STC UUX Community Newsletter
Usability Interface

Editorial: What is World Usability Day?

By David Dick, Editor

November 14, 2006, was a significant date for the Society for Technical Communication (STC) because it is the first time that STC co-sponsored World Usability Day, organized by the Usability Professionals Association (UPA). STC’s involvement in World Usability Day is likely to become an annual event.

If you have not heard about World Usability Day, I would like to explain its origins.

World Usability Day is the brainchild of Elizabeth Rosenzweig. Elizabeth, who is past president of UPA and currently on the UPA Board of Directors, began World Usability Day to raise awareness about human-computer interaction issues. As she finished her three-year term as UPA president, she began looking for ways to continue her service in the usability field. She teamed up with Nigel Bevin, the co-outreach director, and came up with it; it just took on a life of its own.

Elizabeth believes that technology is not developed for people. It is driven by the markets, or technology, and it does not actually assist anyone – it just gets in the way. There are a lot of areas where the implications are more serious. For instance, it is important in healthcare, education, and government. Voting machines could be a problem in order to function as promised; they have to be really easy to use.

Her ultimate goal of the day’s celebration is to get the message out beyond the usability community. I am happy to say that the message has gone beyond the usability community. For example, thanks to the dedication of UsabilityNJ, the New Jersey chapter of the UPA,Governor Jon S. Corzine proclaimed November 14, 2006, as New Jersey Usability Day. New Jersey joined the growing list of over 150 locations around the world where local events demonstrated how to improve products and services for life and work.

This issue includes articles about World Usability Day events:

• Results of STC’s global card sorting event
• A panel discussion on the Usability in Healthcare sponsored anel discussion about usability in healthcare organized by by the Washington D.C. Chapter of the STC and UPA.
• The The Philadelphia chapter of the UPA looked to broaden horizons by focusing on User Experience Beyond the Web

If you are thinking about organizing a World Usability event of your own, now is the time to discuss it with your chapter president. For more information about World Usability Day see www.worldusabilityday.org.