VIA Interaction

Sunday, September 24, 2006

The way people behave

"Selling Soap" in today's New York Times may seem a bit far afield from interactive development, but understanding the way people work and behave is really at the heart of what we do.

We are wrestling with re-organizing a very large Web site, and no small aspect of the project is trying to imagine how people will take care of and improve the new site.

I have been personally involved in redesigning some Content Management interface screens at Analog Devices that will do exactly what the current interface allows, but in a way that is easier for the people managing the content. They don't use the current system now because they just don't like it.

It also doesn't hurt that we are working with some very accomplished doctors at Cleveland Clinic, where our project sponsor has been driving home the importance of data to drive decisions.

This article is about why hospitals have such low compliance with the simple edict to wash your hands and the ways one hospital tried to change that behavior.

It's written by the Freakonomics guys, Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt.

posted by Tim Beidel at 9/24/2006 11:05:00 AM

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