Research Reports

2039: A Day in the Life of a Usability Engineer

Theresa A. O’Connell, Elizabeth D. Murphy, and Renate J. Roske–Shelton

 

ABSTRACT

As we approach the end of the fourth decade of the twenty–first century, intelligent agents will handle most of the time–consuming drudge work of usability engineering, freeing usability engineers (UEs) to focus on the mental work of analysis and usability recommendations. Just as gamers today meet in synthetic worlds, UEs will enter customized synthetic environments to investigate human cognition and behavioral interactions with new software capabilities. Immersed in synthetic worlds, UEs will employ a range of technologies at every step of usability evaluation. We’ll be working smarter and more efficiently to measure and improve human experiences with technology. The future holds promise for UEs and, by extension, for users of the technologies we are beginning to imagine.

CITATION: O’Connell, Theresa A., Murphy, Elizabeth D., and Roske–Shelton, Renate J. (2009). 2039: A Day in the Life of a Usability Engineer. Statistical Research Division Research Report Series (Survey Methodology #2009-02). U.S. Census Bureau. Available online at <http://www.census.gov/srd/papers/pdf/rsm2009-02.pdf>.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Research Division

Published online: February 25, 2009
Last revised: February 20, 2009