Usability and User Experience: What Should We Care About?

Human - Computer Interaction (HCI) should be a basic part of the formative process of all Computer Science (CS) professionals. Usability and User Experience (UX) were (re) defined by many authors and well recognized standards. UX is usually considered as an extension of usability. To move from usability to UX seems to be a tendency lately. The lack of generally agreed formal definitions of HCI/usability/UX may have consequences on their development and recognition among CS communities, especially in regions where HCI is poorly developed, as Latin America. Practical activities are fundamental in complementing the theoretical foundations of HCI/usability/UX. The practice is usually more appealing and persuasive than the theory. The gap between HCI/usability/UX research and practice may be reduced by applied research, problem - oriented, or at least based on real case studies.