UPA Project on Developing the Profession

Overview

Part of the UPA mission is to "increase the body of knowledge about usability and user-centered design through professional education, meetings and conventions and other professional interchanges."

The goal of creating this body of knowledge is an important part of building a profession, but it is not one that will be reached quickly. This group of projects addresses different building blocks towards this goal.

Work in 2001- 2002 resulted in a recommendation that placed a body of knowledge in the center of several activities, including defining a curriculum, identifying roles, creating a self-assessment tool, and, eventually, a certification.

Related to this, is the concept of a code of conduct for practitioners. In September 2005, the UPA adopted a Code of Conduct.

Other projects that have been suggested under this umbrella are:

• Create an annotated bibliography for getting started in UCD. This list of reading will help those just learning about the field find the best reading material.
• Define roles for practicing UCD , and start work on creating sample job descriptions . This work will lead to additional professional development activities.
• Identify critical readings, the common core of the professional literature.

Projects

There are several projects focused on different aspects of developing our profession and a body of knowledge about our work.

• Body of Knowledge
  A project to create an authoritative source of reference and define the scope of the profession.
• Code of Conduct
  This ethical code for UPA members that expresses the profession's recognition of its responsibilities to the public, clients, employers, and colleagues was adopted in September 2005.
• Certification Project (2001-2002)
  This project investigated the possibility of creating a certification for usability professionals

Publications

Articles and other publications relating to these projects.

• "Does UPA Need a Code of Conduct?" (UPA Voice, February 2004). A preliminary article introducing the draft Code of Conduct
• "Building Blocks to a Body of Knowledge" (UPA Voice, September 2002) A report on the outcome of the certification project that identified the projects now under way.
• Report on the Survey of Attitudes Towards Certification
  A report on a survey of amost 1000 people conducted as part of the certification project