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Re: Usability Testing

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From: Karl Groves
Date: Jan 18, 2007 10:00AM

Dan -

The WebAIM list might not be the most ideal audience for this question. You
may be better off posing it to the list for the STC Usability SIG -
www.stcsig.org/usability/

You're likely to get a wide range of answers. There are companies who have
major in-house usability teams. There are other companies who hire outside
experts. And, there are companies who have teams AND hire outside experts.
There is little difference here between large and big companies. While small
companies almost always hire outside help, so do many large companies. We've
done work for Sprint/Nextel, AOL, US Airways and other multinationals.

As for "how usability is weaved into the development process", that depends
on whether you want to know how it *should* be done, or how it is done. How
it should be done is (briefly) that a qualified Human Factors Engineer
should be present throughout the process all the way from initial
interaction design & IA all the way through to implementation and QA
testing. Unfortunately, it rarely goes that way. Instead, we often find
that most (if not all) of the product has been designed & developed and then
we're asked to come in to do testing on it. The problem in such a situation
is that most of changes we recommend are no longer possible (without
seriously delaying product launch and blowing apart budgets) and any changes
that are made are of such a piecemeal nature that they aren't of much
consequence.

Last, about whether there is "an advantage of using an external vendor": I
say what matters most is the qualifications of the person doing the
usability work, whether they're internal or external. This is not work for
someone whose whole educational in usability is that they read a book or two
from Jakob Nielsen. Unlike Doctors, Lawyers, and Psychiatrists, there is no
external licensing requirement for someone to hang a sign on their door and
call themselves a usability consultant. Therefore you really need to look
closely at their qualifications. First, what is their educational
background? Usability is just another word for Applied Psychology, IMO.
Therefore, you want to find a person with an educational background in
psychology. Look for someone with a graduate degree, particularly if it
involves Human-Computer Interaction and/ or (depending on what the work
entails) ergonomics. Last, look for someone who holds a CHFP certification
from BCPE.

Hope this helps.

Karl L. Groves
User-Centered Design, Inc.
Office: 703-729-0998
Mobile: 443-889-8763
E-Mail: <EMAIL REMOVED>
Web: http://www.user-centereddesign.com

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