BIB_10: Bevan, N. (2009). International standards for usability should be more widely used. Journal of Usability Studies, 4(3), 106-113.

Nigel Bevan (2009) argues for the wide use of international standards in usability in the areas of user interface design, usability assurance, usability and software quality, and human centered design process. He acknowledges that “usability depends on the context of use, design environment, resources constraints, importance of usability, etc.” and argues in spite of these uncertainties, or precise because of these uncertainty, international standards that can resolve these issues should be widely used. He subsequentially explains the benefits of using corresponding ISO standards in the four areas and discusses the cost issue. In conclusion, he emphasizes the rhetorical function of international standards in business negotiations and internal design decision making.

This article is a useful guide to the international standards relating to usability. These standards ensure the most part the process rather than the actual design requirements, and thus are not contradictory to the idea of user-centered design and cultural usability. However, we need to guard against using some standards without critique and contextualization.