Immersibility: What the World Needs Now?

'Immersibility' is a concept that takes a holistic approach to the quality of the Web user experience. The concept is discussed on www.immersibility.com. The site results from work by agency.com, the Nielsen Norman Group and Gomoll Research & Design. The site also offers a tool called 'the immersibility index' intended to measure, in a holistic manner, the quality of the Web user experience.

Zukor, Lee. Usability Professionals Association (2001). Design>Web Design>User Centered Design

Industry Usability Reporting and the Common Industry Format (ANSI-NCITS 354-2001)

The Common Industry Format (CIF) is a standard method for reporting usability test findings. The format is primarily for reporting results of formal usability tests in which quantitative measurements were collected and is particularly appropriate for summative/comparative testing. The CIF targets two audiences: usability professionals and stakeholders in an organization. Stakeholders can use the usability data to help make informed decisions concerning the release of software products or the procurement of such products. While the CIF is formally aimed for software products, it can be used for hardware usability as well.

Parush, Avi and Emile Morse. Usability Professionals Association (2003). Articles>Usability>Standards>Reports

It Is Easy To Criticize But...Challenge to Find Examples of GOOD Usability

It is easy to find examples of poor usability and many books and sites devote themselves to this. We can learn from mistakes and we can laugh and feel superior about it, but what about learning from great design?

Usability Professionals Association (2004). Articles>Web Design>Usability

It's All Happening in China

I traveled to Beijing, China for User Friendly 2004 to meet a few of our usability colleagues there. What I found was a large and vibrant usability community.

Quesenbery, Whitney. Usability Professionals Association (2005). Articles>Usability>Regional>China

An Iterative Approach to Better Working Relationships

Discover creative solutions to inter-personal problems in the workplace using an iterative approach: observation of moment-to-moment interactions to assess the effectiveness of our responses. We will present six options for resolving conflicts, clarifying when and how to use each through case studies, work in small groups, and simulations.

Ziff, Joel D. Usability Professionals Association (2004). Presentations>Collaboration

Living with Terror: Empowering Ourselves in a Time of Stress

Advice about managing stress in the workplace.

Ziff, Joel D. Usability Professionals Association (2002). Careers>Workplace>Usability

Localization. It's Big in Japan

How do you carry out usability research in a country where you don't speak the language and where the customs are very different from you own? How can you perform a study where you need to largely rely on an interpreter for communications between you and your participants? And most importantly, how do you translate research findings into a design that is culturally appropriate and yet in alignment with corporate directives?

Malcolm, Casey. Usability Professionals Association (2007). Articles>Usability>Localization>Japan

Low-Cost Usability Testing

Southwest Airlines' low-cost methods for formal usability testing.

Hurst, Bob. Usability Professionals Association (2005). Articles>Usability>Testing

Member Profile and Salary Survey

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.

Usability Professionals Association (2000). Careers>Salaries>Usability

The Most Non-Boring Article About The UPA Board Ever

A quick overview of the Usability Professionals Association Board--what functions it performs, how it's structured, and who's currently performing what role.

Sherman, Paul J. Usability Professionals Association (2006). Articles>Usability>Collaboration

The Mystery of Recruiting

We love a good detective novel, so it is no surprise that the sometimes mysterious nature in which market research operates gives us a similar kick. As the great Sherlock Holmes poses the endless questions for his unfortunate sidekick, Watson, it behooves us to do the same in our line of work: What is the ultimate goal of the ubiquitously mysterious end-client? Who will benefit from this study? Who ultimately has the means, the motive and the opportunity to participate?

Lundgren, Lauren and Tina Osinski. Usability Professionals Association (2005). Articles>Usability>Methods

New Hampshire Usability Professionals' Association Launches On Seacoast

A dedicated group of industry experts have launched the New Hampshire Usability Professionals' Association (UPA). The goal of the newly formed group is to foster the growth of the user experience community in the Seacoast and Southern New Hampshire regions. The group will provide networking and professional development opportunities for usability professionals and provide an environment for members to exchange information on tips, tools, methodologies, and technologies related to usability.

Whalen, Kelly. Usability Professionals Association (2008). Articles>Usability>Community Building>New England

Nip It in the NUB (Neo-Usability Bashing)

Lately in some quarters it's cool to bash usability. This is a bit different from the 'Never heard of it and don't need it' kind of opposition many of us have encountered in our careers. The Neo-Usability Bashing (NUB) argument goes something like this: Usability is so '90s, so software-application centered. In this brave new networked world, usability's outlived its worth. On the Web, people aren't 'users' as they were when they were using a spreadsheet or a word processing application, they're 'searchers,' 'game-players,' 'shoppers,' etc.

Donahue, George. Usability Professionals Association (2000). Articles>Usability>Workplace

Ode to Balloon Help

Perhaps we should look to the simplest elements of usability for inspiration. Perhaps it's time to recognize the contribution of a single humble helper. Yes, it's time for an ode to Balloon Help.

Cavanagh, Thomas B. Usability Professionals Association (2004). Design>User Interface>Usability

Old Dogs, New Tricks

What if we could offer a course or two on usability, on thinking like a user, on design thinking, on the user-centered design process?

Sampson, Fred. Usability Professionals Association (2007). Articles>Usability>Education

On Being Modern: New Technologies and Voting Outside the US

The argument most frequently advanced in the United Kingdom in favour of implementing electronic voting is that it will increase turnout. In the UK, the under-25s tend to avoid voting in elections of any type. Local government and European Parliament elections rank among the worst for turnout (below 40 percent) and demonstrate a continuous downward trend in recent years.

Ferguson, Louise. Usability Professionals Association (2003). Articles>Usability>User Interface>Civic

Overcoming Environmental Barriers

On May 3, 2008, something extraordinary happened: the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities went into effect. The goals of the Convention are lofty: it insists that all persons with all types of disabilities must enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms and sets out eight guiding principles and obligations to meet them.

Quesenbery, Whitney. Usability Professionals Association (2008). Articles>Usability>Accessibility>International

Overcoming Resistance to Change: The North Carolina Board of Elections Tackles Accessibility

Many usability professionals are also responsible for the accessibility of the products they work on. We often find that the hardest step in creating an accessibility program is making it a 'way of life,' a goal supported throughout the organization.

McLean, Johnnie F. Usability Professionals Association (2005). Articles>Usability

Personas and Diversity

As a company recognized by a number of publications and organizations for its ongoing commitment to a diverse workforce, Wachovia promotes diversity as a business imperative critical to the company's success. On Wachovia's web properties, the company tries to appeal to diverse segments through images of people of different races, ethnicities, and ages, reflecting the company's customer base. However, a recent usability test revealed that working off such demographics alone is not enough to translate diversity, and that building personas is the key to creating, not just representation, but relevancy.

Zhou, Yun and Cliff Anderson. Usability Professionals Association (2008). Articles>User Centered Design>Personas

Podcasting for User-Centered Design

This summer marks the anniversary of initial recordings of Design Critique: Products for People with Tim & Tom, a podcast devoted to informing listeners about the advantages of User-Centered Design (UCD). I hope this article may encourage the creation of other podcasts related to UCD theory and practice. Our vision of doing a UCD-related podcast was that an informal, occasionally humorous show combining consumer product critiques, interviews with user experience professionals, and occasional method discussions might fill a void I perceived in the podcasting world. Sometimes the absence of a thing may imply more than its presence would, and I was concerned that this new medium didn't seem to have many regular shows devoted to what user experience professionals can offer the world. A maturing, innovative field ought to be represented in a maturing, innovative medium.

Keirnan, Timothy. Usability Professionals Association (2006). Articles>User Centered Design>Streaming>Podcasting

The Problem with Usability Change Recommendations

Contemporary user testing methods have proven highly effective at identifying problems in computer interfaces. By directly measuring users’ ability to complete key tasks, practitioners can expediently uncover what are often colossal failures of usability that are otherwise difficult to perceive. User testing, then, affords a strong empirical basis for recommending that designers make changes to resolve the problems found.

Ferrara, John. Usability Professionals Association (2005). Articles>Usability>Methods

Professional Title and Association du Jour

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.

Usability Professionals Association (2003). Careers>Usability>Professionalism

Remote Usability: Insight into New Tools

A review of software packages for moderated usability testing in a native environment via a telephone/web interface.

Madaio, Mike. Usability Professionals Association (2006). Articles>Usability>Testing>Online

The ROI of Usability

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.

Usability Professionals Association. Careers>Management>Usability

The Roles of an Interaction Designer

Explains the relation between the interaction designer and the design situation. The design situation includes the users, imagined users, customers, current practice, and competitors. The designer needs to be sensitive to and use precision when acting upon the situation.

Lowgren, Jonas. Usability Professionals Association (2002). Design>Web Design>Interaction Design