[Sigia-l] Where is usability in the org chart?

[Muntone, Jim]

For starters, if you don't have anyone at the "C-level" with "UX
something or other" in their title, then most likely it sits in the
"hey, someone please pay attention to me, this stuff's important I
swear!" column...

Which is usually promptly killed and eaten by all the folks in the other
columns...

More seriously... though I know there's plenty of talk (and even books
written) about how even the guy who restocks the water cooler has the
power to drive usability in the organization, the places I've been where
it runs the smoothest is usually when there's executive by-off and is
represented right along marketing and sales and IT and all the other
senior management. Usually it's a Director of UX or chief experience
officer who would typically have content, creative and IA reporting to
them...  

-Jim 

-----Original Message-----
From: sigia-l-bounces at asis.org [mailto:sigia-l-bounces at asis.org] On
Behalf Of Stewart Dean
Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2006 1:37 PM
To: taltom at iei.net; sigia-l at asis.org
Subject: RE: [Sigia-l] Where is usability in the org chart?

Hi Tim,

I read your question and found it hard to parse.  I have, for a while
now, 
preached that usability is not a person's role, nor is it one person's 
responsibility and it's best treated as a ambient aspect of any project.

As an information architect I have shouldered most of the user centered 
design burdon, especially when it come down to user research, but I am a

freelancer so I can't vouch for where I sit in a org chart. In those I
deal 
with the department heads, internal project managers and marketing 
representatives have always been my stake holders with additional
advocates 
added from customer relationship teams in many cases.

In other organisations the web manager / web master is often the person
who 
looks after the users needs the most (providing the peopel who set up
the 
web team didnt see it as a tech challenge first and foremost).

In short usabillity is part of the set or requirements looked after by
those 
who look after the site, so find out who is responsible for the site and

you'll find folks who 'do' usability.  I personaly see the title
'usability 
professional' as a title that won't ring true with many these days - the

term 'user expereince' is far more prevelent and enable freedom from
often 
overly academic and non pragmatic thinking.

Maybe not the answer you where looking for but one borne from real world

expereince.

Stewart Dean
empathy digital




>From: <taltom at iei.net>
>Reply-To: taltom at iei.net
>To: sigia-l at asis.org
>Subject: [Sigia-l] Where is usability in the org chart?
>Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 10:59:16 -0400
>
>I'm sure this must have come up in discussion before, but a search of
the
>archives turned up nothing of consequence, perhaps because the number
of 
>possible
>keywords is rather large.
>
>The question is twofold: First, where is usability located on your org 
>chart? And
>second, what are the pros and cons of being there?
>
>There are multiple reasons for asking this. The trigger was a request
by a 
>client
>to compile a table of representative organizations and where usability
fit 
>there.
>But there turned out to be darned little compiled anywhere. And with
World
>Usability Day coming up, our chapter of UPA is trying to make contact
with 
>the
>hidden usability population in our area.
>
>Tim Altom
>
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>Most presentations/papers and posters have been loaded to the IA Summit
06 
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>
>http://iasummit.org/2006/conferencedescrip.htm
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>
>
>
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------------
When replying, please *trim your post* as much as possible.
*Plain text, please; NO Attachments

Searchable Archive at http://www.info-arch.org/lists/sigia-l/

Most presentations/papers and posters have been loaded to the IA Summit
06 website:

http://iasummit.org/2006/conferencedescrip.htm
http://iasummit.org/2006/posters.htm



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