Scott -
> Results from my informal experiment have been that people
> seem more likely to think that they could become a good
> psychologist than a good network engineer.
I'd have thought it would depend a lot on who you asked. My guess would
be that software developers would be more likely to plump for the
engineer. Was there any difference by job function?
Also, I think you may be discovering people do not really know what a
psychologist does in detail. Psychology is frequently portrayed in a
very populist fashion by the media.
And yes, there is a recognized myth that UI design is just common sense.
Respondents are especially likely to believe this where they have had no
exposure to usability testing. In this respect I'd like to propose my
own Usability Maturity Model:
Level:
1 Nebulous No UI
2 Selfish User interface designed for developer's needs
3 Fraternal UI designed for developer's peers
4 Usable UI designed for recognized user communities
5 Inclusive UI designed for users communities including a wide range
of needs and abilities
Regards,
William Hudson
Syntagm Ltd
Design for Usability
US Toll Free 1-866-SYNTAGM
UK 01235-522859
World +44-1235-522859
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http://www.syntagm.co.ukhttp://www.designforusability.com
Web Design for Usability Tutorial/Workshop, London 3 Nov
In collaboration with the British HCI Group and UK UPA
Full details and online booking:
http://www.syntagm.co.uk/design/webdesign.shtml