Use and usefulness of HCI methods: Results from an exploratory study among nordic HCI practitioners

Abstract

As an HCI practitioner, it would be of great value to know which methods other HCI practitioners find most useful in different project phases. Also it would be interesting to know whether the type of ICT projects has any effects on HCI practitioners' perception of the usefulness of the methods. This paper presents results from an exploratory survey of HCI practitioners in the Nordic countries conducted in the fall of 2004. 179 of the respondents were usability professionals or UI designers with two or more years of experience. The survey results give insights with regard to whether or not HCI practitioners are included in those project phases regarded as most important. Also it describes which HCI methods that are used in different project phases, and how useful different HCI methods are perceived to be. The study complements existing HCI practitioner survey investigations by an explicit allocation of the HCI methods under consideration to concrete project phases, and by including analyses of group differences between practitioners working with different kinds of development projects.