Durability of Usability Guidelines

About 90% of usability guidelines from 1986 are still valid, though several guidelines are less important because they relate to design elements that are rarely used today.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2004). Articles>Usability>History

Grappling with Distributed Usability: A Cultural-Historical Examination of Documentation Genres Over Four Decades    

Traditional models of usability assume that usability is a quality that can be designed into a particular artifact. Yet constructivist theory implies that usability cannot be located in a single artifact; rather, it must be conceived as a quality of the entire activity in which the artifact is used. This article describes a distributed approach to usability, based on activity theory and genre theory. It then illustrates the approach with a four-decade examination of a traffic accident location and analysis system (ALAS). Using the theoretical framework of genre ecologies, the article demonstrates how usability is distributed across the many official and unofficial (ad hoc) genres employed by ALAS users.

Spinuzzi, Clay. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2001). Articles>Documentation>Usability>History

The Great Leap Forward: The Birth of the Usability Profession (1988-1993)    

In this editorial, I describe our birth and some personal experiences as I lived through those times. I present these observations, not as a historian, but as a usability professional viewing events of 15 years ago through my personal filter.

Dumas, Joe. Journal of Usability Studies (2007). Articles>Usability>History

The Story Behind Usability.gov

The seeds for Usability.gov were sown in early 1999 when the popular CancerNet web site came up for a redesign. As usual, we began by seeking input for the new design from technical professionals: web designers, content writers, engineers. Our 'kitchen cabinet' also included users. But the opinions from this broad group of professionals and laymen were as diverse as their backgrounds. Whose ideas were right?

Koyani, Sanjay. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Articles>Usability>History

Thumbnail: Susan Dray

Susan Dray was one of the first women in the field of usability. Since then, she's started her own company, published and spoken extensively, done important work with a number of professional organizations, and carved a niche for herself in field work and international usability. Through it all, though, her philosophy has remained the same: 'If the user can't use it, it doesn't work.'

Anderson, Clifford. Usability Professionals Association (2007). Articles>Interviews>Usability>History

Usability Testing Then, Now and Tomorrow  

What is current practice in usability testing? How has it changed? What is essential for a good test and what is optional? We compare typical usability testing practice in the past (10+ years ago) with what we find is typical today. Then we look forward to predict what may happen in the future. We predict trends towards testing as a purchasable commodity, more remote testing, as technology makes it easier to ‘observe’ users over the Internet and more ‘mass market’ testing as businesses like Amazon try out their design ideas by micro-launching variants of their web site to see which one plays best with their customers.

Jarrett, Caroline, Dana E. Chisnell and Jeff Johnson. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Usability>Testing>History