German small-and-medium sized software companies are facing an increasing pressure by their users with regards to usability expectations. While some software companies still heavily emphasize functional aspects of their products, others have identified the potential of usability to differentiate themselves. The study has an exploratory nature and employs cluster analysis to investigate responses of German SME software companies with a specific focus on usability. We identify three segments of companies, i.e. Usability Sleeper, Usability Executers and Usability Performers. While the first perform worst, the Usability Executers show high usability readiness with regard to software development (SD) processes. Usability Performers further separate themselves through higher employees’ expertise. Subsequent analysis of these sub-segments reveals that business sector and management support are key differentiators amongst them. For practitioners the results presented in this paper describe the characteristics of SME software companies in Germany with mature usability.
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