I joined IBM at a time when a serious interest in human factors and usability was just properly getting started. This was around the time that IBM released the OS/2 Warp operating system.
IBM gave me a solid, theoretical, foundation in User Centered Design (as a process) and a grounding in Common User Access (CUA); the basis on which all modern user interface controls are formed today.
I was User Centered Design Team Leader for various middleware products developed at the IBM Hursley laboratory including WebSphere MQ, CICS Connectors, etc… This role involved:
- Competitive analysis
- Benchmarking
- Requirements gathering
- Design iterations
- Design validation
Managed the IBM Usability Lab for a couple of years:
- Facilitated decisions support centre sessions with users/customers
- Hosted formal usability testing for other groups within IBM and other external organisations