The Six Disciplines of User Experience
User Experience (UE) is not a single discipline. At least six skills are needed, and they are almost never found in the same person. There are few places that provide education in this area. In any event, the six skill sets cut across traditional academic disciplines. Here is what it takes:
1. Field studies People to observe potential users in their normal settings, the better to determine real user needs. Training for this discipline is most apt to come from anthropology and sociology, where the skills of careful, systematic observation are taught.
2. Behavioral designers Those who can create a cohesive conceptual model for the product, a model that is consistent, is easy to learn and understand, and will form the basis for engineering design. The behavioral designers work from a detailed task analysis of typical action sequences that are required for the tasks to be supported. They must ascertain that the solution provides support for the work flow, not just for each isolated action. Behavioral design has to mesh the task requirements with the skills, knowledge, and capabilities of the intended users. Skills in behavioral design are most apt to come from cognitive science and experimental psychology, especially from programs in human-computer interaction.
3. Model builders and rapid prototypers Those who can rapidly build product mock-ups, pretend systems that can be tested immediately, even before the real technology is ready. It often takes three people to cover the capabilities required by this task: programming, designing electrical circuits, and building mechanical models. Here the skills typically come from computer programming, electrical and mechanical engineering, and model building of the sort usually taught in schools of architecture and industrial design.
4. User-testers People who understand the pitfalls of experimental tests who can do feasibility and usability studies quickly and efficiently with one-day turnaround time. These rapid user-testing studies of the prototypes allow for rapid iteration of designs, the better to meet the real needs of the users. The results will be approximate rather than exact,3 which is usually sufficient, since in industry we are looking for big effects, not the small phenomena of interest to the scientist. These are the skills of experimental psychology, although what is needed in practice has to be much faster, much less labor-intensive than the traditional laboratory experiments.
5. Graphical and industrial designers Those who possess the design skills that combine science and a rich body of experience with art and intuition. Here is where "joy" and "pleasure come into the equation: joy of ownership, joy of use. This part of the design must satisfy many constraints. It must merge the conceptual model and behavioral aspects of the product with the various size, power, heat dissipation, and other requirements of the technology, yet produce a device that is aesthetically pleasing ("a joy to own"), cost-efficient, and consistent with the demands of manufacturing. These skills are most frequently taught in schools of art, design, and architecture.
6. Technical writers People whose goal should be to show the technologists how to build things that do not require manuals.
1. Field studies People to observe potential users in their normal settings, the better to determine real user needs. Training for this discipline is most apt to come from anthropology and sociology, where the skills of careful, systematic observation are taught.
2. Behavioral designers Those who can create a cohesive conceptual model for the product, a model that is consistent, is easy to learn and understand, and will form the basis for engineering design. The behavioral designers work from a detailed task analysis of typical action sequences that are required for the tasks to be supported. They must ascertain that the solution provides support for the work flow, not just for each isolated action. Behavioral design has to mesh the task requirements with the skills, knowledge, and capabilities of the intended users. Skills in behavioral design are most apt to come from cognitive science and experimental psychology, especially from programs in human-computer interaction.
3. Model builders and rapid prototypers Those who can rapidly build product mock-ups, pretend systems that can be tested immediately, even before the real technology is ready. It often takes three people to cover the capabilities required by this task: programming, designing electrical circuits, and building mechanical models. Here the skills typically come from computer programming, electrical and mechanical engineering, and model building of the sort usually taught in schools of architecture and industrial design.
4. User-testers People who understand the pitfalls of experimental tests who can do feasibility and usability studies quickly and efficiently with one-day turnaround time. These rapid user-testing studies of the prototypes allow for rapid iteration of designs, the better to meet the real needs of the users. The results will be approximate rather than exact,3 which is usually sufficient, since in industry we are looking for big effects, not the small phenomena of interest to the scientist. These are the skills of experimental psychology, although what is needed in practice has to be much faster, much less labor-intensive than the traditional laboratory experiments.
5. Graphical and industrial designers Those who possess the design skills that combine science and a rich body of experience with art and intuition. Here is where "joy" and "pleasure come into the equation: joy of ownership, joy of use. This part of the design must satisfy many constraints. It must merge the conceptual model and behavioral aspects of the product with the various size, power, heat dissipation, and other requirements of the technology, yet produce a device that is aesthetically pleasing ("a joy to own"), cost-efficient, and consistent with the demands of manufacturing. These skills are most frequently taught in schools of art, design, and architecture.
6. Technical writers People whose goal should be to show the technologists how to build things that do not require manuals.
posted by btchakir at 9:44 AM
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