From its beginning in the 1980’s, the field of human-computer interaction (HCI) has
been defined as a multidisciplinary arena. By this I mean that there has been an explicit
recognition that distinct skills and perspectives are required to make the whole effort
of designing usable computer systems work well. Thus people with backgrounds in
Computer Science (CS) and Software Engineering (SE) joined with people with backgrounds
in various behavioral science disciplines (e.g., cognitive and social psychology,
anthropology) in an effort where all perspectives were seen as essential to creating
usable systems. But while the field of HCI brings individuals with many background
disciplines together to discuss a common goal - the development of useful, usable,
satisfying systems - the form of the collaboration remains unclear. Are we striving
to coordinate the varied activities in system development, or are we seeking a richer
collaborative framework? In coordination, Usability and SE skills can remain quite
distinct and while the activities of each group might be critical to the success of a
project, we need only insure that critical results are provided at appropriate points in
the development cycle. Communication by one group to the other during an activity
might be seen as only minimally necessary. In collaboration, there is a sense that each
group can learn something about its own methods and processes through a close partnership
with the other. Communication during the process of gathering information
from target users of a system by usability professionals would not be seen as something
that gets in the way of the essential work of software engineering professionals.
Knowing how software engineers will turn the requirements into a functioning system
would not be seen as an unnecessary detail to HCI staff.