Integrating human factors in customer support systems development using a multi-level organisational approach
Anne Miller · 1996
Integrating usability into software development projects involves working across multiple organisational levels.Aligning the Customer Support Platform Usability (CSPU) Teams objectives with those of the organisation allowed more effective integration of usability activities within project teams.Primarily, corporate alignment provided a legitimate mandate for the CSPU Team to develop standards and guidelines, and to require that usability activities be undertaken by project teams.However, at the project team level, integration was achieved by definition of roles, activities and processes according to the objectives, constraints and processes of project teams.Achieving common ground in project teams involved a willingness to work with, and to actively adapt to both organisational and project based needs.® Was part of a broader strategy spearheaded by Dr.Gitte Lindgaard at the Telstra Research Laboratories, (TRL), to more effectively integrate human factors principles into product development projects, • Depended on preliminary planning to align the CSPU Team's objectives with those of the organisation, • Recruited and utilised senior managers to represent the aspirations of the CSPU Team at senior management levels, ® Selected projects that helped the CSPU Team develop methods and processes for effective involvement in project teams, and, -Developed strategies that promoted knowledge transfer and incentives for project team involvement in usability activities.