Usability Expert inquiry

[Harald Sitter]

On Thursday 01 June 2006 18:11, Kelly Miyashiro wrote:
> Hello,

Hi Kelly,

> I'm not sure if you guys got my email I sent from OpenUsability.org I
> sent a few days ago, the site has gone down since then.

At least I didn't see one :|

> I was wondering if I could join your team as a UI Designer and
> Usability Expert. I know you guys have been focusing on usability and
> the interface recently and I'm very excited about that. I know you
> have already gotten a lot of input from users and usability experts
> alike, but I have yet to see talk of contextual interviews or
> ethnographic observation, which should always start early and done
> often. I believe I could contribute valuable and, most importantly,
> concrete evidence of problems with amaroK's interface/workflow and how
> they can be solved. I am aware that some major changes are already in
> motion.
>
> Sticking to conventions, past research, and heuristics is great; they
> should always be taken into account by default. Usability Experts
> (consultants) provide this analysis and expertise. User
> complaints/feedback is also good, but all too often there are
> contentious arguments about different aspects. But there are always
> (ALWAYS) problems that go unseen and unheard by both the users and
> experts. These are the kind of problems that can only be found through
> user testing. These problems are often trivial to fix, have a large
> impact, and are specific to the product.
>
> I am an advocate of User Centered Design, which means the product is
> designed around the user, and not the experts (usability expert or
> coder). Yes, the usability expert has expertise and thinks he knows
> users. Yes, the coder knows how to make awesome features the user
> would love. But, the users are the best designers. This doesn't mean
> dumbing down the interface for the lowest denominator, even experts
> appreciate clarity.

This sounds really great, and as we all care a lot about usability I think 
everyone in the team would be glad to have a usability mastermind in our 
center. 

> Anyway, I'm sure you guys don't need this long spiel about usability
> but I just wasn't sure what direction you guys were going in in terms
> of usability and the process.
>
> I wrote a long letter with all my credentials and why I would like to
> help in my letter from OpenUsability.org but I don't have a copy of it
> anywhere. I would be happy to talk about my qualifications if you are
> interested.

I personally think one's qualifications can be best checked in actual work, so 
from my point of view you should just show off your qualifications on Amarok 
interface.
Anyway, I'd like to invite you to join #amarok at irc.freenode.net - we 
usually hang around there 24/7, so if you have questions just come join 
us :-)

-- 
Harald Sitter,
Senior Director of Interproject Coordination Activities ;-)
amarok.kde.org
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 191 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://mail.kde.org/pipermail/amarok/attachments/20060609/05eaf9b6/attachment.sig>