Working with a Usability Specialist
Monique Cuvelier of FreePint asked me to write an article on usability. Below is her introduction…
“According to usability expert John S. Rhodes, too many companies will sooner focus on profits, engineering, marketing and operations before they think of people. In an effort to help computers mesh with humans, he writes about how to find and work with a usability specialist.”
Working with a Usability Specialist
Some other quotes…
“The bottom line is that if you aren’t focused on your customers in the right way, you won’t succeed in the long run. You cannot simply think about customers and expect success, however. You can’t make wishes and expect miracles. You have to recognise the issues and attack them in the right way with the resources and tools. You need usability.”
“The assumption is that training will solve product problems but the truth is your products should be built around users in the first place.”
“Finding the right usability specialist is like headhunting for an executive. I suggest that you treat early interactions like job interviews.”
“I strongly advocate that you should first review your business goals before you obtain the help of a usability specialist. If you have basic manufacturing issues, for example, consider fixing those first. You might be surprised to learn that the return on that investment is much higher than usability.”
“Recently, I was working with a potential client about his internal sales efforts. It was very useful to explain the usability maturity model in light of the Capability Maturity Model (CMMI) and Six Sigma. He used this information to properly place usability in reference to known executive models.”
How did I do? What did I miss?