ABSTRACT
This book grew out of a meeting of the International Ergonomics Association Technical Products Group in Tampere, Finland. The meeting followed a highly successful symposium on usability in which several papers preceded a very lively, at times even heated, panel-plus-audience debate on the methods, theories and effects of user trialling and usability testing. The debate began in the usual fashion with questions directed at panel members which reflected the issues raised in their papers, but the real catalyst was a question from a Swedish designer, who said in very blunt terms that he was fed up with the usual academic waffle, and when were the academics going to provide really useful information to people like himself? His major point was that he was at least as far advanced as the panel members in terms of theoretical background and actual practice, and what he had come for was some forward thinking and help with directions for the future, not more of the same old stuff in different words. This brought an immediate and vigorous response from a number of people, and views were expressed which reflected a very wide spectrum of interests. Some speakers agreed, but most defended the papers, indicating that they had learned a lot from them. The chair took the view that if Dr.X was actually doing everything he said he was, then he was very advanced in terms of normal industrial practice and should perhaps be coming to inform rather than to be informed. His point was, however, well made, and considerable discussion revolved around the problems of translating laboratory research into useful and applicable data for designers.
