The UUX Community Newsletter
Usability Interface

Usability Interface is the quarterly publication of the Usability and User Experience Community. The purpose of the newsletter is to provide technical communicators with up-to-date and in-depth information on how they can apply usability design and testing techniques to their products.

June 2007

Control Surfaces Set the Future for Handset Input
By ArcChart
An overview of the state of input interface technologies on mobile phones and provides a view of how input technologies and methods will evolve over the coming years

Choosing the Right Technique - Washington DC Workshop led by Whitney Quesenbery
Report by David Dick
There are many usability techniques, and each has its own advantages and requirements. Selecting the right techniques is critical to a successful project. The premise is that there is not “one right way” to do usability.

Should Technical Writers Write System Requirements?
By David Dick
Many project teams do not have enough staff to write and manage all documentation required by the Systems Development Life Cycle such as software requirements, functional requirements, design specifications, and test reports. Short development cycles force software project teams to quickly design, test, and release the product.

Usability NJ meeting with Scott Weiss
By Richard D. Herring, Secretary, and Cindy Lu
At a recent meeting, Scott Weiss shared methods for conducting usability research for mobile devices.

Book Review: Designing Interactions by Bill Moggridge
Reviewed by Alice Preston

Columns and SIG News

Editorial
David Dick, Editor
I have learned more about usability from the e-List than I have from classroom study. To help you make the most of the e-List, here are some tips that I’ve found useful.

Ah, Spring!
Karen Bachmann, UUX Manager
How Community Manager Karen Bachmann has learned about the power and importance of storytelling, and some of the many stories that have deeply affected her.