USABILITY IN SOFTWARE DESIGN

   

Like user centered design, usability in software design also put the user at the center of rather then the system.The term “usability” in the context of creating software represents an approach that puts the user, rather than the system, at the center of the process. This philosophy, called user-centered design, incorporates user concerns and advocacy from the beginning of the design process and dictates that the needs of the user should be foremost in any design decisions.

GENERAL VIEW:

      The most visible aspect of this approach is usability testing, in which users work and interact with the product interface and share their views and concerns with the designers and developers.All theses are done to enable the user to analysis the system and give their feedback  for any possible amendment.

WHY BORDER ?

  Yes really why border to include user centered design in our software design ?. As mentioned early, a good system no matter how tremendously sophisticated it is; if is shows some degree of complexity to the user, it will never be used to wide range and this will NOT satisfy its intended purpose. This will really be a massive fiasco and as we all know, IT is trying to fight again all these complexities in the latest innovations.

  With a better design comes better acceptance from users. The benefit of increased buy-in with retail software is obvious: increased sales. Acceptance is also important with software developed for internal use: increased buy-in leads to increased productivity and a diminished need for support. Visibly involving users from the beginning of development also shows them that you are interested in their concerns and needs, which increases their willingness to help you develop better software.

REFERENCES:

• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms997577.aspx
• http://www.usability.gov/basics/ucd/index.html