Software for Use: A Practical Guide to the Models and Methods of Usage-Centered Design

20 Using Your Users: Users in the Development Process

Use Or Abuse Of Users

Who are our users anyway? Where do they fit in the development process? Unlike earlier user-centered and user-oriented approaches, usage-centered design places the work above the worker, but this does not mean that users are not important. End users have vital roles to play in the development process.

Users are, of course, the ultimate consumers of information technology, even when they do not make purchases or sign contracts. In a sense, our users define the business we are in and the reasons for existence of the systems we design. They are the ones who do the real work that keeps our enterprises and the economy going.

In fact, users are the sources of many of the ...