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Events

March 2003 Usability SIG event

Planning Usability Into Your Product: The How and When of Usability Evaluation

Event Summary
Date: Wednesday, March 5
Time: Arrivals after 7:00 p.m. must bring cell phone to call number posted for entry.
6:15 to 7:00 p.m. Networking and food
7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Program
Please arrive early to allow time for the light buffet and networking.
Location:

OPNET Technologies
7255 Woodmont Avenue
Bethesda, MD  20814
Directions are below.

Cost: Listed below.
Registration Advance registration required, complete the online registration form below.
Registrations, payments, and cancellations must be received by 5 PM, Tuesday, March 4
Space is limited and not guaranteed until payment is received.
Registration will be closed at occupancy limit.

Don't forget your business cards for networking!


About the Program

Usability and user-centered design, as a field, has done a fair to poor job of promoting itself to project management. While we can bring significant value both products and the development life cycle, we need to put those benefits in terms that managers find useful. Better yet, we need to do management's job for it.

This presentation shows usability professionals and advocates how to sell usability testing to management. We can do this by:

  • Presenting realistic options to managers at the right time and in terms they can work with.
  • Performing schedule and cost estimation for them and providing realistic testing plans.

To convince project managers to include usability testing, we must clearly communicate the benefits of testing at each point in the development process. Then, because it's rarely feasible to conduct unlimited tests, we must recommend only those tests that will provide maximum benefits.

Once they understand the benefits of usability testing, managers still face the task of fitting them into their schedule and budget. The questions of how long a usability test will take and how much it will cost are critical — and they are questions that only we can answer.

The last part of the presentation introduces tools for planning and estimating usability tests. When we move the discussion with project management from whether to conduct usability testing to tweaking a project plan to fit an existing schedule, we have succeeded in introducing usability testing to project.

Program handouts are available on the Speakesr' Handouts and Presentations page.


About the Speaker

Scott McDaniel is an interaction designer with more than 7 years of experience in designing and documenting software, networks, and telecommunications systems. As a designer, he helps establish vision and direction for products, researches prospective users, determines requirements, and provides detailed designs and specifications for both software and web products. He is a member of the Society for Technical Communication (STC) and founded and managed the STC DC Usability Special Interest Group. Currently, he is the Vice President of the UPA DC Metro chapter.


Food

Light buffet of sandwiches with meat and vegetarian fillings, chips, and cookies.

  • Because of catering limitations we are unfortunately unable to provide food to walk-in attendees.
  • Space limitations may prevent admission of unregistered/unpaid individuals.

Registration

Advance registration with payment required, complete the program reservation form.

Registration and cancellation deadline: 5 PM, Tuesday, March 4, 2003

  • Entrance not guaranteed until receipt of advance payment.
  • Registration will be closed at occupancy limit. Register early. When capacity is reached, notification will be at the top of this page. Wait list will be available at that time.
  • Full refund if canceled before deadline. To cancel, contact the Usability SIG Manager.
  • No refunds after deadline or for late arrivals/no shows.

Your registration will be canceled if seating capacity is reached and your payment has not been received. Registration is not complete until payment is received. Use PayPal or allow ample time for mail delivery.

Fees

$10 for STC and UPA DC Metro members
$10 for students (members and non-members)
$12 for DC Web Women, DC-CHI, DC-IA, and CPCUG
$15 for non-STC-members
$19 for those without paid registration – entrance not guaranteed

Free admission to limited number of volunteers with advance arrangement. Priority given to STC members. For more information, contact the Usability SIG Manager.

Schedule

Please arrive early to allow time for the light buffet and networking.

Arrivals after 7:00 p.m. must bring cell phone to call number posted for entry.

  • 6:15 to 7:00 p.m. Check-in, networking, and light buffet
  • 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Program—The program will start promptly

For more information on this event or to join the STCWDC Usability SIG email list, contact the Usability SIG Manager.


OPNET map

Directions

OPNET Technologies
7255 Woodmont Avenue
Bethesda, MD  20814

Map and directions to Opnet Technologies in Bethesda, MD.

Return to the past calendar 2002-2003 Events




Last modified Friday, 14-Apr-2023


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