Quite often we are asked to comment on the usability industry in New Zealand – particularly by those looking for jobs in what is a tiny industry. There would be less than a dozen people working full time in usability in this country. Optimal Usability is New Zealand’s largest usability consultancy and we have only four people working full time!

The industry’s small size does have its advantages as we make for a tight group of good friends. But it’s hard for people who want to get into this fascinating area, and the lack of skilled usability practitioners is a major inhibitor to the growth of the industry.

The options for usability consultancies are to hire consultants, and teach them usability (expensive) or hire one of the 600 graduates who complete HCI papers each year and teach them to be consultants (cheaper at first, but expensive in the long run). Regardless, it’s a catch-22 situation. We need to work with industry-experienced practitioners (our clients rightfully expect that we are experts) and yet it is next to impossible to get industry experience without on-the-job training.

The options for people wanting to get into usability are to:

1. Up-skill by reading, reading, reading. The good thing is that a lot of best practice is freely available if you have the time to do the research. And don’t just read the usability books – take a look at market research, psychology, web design and associated fields. Don’t ever stop reading.

2. Get practical experience. From the reading you’ve done, try running your own user tests for a friend’s site. Do expert reviews of websites, and get someone more experienced to look over your work.

3. Find a mentor. While a lot of usability is common sense, it’s the subtle things that are the hardest to learn. How to ask questions, how to focus your observation. Mentors are quite likely to have good advice on career directions, and a healthy book shelf.

4. Become involved. Get to know the people in the industry – hang out with them. One common thread between all the usability people I’ve met is their hospitality. Join the UPA, and the popular mailing lists, such as SIG-IA and UTEST.

Having said all this, things are looking up. AUT are talking about introducing a usability major and the good work of Kirsten and others in setting up the New Zealand chapter of the UPA is very promising. As far as we’re concerned, the more people doing usability in this country, the better.

Trent