Justifying Cost-Justifying Usability
Randolph G. Bias School of Information, The University of Texas at Austin
Clare-Marie Karat IBM TJ Watson Research Center
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Sir Walter Scott wrote, in Marmion,
“Oh! what a tangled web we weave
When first we practise to deceive!” (Scott, 1805)
Sometimes it is quoted as “. . . what a wicked Web we weave.”
This year is the bicentennial anniversary of the publication of Scott’s book.
Did he anticipate the World Wide Web, 200 years ago? Scott’s words are relevant
to today’s networked world and the development activities that support it, includ-
ing designing for ease of use.
Usability is not the end-all-be-all; ...