Activities of the Usability and User Experience Community
2004 Conference - Baltimore, Maryland

Usability Sessions at a Glance
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Post-Conference Tutorials

The following sessions are recommended for those interested in usability, information design, information architecture, or other related user experience fields. These are just a sampling of the available sessions; you may also want to consider sessions in other relevant STC stems, such as Theory and Research or Tools and Technology.

Monday Sessions

The Future of the Web: Reaching "Any User"

Monday 11:00-12:00 noon (Room: 337/338)
Format: Panel Discussion
Skill Level: Intermediate

Many Web sites now are created to reach previously underserved communities, such as older adults, young people, people with disabilities, and those with lower literacy levels. This panel of experts discusses writing and designing for this broad audience and what this approach means for the future of the Web.

Speakers:
Steve Krug, Advanced Common Sense
Whitney Quesenbery, Whitney Interactive Design
Janice C. Redish, Redish & Associates
Karen A. Schriver, KSA, Document Design & Research

Are You in Your Right Mind?: Considering the Left-Hander

Monday 11:00-12:00 noon (Room: 327)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Intermediate

This fun demonstration shows why the left-hander should be considered in information and product design.

Speakers:
Judith Glick-Smith, The Glick-Smith Group
Mary Jo Stark, Landmark Graphics

Less is More: Developing Online Tools to Help Customers Make Buying Decisions

Monday 11:00-12:00 noon (Room: 319)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Intermediate

This demonstration will showcase a project that coupled a wizard tool with thoughtful content development to create an online shopping tool. The tool educates customers about products and helps them make buying decisions.

Speakers:
Bonni Graham, Manual Labor Inc.
Kristine L. Oden, Invitrogen Corporation

Designing Information for Mobile Users

Monday 11:00-12:00 noon (Room: 336)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Intermediate

Microsoft is rethinking how to provide just-in-time information to Pocket PC and Smartphone users. What are these users' information needs? When and where do they look for information? This session presents user research and offers a vision for creating better information spaces for mobile users.

Speaker:
Patricia Hallstein, Microsoft Corporation

Monday 11:00-12:00 noon (Room: 332)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Beginner

Learn how to build usability into your company one step at a time. This session presents one company's experience of using existing resources, discovering internal and external training options, and sharpening cross-team communication.

Speaker:
Ellyn Felts Hassell, Blackbaud, Inc.

Monday 11:00-12:00 noon (Room: 329)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Intermediate

The Web allows us to easily provide updated documentation for our users, but why stop there? An "Answer Station" Web site can direct users to documentation, plus provide information about technical support, consulting, training, and so on.

Speakers:
Nicoletta A. Bleiel, Rockwell Software, Inc.
Beth A. Williams, Intuit

Getting Started in Usability

Monday 2:00-3:30 PM (Room: Ballroom I)
Format: Progression
Skill Level: Beginner

Are you beginning to do usability? This progression gives you a great selection of topics aimed at people like you, including "Understanding Real Users," "Integrating User Experience into Task Analysis," "Becoming a User Advocate," and "Writing with User Benefits in Mind."

Speakers:
Annette Bradford, Tivoli Systems
Robin Clark, NetIQ Corporation
Jewel I. Darby, NetIQ Corporation
Sylvia B. Emanuel, NetIQ Corporation
Susan D. Tacker, NetIQ Corporation
Gary S. Etzel, Advantica, Inc.
Tonya Kelley McKee, Advantica, Inc.

How Blind and Low-vision Users Work with Web Sites

Monday 2:00-3:30 PM (Room: 337/338)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Intermediate

How do people who use special tools work with Web sites? Hear the results of a fascinating study, see video clips, and get practical guidelines for making Web sites both accessible and usable.

Speakers:
Janice C. Redish, Redish & Associates
Mary F. Theofanos, National Institute of Standards and Technology

An Introduction to Prototyping Online Information

Monday 2:00-3:30 PM (Room: 333)
Format: Workshop
Skill Level: Beginner

Technical communicators might not prototype online information because they believe it is expensive, difficult, or time-consuming. This workshop teaches low-fidelity prototyping techniques that are cheap, easy, and relatively fast.

Speakers:
Kristen James Eberlein
Karen Mobley

Low-cost Content Management

Monday 2:00-3:30 PM (Room: 329)
Format: Panel Discussion
Skill Level: Intermediate

More and more, single sourcing has been tied to content management, but until recently this approach to content management has been too expensive for most companies. This session explores the low-cost solutions becoming available.

Speakers:
Steve Manning, The Rockley Group
Ann Rockley, The Rockley Group

Introduction to Diagramming with Visio

Monday 2:00-3:30 PM (Room: 324)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Skill Level: Beginner

In this demonstration, learn how to use Visio to create various diagrams that will address the needs of your workplace.

Speakers:
Mark Edward Attew, Earthlink, Inc.
Matt Murphy, Earthlink, Inc.
Drew Von Buseck, Earthlink, Inc.

Magical Numbers

Monday 2:00-3:30 PM (Room: 318)
Format: Workshop
Skill Level: Advanced

Our oft-cited capacity to process seven-plus-or-minus-two items presented together is a myth. This workshop explains why, then proposes practical limits from zero to six.

Speaker:
Jean-luc Dumont, JL Consulting

Guerilla Usability for Tech Writers: Lowering the Water Instead of Writing about the Bridge

Monday 4:00-5:00 PM (Room: 337/338)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Beginner

Steve (Don't Make Me Think) Krug will attempt to extract some useful strategies for tech writers from his ten years of experience in writing user manuals and his fifteen years as a usability consultant.

Speaker:
Steve Krug, Advanced Common Sense

Usability Testing in a PocketPC World

Monday 4:00-5:00 PM (Room: 324)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Intermediate

Performing usability tests on PocketPCs presents new challenges to testing techniques and a new set of user preconceptions to overcome.

Speakers:
George F. Hayhoe, Mercer University
Barbara L. Szyjko, Mercer University
Christian Walters, Cox Communications, Inc.

From Discovery to Deliverables: Unified Document Development for the User Community

Monday 4:00-5:00 PM (Room: 344)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Advanced

Learn how the Information Technology Division at Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc., in Marietta, Georgia, has implemented a methodology to gather customer requirements, and how that process has created cohesive user and validation documentation.

Speakers:
Joyce Allen, Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Susan P. Kuebler, Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Louis Molnar, The Information Architecture Group

Documentation Solutions for Complex Projects

Monday 4:00-5:00 PM (Room: 330)
Format: Paper
Skill Level: Intermediate

Complex projects and software development present special documentation challenges. Learn two different approaches for these tasks.

Moderator:
Phil Oye, Moment Design, Inc.
Speakers:
Matthew A. Laney, Mentor Graphics Corporation
John Payne, Moment Design, Inc.
Lisa K. Swallow, Mentor Graphics Corporation

Monday 4:00-5:00 PM (Room: 329)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Intermediate

Learn how to implement a two-stage customer feedback program that starts with customer surveys. Benefits are increased customer satisfaction, improved documentation quality, and decreased technical support costs.

Speakers:
Tony Cyphers, Cisco Systems, Inc.
Vincent Francis, Cisco Systems, Inc.
Mary Goon, Cisco Systems, Inc.

Usable Intranets--Providing Information Employees Want and Need

Monday 4:00-5:00 PM (Room: 332)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Beginner

A well-designed intranet increases productivity, is relatively easy to maintain, and costs less than the paper it replaces. However, most intranets are not well-designed and actually decrease productivity. This workshop contains examples of good intranets and exercises for creating them.

Speakers:
Elaine Brofford, Elaine Brofford & Associates, Inc.
Linda Latenser, Linda Latenser, LLC

Challenges in Information Modeling

Monday 4:00-5:00 PM (Room: 342)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Advanced

Information models form the specification for a unified content strategy, but information modeling brings new challenges to those creating, reviewing, and implementing models. This presentation explores those issues.

Speaker:
Pamela R. Kostur, The Rockley Group Inc.

Tuesday Sessions

Applying Research to Practice: What's Relevant Today?

Tuesday 8:30-10:00 AM (Room: 340/341)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Intermediate

Come work with Ginny Redish and learn about research that informs best practice. Get ammunition for explaining WHY to managers and other team members and get new ideas for your own work.

Speaker:
Janice C. Redish, Redish & Associates

Planning Usability Tests for Maximum Impact

Tuesday 8:30-10:00 AM (Room: 334/335)
Format: Workshop
Skill Level: Intermediate

Learn how to estimate, plan, and manage usability tests. You will then have the tools you need to sell testing to management and maximize impact on the product.

Speakers:
Scott M. McDaniel, Cognetics Corporation
Laura Snyder, Cognetics Corporation

Strategies and Tools for Information Architecture: Helping User Gain

Tuesday 8:30-10:00 AM (Room: 332)
Format: Workshop
Skill Level: Intermediate

Look at document structure from a performance framework. Reshape information so it is graphical, action-focused, interconnected, and navigable. Learn strategies. Explore tools. Have fun.

Speaker:
Thomas E. Haller, Info Design, Inc.

Designing Information Deliverables Using a User-Topic Matrix

Tuesday 8:30-10:00 AM (Room: 342)
Format: Workshop
Skill Level: Intermediate

Whether single sourcing, maximizing reuse, or doing more traditional information design, you can use the user-topic matrix to design your information products and manage your projects more effectively.

Speaker:
Alexia Idoura, VERITAS Software Corporation

Willing and Able: How Technical Communicators with Disabilities Can Succeed in Their Profession

Tuesday 8:30-10:00 AM (Room: Ballroom I)
Format: Progression
Skill Level: Intermediate

This session discusses barriers that impede the practice of technical communication for people with disabilities. It examines how they cope with these barriers and explores ways to make products more accessible.

Moderator:
Lori Gillen, McKesson Health Solutions

Speakers:
Helen A. Marty, Misys Healthcare Systems
Mike Murray, Lockheed Martin Enterprise Information Systems
Gloria A. Reece, Mercer University
Fabien Vais

A Marketplace of Ideas on Usability

Tuesday 11:00-12:00 noon (Room: 337/338)
Format: Progression
Skill Level: Advanced

Roam from one idea station to the next until you find a topic that interests you. Multiple "activators" stir up lively discourse on a variety of topics in a highly interactive session.

Moderator:
Dana E. Chisnell, Usability Works

Speakers:

Lori K. Anschuetz
Karen L. Bachmann, Seascape Consulting
Carol Barnum, Southern Polytechnic State University
Whitney Quesenbery, Whitney Interactive Design
Janice C. Redish, Redish & Associates
Gloria A. Reece, Mercer University
Fabien Vais
Carolyn L. Watt, Carolyn Watt & Associates Inc.

Traceability Matrix: Fulfilling User Requirements without Guesswork

Tuesday 11:00-12:00 noon (Room: 330)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Advanced

Do you know what a traceability matrix is? Learn why documenting information from a variety of project documents at predetermined intervals can ensure that your user requirements are met.

Speakers:
Susan P. Kuebler, Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Mary R. Van Brink, Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Designing Search Pages: Strategies and Best Practices

Tuesday 11:00-12:00 noon (Room: 336)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Intermediate

Tailoring search pages to your users requires understanding their characteristics, search experiences, and goals. Learn how and why people search, and how to build search interfaces to meet those needs.

Speaker:
Scott M. McDaniel, Cognetics Corporation

Tips-Based Help: Reshaping User Assistance

Tuesday 11:00-12:00 noon (Room: 334/335)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Advanced

Set aside your notions about HTML-based help and discover how you can revitalize your help information and interaction design, using an effective tips-based approach to help content development and creating a custom help interface.

Speaker:
Rob Wolfe, Towers Perrin

Starting a Customer Contact Program

Tuesday 11:00-12:00 noon (Room: 343)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Beginner

Getting customer requirements and feedback is the key to successful technical documentation. This presentation describes the dos and don'ts of setting up a customer contact program within a technical group.

Speakers:
Mary Camp, Intel Corporation
Alan H. Morse, Intel Israel

Section 508 for Dummies

Tuesday 2:00-3:30 PM (Room: Ballroom II)
Format: Progression
Skill Level: Beginner

Talk with members of STC's AccessAbility SIG who can help demystify Section 508. Get practical advice for implementing the law in your workplace without tearing apart your existing products and starting from scratch.

Moderator:
Lori Gillen, McKesson Health Solutions
Speakers:
Gail B. Chappell, Sun Microsystems
Cynthia A. Lockley, Veridian Systems Division
Helen A. Marty, Misys Healthcare Systems
Mike Murray, Lockheed Martin Enterprise Information Systems
Gloria A. Reece, Mercer University
Leslie Reed, IBM Corporation

Paper Prototyping Grows Up

Tuesday 2:00-3:30 PM (Room: 322)
Format: Workshop
Skill Level: Advanced

Paper prototyping has been around for decades. But how much do we really know about it? When is the technique likely to be most useful? Does a paper prototype really encourage more feedback from usability test participants? Does it introduce bias? The presenter will explain how research provides some interesting clues to help answer these questions.

Speaker:
Carolyn S. Snyder, Snyder Consulting

Usability LIVE! Be Part of the User Experience

Tuesday 2:00-3:30 PM (Room: 324)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Beginner

Participate in a live usability test. You will learn how to prepare, conduct, and interpret results using a portable lab during this hands-on session. Walk away with the tools to make influential design decisions.

Speaker:
Mike Bates, Intuit

Usability Requirements Help to Make Products Successful

Tuesday 2:00-3:30 PM (Room: 332)
Format: Workshop
Skill Level: Intermediate

Well-defined requirements serve as a roadmap for project success. However, usability is often left out of this critical part of development. Learn about what usability requirements are, how to develop them, and how to apply them for more successful projects.

Speaker:
Karen L. Bachmann, Seascape Consulting

Designing and Conducting Usability Tests of Handheld Applications

Tuesday 2:00-3:30 PM (Room: 323)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Intermediate

This session considers how usability testing of handheld applications differs from designing and conducting tests of desktop software. Topics include recruiting participants, selecting interface elements and tasks for testing, and observing participants' interaction with the device.

Speaker:
George F. Hayhoe, Mercer University

Three Methods for Gathering Usability Data

Tuesday 2:00-3:30 PM (Room: 342)
Format: Panel Discussion
Skill Level: Advanced

Panel discussion describing three ways of gathering usability data: usability tests without a moderator, usability tests at a professional conference, and iterative testing during development. They will use examples from gathering data about medical systems.

Speakers:
Mary T. Holland, i Design & Delivery
Catherine I. Morlino, i Design & Delivery
Kristen M. Sutton, i Design & Delivery

Graphics, Web State Maps, and Visual Design of Digital Media

Tuesday 2:00-3:30 PM (Room: 334/335)
Format: Paper
Skill Level: Intermediate

This session provides a review of how graphics can impede comprehension of patient education material; a discussion of how current state maps of Web sites influence user experiences; and an analysis of activity theory, visual literacy, and sound theory in the development and design of digital media.

Speakers:
Michael Lee, AARP
Judy D'Ammasso Tarbox, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Sharese Terrell Willis, University of Memphis

Adobe Acrobat and PDFs: Usability, Accessibility, and Section 508

Tuesday 4:00-5:30 PM (Room: 322)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Intermediate

Learn how to create Adobe Acrobat PDF files that support people with disabilities. Presentation will discuss compatibility with screen readers, contrast, PDF-based forms, table and graphics accessibility, and how to validate your work.

Speakers:
Katharyn L. Bine, ICF Consulting, Inc.
Samantha Dolin, Information Venture, Inc.
Jane L. Willig, Information Venture, Inc.

Web Site Usability Testing: What Happens Next?

Tuesday 4:00-5:30 PM (Room: 327)
Format: Panel Discussion
Skill Level: Advanced

This panel presents three papers on getting results from reporting on usability tests. The first paper examines the responses of Web site sponsors to the results of graduate student usability tests. The second paper contains advice on how to select and package the results of usability testing, and the final paper considers the impact of results and how to time them appropriately.

Speakers:
Carol Barnum, Southern Polytechnic State University
Caroline Jarrett, Effortmark
Alison J. Reynolds, Christchurch Polytechnic

Lessons from the Theater

Tuesday 4:00-5:30 PM (Room: 334/335)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Intermediate

Some run away to join the circus. The presenter ran away from the theater to join a computer. Come hear why the two actions are not so different and what we can learn about communication, design, and usability from the theater.

Speaker:
Whitney Quesenbery, Whitney Interactive Design

Tuesday 4:00-5:30 PM (Room: 339)
Format: Workshop
Skill Level: Intermediate

Online courseware is being hailed and criticized by experts and learners. We'll look at strategies for pulling learners into scenarios, encouraging experimentation, and using gaming techniques. We'll also look into the world of e-learning on a handheld device.

Speaker:
Ann-Marie Grissino, Keypoint Consultants, Inc.

Adapting the Rational Unified Process for Content Providers

Tuesday 4:00-5:30 PM (Room: 343)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Advanced

The Rational Unified Process (RUP) provides guidance for developing software applications. This presentation explains how to adapt RUP for content provider practitioners to produce an essential component of software: documentation.

Speakers:

Visnja Beg, IBM Corporation
Amber R. Swope, IBM Corporation

Economical Communication in Text, Image, and Code

Tuesday 4:00-5:30 PM (Room: 319)
Format: Panel Discussion
Skill Level: Beginner

Panelists discuss and demonstrate economy of expression in multiple symbol systems: words, visual design, and computer code. Topics include economizing readers' mental energy, counter-aesthetics in simplicity in brand communication, and reusable code and content.

Speakers:
Russel Hirst, University of Tennessee
Joseph Nother, designsensory
Brandon Rochelle, designsensory

Wednesday Sessions

Lumpers and Splitters: Techniques for Practical Information Classification

Wednesday 8:30-10:00 AM (Room: 332)
Format: Workshop
Skill Level: Advanced

Explore taxonomic methods, including vocabulary control and classification schemes. Compare different approaches to information organization, and find balance between your data storage and retrieval needs.

Speaker:
Seth A. Maislin, Focus Information Services

Designing for Multimedia Using Digital Storytelling

Wednesday 8:30-10:00 AM (Room: 320)
Format: Panel Discussion
Skill Level: Advanced

In this panel discussion, we examine current theory and practice for the design of a digital story and present a case study that is accessible and usable.

Speakers:
Richard J. Lippincott, FLIR Systems
Gloria A. Reece, Mercer University

Web Applications: Design Patterns, Guidelines, and Trends

Wednesday 8:30-10:00 AM (Room: 330)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Advanced

Learn about the different kinds of Web applications, how the current trends in usability affect the design of Web applications, and guidelines for addressing some of the thornier problems in putting applications on the Web.

Speaker:
Whitney Quesenbery, Whitney Interactive Design

Are Design Standards Any User for Improving Designs

Wednesday 8:30-10:00 AM (Room: 334/335)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Advanced

Guidelines and standards have traditionally been developed to help designers create better products. Our research will describe whether this is effective.

Speakers:
Marguerite W. Autry, User-Centered Design, Inc.
Bill Killam, User-Centered Design, Inc.

XML Single Sourcing in Nokia Networks

Wednesday 8:30-10:00 AM (Room: 336)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Advanced

Come and share Nokia Networks' experiences in implementing an XML single sourcing environment. Hear about their information architecture for datacom products, single sourcing environment, and support solutions.

Speakers:
Timo Kalevi Happonen, Nokia Inc.
Vesa K. Purho, Nokia Inc.

Three Ways to Improve Web Sites: Better Link Wording, Understanding Diverse Audiences, and Changeable Text Size

Wednesday 8:30-10:00 AM (Room: 329)
Format: Paper
Skill Level: Intermediate

We hear lots of advice about our Websites such as "understand your audience", "use meaningful links" and "allow users to vary text size." Come to this session to hear presentations on the practical implications of trying to comply with these guidelines.

Speakers:

Jen Barrick
Matt Eliot
Mary B. Evans, UW Department of Technical Communication
Colleen P. Jones, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Phil Oye, Moment Design, Inc.
John Payne, Moment Design, Inc.
Susan Robinson, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Jan H. Spyridakis, University of Washington
Carolyn Y.Wei

Information Architecture: What's In It for Me?

Wednesday 8:30-10:00 AM (Room: 337/338)
Format: Panel Discussion
Skill Level: Beginner

From product documentation teams to company-wide Web teams comes a rallying cry: "Improve it with information architecture!" This panel explores this question: Is information architecture living up to its hype?

Speakers:
Andrea L. Ames
Mike Bates, Intuit
Michelle Corbin, IBM Corporation
Lee Anne Kowalski, IBM Corporation
David McCaleb, Cisco Systems, Inc.
John Russell, Oracle Corporation

Students Perform Usability Testing for Industry Clients

Wednesday 8:30-10:00 AM (Room: 324)
Format: Panel Discussion
Skill Level: Intermediate

This session presents a project in which student teams planned, performed, evaluated, and reported results of usability testing for seven different products. It discusses advantages for students, faculty, and industry in collaborating on projects.

Speakers:
Corley S. Brown
Marjorie T. Davis, Mercer University
Erik T. Lindborg
Katherine V. Watson

Usability Progression

Wednesday 10:30-12:00 noon (Room: Ballroom II)
Format: Progression
Skill Level: Advanced

This usability progression covers usability techniques, principles, and fundamentals.

Speakers:
Karen L. Bachmann, Seascape Consulting
Michele Davis Berkes, Northwestern Mutual
Monica P. Felder, IBM - Tivoli Systems
Beverly G. Murdock, IBM - Tivoli Systems
Janice C. Redish, Redish & Associates
Roberta W. Shroyer, Tec-Ed, Inc.
Gwen P. Thomas

Reviewing Your Web Site: Legal Land Mines

Wednesday 10:30-12:00 noon (Room: 331)
Format: Workshop
Skill Level: Advanced

This session considers legal issues essential to conducting legal review of Web sites, including copyright, trademark, liability, privacy, and jurisdictional concerns.

Speaker:
Christopher Juillet, Christopher Juillet PLC

Web Site Usability Testing Demystified

Wednesday 10:30-12:00 noon (Room: 319)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Beginner

Participants will receive both background and practical exercises to perform Web site usability tests.

Speakers:
George Slaughter, The Integrity Group
Jocelyn Crump Williams, CRJ Communications

Communicating with Older Audiences

Wednesday 10:30-12:00 noon (Room: 322)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Intermediate

AARP's research with older people--watching and listening as they use the Web--reveals surprising and fascinating findings about developing, organizing, and presenting content for audiences who are age 50 and older.

Speakers:
Dana E. Chisnell, Usability Works
Amy Lee, AARP Services, Inc.

Helping People Use PC Hardware

Wednesday 10:30-12:00 noon (Room: 334/335)
Format: Demonstration
Skill Level: Intermediate

This presentation identifies common problems people have with devices such as printers and scanners, and shows how technical communicators can be part of the solution.

Speaker:
Karen A. Bergen, Epson America, Inc.

Developing Reusable Life Sciences Content

Wednesday 10:30-12:00 noon (Room: 344)
Format: Panel Discussion
Skill Level: Advanced

With the tremendous pressures in the life sciences industry, developing reusable content is being viewed as "today's best practice." This session will explore the unique single-sourcing requirements of the life sciences industry.

Speakers:
Steve Manning, The Rockley Group
Ann Rockley, The Rockley Group Inc.

Bringing Brand Alive for Software and Web Sites

Wednesday 2:00-3:30 PM (Room: 325)
Format: Workshop
Skill Level: Advanced

Going beyond usability, organizations are looking for experts to create a consistent customer experience. Learn practical techniques for becoming a brand experience designer.

Speaker:
Leanne Logan, Quarry Integrated Communications

Learning More about Users--Then Using the Data

Wednesday 2:00-3:30 PM (Room: 336)
Format: Paper
Skill Level: Intermediate

These three practical papers will tell you about: How three technical communicators used "personas" when redesigning an in-house style guide, how users really use user guides, and how you can learn about users from studying online forums.

Speakers:

Angela M. Ferrannini, Mentor Graphics
Barbara L. Heninger
Sarah E. Leritz-Higgins, Mentor Graphics Corporation
Audrey L. Pettengill, Mentor Graphics Corporation
Huatong Sun, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Teaching Usability and Information Design

Wednesday 2:00-3:30 PM (Room: 334/335)
Format: Paper
Skill Level: Intermediate

These three papers bring together aspects of teaching usability and information design. You'll learn about the challenges of teaching students who are also practitioners; about group exercises for matching information architecture; and about the use of intranets as a pedagogic tool.

Speakers:
Susan K. Codone, Mercer University
Barbara J. Levine,
Caroline Stern, Ferris State University

Post Conference Tutorials - Thursday

Brand Experience and Technical Communication

Thursday 8:30A - 12 noon

Traditionally the domain of marketers and designers, brand experience is becoming an essential challenge for successful businesses. Discover the opportunities available for technical communicators in this important, emerging space.

Speaker:
Dirk Knemeyer, Thread Inc.

Using the Latest Research to Make Effective Web Design and Usability Decisions New Window

Thursday 8:30A - 12 noon

Many involved in Web design do not have training in design or research related to usability. This tutorial covers twenty of the most important research-based Web design and usability guidelines.

Speakers:
Susan Allison, Constella Group
Bob Bailey
Sanjay Koyani, US Dept of Health and Human Services

Understanding Visual Communication

Thursday 8:30A - 12 noon

Not all pictures are created equal: only effective ones are worth a thousand words, and some words are worth a thousand pictures, too. Learn when to use both different textual and visual elements.

Speaker:
Jean-luc Doumont, JL Consulting

Crafting Personas to Guide Design

Thursday 8:30A - 5P

The persona is a powerful tool for understanding users and guiding design. Learn research methods, techniques for analyzing data and writing personas, and tips for putting them to use help.

Speakers:
Leanne Logan
Tammy teWinkel

Paper Prototyping

Thursday 8:30A - 5P

Paper prototypes are a valuable design tool. Learn which kinds of problems paper prototypes will find and how the technique changes the way you work with developers. You'll also get hands-on experience creating and testing a paper prototype.

Speaker:
Carolyn S. Snyder, Snyder Consulting

Designing Effective Visuals for Presentations

Thursday 1:30 - 5P

The slides used in most presentations are ineffective: rather than enhancing the topic, they detract from what the speaker is saying. This workshop explores the design, construction, and use of effective slides.

Speaker:
Jean-luc Doumont, JL Consulting

Managing User-Centered Design Projects

Thursday 1:30 - 5P

Learn how to estimate, plan, and manage UI design projects. You will receive a full set of project planning templates to help structure projects, estimate resources, and minimize risks.

Speakers:
Scott McDaniel, Cognetics Corporation
Laura Snyder, Cognetics Corporation

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