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Jakob Nielsen

Jakob Nielsen is possibly the most well-known personality in the field of usability and user-centered design. In this interview, he revisits history, all the way back to his first experiences with room-sized 'personal computers' in the '70s.

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Excerpts From the Interview

Today I am not a programmer - and I don't think anybody should hire me as a programmer - but I have had experience [as a programmer] and I think that's valuable. In any project, the discussion inevitably boils down to "can this be done or not," and engineers have their own attitudes about the answers. Having programmed, even though it was a long time ago, helps me when I talk to engineers about what can and can not be done. It helps me when I ask them about finding ways around technical limitations.

Actually, now I think the field is going to get much bigger, because now I've finally come to realize how broad the benefits of usability are. I can see how many projects - even today - don't do any user testing. Most project teams have no dedicated usability person on board, and they probably don't even have a dedicated designer or interaction designer on board. And yet, when they do, they double their sales.

More About Jakob Nielsen

Dr. Jakob Nielsen is a user advocate and principal of the Nielsen Norman Group, which he co-founded with Dr. Donald Norman. He introduced us to the idea of discount usability engineering in one of his many books in our field.