>From my experience in the defense industry: The relative newness of IxD really works against the recruiting efforts in defense. There's rarely a top-down focus on usability from government and corporate leadership, so positions rarely target those skill sets specifically.
I've found that the best way to introduce IxD into defense projects is through grassroots-style effort (further validating Dan's point). The engineers have to want good UX badly enough to focus energy on it while also trying to meet fairly strict capability deadlines. Ask a project lead in the defense industry which is more important-- great UX or more capabilities-- and you'll get the latter as your answer at least 95% of the time. Unfortunately, when it comes time to deliver, you'll hear plenty of criticism about usability if you haven't put anything into it. However, there is certainly (in my experience) a silver lining. Focus energy on UX, and it WILL be noticed. The government folks paid for the software, have to use the software, and do appreciate attention to detail (although its never asked for ahead of time). These types of pleasantly-surprised responses from our clients are the most rewarding part of being in the industry, and what Jack said absolutely rings true: it sets you apart. On that note-- if anyone knows of efforts within DoD or the IC to place more emphasis on UX/IxD, I'm tremendously interested to hear from them. Regards, Matt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=34166 ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
