"Usage-centered software engineering: new models, methods, and metrics"

Abstract

For software engineering to fully meet the contemporary challenge of timely delivery of quality software solutions to real-world problems, it must be capable of engineering software for use. Usability is an important factor often neglected in software engineering. Improvements both in the education of new software engineers and the effectiveness of practicing engineers hinges on providing a better foundation to support engineering software for use. The conceptual basis of a usage-centered approach to software engineering is outlined, covering the core areas of modeling, methodology, and metrics. The role of essential models and design metrics in helping practicing software and applications developers learn how to design more usable systems is examined. By focusing on usage and the purposes of use, developers can better understand the real work of end users and design simpler systems that more fully support that work.