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Oct 23, 2003 3:06 am		re: Lack of Respect for Usability Experts
Chris Nagele		The biggest issue is not the role, it is the understanding of it. The software industry alone is young, which means that usability is even younger in terms of essential aspects of a software development team. If you look at the past 10 years you will see that the usability profession has made some great progress. Mainly due to people like Jakob Nielsen who made it clear how important it is and that it can be done without a huge budget. I can't say first hand what the job market is like, but I can guess it isn't easy. A big problem is that many companies look toward usability engineers/analysts when something is noticeably wrong instead of planning a usability strategy from the start. Second class citizens? Definitely not. Becoming an excellent usability analyst or interaction designer is not easy and takes a very creative, yet scientific mind. My guess is that it will take some years for companies to catch on. The profession is so new to people that there is not even a specific title for the role. The Internet has helped bring usability to a mainstream audience in the past years. Sorry I can't be of much help in respect to open positions. Maybe someone else on here can provide some tips on where to look for employment. > Ryan Withop wrote: > Why is it that Usability Experts don't get the respect they deserve in a software development environment? > >I am deeply interested in a career in usability but am not sure it will be a rewarding move. > >It seems as though everyone agrees hypothetically that usability is key to customer loyalty and acceptance but where is the emphasis on usability come final release date? I have seen a myriad of companies ignore usability advice and look down upon their professionals as "less-than-programmers." > >What are your thoughts on this? Are there jobs for Usability Analysts? Are we second class citizens? > >Ryan Private Reply to Chris Nagele (new win)

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