Tuesday, July 27, 2004

Value? What value? Sounded like this might be an interesting interview, what with the teaser about "value up front." An Interview with Dick Berry, Distinguished Engineer, IBM Ease of Use. "User Engineering is a major advancement because it delivers value, not simply Ease of Use. We all salute the flag called Ease of Use, but when it comes time to pay for it, people are reluctant if they can't see the tangible value of a product. So if you try to identify that value up front, it makes investing in the product more concrete for the buyer." (IBM Ease of Use) [InfoDesign: Understanding by Design] But that's all Berry says in this interview. No more discussion about how to identify and communicate the value of User Engineering, Ease of Use, or whatever we call it this week.  We're all over talking about value these days -- usability pros and STC members (and critics) -- but I rarely hear "value" translated into "money," which is what it's about, isn't it? Jared Spool spoke at BayCHI two weeks ago, talking about the troubles that usability practitioners have justifying their value. Among many other intriguing things, Jared said that, when he's talking with business leaders, he never uses the word "usability." He talks about increasing revenue, decreasing cost, increasing brand awareness: all the things that C-level business-folk like to hear. Just waving the usability flag doesn't cut it. 10:37:14 AM    Questions? Comments? Flames? []

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