Making connections - teaming up to connect users, developers, and usability experts

Like many software companies, Ipswitch started out developing a product for a clearly understood technical audience. As the company moved to attract a broader user population, they faced questions about how to redesign current products to appeal to less technical users. With these questions in mind, Ipswitch approached The Usability Center at Southern Polytechnic State University (SPSU) about conducting a usability test of their flagship product, WS/spl I.bar/FTP Pro. This paper reports on the collaboration that developed between Ipswitch and The Usability Center at Southern Polytechnic, in which connections were made between the developers and the users, between the usability experts and the developers, and between the product and documentation managers and the users.