Blazing a trail together

Editor’s note: Dean T. Barker is a usability engineer for technology product development at West Group, an Eagan, Minn., legal and business information firm. He is the author of Designing Effective Speech Interfaces, published by John Wiley & Sons.

Business pioneer Charles Coolidge Parlin creates a commercial research division at Curtis Publishing Company in 1911 and establishes the field of commercial research. His work proves so successful that other industrial and advertising firms soon follow suit. Several years later, the first major book on the topic of commercial research appears, Commercial Research: An Outline of Working Principles, by C.S. Duncan. Following World War II, as commercial research experiences exponential growth, the Ergonomics Research Society is formed and the book Applied Experimental Psychology: Human Factors in Engineering Design is published. This establishes the field of human factors and ergonomics, whose practitioners work primarily on applying cognitive psychology and ergonomic principles to the engineering of military equipment.

In their early years, these two fields could never have imagined that their paths would eventually intersect. However, by the end of the century, the proliferation of computer software, and in particular the phenomenon of the Web, would bring them together as part of the e-product development process. Sadly, practitioners in each community of practice may not yet know that their paths have crossed.

Commercial research has now evolved into modern marketing research. Similarly, human factors and ergonomics has evolved, albeit somewhat factiously, giving rise to human-computer interaction, a discipline whose practitioners, interested primarily in research and engineering related to the usability of software systems, have coined the term usability engineering for their work. In the age of computer software and Web development, marketing research and usability engineering professionals can often be found in the same companies...working in the same buildings...eating in the same cafeterias...working on the same projects and products...and never meeting one another.

Could it be possible? Yes, it could and indeed it is. Is it tragic? Perhaps. But perhaps it does not need to be so if we can reach out and shake each other’s hand. Those with a pioneering business spirit, like Charles Coolidge Parlin of Curtis Publishing Company, may expect the glory bestowed on such adventurers and an opportunity to turn a tragic ending into a happy one.

Commonalities, distinctions

So, how do we start to reach out to one another? First, it is important to understand the commonalities and distinctions between the two communities. Marketing research and usability engineering have much in common. We share research methods, facilities, concerns about data, and above all, research participants. But, for all that we share, there are still some important differences.

For collecting primary data there is no difference in the general approaches between the two fields. Both communities employ experiments and observational research, focus groups, surveys, and interviews. These general methods are the tried-and-true tools of all social scientists. And, like any research, the success of a specific study lies in fundamentals such as research planning, utilization of the scientific method, development of sound hypotheses, and the researcher’s ability to clearly communicate research results.

Although we do share methods, one key distinction between our fields is the purpose we each have for conducting research. Marketing research is concerned primarily with matters of preference. Usability engineering is concerned primarily with matters of performance. Standard performance issues are such things as understanding how long it takes users to complete a task, how many and what kind of errors they make, and how frequently they require assistance (such as opening online help, referring to the system’s documentation, or calling a help desk).

Marketing researchers want to know if a customer will buy the product and how well they like it. Usability engineers want to know if a customer can use the product efficiently and effectively. For research related to the design and evaluation of software and Web sites, marketing researchers will focus on issues such as whether or not all the desired features and functions exist in the product, whether or not it is appealing, or perhaps they will look to see if anything in the results generates a new product idea. Usability engineers conduct research almost expressly for the purpose of finding barriers to ease of use and determining what design changes are needed to remove those barriers.

The most typical method employed for research is different in each discipline. For marketing researchers, it’s a focus group. For usability engineers, it’s a usability test. However, both use a central research facility, require only a handful of participants, and are implemented by a skilled moderator. But while focus group studies collect data via verbal interaction in a single small-group discussion, usability tests gather data primarily via observation of participants performing tasks with the product in individual sessions. However, both types of studies are nomothetic and seek to generalize and extrapolate findings from this small sample size to a category of customers.

It’s in the categorization of customers where we can find another distinction between the two fields. The categorization of customers for marketing researchers is the creation of market segments. For usability engineers it is the definition of user groups, which are not defined primarily by demographic or psychographic attributes but by characteristics of interaction and how customers use a product.

For example, consider a fictitious Web site that provides free online classes and information about financial services such as investing and banking. The provider’s objective for creating the Web site might be to generate business from customers who learn about personal finance and ultimately require professional advice or become interested in purchasing investments.

A market researcher might categorize customers by the following market segments and demographics:

  • young (25-35 years old with minimum of $40,000 annual income);
  • middle age (36-49 years old with minimum of $50,000 annual income);
  • pre-retired (50-59 years old with minimum of $60,000 annual income);
  • mature (60+ years old and/or retired with minimum of $60,000 annual income or minimum portfolio of $150,000).

A usability engineer might categorize customers in the following user groups based on interaction:

  • explorer (uses Web site for discovery or surfing);
  • general learner (uses Web site for basic education on a broad topic);
  • specific learner (uses Web site to find an answer for one or more specific questions);
  • action taker (uses Web site to purchase a product or service).

This is an important distinction because such categorizations impact how research is designed, how data is reported, and what strategic and tactical recommendations are made based on the research results.

Can we talk?

Once we’ve begun to understand more about one another, the next step in reaching out is to establish a dialogue. For us the common goal is (or should be) making better products to meet the customers’ needs. In order to help lead our organizations into greater prosperity, we must work together toward the common goal. We must take action to improve the way we do things, such as creating coordinated research studies that are synergistic and perhaps even collaborative, rather than working independently. Only through greater understanding and communication will this happen. Today there are already marketing research and usability engineering professionals collaborating on approaches. For example, visit www.immersibility.org to see an overview of a research method that holistically assesses Web site branding, functionality, content and usability.

Perhaps the truly inspired among us may be even more innovative. Hopefully that is what is in store for our collective future. Currently, the pieces don’t always fit. Pause for a moment to reflect about your company or clients. How well integrated are the functions of marketing research, design, development, usability and quality assurance? For most companies the answer is somewhat embarrassing. W. Edwards Deming, the leader of the total quality management revolution, said that all work is a process. Producing a product is simply a process. But most companies don’t have a product development process or methodology that supports the integration of these functions. Therefore, results differ on a project-by-project basis. Sometimes it works well, but most of the time it doesn’t.

Successful software development efforts account for approximately 5 to 15 percent of projects, according to data released from sources ranging from The Standish Group to the U.S. government. A technology project has only a modicum of hope for meeting customer needs, let alone being delivered on time and on budget. In what other industry would this be acceptable? Could a grocery store stay in business if only one out of 10 customers coming through the door was able to successfully find the items they wanted and get through the checkout line happily?

Improvements can start with us working together. But ultimately we need to not only work with one another but also work to make changes in our macroenvironment to improve the product development process. Not only must we establish a dialogue with one another but also with other business functions related to the development of the products we help to create. Because marketing researchers and usability engineers are uniquely positioned with direct contact and relationships with customers, we’re good candidates to initiate change. There is power in being a customer advocate. We should be able to communicate with corporate management and production staff to improve the way our businesses operate in order to make our products the most desirable and best-of-breed.

Some glory, a few arrows

This is the kind of pioneering approach that is needed in the future. You can be a part of that. If you are, then like true pioneers you might expect some glory. However, you might also expect an arrow or two in the back along the way. Not from one another, but perhaps from the foes that fight change and evolution. In this new millennium the competitive advantage belongs to companies that focus every bit of energy they have on the people who open up a box and install the company’s software or those people who enter a password or credit card number into a Web form and spend money on the company’s site. Market researchers may use the term customer. Usability engineers may use the term user. But it’s the same person who gives our professions a purpose; the very same human being without whose business our employers would be bankrupt.

Not every organization will be willing to embrace this fact. Nor will every marketing research or usability engineering professional. But if you embrace this, you may be a pioneer. You may be a valuable change agent for your company and without your bravery their business may be in peril. So take a chance. Be a pioneer.