Media: iTracks compares Commercial Research with Usability

"Blazing a trail together: Researchers and usability engineers need that pioneer spirit" by Dean T. Barker of West Group, first appeared in Quirks Marketing Research Review. It gives a quick overview of how commercial research started out and compares it with the route that Human Factors took to get to the point today where usability and marketing are now involved in similar activities at times. But 'Sadly, practitioners in each community of practice may not yet know that their paths have crossed.

'In the age of computer software and Web development, marketing research and usability engineering professionals can often be found in the same companies...working in the same buildings...eating in the same cafeterias...working on the same projects and products...and never meeting one another.

In a bid to get the two groups of staff to reach out to each other, he reviews the commonalities and distinctions between the two communities.

'For collecting primary data there is no difference in the general approaches between the two fields. Both communities employ experiments and observational research, focus groups, surveys, and interviews. ... And, like any research, the success of a specific study lies in fundamentals such as research planning, utilization of the scientific method, development of sound hypotheses, and the researcher's ability to clearly communicate research results.'

Then he juxtaposes marketing research concerned with 'preference' and usability engineering 'concerned primarily with matters of performance'. And he points out that the 'most typical method employed for research is different in each discipline. For marketing researchers, it's a focus group. For usability engineers, it's a usability test.'

He finishes part one of his discussion on the distinctions in the categorisations that the two groups make in the way they break down groups into types.

Part two looks at how a dialogue between the two groups can be established.

Associated Link: iTracks: Blazing a trail together: Researchers and usability engineers need that pioneer spirit

Study: Mobile Web sites need Improvement
Source: CNET, 13 October 2008
 
A new study suggests that the usability of many mobile Web sites still needs improvement.

Better Usability makes Online Backup more Appealing
Source: UN, 11 October 2008
 
Repeat after me: "Backup via the Internet is for everybody."

IBM Task Modeler version 6 now Available
Source: Unknown, 10 October 2008
 
The latest release of IBM Task Modeler is now available for download. This includes many new features to support efficient and collaborative task analysis and synthesis.

Caroline's Corner: Design to Read - Designing for People who do not Read easily
Source: Caroline Jarrett, 9 October 2008
 
Reading is a skill many of us take for granted. Chances are that if you’re reading this, you’re one of the lucky ones who read easily.

Bill Buxton to change Microsoft from within
Source: The Register, 8 October 2008
 
"Last year Steve Ballmer said to 85,000 employees 'If you don’t change and you don’t go in this direction, we’re dead, and I don’t want to die.' I wanted to go hug him when he said that."

New Report: Innovative Marketing in the Digital World
Source: E-consultancy, 7 October 2008
 
A new report from E-consultancy provides a distillation of ideas and suggestions provided by digital marketing experts.

Linking Industry with Academia
Source: unknown, 6 October 2008
 
Customer experience research consultancy, fhios, based in London, has just launched an innovative internship programme, aimed primarily at postgraduate students.

Online Travel Booking: What influences Consumers?
Source: Webcredible, 4 October 2008
 
What influences consumers when booking a holiday? How can travel companies offer the best user experience?

Getting the Word out
Source: UN, 3 October 2008
 
I SAID, I'M ON THE TRAIN... Voice recognition technology can now translate all those pesky garbled voicemails into manageable text messages.

Mobile hardware outpaces Software and User Capabilities
Source: ComputerWorld, 2 October 2008
 
The main issue dissuading users from employing all the capabilities of their mobile devices is the complexity involved in operating them.