Post-deployment usability: a survey of current practices

Despite the growing research on usability in the predevelopment phase, we know little about post-deployment usability activities. To characterize these activities, we surveyed 333 full-time usability professionals and consultants working in large and small corporations from a wide range of industries. Our results show that, as a whole, usability professionals are currently not playing a substantial role in the post-deployment phase compared to other phases of usercentered design, but when they do, practitioners find their interactions quite valuable. We highlight opportunities in HCI research and practice to bridge this gap by working more closely with software support and maintenance teams. We also raise the need to understand what might be called 'usability maintenance,' that is, the process and procedures, by which usability is maintained after deployment. Author Keywords Post-deployment usability, usability practices ACM Classification Keywords H5.2. Information interfac...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2011
• Where: CHI
• Authors: Parmit K. Chilana, Andrew J. Ko, Jacob O. Wobbrock, Tovi Grossman, George W. Fitzmaurice
• Keywords: CHI 2011, Deployment Phase, Human Computer Interaction, Usability Activities, Usability Professionals