STC Usability SIG Newsletter
Usability Interface

SIG News

Scott McDaniel Speaks to Washington DC Usability SIG (March 2003)

Scott McDaniel presented "Planning Usability Into Your Product — The How and When of Usability Evaluation" and "Usability Tests and Heuristic Reviews — Planning and Estimation Worksheets." Scott’s PowerPoint slides (as a PDF) and a handout is available at www.stcwdc.org/program_handouts.shtml.

Usability NJ Local Chapter Summer Picnic

On July 18, members of the Central New Jersey Usability SIG gathered at a park by the Raritan River to socialize and take part in two mini-workshops. Presenters Donna Timpone (principal of UserEdge Technical Personnel, http://useredge.com/) and Ilise Benun (Self-Promotion and Usability author, www.artofselfpromotion.com/) discussed career directions and self-promotion topics.

Donna Timpone is active in STC, and her personnel firm has placed many technical communicators, instructional developers, and usability specialists in New Jersey jobs. Donna’s presentation was on "Career Options and the Secrets of Personality Type." Using a quick version of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, participants determined their personality type and received a list of possible other occupations for their type to investigate when the usability market gets tight (reference: "Do What You Are" by Paul Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger).

Ilise Benun is active in UPA’s local NYC chapter, with specialities in graphics design and self-promotion. Ilise’s presentation was on "Promoting Yourself and Usability." Participants worked on their "blurb"— initial introduction of 15 or 30 words. If you don’t promote yourself and usability, your recommendations and results won’t make a difference. The trick is to learn to understand who your audience is, what their needs and concerns are, then use that information to present usability, yourself, and your recommendations—all without resorting to jargon.

Combined with the culinary talents of group members and a break in New Jersey’s monsoon season, the picnic meeting was judged a success by all the attendees.