RE: Usability - any experiences or processes to share?

["Combs, Richard" <richard -dot- combs -at- Polycom -dot- com>]

Mary Arrotti wrote:
 
> I'm part of a new usability team at my company. We're tasked with
> improving the usability of our web-based platform. We're still at the
> early stage (just had our second mtg). And we're still looking to
define
> exactly how & what we need to accomplish (no small effort).
>  
> If anyone has been involved with a similar process or is part of an
> organization that has gone through a similar effort - I would love to
hear
> from you. If you could contact me off-line, I would really appreciate
it.
> I'll be happy to share any info I get or develop that may be of
use
> to the list.

I'll second Paul Hanson's recommendation of User Interface Engineering
(www.uie.com). Two other good resources are: 

-- Human Factors International (www.humanfactors.com), which also has
lots of articles, white papers, etc., regarding usability and especially
usability testing. 

-- Cooper (www.cooper.com), which has more of a design focus. But their
recent article on "Whiteboardability" (http://tinyurl.com/6rvpsr)
included a phrase I'd like to put on a poster or button: "resist
pedantic exactitude." 

HTH!
Richard


Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
------
rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-777-0436
------





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