#28726
Seeking an Accessible and Usable Survey Tool
When we set out to survey members of the AccessAbility SIG of Society for Technical Communication (STC), we needed an accessible tool to live up to the SIG's name and charter. Free was also a nice price tag.
Mardahl, Karen and Lisa Pappas. Usability Professionals Association (2007). Articles>Usability>Methods>Surveys
#14580
This is a collection of presentations, white papers and other resources on selling usability. Links are provided where they are available.
Usability Professionals Association. Articles>Usability>Assessment
#21092
Shopping for Ideas at UPA Idea Markets
Ever feel that the best part of a conference happens between sessions? Ulf Andersson did. So, in the 1970s, he created a format for conference sessions called an 'Idea Market.' Attendees are free to roam from one idea station to the next, until they find a topic that grabs their attention. 'Activators' at each station stir up lively discourse on a variety of subjects in an interactive, fluid session. I had attended Idea Markets at other conferences and thought that they might be perfectly suited to UPA conferences because of the potential for getting practitioners buzzing about a variety of topics. So, I submitted a proposal to conduct an Idea Market at UPA in 2002 as a special type of 'panel' session. The reviewers had a tough time grasping the concept. Fortunately, the panel co-chairs went with it, and the first-ever Idea Market launched successfully.
Chisnell, Dana E. Usability Professionals Association (2003). Articles>Collaboration>Usability
#13805
How do we reduce time and costs and still achieve good results? Thirteen usability professionals joined forces in a workshop to develop answers to this question. The results are presented here in two parts: Four lists of recommendations in areas developed from specific issues. An inventory of techniques that have worked for the workshop participants in the past
Bugental, J.O. 'Joe' and Kristin Travis. Usability Professionals Association (2001). Design>User Interface>User Centered Design
#22751
Social Networking and Social Software
Social Networks and Social Software have been gaining a great deal of attention in corporate think tanks and discussion groups around the world. Review of progress in this area and interview with Huy Zing, a self-described, 'seriously addicted online community personality.'
Quenin, Eileen. Usability Professionals Association (2004). Articles>Collaboration>Online
#21096
Speed: The Missing Link in Usability Testing
Businesses everywhere are launching internal and customer-focused applications on the World Wide Web, using them as channels to reach scores of employees and customers in a matter of seconds. Prior to launching such applications, many organizations hold a series of usability tests. Everything is tested: from the initial front-end interface, navigational structure, the information architecture, and overall ease of use. Often, though, companies forget to test the one thing that will assure them that their site or application is easy to use: speed.
Dorfman, Susan and Donald Doane. Usability Professionals Association (2003). Articles>Usability>Methods
#30874
Spread the Word: World Usability Day 2007
We are proud of the work we did to make World Usability Day 2007 a success. With 156 events in 40 countries and 30 online events, WUD 2007 was a resounding success. On the ground, events were held on six continents. Online events included a panel and several speakers focusing on the theme of Healthcare as well as other important topics.
Rosenzweig, Elizabeth. Usability Professionals Association (2008). Articles>Usability>International
#25901
Take Breaks! A Simple Way to Improve Your Heuristic Evaluation Results
As primary tools in the usability field, heuristic or expert evaluations can be rich areas for methods studies and improvement. Early results of one methods study suggest that performing evaluations in limited segments, with breaks between each segment, may increase the effectiveness of the evaluator in identifying usability problems.
Faulkner, Laura. Usability Professionals Association (2005). Articles>Usability>Methods>Heuristic Evaluation
#31994
Teaching Election Officials Usability Testing
The election calendar is very tight, with legally mandated deadlines and other constraints, all conducted in the public view. The UPA Voting and Usability Project wanted a way to fit usability testing into that schedule, and give election officials a way to do what they all want: run excellent elections.
Quesenbery, Whitney. Usability Professionals Association (2008). Articles>Usability>Government
#28714
Review: There Must be Many I's in Today's Small UX teams: Jared Spool at NYC UPA
Jared Spool led the NYC UPA membership in an energetic discussion of user experience successes and failures. Comments ranged widely but centered on three main questions.
Herring, Richard D. Usability Professionals Association (2007). Articles>Reviews>Presentations>Usability
#21872
This Is Broken: A Compilation of Bad Experiences
If you know a user experience that irritates you, don't just site there and grouse about it. Send it in to ThisIsBroken.com, a compilation of bad experiences: products, services, places, and Web designs that don't put the user first.
Hurst, Mark. Usability Professionals Association (2004). Articles>Usability>User Interface
#31631
Do usability engineers make good managers? It depends. It's a profession that highly values its practitioners, is famous for its consultants and gurus, and also attracts its share of introverts.
Anderson, Clifford. Usability Professionals Association (2008). Articles>Interviews>Usability
#26240
Jared Spool is usability's 'bad boy.' With his challenging opinions and his theatrical way of presenting them, he has excited and frustrated usability practitioners and thought leaders for many years. Agree or disagree, love him or hate him, you have to give him credit. Jared's is one of the most easily-recognized names in the field.
Anderson, Clifford. Usability Professionals Association (2005). Articles>Usability
#31203
The usability of voting systems is something almost all usability practitioners can get excited about. It's interesting, it's important, it's in the news, it's challenging. Sharon Laskowski has been lucky to be in on this effort from the very beginning. Her team at NIST (the National Institute of Standards and Technology) was tasked with doing major research and coming up with standards for these systems through the Help America Vote Act, passed by the US Congress in 2002.
Anderson, Clifford. Usability Professionals Association (2008). Articles>Interviews>Usability
#29326
Susan Dray was one of the first women in the field of usability. Since then, she's started her own company, published and spoken extensively, done important work with a number of professional organizations, and carved a niche for herself in field work and international usability. Through it all, though, her philosophy has remained the same: 'If the user can't use it, it doesn't work.'
Anderson, Clifford. Usability Professionals Association (2007). Articles>Interviews>Usability>History
#25599
Negotiation is a part of life, though we may not always think of it in conscious terms. Although this article is written from the perspective of a consultant bidding on a project, the concepts of negotiation apply to many situations where you are trying to reach agreement with someone.
Snyder, Carolyn. Usability Professionals Association (2005). Articles>Collaboration
#24737
Tools and Programming Languages for Creating Interactive Prototypes
This the first in a series of articles exploring the ways practioners go about making effective prototypes. This article presents just one method - the use of HTML and JavaScript. Amanda has posted requests on several usability lists requesting information about different approaches, and would be keen to hear how you do it.
Nance, Amanda. Usability Professionals Association (2004). Design>User Interface>User Centered Design
#28487
Translating the Web: Web Site Development for an Asian Audience
In all aspects of marketing, the Eastern world is breaking through to the West. More and more businesses are expanding product lines and services into a new market that involves countries in East Asia. Whether a business forms an alliance with a Chinese company to use its resources for a project, or it sells directly to Japanese consumers, it is clear that key media materials should be appropriate for Asian audiences.
Sinex, Jacqueline. Usability Professionals Association (2006). Articles>Web Design>Localization>Asia
#21873
Trends Toward Greater Usability in Voting Technology
UPA's Voting and Usability project is tracking several important trends toward greater usability in voting technology across the globe: Verified voting, The NIST Voting Symposium, FEC Brochures, Voting Developments in the UK and in the Republic of Ireland.
Scott, Josephine. Usability Professionals Association (2004). Articles>Usability>User Interface>Civic
#20583
UK 2003 Usability Salary Survey 
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’.
Usability Professionals Association (2003). Careers>Salaries>Usability>United Kingdom
#22752
UK Accessibility Investigation of 1,000 Web Sites - Results Released
An investigation of 1000 UK Web sites carried out on behalf of the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) reveals unacceptably poor (in fact woeful) accessibility. At least 81% of sites failed to meet the minimum accessibility standard, and this figure is likely to be much higher.
Dodd, Jon. Usability Professionals Association (2004). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Usability
#26392
The Code of Conduct for UPA has been accepted at the September 2005 Board meeting.
Bellaver, Richard F. Usability Professionals Association (2005). Articles>Usability
#27792
UPA Member and Salary Survey (2005)
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.
Sherman, Paul J. Usability Professionals Association (2006). Careers>Usability>Salaries
#25192
UPA Member Interview with Lucia Filgueiras
An interview with Lucia Filgueiras, a professor at Escola Politecnica, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Filgueiras, Lucia. Usability Professionals Association (2005). Articles>Usability
#26239
UPA Supports Maintaining Human Engineering Standard
Standards give very specific details about all varieties of design and give insight into the best practices of an item or process.
Sachs, Baruch. Usability Professionals Association (2005). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Standards
