STC Usability SIG Newsletter
Usability Interface

The Search for  Well-Defined Usability Discipline

by Karen Bachmann, SIG Manager

The STC annual conference in Dallas included many sessions on usability, and the number of attendees in those sessions suggests that information about usability is valued and needed. Several of the sessions highlighted how technical communicators are finding innovative ways to add value through usability techniques. The message that "usability matters" is definitely spreading.

The message about usability is reaching other, general audiences as well. However, sometimes the message is garbled and sometimes it is overlooked entirely. Some recent examples of this that I have encountered include:

A seminar that included usability in its title but, in its description, derided the usability practices followed and recommended by most practitioners and experts, offering what was claimed to be an easier approach.

A couple of articles that explained business woes that clearly arose from usability problems, but never mentioned usability practices as the solutions or mentioned usability in very limited terms.

Narrow, short-sighted definitions of usability in job descriptions and by related professions.

A more general example is software project managers who dismiss the need for explicit usability work because the programmer is an expert with the GUI programming tools and, therefore, considered qualified to "inject" usability into the end-product. All of these have the danger of trivializing the scope and contribution of usability, thereby minimizing its effectiveness. Examples like these have led some usability professionals to lament that the usability community is not doing a good job communicating the value and importance of usability. Others have argued that the message is fractured and unfocused, exemplified by the number of possible job titles given usability professionals. Still others point out the incompatibilities of the language used by usability advocates and the language of management. On the other end of the spectrum is the frequent use of "usability" as a buzzword, the latest quality of a product to serve as a product differentiator. Certainly, usability is among the top qualities that users will begin demanding from products. Good usability will help differentiate winners from losers in the marketplace. However, the shallow definition and lip service paid to buzzwords can have harmful repercussions.

Consider the fates of CRM (customer relationship management) and even B2B (business-to-business) e-commerce. Both disciplines became buzzwords that were detached from their fundamental requirements for success: understanding the underlying processes and the people involved with those processes. Instead, software tools that failed to account for human factors were released, and when those tools failed to provide a silver bullet, companies blamed the whole idea—not the poor implementation. Those disciplines are only now starting to recover some credibility but have a long way to go. Usability advocates need to be careful to avoid a similar death-by-hype fate as we continue to spread the "right" message to our employers, clients, and professional colleagues.

How do we make sure that the right usability message is heard and wins out?

First, we need to agree as a community of practice on a common definition of usability as a discipline—not exactly an easy prospect, but a number of our sister organizations are tackling these issues in key initiatives. The Usability SIG must support these efforts, providing our input and communication skills.

Second, we need to find ways to address those sending out radically different messages in a diplomatic, constructive way. Educate—don't argue.

Third, we need to deliver the message to our employers in the way that they can identify its value to their unique company goals. That means changing the presentation of the message, not the core, commonly agreed-upon content. Applying our communication and usability skills to our own message is essential to its success, but too often we do not take the time (or simply do not have time in jobs where one person does the work of many) to craft our self-promotion as carefully as we do our project deliverables.

In the Usability SIG survey at the beginning of the year, many respondents asked for better tools to promote usability. Developing a consistent, positive message about the benefits and realities of usability is a first step in developing such tools. Usability practitioners (corporate and academic professionals) and advocates must work together to mindfully craft a unified message and to establish usability as an essential element to development. Those of us who have trained as communicators are well-qualified to help the usability profession craft and deliver a clear, useful, and usable message.

You also asked for information about usability techniques that you can apply to your work—whether you are writing user documentation, conducting usability tests of company web sites, or designing the user interfaces for software and web applications. The efforts to better define usability include defining the core competencies and practices for the profession. Reaching agreement about these foundation components will better support learning the profession and applying it to our jobs and deliverables.

As the usability community continues to develop a stronger, more consistent message, the Usability SIG will support and report the work of our sister usability organizations, and we will use the findings to improve our services to members. In the meantime, we will continue to provide the services some of you pointed out as especially valuable, including:

• Publishing case studies and applied techniques in Usability Interface
• Updating and enhancing the usability toolkit and bookshelf on our website
• Providing a community for discussion and support through our online discussion list

We will also be working to provide new information that you requested and to address the concerns and needs that remain. The Usability SIG volunteers greatly appreciate the time and effort you put into your survey responses. We welcome your continuing feedback, suggestions, and experiences promoting the right usability message.