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Differences in user-centeredness in a large R&D organization
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://hdl.handle.net/1860/1620
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| Title: | Differences in user-centeredness in a large R&D organization |
| Authors: | Allendoerfer, Kenneth R. |
| Keywords: | Usability
User-centered design
Software development
Case studies |
| Issue Date: | 17-Apr-2007 |
| Publisher: | Drexel University. College of Information Science and Technology. |
| Series/Report no.: | IST Research Day 2007 posters |
| Abstract: | Many organizations employ formal methodologies for developing systems and software.
Formal methodologies help ensure that systems meet requirements, increase the
predictability of outcomes, help manage complexity, and reduce risk. Expertise and
certification in prominent methods can also serve promotional purposes for the
organization. Despite these benefits, there appears to be much less methodological
standardization in how organizations engage in user-centered activities, such as user
interface design and usability testing. This study examines this issue in a single large
research and development organization that emphasizes formal methodology in its
software development. The study examined why different projects within the
organization engaged in different amounts and types of user-centered activities. We
interviewed system engineers and human factors engineers involved with four different
system development projects. We developed case studies for each project and identified
several trends. First, user-centered activities are sometimes seen as being more
expendable than other parts of the development process and therefore are more likely to
be cut when delays or cost overruns occur. Second, when the formal methodology did not
specifically include steps for user-centered design or usability testing, it was difficult for
engineers to incorporate such activities because there was nowhere to put them due to
resource constraints. Finally, several participants reported that their projects included
user-centered activities mainly because the system engineers had first been exposed to
human factors on earlier projects. |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/1860/1620 |
| Appears in Collections: | Research Day Posters (IST)
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