's the difference between UCD and the development process currently used by most companies today?"

'Scott: "One major difference is our emphasis on the total customer experience. In most companies today, usability attention is given only to the user interface of a product. Often products fail, however, because of problems outside of the user interface. It is like a chain that is only as strong as its weakest link. In order for a product to be a great success, all aspects of the customer experience must be excellent and they must all fit together into a cohesive whole.

'Carol: "Again, to dovetail off Scott's response, our approach to UCD is multidisciplinary and addresses the total user experience. Many companies address usability as an isolated variable. This often leads to failure. Usability, in order to be a value-add, must be considered in light of the other aspects of the total user experience. Another way our approach is different is that the members of the multidisciplinary design team must work closely with one another. In many companies, the various specialties work in virtual isolation from one another. They throw the results of their efforts "over the wall" to the other specialists. The various factions may wind up going down different paths, making it difficult to reconcile sometimes very disparate visions for the product."

'Karel: "Actually, most companies still don't include the user in their development process at all. The ones that do often restrict themselves, as Scott and Carol point out, to a very limited aspect of the user experience, or only to user testing, and don't design for the user. Furthermore, they often still involve a user focus too late in the development process. Our integrated UCD approach as Scott and Carol point out focuses on the total customer experience, starting right at the beginning of the process and involving all disciplines that are necessary to design the total solution."'

The substantial piece goes on to explore how usability professionals can convince senior management that UCD is a more beneficial process with an improved return on investment.

Associated Link: WebWord: Improving Business Through User-Centered Design

Use Your Users’ Language - And Use It Well!
Source: Multilingual Search, 20 March 2010
 
British English is very different from (US ) American English and Australian English. It is so very important to use your users’ language.

Cyber-criminals don't need Technical Skills
Source: SFGate, 19 March 2010
 
The unexpected downside of great usability.

Advice on Designing Mobile Sites and Apps
Source: Poynter Online, 18 March 2010
 
Series of useful tips from a recent panel discussion.

Website Usability and Conversion
Source: UsabilityBlog, 17 March 2010
 
Useful presentation on the relationship between website usability and conversion.

Tips for Usability Testing with Children
Source: Econsultancy, 16 March 2010
 
Not even chocolate will help you here.

The Hygiene Factor of Usability
Source: inspireUX, 15 March 2010
 
Is it true that usability can no longer take us 'beyond lack of dissatisfaction'?

The Business Benefits of building Accessible websites
Source: Econsultancy, 13 March 2010
 
There’s a good business case for making your website more accessible to the UK’s disabled community.

Internet access is 'a fundamental right'
Source: BBC, 12 March 2010
 
Almost four in five people around the world believe that access to the internet is a fundamental right, a poll for the BBC World Service suggests.

The Net generation, Unplugged
Source: The Economist, 11 March 2010
 
Is it really helpful to talk about a new generation of "digital natives" who have grown up with the internet?

Rewriting the Human-Computer interaction Handbook
Source: CIOL, 10 March 2010
 
Indrani Medhi of Microsoft Research India has developed text-free user interfaces (UIs) to allow any illiterate or semi-literate person on first contact with a computer, to proceed with minimal or no assistance.