Barriers and enablers for usability in practice
Even though there is a considerable body of knowledge about usability, with large numbers of available methods (Nielsen and Mack, 1994; Stanton and Young, 1998; Bevan, 2003), the usability of electronic consumer products is under pressure (Jokela, 2004; Den Ouden et al., 2006; Pogue, 2006; Steger et al., 2007: p.825). The cause for this pressure might lie in practice. However, as current literature on usability in product development practice does not take an integrated approach, contains few case studies, and only a limited number of studies investigate electronic consumer products specifically, there are few insights into how usability is dealt with in development of electronic consumer products.
Goal
The goal of this research project was to obtain insight into how usability is dealt with in the development of electronic consumer products as well as to identify factors in product development practice that contribute to or obstruct usability, and to investigate how these factors are related.
Method and results
In total three case studies were conducted. The first was an interview-based case study, to explore how usability is dealt with in four sectors adjacent to the electronic consumer products market. Next an interview-based case study was conducted in the electronic consumer products sector at five major international product development groups. The goal of this study was to identify barriers and enablers for usability in practice. The third and final case study investigated the development history of three electronic consumer products within one product development group. This resulted in a detailed description of how the product development group dealt with usability and in two causal models. Based on the insights gained through the case studies as well as from existing research, 25 recommendations for industry were developed that describe how the author would organize a product development group if the goal is to make usable products.
Innovation
In contrast to most existing research, which focuses mostly on usability specialists and their activities, in each of the case studies an integrated approach was taken, focusing on the whole product development process (as opposed to just evaluation or design) and including six roles that were considered to have the most influence on usability: the product manager, marketing specialist, industrial designer, interaction designer, usability specialist and development engineer.
Validation
Throughout each of the case studies, there was a dialogue with a company contact, and each study was concluded with a feedback workshop or workshops in which the results and conclusions were discussed with the informants. The recommendations for industry were ‘user tested’ by presenting them on the weblog of the researcher and by discussing them in a workshop with practitioners.
Benefits
The results provide researchers with the possibility to conduct a comparison with case studies they conduct, and provide the insight they need to develop ‘designer-centred’ tools and methods.
For practitioners the results can serve as a benchmark and help to identify problems in their own product development group. The recommendations for usability in practice provide actionable information on how to setup a user-centred product development organization.
Valorisation
The results of the studies were presented and discussed extensively at the companies involved, and at events for product development researchers and practitioners. The defence of the thesis received considerable attention from the public media. In addition to the thesis, the recommendations were published as a card set , which can be ordered through the DfU project website.