[Sigia-l] IA's Responsibility

[Christopher Fahey]

Harry G. Osoff
> Is there an IA's Oath?

Gino wrote:
> The *best* IAs create win-win situations for both the 
> client/company and the users of the product...
>
> To polarize the issue like this, Chris, is to beat yourself 
> down before you even get started.

I didn't mean to seem that way: I wasn't trying to polarize, I wanted to
prioritize. I agree it's a balancing act, but keeping customers happy is
only a means to a larger, higher priority end: in this example, increasing
page views. 

My question was more along the lines of Harry's question about whether any
IAs have, like doctors, a "first do no harm"-like philosophy. Or if they see
themselves like lawyers whose job it is to coldly advocate a position even
if they don't necessarily believe in it in the big picture. 

Remember, there are plenty of online business models where usability and
keeping customers happy is not a primary objective. Herbal supplement and
porn sites come to mind, of course, but more mainstream businesses do it
too. Does Amazon want to make it easy for customers to find out their phone
number? Does AOL want to make it easy to cancel your account? 

Advertising is, I think, the best distillation of this question. At a very
basic level, the idea that a news story should be broken up across two pages
is a benchmark: It will increase page views, but there is absolutely no user
experience excuse for it. It's a decision to *harm* the user experience in
order to *help* the business's bottom line. If you have a "first do no harm"
creedo, you will probably not be helpful to the business.

Of course if you disagree with a company's business strategy on ethical
grounds, you can and should find someone else to work for. 

-Cf

Christopher Fahey
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