http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Careers/Usability A listing of the most recently indexed works about Careers and Usability in the field of technical communication. en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Careers/Usability http://tc.eserver.org/34046.html http://tc.eserver.org/34046.html Using a self-designation with a certain amount of specificity sacrifices practicality to accuracy. Individuals who have been hired as a single-function specialist may have the luxury of presenting as a “usability engineer” or “information architect”. For the independent consultant, this strategy can have definite negative consequences. http://tc.eserver.org/33250.html http://tc.eserver.org/33250.html The goal of the 2000 Usability Professionals' Association (UPA) Member Profile and Salary Survey was to gather information that would enable the association to understand the make-up of the membership in order to ensure their needs are being met. http://tc.eserver.org/33251.html http://tc.eserver.org/33251.html This year, for the fi rst time, we've included results by employer as well as information on the types of technique in use today and a breakdown of salary by experience. Members of the Usability Professionals Association are, of course, entitled to the raw data so that they can conduct their own analysis. http://tc.eserver.org/33254.html http://tc.eserver.org/33254.html Most people looking for the first time at the results of the UK Chapter's recent salary survey will rush to find out where they come on the overall pay scale. But the survey asked far more than just 'how much do you make' and because it was widely publicised and open to all, the results have some interesting things to say about the state of our industry. http://tc.eserver.org/33255.html http://tc.eserver.org/33255.html We asked respondents to state their total annual compensation from salary and bonuses; we did not include stock options and other benefits. Given that most stock options have been under water recently, cash compensation may be the most important number anyway. http://tc.eserver.org/33256.html http://tc.eserver.org/33256.html The first UPA UK salary survey results show a range of £18,500 to £90,000 paid to British usability specialists, with a mean of £37,801 and a median of £35,000. http://tc.eserver.org/33257.html http://tc.eserver.org/33257.html Report outlining the results of a usability salary survey for usability, HCI and user experience design professionals jointly conducted by Tania Lang from Peak Usability and Pabini Gabriel-Petit from Spirit Softworks in March/April 2004. http://tc.eserver.org/32758.html http://tc.eserver.org/32758.html Success in UX design is driven by a particular personality. UX requires straddling so many elements, and includes a wide range of experience and expertise, rather than allowing one to become comfortable doing the same ol’ same ol’. Not only are user needs met first and foremost, there is an ongoing feeling of growth and development required to keep all these needs managed. In these days where it seems crucial to balance Ajax, JavaScript, CSS, Flex, and more, we are reminded that all these technologies must most importantly be leveraged by a particular personality. http://tc.eserver.org/32677.html http://tc.eserver.org/32677.html This article examines what works and what does not work well when selling UX within an organization, identifies barriers you might encounter to the adoption of UX methods in your organization, and discusses how to package and present UX to stakeholders. In this article, we’ll try to avoid just being prescriptive. Rather, we’ll pose questions along the way, regarding what has worked well for you. http://tc.eserver.org/31911.html http://tc.eserver.org/31911.html Since I started in 1983, the usability field has grown by 5,000%. It's a wonderful job — and still a promising career choice for new people. http://tc.eserver.org/30634.html http://tc.eserver.org/30634.html We began to work on an event to gather professionals and employers to help us figure out what UX employers really want. http://tc.eserver.org/29743.html http://tc.eserver.org/29743.html For many practitioners, technical communication can--and should--be the springboard for a different career. Many technical writers and editors have made transitions to related disciplines from which they can influence industry and academia. They now have titles such as marketing and web content writer, usability lab manager, product marketing manager, business operations strategist, and more. This paper summarizes the career evolutions of the author and several colleagues in technical communication, and provides advice to help readers broaden their career horizons. http://tc.eserver.org/29325.html http://tc.eserver.org/29325.html As Usability people we usually tend to focus on making things easier to use. To allow for good usability and an excellent user experience we integrate user centered design methods and standardized usability processes into our daily work. We are used to doing this; we advocate for it day after day; we even try to persuade our clients and the people around us to do the same because we have a strong belief in it. And without question, making things easier to use is an honorable thing to do, because it generally enhances the overall user experience. However, we as Usability Professionals have the potential to reach beyond! http://tc.eserver.org/29254.html http://tc.eserver.org/29254.html In order to be effective in the usability business, you have to face the fact that you'll have to deliver bad news. You have to talk about what's not working. You might have to bruise egos and make your client uncomfortable. http://tc.eserver.org/28589.html http://tc.eserver.org/28589.html This article is based upon my own experience transitioning from a career in corporate-world project management into the field of user experience design. With dedication, some talent, a few classes, and a healthy dose of self-promotion, the transition was fairly easy, very enjoyable, and took about two years. I have outlined a few key points to consider if you are planning to start a career in user experience design. http://tc.eserver.org/28518.html http://tc.eserver.org/28518.html Five years ago, Robert Reimann wrote a seminal article for the Cooper Newsletter called 'So You Want To Be an Interaction Designer.' Like many people, I read the article and said, yep, that's what I want to be. I took Reimann's (good) advice and found both work and training as an interaction designer. http://tc.eserver.org/28495.html http://tc.eserver.org/28495.html Learn about the career path of usability professionals from three speakers who have extensive experience in the usability profession, including managers of usability departments and independent consultants. http://tc.eserver.org/27812.html http://tc.eserver.org/27812.html Recognize the many paths to success and be prepared to forge your own if needed. You may find at the end of your 'wrong way' happy clients, satisfied users, and a successful and delivered system. http://tc.eserver.org/27792.html http://tc.eserver.org/27792.html During 2005 the Usability Professionals' Association surveyed members of the user experience field to learn: who our respondents are, where they work and what they do; how much they are paid; their satisfaction with UPA. http://tc.eserver.org/27478.html http://tc.eserver.org/27478.html Over the last several years, entry-level salaries have dropped, while pay for experienced usability staff has been more stable. http://tc.eserver.org/27384.html http://tc.eserver.org/27384.html Discusses making usability routine throughout your organization. http://tc.eserver.org/27390.html http://tc.eserver.org/27390.html What mentoring is, and how it is different from consulting, training, or educating. http://tc.eserver.org/27259.html http://tc.eserver.org/27259.html This site is a consolidation of publicly available and privately submitted job postings in HCI, Usability, User Experience, Interaction Design, Information Architecture and Ergonomics. http://tc.eserver.org/26921.html http://tc.eserver.org/26921.html Looking for jobs is tough. I remember when I looked for my first industry job about ten years ago, how frustrating a process it was. I had everything to prove, and every desire to prove it, but few opportunities to do so. And worse, by the time I graduated in May of 94', all of my friends were gone: they moved away in response to job offers. Many of them had jobs lined up before the spring semester even started. Meanwhile I struggled to find good interviews, and maintain the work needed to graduate on time. I think most people, especially students, underestimate how much energy job searching requires, and there really isn’t that much honest guidance on how to be smart in going about it. This essay is an attempt to offer some good advice - the kind I wish I had back in 94'. If you find it useful, please pass it on to other job seekers you know, or if you’re in school, to professors and other students. If you have other suggestions to add, please let me know. http://tc.eserver.org/26661.html http://tc.eserver.org/26661.html There are two basic alternatives for structuring a usability/UCD group within an organization: members of the group can be centralized in a single department, or, members can be distributed among development teams. http://tc.eserver.org/26660.html http://tc.eserver.org/26660.html Companies often struggle to find the best place for the usability/UCD group within the organizational structure. While common placements for this skill set are in the IT/development department, in the marketing/communications department, in the Quality Assurance department or in Product Development, whether these locations are the best for any specific organization is a function of the capability of the usability group and the maturity of the organization to leverage that capability. http://tc.eserver.org/26538.html http://tc.eserver.org/26538.html Folks on the Interaction Design Discussionion mailing list posted some tips and Web sites helpful in conducting a job search. http://tc.eserver.org/23025.html http://tc.eserver.org/23025.html A collection of job listings for usability professionals in the Twin Cities area. http://tc.eserver.org/21253.html http://tc.eserver.org/21253.html Many people who work within the design field have had a hard time assimilating the full scope of Experience Design—and a harder time accepting their niches within it. The reasons for this resistance uncover much about the state of design as well as the state of identity. http://tc.eserver.org/21136.html http://tc.eserver.org/21136.html I was wondering if anyone else is starting to feel ill at ease about the work that we do. I personally do a lot of web development work. I regularly conduct usability testing on people so that web sites, and other technology, fit better with humans. I make it a point to stress that good design work yields higher profits, growth, and strategic advantage for our clients.  While these things are acceptable and fit with our social norms, I feel like we are becoming the defense contractors of the new economy. I remember when folks at General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Boeing were getting heat for being baby killers and the like. Will the masses start revolting against us? http://tc.eserver.org/21123.html http://tc.eserver.org/21123.html This is a guest written article by Berna Tural, a recent college graduate from Carleton University in Ottawa. She is looking for a job in the usability field. I asked her to tell me more about her experiences so that WebWord readers would understand what it is like to be on the ground floor in usability. Similarly, I wanted people to see the other side of the hunt.  http://tc.eserver.org/21097.html http://tc.eserver.org/21097.html The goal of the 2000 Usability Professionals' Association (UPA) Member Profile and Salary Survey was to gather information that would enable the association to understand the make-up of the membership in order to ensure their needs are being met. http://tc.eserver.org/21102.html http://tc.eserver.org/21102.html This short article answers a few questions about entering a career in usability given the poor market conditions, and it offers some general career advice. http://tc.eserver.org/21031.html http://tc.eserver.org/21031.html Barnum discusses the importance of usability testing and suggests ways that managers of technical communication departments can convince their organizations to invest in usability. http://tc.eserver.org/20647.html http://tc.eserver.org/20647.html Advice about managing stress in the workplace. http://tc.eserver.org/20650.html http://tc.eserver.org/20650.html Underneath the carnival excitement of the information revolution I hear a quiet but persistent murmur warning of an emerging technology crisis. Not everything is right in the information economy. http://tc.eserver.org/20628.html http://tc.eserver.org/20628.html ROI - Return on Investment - is one way of looking at the value of usability to a business. This article was originally published in the Winter 2002 User Experience Magazine as part of 'Return on Investment for Usable UI Design' by Aaron Marcus. http://tc.eserver.org/20629.html http://tc.eserver.org/20629.html Usability is not just about research and labs. It has a real impact on real projects in the real world. This section includes case studies, news stories, facts and examples to help make the case that usability is a critical part of any product development effort. http://tc.eserver.org/20586.html http://tc.eserver.org/20586.html There's been a lot of chatter recently on one of the Yahoo Groups I belong to revolving around the issue of 'we get no respect.' A few people seem to have spent so much time commiserating about their lack of respect, you'd have to wonder just how they get any actual work done. The discussions on this not-so-new theme topic began as a response to Bruce Tognazzini's recent article entitled 'It's Time We Got Respect.' For those of you who are not so flush with unbillable hours to have had time to participate in this lively debate, I'll provide you some background and then get to the heart of the issue I think we, as usability professionals, need to further examine. http://tc.eserver.org/20583.html http://tc.eserver.org/20583.html It’s human nature to believe that ‘others may be overpaid, but I never am’. Sure enough, about half of the survey respondents said that they were underpaid and about half said that their pay was ‘fair’. Only one person was said he was ‘overpaid’. http://tc.eserver.org/19742.html http://tc.eserver.org/19742.html Usability is rapidly becoming an important skill for technical communicators and a growing interest for those seeking to expand their role as technical communicators into other areas of product development. The STC usability SIG now has over 2000 members, and the conference sessions at STC regional and annual conferences increasingly focus on usability. This year, a new 'stem' was created at the annual conference, which combined Information Design and Usability, because they just naturally belong together. It worked so well that it will be continued in future conferences. http://tc.eserver.org/19479.html http://tc.eserver.org/19479.html The author’s company is continually looking for people to add to our professional staff of usability and documentation specialists. To overcome the challenges posed by geographically distributed offices, and to ensure new hires can become productive quickly, Tec-Ed takes a structured approach to screening, qualifying, and selecting new hires and then uses a hands-on, building-block approach to train them in our usability methodologies. http://tc.eserver.org/19312.html http://tc.eserver.org/19312.html Is your organisation in need of a user champion? It might not be the perfect solution, but as a first step it can have far-reaching consequences. If your organisation already has significant resources assisting with interface development, but tends to make key decisions on the basis of hunches or personal opinions, a single individual with a remit to judge the interface from the users point of view may be beneficial. Of course, any appointment must be more than a gesture. A user champion must be confident of management support and fully involved in the development and design process, at every stage. http://tc.eserver.org/18937.html http://tc.eserver.org/18937.html This article is based upon my own experience transitioning from a career in corporate-world project management into the field of user experience design. With dedication, some talent, a few classes, and a healthy dose of self-promotion, the transition was fairly easy, very enjoyable, and took about two years. I have outlined a few key points to consider if you are planning to start a career in user experience design. http://tc.eserver.org/18596.html http://tc.eserver.org/18596.html There's room for speciality design agencies, Web developers and full-service interactive agencies. A former director of media resources and research at Bates Worldwide, New York, Mr. Gugel said he thought it was only natural that an interactive agency offer everything a traditional agency does--but modified for the Web: account management, media planning, strategic planning and research capabilities. http://tc.eserver.org/18581.html http://tc.eserver.org/18581.html Having a beautiful Web site with all the latest sales technology won’t help your business if visitors can’t find their way around. But how can you fix navigation problems when exploring your Web site seems as confusing as tracing a single strand in a plate of spaghetti? http://tc.eserver.org/18357.html http://tc.eserver.org/18357.html This paper informs students, parents, and professionals within technical communication about the profession of usability. It starts with various research methods and sources of more information. Then the focus shifts to the profession of usability, discussing topics such as: user-centered design, the definition of usability, possible career tracks, educational opportunities, educational requirements, future trends in the profession of usability, and trends within the field of usability. The paper provides an overview of the profession and relevant issues surrounding it, as well as providing sources of additional information. http://tc.eserver.org/18161.html http://tc.eserver.org/18161.html A positive user experience is critical to the success of your business. Improving the usability of offerings is a sound business strategy, and by following good engineering practices, you can do this, delighting your users, differentiating yourselves from your competition, and enhancing your success. http://tc.eserver.org/18157.html http://tc.eserver.org/18157.html The proposed competencies for a Usability Professional have been derived from ISO 13407, ISO TR 18529 and the Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA). http://tc.eserver.org/14940.html http://tc.eserver.org/14940.html I recently posted a message to a popular usability discussion list to learn more about usability-oriented resumes and portfolios. I come from a technical background and my résumé lists common technologies and software. I am interested in creating a version of my resume with a focus on usability, so I wondered what types of information usability practitioners list on their resumes, as well as what usability employers look for. I was also looking for advice regarding online portfolios. Do people prefer online to paper? What types of work should I include? I received a lot of great responses. Everyone believes having an online resume and portfolio is important. Several people said it is important to tailor your resume and portfolio for each job opportunity. I agree with that, but would add that it is important to maintain a comprehensive version of both online, and then tailor the printed versions for each job. http://tc.eserver.org/13710.html http://tc.eserver.org/13710.html For the past nine months the Usability Professionals’ Association (UPA) participated in a project to investigate the feasibility of certifying usability (or user-centered design) professionals. The project was kicked off in Salt Lake City last November when a group of people from many organizations, countries and associations met for three days. That meeting ended with a sense of enthusiasm for creating a certification program based on the international standard for a human-centered design process, ISO 13407. The group planned activities to survey professionals to determine the level of support for certification, and to understand the benefits and drawbacks seen by stakeholders. http://tc.eserver.org/13715.html http://tc.eserver.org/13715.html The mood on the usability e-lists is somber. At the WinWriters conference in February, every hand in the audience went up when we were asked if we knew someone who was out of work. Successive rounds of budget cuts and layoffs mean that even those who are still employed are on tenterhooks, or working even harder to fill the gaps. On list recently, posts were predicting even harder times ahead and worrying about whether it was time for usability practitioners to look for alternate careers. http://tc.eserver.org/13613.html http://tc.eserver.org/13613.html To reach the goal of making technology truly suited for humans, the world will need about half a million new usability professionals over the next 20 years. The sooner their training begins, the better off we'll all be. People frequently ask me what it takes to become a usability professional and get a job in the field. The answer lies in characteristics that all great usability professionals share. http://tc.eserver.org/11913.html http://tc.eserver.org/11913.html A survey of 1,078 user experience professionals finds that usability specialists make more money than designers and writers in the same field. In all three areas, salaries are highest in the U.S., lower in Canada and Asia, and much lower in Europe and Australia. http://tc.eserver.org/11816.html http://tc.eserver.org/11816.html People unfamiliar with usability think that it's cosmetic and can be combined with other phases of development when time is available. It's often difficult to educate them, especially if they are more senior than you are and consider it a waste of time. They will not be convinced by statistics from anywhere other than outside the organization. What should you do next? You may be able to say something like 'It seems your only objection is [whatever], so if we can resolve this issue, do you have any other reasons why we shouldn't do usability testing?' This way, you have their agreement to do usability just as soon as you have resolved the issue. http://tc.eserver.org/11821.html http://tc.eserver.org/11821.html Electronic Performance Support System(s), or EPSS, automates three types of traditional performance support for software users: training, documentation, and help desks. Integrating these support mechanisms into software--using wizards, clear and simple interfaces, and various forms of embedded user assistance--allows novice users to perform competently with minimal help from training, documentation or calls to help desks. http://tc.eserver.org/11804.html http://tc.eserver.org/11804.html Shared Medical Systems Corporation (SMS) recently combined its 66-person technical writing group and six-person performance-centered design team to form a new department called User Performance. With more and more clinicians—often novice users—interacting with SMS systems, SMS recognized the need to place an increased focus on usability. http://tc.eserver.org/10579.html http://tc.eserver.org/10579.html In our consulting work, we’ve noticed that some companies build usable products through the heroic efforts of one or two individuals. Although the end result is desirable, the products suffer when those individuals leave the company. Other clients have established strict processes that are supposed to promote usability. However, because the company has imposed these processes on developers, individuals follow them in letter but not in spirit — they just don’t buy into them. http://tc.eserver.org/10543.html http://tc.eserver.org/10543.html An international directory of listings for positions in HCI. http://tc.eserver.org/10538.html http://tc.eserver.org/10538.html Job postings will be removed after 3 months unless you notify the UPA office. A short reference to your job posting on the UPA website will be included in 1 issue of the Common Ground newsletter. To advertise the full job posting in the Common Ground, contact the UPA office at office@upassoc.org for ad sizes and rates. http://tc.eserver.org/10541.html http://tc.eserver.org/10541.html The other day I enrolled my daughter for her first school class. The application interview went well. That is, until I was asked: 'What is your occupation?' I was lost for words. The same happens to me each time I go to a party. Inevitably, somebody will ask: 'What are you doing for a living?' I used to call myself a 'usability engineer'. Not that I like the term particularly. But it sounds respectable. Unfortunately, that got me into trouble with the Association of Professional Engineers. You cannot call yourself an engineer unless you are a member. Well, I am not a member. And I am not planning to become one soon, either.