Meredith Sivick makes software

simple. As a usability and design

engineer, she eliminates the snags that

frustrate computer users. Error

messages, confusing menus, and

missing links are just some of the

bugaboos she fights.

“It’s my job to make users’ jobs easier

and faster. It shouldn’t take seven steps

to do something that could take two; it

should be easy to tell what icons mean,”

Meredith says, describing two types of

problems she prevents.

Usability engineers go beyond

making software user-friendly. They

improve computer hardware, software,

and websites by focusing on how

users perceive and manipulate those

tools. “We have to understand how

people learn and remember, how they

sort through data, and what steps they

take when building something,” says

Meredith. “Efficient software is

software that doesn’t require excess

mental energy. It shouldn’t make the

user remember too many details.”

Like all usability engineers,

Meredith first analyzes users’ needs.

“We design for the primary user,” she

says, “the people who will use the

product most.” Meredith meets and

interviews groups of customers and

makes field visits to watch them use

by Olivia Crosby

Olivia Crosby is a contributing editor to the OOQ,

(202) 691-5716.

prototypes during later stages of

product development.

In addition to simple observation,

Meredith asks people to describe

their thoughts as they move through

the test. She might time or videotape

people as well. Some usability engineers use machines to track users’ eye

movements during a test.

Meredith studies users’ reactions and

uncovers the reasons for their difficulties. “Usability engineers need to be very

good investigators,” she says. “People

might say they want to print out a

screen, but the solution might not be to

add a print command. If you ask them

why they want to print, they might say

that it’s because they want to see how

the page will look. If you ask them

another question, you might discover

that they couldn’t see everything they

needed on the screen. The solution

might be a better display—not another

print button.”

Even after 10 years of experience,

Meredith is often surprised when she

watches people use prototypes. “It’s

fascinating to see how people respond

to the software,” she says, “especially

when they do things you don’t expect.”

Meredith gives the results of her tests

to the software engineers, along with

recommendations. This starts another

round of design and testing.

Advocating changes requires skilled

persuasion. “Meetings can sometimes

be heated,” she says. “People have

different ideas about what’s easy to

use.” She supports her recommendations with research from published

journals and her own user tests. As

the usability expert, she often focuses

and moderates the debate.

Resolving issues successfully also

Usability engineer You’re

a

what ?

computer products in their offices.

She determines the kinds of tasks they

do and how frequently they do them.

Usability engineers who design for the

general public—such as those who

design commercial websites—venture

into customers’ homes and schools to

watch people using their products.

Meredith also meets with the

software engineers working on the

product. Her role is to identify issues

that affect customers. Issues range

from overall format—such as the

layout of screens—to specifics about

color and icon style. These questions

go beyond aesthetics. Certain screen

layouts are less confusing, for example,

and certain colors attract the eye.

Perhaps most important to usability

is deciding what choices users will

have and when they will have them. To

make these decisions, Meredith

anticipates what people want to

accomplish. “We try to predict what

users will want to do next so that we

can increase their efficiency,” she says.

“Then, we test to see if our predictions were right.”

To test her hypotheses, Meredith

creates paper prototypes of the

design. She uses graphics software to

build a model of what the screens,

icons, and menus will look like. With

these prototypes, she performs the

first usability tests. She shows test

subjects the paper “screen” and asks

them to perform a typical task. As they

point to an item on the paper, she

whisks the corresponding menu or

graphic into place. “It’s a little like

paper dolls,” she says. “I cut out menus

and icons and slap them down when

the user selects them.” Early versions

of the software replace the paper

48 Occupational Outlook Quarterly ● Winter 2000-01
more typical. She earned a bachelor’s

degree in psychology and government.

Looking for an alternative to counseling, she answered a job advertisement

for a human factors engineer—a

scientist who designs easy-to-use

tools of all types—and found a career.

Before taking her present job,

Meredith honed her communication

skills while working as a tester,

technical writer, and trainer.

Today, many usability engineers have

master’s degrees in cognitive, experimental, or organizational psychology.

Other common college majors include

computer science, human factors

engineering, information science, and

human-computer interaction.

Meredith continues to take classes in

psychology and human-computer

interaction.

Meredith chose her career because

it combined her interests in people

and technology. “It’s the perfect

marriage of two things I really like,”

she says. “And I see the work I do

make a huge impact on the final

product.”

takes flexibility. “You have to be able

to give in when things don’t matter,”

she says. “You can’t become too

attached to your own ideas.” Still,

Meredith is sometimes frustrated if

one of her recommendations is

ignored, especially when users experience problems as a result.

Meredith needs written and oral

communication skills, too. She advises,

“If you can’t communicate ideas well,

you’ll have difficulty in this job.” Like

all usability engineers, Meredith writes

reports and e-mail. In meetings, she

needs to describe abstract concepts

clearly. “We resolve most issues by

talking,” she says.

Sometimes usability engineers draw

diagrams or sketches to illustrate

their ideas, but they don’t need to be

artists. Graphic artists create the

images customers will see.

But usability engineers do need

other kinds of creativity. “You have to

find innovative solutions to problems,”

says Meredith. “You have to think of

different ways to give users new

information or new options. If a menu

doesn’t work, you find another way.”

Like most other software developers, usability engineers work in a fastpaced environment. “We only have a

few weeks to develop a good prototype,” says Meredith. If other development tasks take longer than planned,

they have even less time.

Although short deadlines can be

stressful, Meredith likes the speed of

her work. “I’m going 100 miles an

hour every day,” she says, “so it’s never

dull or boring.”

Even more than the rush, Meredith

relishes the chance to make new

discoveries about human behavior. “It’s

fun to see users in the field do

something unexpected and to figure

out why they did it,” she says. And she

likes discussing design issues with her

coworkers.

According to estimates from the

Human Factors and Ergonomics

Society, full-time usability engineers

earned an average of about $71,000 in

1997. Most worked for software

companies; others worked as college

professors or independent consultants.

The number of usability engineers

is difficult to determine. The Association of Usability Professionals has

1,300 members. But the number of

usability engineers could be higher or

lower than that. One fact is certain:

the occupation is larger than it was

several years ago. The surge in electronic commerce has increased the

demand for easy-to-use websites, much

as the rise of personal computers and

computerized appliances has done for

usable hardware and software.

In part because the field is new,

there are many routes to a usability

career. Meredith’s path was one of the

Occupational Outlook Quarterly ● Winter 2000-01 49 Photos by Harrison Allen