Randolph Bias of UT-Austin led a lively discussion of why usability testing is so important. Often, it is an "us vs. them" issue, meaning software developers against the usability professionals (or testers). Mr. Bias discussed three stages of justifying usability testing:
They don't get it – The developers don't understand the complexity of designing software. Users often have many tasks to complete and are often interrupted while attempting to complete these tasks. It is important to realize that users are different in their perceptions of tasks. They each come from a different set of experiences. Software developers must be careful not to use "convenience sampling" or "pass it around the office" to test applications. The people who are part of the organization aren't necessarily representative of the end users.
They kind of get it – But the developers think it is easy. They often think that they can do the testing themselves because they have access to resources.
They get it – This usually comes about because of a usability "disaster." A cost-benefit analysis is helpful. Costs are easy to quantify. Resources are finite for each project, and analyzing the application prior to production reduces call support burden, increases sales, and increases satisfaction among customers.
Usability needs to be on par with functionality and a part of the development schedule. It is an extremely important part of the creation process.
After Mr. Bias completed his presentation, many participants discussed how to convince companies that cost-justifying usability is important and what hurdles we must clear before being successful.
Door prizes: "Cost-Justifying Usability" by Randolf Bias – Louellen Coker; Seattle Conference bag and orca – Rob Brown; TechSmith T-shirt – Amy Alexander; Jelly Cell Mate – Brenda Hodson
Randolph Bias of UT-Austin led a lively discussion of why usability testing is so important. Often, it is an "us vs. them" issue, meaning software developers against the usability professionals (or testers). Mr. Bias discussed three stages of justifying usability testing: