Authors:
Elizabeth Rosenzweig, AJ Davis, Zhengjie Liu
Every citizen on our planet deserves the right to usable products and services. It is time we reframe our work and look at a bigger global picture [1].
We envisioned a world where the average citizen shares our zeal, passion, and steadfast belief in user-centered design. Naive perhaps, but not entirely idealistic. Since its 2005 debut, World Usability Day (WUD) has left its mark globally. Our goal has been to illuminate people on how well-crafted products and services can elevate human potential. We underestimated humanity's weakness for shiny new products and social media dramas that play out like virtual soap operas, and we could not have envisioned the pandemic that threw a global curveball.
Insights
→ World Usability Day (WUD) unites stakeholders to create more usable technology, products, and services, which are a fundamental human right.
→ WUD aligns with broader social initiatives, akin to Earth Day, demonstrating the power of collective action.
→ WUD engages global communities beyond industry professionals.
But our grassroots movement has flourished beyond our wildest dreams, taking on a life of its own, and the quest for universal usability continues. Since 2005, we have been working on average in 35 countries a year. We have spread our gospel of truth—user-centered design (UCD)—in train stations, museum halls, and even shopping malls. UCD means designing everything from the point of view of the user, who is our compass.
WUD was founded on the belief that the events of a single day can change the world. It has raised awareness of the importance of designing technology, products, and services with usability as a goal, and with people from around the world, not just like-minded professionals.
Earth Day, which WUD is modeled after, is a great example of a day that has changed the world, starting with the first celebration in 1970 [2]. The turning point came when a diverse coalition united around the pressing ecological crises besieging our planet. Formerly disparate groups—environmentalists fighting industrial polluters, activists fighting the decay of forests and jungles that were creating toxic wastelands, and conservationists trying to forestall species extinction—discovered they had something in common: saving Earth. For the first time, these groups collaborated to save the planet, spurred by the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.
Millions of people, including students from across the U.S. and government officials, marched on the United Nations in New York City. Earth Day was founded by Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, who helped organize and lead the march on the UN. He ultimately persuaded then-president Richard Nixon to start the Environmental Protection Agency. Today, Earth Day is the largest secular observance in the world.
Our message from 2005 has stood the test of time, and it aligns with the message of Earth Day: to think globally and act locally. Over the past 20 years, WUD has benefitted from the efforts of more than 300,000 people working together to spread the gospel of UCD. The field of UCD encompasses technology, products, and services, and everyone involved in technology design, especially HCI and user experience practitioners. We are united by a shared goal—to make the world more usable.
WUD has developed into a global movement and is celebrated in more than 140 countries every year on the second Thursday of November [3]. It brings together professional, industrial, educational, citizen, and government groups from different organizations, cultures, and countries, creating a single community whose objective is to ensure that technology enables people to live to their fullest potential and helps create a better world.
World Usability Day has a mandate to fundamentally transform the trajectory of global technology development and utilization.
Some years we have collaborated on global projects, such as carbon counters and offsets, reusable light bulbs, and games, such as such as sorting socks or racing to set alarm clocks. By taking place in public venues such as museums, train stations, and shopping malls, these activities have engaged people outside of our field and have helped spread the importance of UCD.
Each year the theme builds on the work of the prior year. The 2023 theme, "Collaboration and Cooperation," highlighted the collective effort needed to create a more usable and inclusive future. In 2024, the focus will be on "Designing for a Better World."
WUD has been a catalyst for many professional development programs in Eastern Europe and across the Global South. It stands as a testament to the global commitment to enhance user experiences and foster universal accessibility. In the rapidly evolving landscape of technology, ensuring its accessibility, intuitiveness, and benefit to all has become paramount [1].
Why Usability Matters
At its core, usability embodies the principles of inclusivity across diverse abilities and species. It transcends the creation of user-friendly interfaces, searching for a holistic understanding that design must consider the intricate connections between humans, technology, and the environment. In a world where technology pervades every facet of our lives—from education and healthcare to communication and entertainment—ensuring usability is not just desirable but imperative. Usable technology promotes equal opportunities, empowers individuals, and fuels innovation, thereby fostering a more equitable world.
WUD mandate. WUD has a mandate to fundamentally transform the trajectory of global technology development and utilization, which is a paradigm shift [4]. This crusade transcends the realm of developers, designers, researchers, and product managers, extending its reach to every individual who has grappled with being excluded from technology due to a perplexing design or prohibitive costs. The current landscape, which is characterized by infrastructure and communication systems prone to catastrophic failure, educational platforms mired in exclusivity, and health technology teetering on the precipice of human error, presents a peril to humans so great that we must rectify it with the utmost urgency.
A global movement. WUD has evolved into a powerful global movement, uniting professionals, policymakers, and advocates from more than 140 countries. It champions the need for accessible, user-friendly technology for all, transcending differences in culture, location, and demographics. Despite our diverse experiences, we come together to educate, celebrate, and leverage our skills to create a better world.
World Usability Initiative. Launched in March 2020 with support from a SIGCHI development grant, the World Usability Initiative (WUI) is the driving force behind WUD. Building on WUD's success, WUI fosters global collaboration, creating opportunities to promote inclusivity through universally accessible user experiences. It empowers researchers and practitioners to shape the future of technology, ensuring it positively affects lives. WUI oversees the Design Challenge, an annual design competition open to everyone and sponsored by HCI International, and the Speaker Series, a series of live webinars that provides a venue for marginalized voices.
WUI Advisory Board. The board was created to oversee the general operations of the initiative, which includes WUD, the Design Challenge, and the Speaker Series, as well as other initiatives such as getting WUD recognized by the UN and added to its calendar.
Bold Visions, Shared Goals: The WUD and WUI Advisory Board
Policymaker engagement. Good design is essential to public welfare, akin to food safety standards. Poorly designed products and services, such as contaminated food, can harm people's well-being. Policymakers must prioritize design excellence, understanding that it plays a crucial role in enhancing education, healthcare, and overall quality of life. The best standards in design are not a luxury—they are a necessity for any nation committed to improving its citizens' lives.
Global collaboration. We stand united in international cooperation, breaking down borders to share knowledge and best practices, ensuring that technology's benefits reach every corner of the globe. With representation across six continents, the WUI Advisory Board exemplifies the power of collaboration, embracing a vision where innovation knows no boundaries.
User-soaked design. We champion the creation of technology that respects and serves the diverse needs of its users. By focusing on those most challenged by technology, we ensure that products and services will work for everyone.
Cultural sensitivity in design. Design must either transcend or adapt to cultural differences. We recognize that gestures, colors, and symbols vary across regions, as do their meanings, which can lead to very different interpretations and outcomes. A global approach to design must be both culturally aware and adaptable.
Education and communication. We advocate for educating policymakers on the profound impact of good versus bad design. Informed decisions can vastly improve outcomes, especially in regions where technology is often imported rather than developed. We have seen some countries that adopted the computer-per-child model fail, because they ignored the fact that technology is a sociotechnical endeavor rather than a mere technical solution. To prevent such missteps, we must empower decision-makers with the knowledge to distinguish between designs that serve and those that fall short.
Our mission is clear: to harness the power of design to shape a better world. Let's move forward, boldly and creatively, to turn this vision into reality.
The Future of Usability: WUI's Bold Vision
Redefining accountability. Shift the blame from users to design flaws. Instead of blaming users for technology issues, we must adopt a mindset focused on fixing design flaws. The future demands a collective approach that prioritizes user experience and innovation over user error.
Usability as a global imperative. Usability must be a top priority for governments and organizations worldwide. We envision a change that centers usability in societal progress and gets integrated into every aspect of technological development.
Human-centered AI. AI development should be rooted in usability principles, focusing on what people need and building solutions that align with human-centered design. Technologists must ensure rigorous testing and evaluation, holding AI systems to the highest standards of usability. Technology must be developed and deployed ethically, with developers held accountable for the impact of their creations. Just as architects are responsible for building safe structures, technologists must be accountable for minimizing harm.
New interaction models. As AI becomes more integrated, we must explore both human-computer interaction and computer-computer interaction. The growing complexity of AI-driven interactions, such as AI systems communicating with each other, demands new research and understanding. We must frame these evolving interactions as central to the future of usability.
Challenge to Change the World
Imagine a world where user needs are the guiding star of innovation. In this enlightened reality, compact economical computing and networking solutions would be ubiquitous, enabling everyone to have access. We would see the advent of voting technology that not only minimizes errors but also entices the electorate to vote by the sheer virtue of its user-friendly allure.
WUD's mission is for everyone—different professional associations, university and college systems, various industries, nonprofit organizations, and government systems—to work together to create a more usable world, where technology pushes us to our best potential. The ultimate definition of usability is that our planet works for everybody. This means that it works for all our species and all our ecosystems.
The Call to Action
You can be part of this global movement! Sign the petition (https://www.change.org/p/design-research-to-make-the-world-better) to urge the United Nations to recognize World Usability Day and add it to its official calendar.
This recognition would be a powerful symbol of the importance of usability in achieving a more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable world. Together, we can create a future where technology empowers everyone.
References
1. Rosenzweig, E. World Usability Day: A challenge for everyone. Journal of Usability Studies 1, 4 (2006), 151–155.
2. Nelson, G. Earth Day '70: What it meant. EPA Journal 6, 4 (1980), 6–38.
3. Bedore, T. How about Make Things Easier Day? Marketplace. Nov. 14, 2006.
4. Rosenzweig, E., Davis, A., Liu, Z., and Bosley, D. Usability: The essential ingredient for sustainable world development. Interactions. Jan. 2, 2024; https://interactions.acm.org/blog/view/usability-the-essential-ingredient-for-sustainable-world-development
Authors
Elizabeth Rosenzweig is a design researcher whose mission is to use technology to make the world a better place. She is an instructor at Brandeis University, and the author of Successful User Experience: Strategies and Roadmaps. Her work can be seen at https://designresearchforgood.org/. [email protected]
AJ Davis, Experiment Zone founder and lead consultant, guides companies on usability and conversion rate optimization. As an active board member of the World Usability Initiative, she champions initiatives for global user-friendly experiences. [email protected]
Zhengjie Liu is professor emeritus of HCI/UXD at Dalian Maritime University in China. An HCI pioneer who has worked in the field since 1989, he was a recipient of the ACM SIGCHI Lifetime Service Award in 2017 and the IFIP TC13 Pioneers Award in 2013. [email protected]
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