[Sigia-l] Information Architecture and Usability Professions

[Bill Killam]

>Man, we've gotten into some silly threads, but this is one of the silliest
>of recent days. 

I'm mostly a lurker here, but I'm with you, Jared, on that score.  And it's
enough to make me jump in.

Let me recap.  

It started with: Can an IA objectively evaluate their own design?  CAN they
do it?  Sure, if they have the appropriate training (which is more than
unlikely).  SHOULD they do it? No.  Noone is objective and there is too much
bias if the evaluator is also the one responsible for the design.  IAs,
"usability people" (as they are referred to here), interaction designers,
whatever.

Then it was this silliness...  "I rarely see designers sit in judgment of
the usability people. Business people hire the latter presumably to judge
the work of the former, but the business people are themselves incapable of
judging the work of the usability people." 

Believing that a usability test is about sitting in judgment of someone else
work is just plain silly (and paranoid).  Usability testing is about testing
design assumption to ensure a usable design.  And if a designer is that
concerned over allowing someone else to evaluate their design, then that's
one designer that should NEVER be allowed to evaluate their own work. (A
great demonstration of the previous point, BTW.)

And then there's this gem...  "So you're saying usability people report
directly to users..."  Hardly.  "Usability people" use users to assist in
the evaluation of designs.  They do not report to them.  They provide
feedback to the design team.  They REPORT to the project manager.

This was also offered up...  "Usability sits in judgment of design, which
they most likely don't practice, but not the other way around."

First, there's that silly assertion that usability [people] are sitting in
judgment of design.  But to assert that if a usability person is not a
designer precludes them from being able to do their job is also silly.
Following that logic, we should eliminate QA altogether.  And movie critics
shouldn't review movies unless they are directors.  And art critics should
review art unless they are artists.  And so on.

Plus this... " As you can imagine, I'm a bit perturbed by the notion of
others interjecting themselves between designers and their users."

Interjecting?  It's called team.  "Usability people" are providing a service
to the design team by obtaining feedback from users.  The designer should
not attempt to conduct an evaluation of their own design.  And to believe
that designers are skilled enough to be both a proficient designer and a
proficient usability tester is demeaning to both fields.

Finally, as Jared said more succinctly to the question posed...  "the
employer evaluates the "usability dudes'" work.  

Bill
-------------------------------------------------------
Bill Killam, MA CHFP
President, User-Centered Design, Inc.
20548 Deerwatch Place
Ashburn, VA 20147
email: bkillam at user-centereddesign.com
Work/Fax: (703) 729-0998
Mobile: (703) 626-6318
Web: www.user-centereddesign.com