CHI 97 Electronic Publications: Organizational Overviews
0 to 50 in 4 Years: CUIS at Boeing
Kevin Neher
The Boeing Company
P.O. Box 24346, M/S 6C-LE
Seattle, WA 98124-0346
+1 206 237 9364
kevin.neher@boeing.com
Randy Worsech
The Boeing Company
P.O. Box 24346, M/S 6H-WW
Seattle, WA 98124-0346
+1 206 965 0163
randall.a.worsech@boeing.com
Abstract
The Common User Interface Services (CUIS) group at Boeing is a
full-featured support organization for Boeing user interface developers.
The group has achieved key successes and has increased the visibility
of the importance of usability engineering to the point where
it has been established as a key corporate initiative in 1996.
Keywords
Organization overview, usability engineering, usability measurement,
reusable components, user interface standards
© 1997 Copyright on this material is held by the authors.
Overview
Four years ago, the Common User Interface Services (CUIS) group
was formed at Boeing to provide support to in-house software developers
creating graphical user interfaces. While it has a been a slow
and steady growth, the cumulative effects of four years has seen
the project grow to over 50 heads, covering all aspects of user
interface development. The project has now reached the point where
demand for user interface services are allocated to the highest
priority projects and CUIS is called in by higher-level management
to solve major usability problems. Usability Engineering was identified
as a key corporate initiative for the first time in 1996.
In The Beginning...
In 1993, the concept of CUIS was formed within the Computing Architecture
organization. At that time, a few scattered projects existed supporting
various aspects of user interface development, but no central
coordination existed.
CUIS' first step towards success was the creation of a taxonomy
for the support of user interface development. Eight key support
categories were defined:
- Standards and Guidelines
- Reusable Components
- Tools
- Usability Measurement
- Methods and Techniques
- Research and Development
- Education and Training
- Consultation
CUIS developed a matrix to identify projects which were currently
funded within Boeing to support these categories. The matrix identified
duplication and holes in the support categories. By bringing the
support organizations together and presenting the data, CUIS obtained
agreements to remove the duplication and to funnel the savings
into support of the categories where holes existed. So began the
creation of a virtual support organization, spread across the
company, with a single project manager and a steering committee
representing the major support organizations. This creative approach
allowed CUIS to show initial gains without additional funding,
proving that user interface support was a necessary component
to software development and paving the way for future growth based
on demand.
I'll Have a Sandwich, Please
One of the keys to CUIS' early success was the sandwich approach
to solving the problem. Rather than start support from the top
down or from the bottom up, CUIS attacked it from both sides.
From the top down, user interface standards and guidelines were
created. This appeased management's need to place proper controls
on development to reduce long-term costs. However, most developers
see conformance to standards and guidelines as additional work.
To offset this cost, reusable code components were developed to
make compliance with the rules easier. To date, over 40 additional
widgets have been added to the base Motif widget library. The
widgets were offered free to developers and helped them conform
to the standards. The widgets also provided a quick way for CUIS
to build credibility as a project and to introduce other usability
products and services to the development community.
The delivery of free reusable components and a free hotline service
established a base of customers creating graphical user interfaces.
From these customers, early adopters were identified for use of
two other key CUIS services: Usability Measurement and Consultation.
These services were also provided free of charge. A usability
testing lab was created after visits to Microsoft's labs. Usability
consultants were provided on site for extended periods of time
(initially 80 hours, then 240 hours, and now for as long as needed).
Key to the success of these services was hiring qualified HCI
professionals. Initial pilots were established with early adopters.
From these early successes, CUIS' fame grew by word-of-mouth.
A year after initiation, customers had to be scheduled and prioritized.
The value of allowing these early pilots in Usability Measurement
and Consultation to complete can not be understated. The success
of these pilots could not be fully realized until well after the
measurement or consultation had completed, when the application
had incorporated the recommendations and released the product
to the end users. The initial fanfare which revolved around the
release of the reusable components kept undue pressures from building
on the measurement and consultation pilots, such that they could
complete to fruition.
The Education and Training, Tools, Methods and Techniques, and
Research and Development categories remain the charter of separate
organizations within Boeing. CUIS' role has been more one of coordination
with these organizations and support of their products and services.
CUIS provides some of its experts to the training organization
for Motif and Web classes. CUIS participates in the evaluation
of key tools, such as GUI builders. CUIS has worked with software
engineering groups to incorporate usability methods and techniques
into the standard Boeing development process. And CUIS works with
the Research and Development organization to identify new technologies
3-5 years out which require investigation and early pilots.
And the Winner Is...
CUIS has shown substantial savings to applications over the years:
- The reusable code components have shown a 5-to-1 cost avoidance.
On average, each application customer has reduced cycle time by
31 programmer-months.
- The usability testing lab has identified a benefit opportunity
of 15-to-1, which is realized after each application makes the
suggested changes.
- CUIS products and services average a 95% customer satisfaction
rate.
CUIS has also been a winner. The project has been fun and rewarding
for the team members involved. A sense of accomplishment is felt
by all.
Lessons Learned
A number of key lessons have been learned in the 4 years of CUIS'
existence:
- Focus initially on low risk/high payback items
- Use pilots to identify potential savings
- The way to a developer's heart is free code.
- Make it easy to comply with user interface guidelines by providing
code which implements them
- One good component does more for user interface quality and
consistency than 100 style guide rules
- Measure benefits and communicate successes
- Formulate teaming atmosphere with customers
- Cultivate high-level management sponsors
- Bottom line: Must provide value
Where Next?
CUIS continues to grow and face new challenges.
From a technological point of view, new systems remain to be conquered.
While CUIS began it's support with UNIX-based Motif applications,
we have now added support for Windows developers as well. And
the Web and Java are also upon us. Many of the support categories
(Usability Measurement, Methods and Techniques, User Interface
Design Consulting) are already capable of supporting these environments
with little or no change, except for increased headcount to support
a greater number of customers. The primary focus for these new
systems shifts to Standards and Guidelines, Reusable Code, Tools,
and Hotline Consultation.
From a maturity point of view, true success might be measured
in a different way. While CUIS has many customers lined up around
the block, our price is still a bargain: free! For some of our
customers (those which are part of a well-funded major initiative),
we have moved to the point of asking for them to pay for their
services. However, the proof of success will be there when we
still have customers lined up around the block and they are all
willing to pay at the door. For this to occur, CUIS must continue
to provide excellent value to the customer and key successes must
be brought into the spotlight. Usability engineering must become
part of our normal daily development process.
A third measure is in the usability knowledge level of the developer
teams. At this time, "HCI Professional" is not a recognized
development team member. No formal usability training plan exists.
And CUIS consultants still spend too much time "doing"
and too little time "teaching others to do". A key challenge
is to get to the state where a trained HCI professional is considered
as necessary as a coder or a database designer in application
development.
Conclusion
Acceleration speeds of "0 to 50 in 4 years" would embarrass
any car maker. However, in talking to other companies who are
trying to put together usability support groups, it appears that
the growth of Boeing's CUIS group resembles a fine sports car
far more than a Moped. The support for all aspects of user interface
development has been a key to the success of CUIS. The journey
has not ended; there is still much more road to cover.
CHI 97 Electronic Publications: Organizational Overviews
