Abstract

We will be discussing: John D. Gould and Clayton Lewis (1985). Designing for usability: key principles and what designers think. Communications of the ACM 28 (3), 300-311.

In 1985, John Gould and Clayton Lewis’ recommended three design principles that continue to shape much HCI research and practice: early focus on users and tasks; empirical measurement; and iterative design. If we were to start Interaction Design from a clean slate today, would we keep these three principles? Would we keep any of them in a modified form? Would we add any new ones? Would we bother with design principles at all? If so, what should these refer to: the designed or the process of designing? If the designed, then should principles apply to artefacts, user experiences or enduring outcomes of usage?

Gould and Lewis paper can be found via:

http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=3170&coll=portal&dl=ACM&CFID=907904&CFTOKEN=27714531

Rubric for the reading group: Everyone attending is expected to read the paper in advance. Please bring a copy with you, preferably annotated with interesting reflections. The format of discussion will be a brief invited introduction/critique by two members of the group, followed by general discussion and informal mixing.