Usability work and industrial system development

Abstract: This dissertation is about usability work and industrial system development. The first part of the thesis utilizes present descriptions of the industrial system development process to illustrate activities performed. Following this description is a definition of usability work, together with a number of methods and techniques deemed suitable for usability work. The methods and techniques are analyzed with respect to when they should be used, how to utilize them, outcome from utilization, need for supplementing methods, practical experiences and my own experiences from usability work and industrial system development. Based on these descriptions and analyses a preliminary model for integration of usability work and industrial system development, together with some preliminary experiences, are presented. Use and outcome from the application of usability work methods are described for each system development activity. Next is need for further and more comprehensive integration of usability work and industrial system development discussed. Also traditional computer support in system development is described followed by a brief discussion of its relevance for usability work. A number of simple computer-based tools aimed at studying the possibility to support development of computer systems, primarily user interface development, are then presented. Finally, possible future work is discussed, mainly focused on computer supported usability work.