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October 14, 2002
Usability must die?
Chris McEvoy thinks that usability must die. This is not the bizarro corpses set to banquet (all your base are belong to us?) rant of recent UCD list fame. While there is much that is tongue-in-cheek, ultimately the point Chris seems to be making is this: Usability has had its day, and we should be ensuring that User Centred Design takes centre stage in the development process, instead of trying to reinvent Usability as Interaction Design. We should be teaching programmers about users, rather than creating a new caste of high priests. A big target is Jakob Nielsen, and Chris takes the time to do an analysis of Nielsen's AlertBox column to point out that recent columns seem designed more to sell reports from the Nielsen Norman Group and thus "has become inward looking and stale." I think that part of Chris' problem is which usability specialists he pays attention to. The Usability Professionals Association (UPA) is at least as interested as Chris in seeing that the role of UCD come front and center. In fact, some of these same issues, such as does it require a quote-usability specialist-quote to do UCD, or should UCD be broader, may be why the UPA has chosen not to explore usability certification at this time. So yes, UCD is bigger than usability. Trite, useless usability can die, but thank heavens for the usability folks who are out there doing the hard work to make UCD part of every development process!
Comments
Beth, thanks for looking at the site and not dismissing it as the rants of a lunatic (although I am still accepting hatemail). You have summarised my views very well, but I would like to take issue with the suggestion that I am mixing with the 'wrong sort' of Usability Folk. I am very interested in talking and listening to UF who want to be involved in the whole development process, and not complain about how us 'plebs' don't understand them. I agree with the UPA statement that "we have not teamed with our natural allies and that we have been too inwardly focused within our field". But where is the action to go with the words? I am agraid that the "Friends Of Usability" scheme is seen as a joke, and just doesn't cut the mustard. -- Posted by Chris McEvoy on October 18, 2002 06:55 AM
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IDblog is Beth Mazur tilting at power law windmills. A little bit Internet, a little bit technology, a little bit society, and a lot about designing useful information products. Send your cards and letters to .
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