Dimensions of Usability: Defining the Conversation, Driving the Process
Whitney Quesenbery · 2003
Have you ever wondered if your colleagues or clients really understand usability? Too often, standards or guidelines substitute for really engaging our business, technical and design colleagues in a discussion of what usability means. By looking at usability from five dimensions, we can create a consensus around usability goals and use that definition to provide the basis for planning user centered design activities. SETTING THE STAGE It’s a conference room. Five or ten people from a project team. You are starting a new project. Perhaps it’s with a new client or a new team. They have decided they want some of that “usability ” they’ve been hearing about, and you are the person who’s going to help them get it. The project leader starts. “We want to make our product more usable ” You reply, “OK, let’s talk about your goals in a little more detail, so we can plan how to achieve them. ” Then he throws down the challenge card. “You’re the expert. You tell me.” Or perhaps they say, “You know. We want it to be easy for people to use. Intuitive. What