5. 2008: Year of the User Developers and systems integrators at companies large and small can't do their work without the rigorous process of identifying, documenting, and incorporating the business and technical requirements of a project.
They shouldn't do their work without applying the same effort to the user requirements of a project.
The user experience encompasses how users will interact with an application or system (or Web site, intranet, e-newsletter, product, device, or tool), how quickly they can learn it, and how often it needs to be upgraded.
For evidence of how important the user experience is, look no further than Apple. Despite partnering with much-maligned service by AT&T Wireless, Apple has sold a bargeload of iPhones. Even after the company stumbled and announced a significant price reduction just weeks after launch. Why? Because the iPhone looks cool, it's beautifully engineered, and it delivers an extremely high level of user satisfaction (if you don't factor in the lamo-cell service).
Information designers and usability professionals who understand the conscious and subconscious ways users interact with software and systems are emerging as invaluable members of development teams. IT managers who continue to downplay the importance of the user experience do so at their peril.
Optimizing the user experience may help small and midsize companies:
- Practice more efficient development processes and lower costs
- Eliminate the development cost of features users do not want
- Curb development costs via reduced need for patches
- Eliminate or reduce the hidden costs of product revision
- Eliminate or reduce costs of documentation, training, and support
For more information about the user experience, see the Nielsen Norman Group and the UXnet the User Experience Network.
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