Performance rather than capability problems. Insights from assessments of usability engineering processes

Abstract

Improving the performance and effectiveness of usability engineering in software and product development in companies is perceived as a true challenge by many usability professionals. Findings from interviews and observations in eleven assessments of usability engineering processes indicate that usability engineering include typically problems such as poor impact of usability activities in product designs; limited skills and knowledge on usability among the designers and management; unawareness on various activities of usability engineering life-cycle; inappropriately used usability methods; even political games around usability. On the other hand, issues such as project and configuration management, and process performance measures are not the key problems of usability. It is concluded other kinds of methods but standard process assessment should be considered for revealing the problems of usability engineering. The problems identified in the assessment should be clearly communicated to the management, but for developers an assessment should aim for a constructive training occasion on usability. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.