May 20, 2003

Usability

Jakob Nielsen's latest Alertbox column is about "Convincing Clients to Pay for Usability". In the article, Nielsen advises clients to look for development firms with methodologies that incorporate usability into the design process. Meanwhile, Christina Wodke writes "i feel perhaps the revolt of usability is almost over, it's becoming part of everyday quality work, and perhaps it's time to consider design." The two posts have very different tones. Nielsen's is done in his usual over-the-top style, while Wodke's line is slipped into the end of a long post on Emerson. But I think they're both on to something. Usability is becoming part of the standard operating procedure in development. I'm not sure its totally there yet, but its well on its way.