Usability Science. I: Foundations

In this article, we describe and analyze the emergence of a scientific discipline, usability science,whichbridgesbasicresearchincognitionandperceptionandthedesignofusable technology.Ananalogybetweenusabilityscienceandmedicalscience(whichbridgesbasicbiologicalscienceandmedicalpractice)isdiscussed,withlessonsdrawnfromtheway in which medical practice translates practical problems into basic research and fosters technology transfer from research to technology. The similarities and differences of usability science to selected applied and basic research disciplines—human factors and human–computer interaction (HCI) is also described. The underlying philosophical differences between basic cognitive research and usability science are described as Wundtian structuralism versus Jamesian pragmatism. Finally, issues that usability science is likely to continue to address—presentation of information, user navigation, interaction, learning, and methods—are described with selective reviews of work in graph reading, controlled movement, and method development and validation. 1.