Mar Meeting SxSWi Sneak Peek at Mutual Mobile

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Craig

Austin UPA March Meeting: SxSWi Sneak Preview of Near Field Communications with Rachel Youens of Mutual Mobile

Near field communication imageJoin your fellow Austin UX professionals for a rare treat, a preview of the upcoming SXSWi discussion on Near Field Communications (NFC). Our speaker, Rachel Youens of Mutual Mobile will provide an overview of NFC today and where it might be going tomorrow. Learn about UX design issues and opportunities, and how NFC may change the way users interact with their smart devices. And we would appreciate YOUR thoughts on the subject too!

Networking starts at 6:30 pm and the presentation starts at 7:00 pm. Free food and drinks are provided by our host Mutual Mobile!

Thank you to Mutual Mobile for being our host and providing Food and Drinks!

WHAT: March Austin UPA Meeting of a SXSWi preview on Near Field Communication by Rachel Youens of Mutual Mobile

WHEN: Tuesday, March 6th, Networking at 6:30 pm, Presentation at 7:00 pm

WHERE: Mutual Mobile, 206 East 9th Street, Suite 1400, Austin, Texas 78701 (http://g.co/maps/98y83)

WHY: Network with your fellow Austin UX fans, learn about the new and exciting world of Near Field Communications and the design of the experiences

RSVP: Austin UPA Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/events/238290959593495/)

Parking is available in the building (Capital Towers) on San Jacinto, but it’s $8. Meter parking is available on the street, and if my memory serves is free after 6pm, so consider parking on the street.

Near Field Communication:

Although NFC, or Near Field Communication, is currently in just a handful of mostly Android phones, this short range wireless technology is seeing quick adoption and is expected to be in almost 40% of smartphones by 2015. NFC promises us a future of tapping the register to pay, or brushing against a store display for a coupon, and opens a whole new realm of interaction for UX designers to explore and define.

We’ll look at the types of experiences that NFC, a close cousin to the popular RFID, can enable and the task that UX designers have ahead of them to help people know why, how, and when to use the technology. The real-world interaction that NFC facilitates means that everything from how thick the glass above an NFC smart-poster is, to how a person using NFC banking can properly cover the pin pad on their phone are all new concerns for UX designers. This session will give designers the tools they need to start designing for NFC initiatives and be pioneers in the latest form of interaction.

Attendees will learn:

  • What is NFC and how does it compare to technologies like QR and Bluetooth
  • Case studies on app using NFC, what they have done right and what they have done wrong
  • What are the physical constraints of NFC (what type of data can be exchanged, how much power is needed, how close you have to be)
  • Use cases for NFC (opening your car door, paying for a soda at a machine, checking into a venue)
  • Current known UX issues for NFC (validation, call to action, which card am I using?)

If you’ll be at SXSW, come join the conversation about this topic at the SXSW panel “NFC: No Freakin Chance”: http://schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_IAP11123

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Feb Meeting Tomer Sharon

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Craig

Feb Meeting: Tomer Sharon and Getting More UX Research Projects

Hello fellow UX fans!

Do you want to do more UX projects this year? Is your organization UX projects challenged? Are you having trouble ‘selling’ UX? If the answers to any of those questions are yes, we have an Austin UPA meeting you MUST NOT MISS!

Tomer Sharon

Tomer Sharon

Tomer Sharon, one of Google’s leading UX researchers, will be our speaker and will present a sneak preview with tips and tricks of his soon to be published book “It’s Our Research: Getting Stakeholder Buy-in for User Experience Research Projects.”

During the meeting, Tomer Sharon will be live via a web video conference call to present a fascinating and intriguing look into the UX research maturity model based on buy-in and researchers in the organization. You’ll be able to use this information to help you better “sell” your UX research projects in your (or any) organization!

The talk will begin with a discussion about a UX research maturity model for organizations that develop technology. The model introduces four levels of maturity based on UX research buy-in and the existence of researchers in the organization. Tomer will then give a short preview of his upcoming book, “It’s Our Research: Getting Stakeholder Buy-In for User Experience Research Projects” that focuses on getting the approvals you need for UX research projects. We’ll finish with Tomer’s discussion about trends in UX research for 2012 and beyond.

This is one meeting you NEED to attend if you are interested in expanding your UX research activities!

RSVP: Please RSVP on our Austin UPA Facebook event page

WHAT: Austin UPA and Tomer Sharon presentation of; “It’s Our Research: Getting Stakeholder Buy-in for UX Research Projects”

WHEN: Tuesday, February 7th, 2012, 7pm

WHERE: 8701 N Mopac Expy, Austin, TX, 78759, Atrium Office Building, 1st Floor conference room

WHY: To learn how to sell UX research

Tomer Sharon Biography: A User Experience Researcher at Google New York since 2008, Tomer is currently conducting user research for Google Search. Previously, he led the UX research effort for Google’s online advertising management platform, DFP (Doubleclick for Publishers). Prior to working for Google, he was a user researcher at Check Point Software Technologies in Israel, where he led the research effort for dozens of networking and Internet security products on various platforms. As founder and president of UPA Israel, Tomer led the chapter to many achievements, including raising awareness of the need for easy-to-use, efficient, and fun technology products, as well as growing and nurturing a professional community of 1,000 practitioners. He speaks at conferences and professional events, is a published author of articles and papers, and a past editorial board member for UPA’s UX Magazine. Tomer is the author of the forthcoming book, “It’s Our Research: Getting Stakeholder Buy-in for User Experience Research Projects” (Morgan Kaufmann, 2012). He holds a master’s degree in Human Factors in Information Design from Bentley University.

He is @tsharon and his book is @itsourresearch on Twitter.

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2012 Austin UPA Board Members

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Llewyn

We are pleased to announce the new Austin UPA board members for 2012.  They are Craig Tomlin, President; Llewyn Paine, Vice President; Sasha Wolosin, Secretary; and Candice McFarland, Treasurer.

As an award-winning marketing, SEO and usability leader, Craig Tomlin has generated millions of dollars in revenue for start-ups, small businesses and Fortune 100 companies like Countrywide, Disney, IBM, Kodak, Prudential, WellPoint and many more since 1996. He specializes in generating a complete marketing & sales experience that starts at branding, global marketing and awareness, optimizes continuously via testing (A/B, Google Analytics, Usability Testing), and ends at completed order forms or eCommerce results (KPI’s, leads, sales). Craig specializes in directing the creation and deployment of email, online media, SEO, SEM and customized marketing microsites. He leads web site development and redesign projects to maximize SEO, leads and sales. Craig produces usability tests and is a Certified Usability Analyst and long-time member of the Usability Professionals’ Association. Craig lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and daughter and 4 dogs.

Llewyn Paine (llewyn.com) is a cognitive psychologist and user experience research fellow with the Disney Media & Advertising Lab.  She conducts studies on a variety of media platforms ranging from web and mobile to 3D television in order to inform strategic decision-making by major network clients.  Her specializations include perceptual organization, implicit measures, performance metrics, and eye tracking.  She received her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin.

Sasha Wolosin (www.sashawolosin.com) is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Psychology at The University of Texas at Austin. Her current research focuses on the influence of motivation on human memory. Sasha has completed an internship in interaction design at Mutual Mobile and plans to work in user experience/interaction design after finishing her degree. She is passionate about good design, bikes, music and travel.

Candice McFarland is the customer engagement manager for Dell’s Public and Large Enterprise websites globally. What does that mean? Well, she’s a combo researcher/strategist with a huge dollop of user advocacy. Go, IT pros! Before that, she was up in Dallas working with clients like Disney, Microsoft, Michelin and Moen on fabulous methodologies like usability testing, card sorting, cognitive walkthroughs and focus groups. Alas, why aren’t there more field studies-obsessed clients? But Candice’s fake biographer digresses. When she’s not stalking Tom Tullis, you can find Candice playing the Rosenfeld Media parlour game in which friends bet on the subjects of upcoming titles, keeping things she reads in UTest a state secret and crossing her fingers for bigger research budgets.

We welcome the new board members and extend our sincere thanks to outgoing board members Shari Crisan and Tulsi Patel for their hard work in the 2011 term.

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Dec Meeting: Improving Your UX with User Feedback

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Craig

December Meeting: Improving Your User Experience with Better User Feedback

Greetings Austin UPA members! Our December meeting will be a good one for anyone that is struggling to improve the user experience through better user feedback.  We will have a guided tour of the latest user feedback tool from OpinionLab, a leading voice of the customer service, during the first half of the meeting.

The second half of the meeting is a chance for YOU to share YOUR favorite user feedback tools! This will be a GREAT way to learn about tools that can directly plug you into the brains of your users! And as you know, gathering good user feedback is half the battle of a good user experience improvement project!

RSVP: Austin Chapter of the UPA Facebook events

Who: Austin Chapter of the Usability Professionals Association

What: Dec Meeting, Improving Your UX with better user feedback

When: Tuesday, December 6th, 2011, 7PM

Where: National Instruments, 11500 North Mopac Expressway Austin, TX 78759. Building B, Second Floor, Training Room 4.

NOTE: Main gate closes at 7pm. After that use the intercom to call the security guard and let them know you’re with the UPA.

Google Map of National Instruments (http://g.co/maps/jma2y)

Why: A critical component for improving your user experience is incorporating user feedback. There are multiple ways to gather user feedback, for example using website forms, online surveys or contextual inquiry. However, with the ever increasing utilization of multiple types of interaction devices (desktop, smartphones, iPads, etc.), how do you accurately gather user feedback both in channel and across channels?

The first half of our meeting will be a live online demonstration by OpinionLab. The second half of the meeting will be a chance for you to share YOUR favorite tools for gathering user feedback.

OpinionLab (http://www.opinionlab.com/) is a firm specializing in gathering user feedback as seen through their animated “[ + ]” buttons on some websites. OpinionLab’s client list includes Wal-Mart, Bank of America, Ford Motor Company, and many more. With real-time listening solutions for every brand touch point, OpinionLab invites consumers to share input in their own words, at anytime, from anywhere, helping organizations collect, understand, and leverage both structured and unstructured customer data.

This will be an interesting meeting for anyone that is looking to improve their user experience. We look forward to seeing you there!

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WUD Meeting Tonight!

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Craig

Just a reminder that our Austin UPA World Usability Day meeting is tonight!

We look forward to seeing you at The Austin Statesman at 7pm!

WHAT: FREE Seminar – “Fires, Education and Designing for Social Change – How the Austin American-Statesman utilized social media to inform a community during
Central Texas’ wildfires.”

FREE FOOD AND DRINKS: Provided by National Instruments!

WHEN: Thursday, November 10th, 2011, 7:00PM – 9:00PM

WHERE: The Austin American Statesman, 305 S Congress Ave, Austin, TX
78704

WHY: World Usability Day was founded in 2005 as an initiative of the
Usability Professionals’ Association to ensure that services and
products important to human life are easier to access and simpler to
use.  This year’s theme is “Education, Designing for Social Change”
and is an opportunity for the community to learn more about making our
world work better.

RSVP: SEATING IS LIMITED! Ensure you are able to attend this rare
glimpse into the leading Journalism Social Media group. RSVP at
EventBrite today! (http://austinupawud.eventbrite.com/)

MORE INFORMATION:

On Sept. 4, 2011, a major fire disaster erupted within just a few
hours, and swept across several parts of Central Texas.  Homes, pets
and livestock were lost and two deaths were attributed to the
wildfires. The Austin American-Statesman, through their reporting, web
and social media efforts, became THE source for the latest fire news.
Almost immediately, the Statesman’s Social Media Editor Maira Garcia,
sprang into action. The Statesman’s tens of thousands of Twitter and
Facebook followers turned to them for up-to-date fire coverage. The
Statesman became the leader in breaking fire news. Social media became
one of the primary ways for many in the community to stay informed
about a live and on-going disaster.

In this free World Usability Day seminar, Maira Garcia, the
Statesman’s Social Media Editor, will provide a rare glimpse into the
strategy and tactics surrounding the Austin Statesman’s disaster
coverage. You will learn how news was gleaned, vetted and distributed.
This is a very special opportunity to hear directly from those leading
the coverage how they did it, what they learned, and how education can
be provided by designing for social change.

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