Resources: Usability in the Real World
Overview
Usability is not just about research and labs. It has a real impact on real projects in the real world.
UPA collects case studies, news stories, facts and examples to help make the case that usability is a critical part of any product development effort.
The UPA project on Usability
in the Enterprise
studies how usability is used and measured in industry.
In a 1990 paper, Claire Karat did a cost-benefit analysis that suggested that an investment in usability engineering can product a return on investment in the range of 3:1 to 100:1.
The payoffs included:
- Fewer last-minute design changes
- Usable, appealing, and effective designs
- Simple, less costly documentation
- Credible marketing claims
- Compelling product demonstrations
- Increased sales
- Reduced need for customer support
- Longer market life
Karat, C. Cost-benefit analysis of usability engineering techniques. Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 34th Annual Meeting. Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors Society (1990).
Making the Business Case
Different views of why usablity is important for business
- Business Benefits of
Usability
An overview of benefits and ways of calculating value - Selling
Usability
A collection of links to articles, books, whitepapers and presentations that make the business case for usability - Promoting Your Usability
Business
Articles and tools to make the case for a specific business
ROI: Calculating Value
ROI - Return on Investment - is one way to calculate value. These resources look specifically at the business case from this perspective, and includes tools for making your own calculations
- The
ROI of Usability
ROI - Return on Investment - is one way to calculate value. Aaron Marcus, User Experience, Winter 2002 - An Analysis of
ROI Measurement and Metrics across Usability Professionals
- A report from the Usability in the Enterprise project, reviews
the results from an email survey of professionals (June 2005) - Tools and Worksheets
Calculators, worksheets and other tools to estimate project value
Case Studies
These stories show usability (or the lack of it) in action.