UPA Monthly: October 2007
The monthly newsletter of the Usability Professionals' Association
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In This Edition
Usability in the News
Hide the Button: Steve Jobs Has His Finger on It (The Wall Street
Journal, 25 July 2007)
"The new Apple cellphone famously does without the
keypads that adorn its rivals. Instead, it offers a touch-sensing
screen for making phone calls and tapping out emails. The resulting look is
one of the sparest ever for Apple, a company known for minimalist
gadgets."
Police excuse angry computer user for outburst (Reuters, 17 July 2007)
"Asked what had driven him to the night-time outburst, the
51-year-old man said he had simply got annoyed with his computer."
Time to Rethink Your Relationship With End Users (CIO, 24 July 2007)
"This view of end users as little more than self-centered children is
not unusual. However, a transformation is occurring that should cause us
to reconsider our views. From relative ignorance, end users are
becoming increasingly IT savvy—able not only to use technology but also able
to develop their own solutions. Shadow systems—those that replicate the
data and functionality of formally sanctioned systems—are a testament
to this ability."
Internet users unaware of services, features (iTWorldCanada, 24 July
2007)
"A study that indicates that lack of awareness and poor usability
are the key barriers to a user's adoption of Internet services from
ISPs may provide some relevance to IT managers."
Government websites 'too complex' (BBC News, 12 July 2007)
"Many
government websites are still too complicated and difficult to use, says
the National Audit Office. While services like online road tax renewal
are very popular, other sites such as HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), are
too complex, the report said."
Why user testing is crucial for Web design (DigitalArts, 20 June 2007)
"The main one is to make sure you've done some user testing. Bring
people in and have them use the thing while you watch. That's the best
practice. Do that throughout the design cycle. Start doing it early.
Don't wait until you have a finished new design."
Get Me The Geeks! (CBS News, 9 Sept 2007)
"We are becoming slaves to
our own technology - addicted to and dependent upon all sorts of
beeping, flashing gadgetry that is supposed to make our lives easier."
Chapter News
UPA-DC Metro Chapter - Second Annual Conference - Call for Participation
Washington, DC on 12 Oct 2007
User Focus: A one day exchange of ideas and experiences that
demonstrate the value of usability in successful design The DC Metro Chapter of
UPA invites you to its second annual conference at the Renaissance
Washington DC Hotel.
Contact: conference@upa-dc-metro.org
DFW UPA and Lone Star STC - DESIGN THINKING
Friday, Oct. 19, 11:30
a.m. to 8 p.m. at the IMC2 offices
Classic business models are threatened—the economics of competition
have changed. Quality, efficiency and price are quickly matched. Being
different requires flexibility—it's squishy. Squishy seems to imply risk.
This is the conundrum of the balance between science and art—a balance
readily facilitated by Design Thinking, fundamentals for strategic
business differentiation. This is THE event to attend in order to gain an
overview of the design landscape across major DFW businesses. Join
important conversations in a Half-Day-Plus exchange of ideas.
User Experience Russia – 2007
The first annual conference in Russia dedicated to usability of
information technologies
November 8 -10, 2007
Contact: org@userexp.ru
User Friendly 2007
The theme of 2007 is Connecting User Experience Communities.
November 23-25, 2007
Photo of the Month
Share a Chapter event photos - use the 'upachapter' tag.
Promote your UPA Events on UXNET
If you have a local UPA Event which you wish you publicize on the UXnet website, contact your "Local UX Ambassador" or even better become a "Local Ambassador" if there isn't one in your area. This helps to promote your event to a wider community and helps to build the UXnet organisation that UPA supports.
Looking for a chapter in your city? Contact: chapters@usabilityprofessionals.org
UPA News
UPA 2008 Conference - "The Many Faces of User Experience: Usability
through Holistic Practice"
The conference will take place at the beautiful Inner Harbor of
Baltimore, Maryland, June 16-20, 2008.
UPA 2008 Call for Participation Deadline Extended
UPA is extending the deadline for conference proposal submissions to
October 15, 2007.
Submit a proposal
Questions: Eva Gaumond
UPA 2008 Conference Reviewers Needed
The UPA 2008 Conference Committee is looking for practicing usability
specialists to review proposals for the 2008 conference.
UPA 2007 Salary Survey Now Open
Every two years the UPA surveys user experience professionals to attain
in-depth data about the development of the user experience field.
The survey is anonymous and open to all user experience professionals,
not just UPA members. The report is freely available to all, and will
be ready in approximately three months.
Take the survey
Learn more about the UPA Salary Survey Project (PDF)
Mentoring Program
The Student and Young Professionals Mentoring program continues to pick
up momentum with a number of applicants already seeking mentors. If
you are interested in giving back to the community, becoming a Peer
Mentor or if you are looking for a mentor, please take a closer look at the
program and sign up.
UPA Board of Directors Elections
A reminder to all candidates who are pursuing a position on the
upcoming UPA Board of Directors for 2008.
The deadline for submitting your paperwork is October 12, 2007.
Contact: elections2007@usabilityprofessionals.org
User Friendly 2007
The theme of 2007 is Connecting User Experience Communities.
November 23-23, 2007
UPA Europe 2008
The first European regional conference of the Usability Professionals' Association (UPA) will take place in Torino, Italy, named the 2008 World Design Capital. Hundreds of designers and usability specialists are expected to attend.
LINKEDIN – Networking among UPA members and more
Do you want to find quickly and easily other UPA members with similar backgrounds and needs? Join us on LinkedIn today.
Learn more about your Board of Directors.
UPA Publications
UPA - Voice August, 2007
Chinese Home Site Visits – Tips & Hints by Josephine Wong
UPA - Journal of Usability Studies - August 2007: Volume 2, Issue 4
Making Usability Recommendations Useful and Usable
Authors: Rolf
Molich, Robin Jeffries, Joseph Dumas
Want to write an article for a UPA publications?
Contact: publications@usabilityprofessionals.org
Want to advertise in a UPA publication?
Contact: assocdir@usabilityprofessionals.org
Save the Date
World Usability Day
November 8, 2007
User Friendly 2007
November 23-25, 2007
UPA Announces 2008 International Usability Conference
"The Many Faces of User Experience: Usability through Holistic Practice"
Baltimore, Maryland, June 16-20, 2008
New email or address?
Keep your member profile up to date, so you don't miss any mail.
Thanks to Our Contributors
- Melanie Rousseau (Québec Chapter), French
- Silvia Zimmermann (Swiss Chapter), German
- Alberto Lacalle (Spanish Chapter), Spanish
- Michele Visciola (UPA Italia), Italian
- Adriana Betiol (Brazil Chapter), Portuguese
- Yaniv Michaeli (UPA Israel), Hebrew
- Natasha Voynarovskaya (UPA Russia), Russian
- Denny Huang (UPA China), Chinese
- Tadashi Kobayashi (HCD-Net), Toyohiro Kanayama (UPA), Japanese
- Daniel Szuc (UPA China-Hong Kong), English, News scout
** Job Board **
The UPA maintains a fee based listing service for job openings for usability professionals. These postings remain on the site for 3 months. The fee for each job posting is only $100.00 which must be prepaid prior to the job opportunity being posted on the site.