Philosophy

All of Interfacility's work leverages the strengths of a small consultancy: a small group of unique individuals use industry best practices in a unique way based on the requirements of the project at hand. Before you bring us on board, read a little more about us and our individual philosophies.

Marijke
Much of my work is based on the power of questions—to learn about the needs of users and clients, to test assumptions, to drive teams to better solutions, and to find workable compromises in cases of opposing interests or differing opinions.

At the same time, I believe that the researcher's and designer's personal convictions, individual talents, and life experience are not a matter of indifference. They determine the quality of the research findings and the effectiveness of design.

Here's my credo:
- Good research is informed by exceptional interpretation skills, an ear for pattern and nuance, and a thorough understanding of the limitations of qualitative findings.
- Excellence in interaction design flows from a combination of creativity, pragmatism, and humility.
- Leadership of people is about respect and fairness as much as it is about drive and enthusiasm.

My own life struggles have given me a taste of what it's like to get caught in the wheels of someone else's idea of what is right for me and threw me together with people who had far more serious complaints than I. It's turned me into a committed advocate for those on the receiving end of the arrogance and ignorance that result when, as designers, we take ourselves as the measure of what we design. Moreover, my background as an immigrant and political radical means I'm never quite IN the box to begin with. And my general life experience teaches me that plan B is sometimes far superior to A.

To learn more about my experience, please consult my Resume. My Personal Pages will tell you more about my interests.

Dana (usability partner, representing UsabilityWorks)
I believe in world peace through usability. If only there were a grass roots movement of consumers demanding ease-of-use, efficiency, good support, and possibly even enjoyment out of the products and services they consume!

It’s starting. Members of AARP have taken telecom companies to task for how complicated cell phone calling plans are. And for how tiny the interfaces are.

I’m an observer and counselor. I watch and listen to my clients and with them. We talk about the options and the best approaches for learning what they want to know. While I’d like to start every series with every company with ethnographic field studies of their users, I’m a realist. Not all questions start at the beginning.

Then I help my clients listen to what users say and I try to keep them focused there while weighing business constraints and requirements. The question often is What do you want the customer’s experience to be?

If I weren’t a user experience consultant, I probably would be a union organizer.

More information at UsabilityWorks.