Usability challenges in an Ethiopian software development organization

Usability and user centered design (UCD) are central to software development. In developing countries, the gap between IT development and the local use situation is larger than in western countries. However, usability is neither well addressed in software practice nor at the policy making level in Ethiopia. Software practitioners focus on functional requirements, meeting deadlines and budget. The software development industry in Ethiopia is in its early stage. The article aims at understanding usability practices in an Ethiopian software development company. Developers, system analysts, product owners and users were studied. In this first phase of the research, participatory observation, a workshop and interviews with practitioners and operational staff were analyzed. Informal discussions have been observed to outweigh formal meetings for sharing experience and ideas. Practitioners' internal configuration, their experience, cultural knowledge and common sense regarding the users' situation guided the design. Prototypes and fast delivery of working versions helped in getting user feedback even if early user focus proved to be a challenge as communication between developers and users suffered from several layers of indirection. Further challenges are the heterogeneity of users to be supported, a lack of awareness of usability methods, and lacking resources.