Debugging the User Code: 2 Part Paper by Steve August

I've been connecting with Steve August of KDA Research and it's been an fruitful journey so far- and one that happened thanks to this weblog.

He left a comment on this entry and we connected from there. After talking, we found that we have complimentary areas of expertise. He's an expert in ethnography and working on a project related to online communities and I'm an expert in online communities working on a project that's using ethnography.

Had I not had a weblog, I don't think we could have connected two small niches so easily.

Steve pointed me to a two-part paper he authored called "Debugging the User Code" that makes a strong case for building better products by learning about the users and involving them in the development process.

Part I: The Business Case for User Oriented Product Development (Download .PDF)
The first article in the series makes the business case that user oriented design/development not only creates better products, but also increases revenue and cuts costs.

Part II: Integrating User Testing into Development (Download .PDF)
This article explores the process of integrating users into each phase of the design/development process to create more usable and more useful products. It also offers advice and resources helpful to implementing user oriented design/development, including information about cost and budgeting, when to outsource, and how to focus user research for maximum impact. Also included is a case study of the development of the Zip Drive.