Chapter 5: Usability Meets Sociology for Richer Consumer Studies

Overview

Riitta Nieminen-Sundell and Kaisa Väänänen-Vainio-Mattila

Forms of communication shape our society: people communicate with each other in a mediated way via communication tools. Mobile phones, multimedia terminals, computers, and other new digital tools have entered the realm of human communication. New kinds of gadgets and services will be launched as digital convergence progresses. The user interfaces (UIs) of these products also mediate and shape human interaction. Thus they form a node for social interaction on a macro level in society. In other words, they either support and enhance or restrict the possibilities of communication.

UI designers are the people who enable or discourage expressions in technology-mediated communication. They have to be aware of the forms of interaction a UI offers. To do this, designers need to understand users holistically. The best way to approach users is with multidisciplinary methods that go beyond the ways designers have traditionally collected user intelligence. It is not enough to test products and concepts for usability; the whole development cycle should hinge on understanding the consumer. Sociology applies user research approaches that can help widen perspective on users. This chapter explains some sociological approaches that can enhance usability to meet evermore competitive product development demands.