Activities of the Usability and User Experience Community
2001 Conference - Chicago, Illinois

Usability Session Descriptions

99-Second Tips on Usability - Moderator, Dick Miller, Hewlett-Packard
A lively, interactive panel discussion in which each of a series of presenters (and session attendees) has just ninety-nine seconds to present a usability tip, experience, or perspective. This session was a lot of fun at last year's conference, so come with your tip and join the fun. The format is this: speakers (both advance volunteers and those in the audience who are inspired) are asked to share a tip, hint, war story, idea, principle, etc. from the realm of Usability, and to do so in 99 seconds or less. At the end of that time (usually marked by some kind of rude audio signal), the speaker must stop, in mid-sentence if need be. This makes for a very fast-paced, informative, enjoyable session.

ID3N - Making Information Visual: Creating Effective Web Pages - Ginny Redish
The Web is really about content--about information--and information has to be designed to be effective. Come work with Ginny Redish and get practical ideas for turning staid prose into good visual formats.

TR4L - Prototyping and Usability Testing with Visio - Whitney Quesenbery and Karen Bachmann
Are you looking for a good technique for creating user interface prototypes? Do you need an easy way to prepare screens for early usability testing during the design process? This session defines the different kinds of prototypes and demonstrates how to use Visio to create rapid prototypes good enough for team reviews and usability testing.

TR5FF - Usability LIVE! Techniques for Conducting Evaluations and Impacting Product Design - Mike Bates and Ed See
Participate in a live, product usability evaluation. Learn how to prepare user scenarios, conduct an actual evaluation using a portable usability lab, and interpret the results into information that will enhance the user’s experience in your product’s next release.

TT5G - Beyond Usability Testing: Alternative Ways to Evaluate the Usability of Software, Hardware, and Documentation - Chauncey Wilson
This workshop will introduce attendees to lesser-known, but powerful methods of assessing the usability or documentation, software, and hardware. The purpose of this workshop is to introduce a range of usability evaluation methods beyond the basic "think aloud", heuristic evaluation, and laboratory benchmarking studies. Techniques like usability edits, cognitive walkthroughs, user interface races, and cooperative evaluation will be
discussed. During the workshop we will actually try a sample of these methods to evaluate a GUI, a Web site, and some on-line documentation.

TT6U - Using a Goal Process Plan for Product Communication - Basil White
In this demonstration, participants will learn how to develop a product interface and all product communication from a simple hierarchical model, including product documentation, online help, training, customer support and the user interface.

TR7D - What Does Usability Mean - Panel with Ginny Redish, Caroline Jarrett, Judy Ramey, Whitney Quesenbery
Now that everyone is talking about usability, it's time to understand just what it is. What is the goal of all the user analysis, user-centered design and usability testing? In this panel discussion, participants will explore the meaning of usability, and the way in which technical communication relates to user-centered design

TR10I - Storytelling: Using Narrative to Communicate Design - Whitney Quesenbery
Why are software requirements so difficult to read? Why can it be so hard to convince product teams to try new user interface techniques? This workshop will look at how communicators can use storytelling techniques to make their point, convey information about user context, or sell a design idea.

TR10S -  Thinking Outside Our Own Box: Research From Other Fields and What It Might Mean For Us - Ginny Redish
This demonstration offers a few challenging ideas from research in ethnography and organizational development. Questions include: How do users really get their information? Why are organizations reluctant to innovate? And what does this mean for technical communicators?

PC9 - Interviewing Skills for Usability Evaluators - Caroline Jarrett
In this tutorial, you will review your questioning and listening skills; learn how to plan and prepare for initial and exit interviews; practice coping with difficult participants; and share your experiences with fellow professionals.
The tutorial was developed as an in-house presentation. It has been enhanced with exercises designed by Chris Elgood, a leading training and management games consultant. It features:

• Quick practical reviews of interviewing, as it applies to usability evaluations
• Activities to practice the skills discussed
• Reflection on the activities and the learning experience

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