Thanks for finding and linking to these John. It's always GREAT to know that we're not alone in being the only person who's up against the whole organization trying to make our voices heard in the name of the user!

Posted by: Anonymous under the circumstances ;o) on June 6, 2002 01:37 PM

 

If he sells himself better...this may not happen in the future.

Just because he know how he can make the web better, does not mean other do.

Sell man, sell!

Posted by: JB on June 6, 2002 05:02 PM

 

The frustration is understandable, but the problem lies not with others, but with the "recognized" usability guru. To succeed in usability (which is unlikely anyway, as it's seen as a luxury, not a necessity), you must speak the language of business: for example, why is it bad business to sport purple buttons or non-standard link colors, etc.? How will deviating from acceptable, research-supported web standards impact the top or bottm line? All usability/user experience issues must be framed and spoken in terms key decisionmakers can understand, that is, dollars and cents (or by appealing to their inflated sense of self-worth, but that's another topic). Harping about being left out of the development process falls on deaf ears--and, if heard at all, leads others to label you a whiner. I've seen this phenomenon countless times. Usability professionals, now dwindling as a race anyway, must learn to couch their arguments in terms businesspeople can understand if they're to survive (notice I didn't say "prosper").

Posted by: Tom Weathington on June 7, 2002 10:19 AM