Comments on: Retiring a Methodology http://manwithnoblog.com/2008/04/21/retiring-a-methodology/ Gary Barber rants on user experience, information architecture and the web industry. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:03:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 By: Caronne Carruthers-Taylor http://manwithnoblog.com/2008/04/21/retiring-a-methodology/#comment-7820 Caronne Carruthers-Taylor Tue, 22 Apr 2008 04:03:26 +0000 http://manwithnoblog.com/?p=174#comment-7820 Hi Gary, I agree with you & Ruth. UCD and UX are relatively unknown in Government agencies - despite the formulation of UCD teams in several Federal Govt depts. Appropriate use of tools and techniques is the best & most practical methodology. Incorporating UX & UCD into SDLC / project methodologies in govt - especially fitting in with project managers, architects, developers, BAs - is the biggest challenge for most UCD teams and my particular interest. Hi Gary, I agree with you & Ruth. UCD and UX are relatively unknown in Government agencies - despite the formulation of UCD teams in several Federal Govt depts. Appropriate use of tools and techniques is the best & most practical methodology. Incorporating UX & UCD into SDLC / project methodologies in govt - especially fitting in with project managers, architects, developers, BAs - is the biggest challenge for most UCD teams and my particular interest.

]]> By: Ruth Ellison http://manwithnoblog.com/2008/04/21/retiring-a-methodology/#comment-7819 Ruth Ellison Tue, 22 Apr 2008 02:23:35 +0000 http://manwithnoblog.com/?p=174#comment-7819 Good post Gary. Like you, I see the UCD methodology as a framework consisting of a range of tools and techniques that you pick and choose accordingly, dependent upon the requirements of the job. Like a hardware toolbox, you won't use every single tool if you need to hang a picture. You could use every tool in the toolbox, but it wouldn't be particularly effective for hanging that picture (go jigsaw machine thingy, go!). I'm a strong believer in being pragmatic (which by the way, is a draft post that I wrote last year and just never published! I better do that soon) and doing what we can to achieve the best outcome within the constraints. It's about helping our clients make an informed decision about designing and developing a product but ultimately, I still believe that we must consider the user experience as a whole. We might not be able to do much about it on a smaller budget, but at least our design decisions are made in that context. Good post Gary. Like you, I see the UCD methodology as a framework consisting of a range of tools and techniques that you pick and choose accordingly, dependent upon the requirements of the job.

Like a hardware toolbox, you won’t use every single tool if you need to hang a picture. You could use every tool in the toolbox, but it wouldn’t be particularly effective for hanging that picture (go jigsaw machine thingy, go!).

I’m a strong believer in being pragmatic (which by the way, is a draft post that I wrote last year and just never published! I better do that soon) and doing what we can to achieve the best outcome within the constraints. It’s about helping our clients make an informed decision about designing and developing a product but ultimately, I still believe that we must consider the user experience as a whole. We might not be able to do much about it on a smaller budget, but at least our design decisions are made in that context.

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