Abstract

Usability as a concept is well established, encapsulating the rich interaction between different kinds of users, information technology systems, and contexts of use. In the context of socio-technical systems, technology shapes societies and human interactions, and likewise technology itself is shaped by social, economic, and political forces. Therefore, the socio-technical landscape is constantly evolving. Usability professionals have developed new usability methods and processes in order to address these changes in the socio-technical landscape. Likewise, the very concept of usability has been evolving to better fit into this ever changing socio-technical landscape. The evolved and adapted concept of usability has been feeding back to its socio-technical environment, thus creating a feedback loop. This position paper reflects this feedback loop and the concept of usability as a means of communication and shared language between stakeholders in the socio-technical systems development context from the cybernetics perspective.