CEO Eric Schaffer discusses how PET design goes beyond classic usability

Comment

Comment by Michael Jennings on April 22, 2010 at 12:59pm

Great presentation. Looking forward to transition to and developing more skills for the Break-Through Phase of UX!

Comment by Regis L. Magyar, Ph.D. on August 6, 2009 at 3:06pm

I agree with your assesment that somewhere down the road Usabilty which evolved from Psychology became its own domain in whch its practitioners limited the scope of their study to primarily the behavioral aspects of users at the expense of the cognitive and emotional aspects of behavior. The need and importance to also assess the cognitive, emotional and previous learning history of users is not new but should be a mandatory requirement that needs to be incorporated into today's usability certification process. That is why the prerequisites for students wanting to take my Human Factors class include a course in "Learning & Behavioral Change" and "Research Methods" to expand the field from simple ergonomics to more complex issues of user experience. John B. Watson's success in advertising resulted precisely from applying his knowledge of Respondent (Pavlovian) conditioning since it is the bases for much of our emotional and aesthetic preference. You might consider incorporating a course in these areas into your current Usability certification process. I agree that certificstion should include much more than the applicatio of simple "Discount Usability" methods.