The OBSTACLES and MYTHS of USABILITY and SOFTWARE ENGINEERING

摘要

During the past 15 years, the human-computer interaction (HCI) community developed a large variety of user-centered design (UCD) techniques. However, these methods are still underused and difficult to understand by software development teams and organizations. This is because these techniques have been developed independently from the software engineering (SE) community, which has its own techniques and tools for managing the software development life cycle including usability concerns. The obvious question is: where should UCD techniques and knowledge be considered in the existing software development life cycle to maximize benefits gained from both SE and UCD? Here, we discuss five major obstacles and their related myths from the perspectives of both the software and usability engineering communities. Avoiding such obstacles is the first step toward a harmonious coexistence of UCD techniques and the entire software engineering life cycle.