Is ROI an Effective Approach for Persuading Decision-Makers of the Value of User-Centered Design?
To me, this panel looked a bit like a put-up affair: Three of the four panelists seemed to agree in beforehand that ROI (return on investment) should be dismissed as a valid measure. Solely Dennis Wixon from Microsoft’s game division put forth the ROI case. Actually, he put forth the case of his RITE (rapid interactive and evaluative testing) method. His contribution would have been better called “RITE – A Commercial,” instead of “Strategic ROI – A Commercial.” The Panelists (left: Dan Rosenberg, SAP AG) While IBM’s Jennifer Lai, who stood in for Clare-Marie Karat, claimed that she never had to justify user-centered design using ROI statements, David Siegel characterized ROI as a tactical measure that undermines risky business decisions, such as introducing new technologies or moving into new business sectors. He contrasted it with strategic thinking, which has a long-range focus and treats risk as inherent. In his opinion, ROI can be potentially self-destructive for the whole HCI prof
