• "Lightweights, Heavyweights, and Usable Processes for Usable Software"
  Larry Constantine, Software Development, San Jose, 9 April 2001

In what emerged as a complementary follow-up to the TOOLS presentation on UML and UP (below), this keynote turns the spotlight on the emerging lightweight or agile methods, weighing them in the balance and finding them also wanting when it comes to user interface design and usability. [More details...] [Get .PDF file, about 3.2MB.]
 
See also the  paper  "Process Agility and Software Usability."

• "The Usability Challenge: Can UML and the Unified Process Meet It?"
  Larry Constantine, TOOLS Pacific, Sydney, Australia, 22 November 2000

This outlines the issues and proposes specific solutions to the inadequacies of the unified notation and process. Coming at TOOLS (Techniques of Object-Oriented Languages and Systems), one of the bastions of the old-guard in object-orientation, and presented opposite presentations by dedicated UML/UP advocates, the speech stirred more than a little discussion and debate. The debate continues. [More details...] [Get .PDF file, about 1.4MB.]
 

• "Collaborative Usability Inspections: More Usable Software and Sites"
  Lucy Lockwood, Software Development, Washington, DC, 12 November 1999

Many have found this bullet-point review of the basic features of collaborative usability inspections (CUIs) a useful introduction to this economical approach to improving usability. The CUI technique offers an alternative to usability testing that can find more defects faster. [More details...] [Get .PDF file, about 1MB.]
 
For those who want more specifics, the details of how to actually conduct a CUI are in our book, Software for Use.