West Hall, Room 411 (aka “Ehrlicher Room”), University of Michigan

The Michigan chapters of UPA and CHI (currently in formation), in conjunction with the University of Michigan School of Information Career Development Office and Student CHI Chapter, invite you to a very special evening networking and panel session. Five industry UX practitioners will give short position presentations on the skills that make a successful practitioner and team. This will be followed by panel and audience Q&A discussion,and then a networking reception. Come to network, learn, and position/reposition yourself for success in this exciting field.

LEARN what user experience industry professionals are saying about what it takes to succeed in the field.  Make sure you are developing the skills and competencies that will grow your effectiveness, currency, and marketability.

When

Tuesday February 23rd, 2010 7:00 – 9:00PM

Where

West Hall, Room 411 (aka “Ehrlicher Room”), University of Michigan

1085 South University Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1107

Cost

Free – University of Michigan School of Information full-time students and faculty
$5 – Other current students
$10 – Michigan Usability Professionals’ Association or Michigan Computer Human Interaction members
$15 – All others

Register online so we can ensure we have enough refreshments to go around. We’ll also take payment (cash or check) at the door. Questions? Email events {at} miupa dot org.

Schedule

6:45 PM, Registration opens

7:00 PM, Announcements

7:10 PM, Program begins

8:25-9:00 PM, Networking

Panelists

Mike Beasley

User Experiologist, Pure Visibility, Inc.

Dan Cooney

User Experience Consultant

Lija Hogan

Usability Team Lead, ForeSee Results

Sumanth Muthyala

Senior User Experience Engineer, Compuware Corporation

Michael Wuergler

Human Factors Engineer, OnStar by GM

This panel will be moderated by Dave Mitropoulos-Rundus (aka ‘the Jerry Springer of panel moderators’ and a staunch supporter of the ‘Brawls for Better Brains Society’)

Information Architect

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Organic, Bloomfield Hills

Practicing user experience as part of an agile project can be challenging. How do we provide for a consistent user experience across the entire product when the development is broken up into short iterations? How do we perform typical user experience design tasks like user research, persona development, user testing, or UI design in an agile environment?
Bring your questions. This panel of experts will discuss best practices they have discovered.

When

Thursday, January 28, 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM

Where

Organic
2600 S. Telegraph
Suite 100
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48303
(Enter off Franklin Road)
Map

Cost

$5 for Full-time Students (ID must be presented)

$10 for MIUPA and MOCHI members

$20 All others

RSVP

Seating is limited, so please RSVP at Upcoming.org to ensure entrance to this event. You can also send an RSVP to events@miupa.org

Schedule

6:00 PM Registration, networking, and pizza

6:45 PM Announcements

7:00 PM Program

Panelists

Helene Gidley
Owner of Agile PM consulting firm HSG Consulting LLC and founder of Agile Groupies, A2 based Agile User Group

Carissa Demetris
Owner, Circle D Design

Josie Scott
Senior User Researcher, TechSmith

Serena Rosenhan
User Experience Specialist, ProQuest

John Rivard
Information Architect, Assistant Vice President, Comerica Bank

Moderator

Anthony Viviano
Senior Experience Architect at Organic Detroit

We are looking for a Usability Specialist to design and manage interfaces to help people use applications easily and effectively. This position entails performing user research and analysis, creating interface designs, rendering HTML prototypes, performing usability testing, 　As a member of a product development team, you will work closely with developers to satisfy their product and business objectives, and with the software development staffs to convey requirements, understand and work within technical constraints, and optimize the efficiency of design implementations.

Research and analysis:

Work with product managers to develop an understanding of product concepts and business objectives.

Perform contextual user research and customer interviews.

Monitor customer and user feedback as well as market and technology and competitive trends to continually identify opportunities for improvement.

Analyze user, customer, and business needs to define product requirements.

Conduct research to create detailed profiles of product end users (in this case, for software applications).

Interface Design:

Create interface design concepts of product applications, features and enhancements.

Develop design renderings/wireframes defining the user interface form, function, navigation, interaction, and basic screen design.

Develop design comps and graphic elements in various Web formats (e.g., JPEG, GIF, PNG).

Create HTML prototypes which approximate a functional product interface for the purposes of evaluation, customer review and usability testing.

Perform usability analysis and design to ensure ease-of-use for target user populations and accessibility per ADA Section 508 requirements and W3C WAI guidelines.

Design usability tests, draft test scripts, and work with independent test facilitator to arrange for and perform usability testing with target user groups.

Evaluate existing and new product design concepts, prototypes, and products for usability.　 This involves knowledge of experimental design, testing ethics, use of video, audio, computer equipment, and specialized software for Usability Labs.

Negotiate designs with development teams, achieving designs that can ultimately be implemented.　 This requires strong interpersonal, team building, and facilitation skills.

Maintain, update, and remain current with prototyping tools such as Visual Basic, graphics tools such as Photoshop, and web development tools such as Dreamweaver.

Proficiency with Visio, Omnigraffle, Axure, iRise, Fireworks, Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash

Proficiency with HTML, CSS

Requirements specification

Consult with software and content developers to understand and accommodate technical constraints.

Write detailed functional requirements documentation to convey design elements and interactions to the product development team.

Consult with project team throughout development and rollout to ensure designs are understood, implemented and communicated appropriately.

A minimum of 2 years experience with UI design and usability evaluation in product development setting.

Comfortable working with development teams.

Understanding of the accepted design practices and technical issues involved in designing user interfaces for MS Windows, Eclipse, Web, Mobile Platforms.

Experience with usability analysis techniques.

Familiar with the current literature and practices in usability.

Degree in information science, Human-Computer Interaction, Human Factors or Cognitive Psychology,

Ability to prototype GUI and web designs using Visual Basic, VISIO, or another package is a plus.

Ability to work in an Agile Development Environment.

A strong portfolio of work – We are looking for high-fidelity annotated wireframes, user flows, site maps, and prototypes for high-visibility projects. Kudos to online portfolios, but PDFs are also accepted.

Experience participating in all aspects of the UCD process from user research to visual design and everything in between.

Excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills
A strong team player

Flexibility

Overview:

Compuware Corporation makes IT rock around the world, helping CIOs optimize IT performance to achieve business goals. Compuware solutions accelerate the development, improve the quality and enhance the performance of critical business systems while enabling CIOs to align and govern the entire IT portfolio, increasing efficiency, cost control and employee productivity throughout the IT organization. Founded in 1973, Compuware serves the world’s leading IT organizations, including more than 92 percent of the Fortune 50 companies. Learn more about Compuware at http://www.compuware.com. As the leading worldwide provider of Business Service Delivery solutions, our software and professional services improve business results by proactively ensuring user productivity and application performance across the enterprise. The company’s ongoing success depends on our employees–a diverse team of people with a set of key, common attributes. We seek positive, assertive team players who have a strong desire to succeed in a team- and customer-oriented environment.

If interested, send resume and samples to:

Sumanth Muthyala

sumanth.muthyala@compuware.com ]]> http://miupa.org/jobs-in-usability/usability-specialist-compuware-corporation-detroit-mi/feed/ 0 http://miupa.org/jobs-in-usability/usability-specialist-compuware-corporation-detroit-mi/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MiUPA/~3/hGuNSLOHf7M/ http://miupa.org/jobs-in-usability/usability-analyst-detroit-metro-area/#comments Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:00:08 +0000 Sumanth http://miupa.org/?p=136 Job Description:
Develop user interface wireframe specifications, perform software usability evaluations, and create written recommendations. Support/perform usability tests.

Skills Required:
6+ years overall IT experience that includes:
3+ years experience with wireframe specifications, software usability evaluations.
2+ years focus group facilitation.
2+ years graphic design, CSS, XHTML. 2+ years Web development experience (html/cgi/scripting.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Preferred
- Masters Degree in Human-Computer Interaction, Cognitive Psychology, Human Factors/Ergonomics

Skills Preferred:
Applicants should demonstrate a passion for usability and be familiar with multiple authors/principles on the subject.

Education Required:
Human-Computer Interaction, Cognitive Psychology, Human Factors/Ergonomics

Additional Information :
Familiarity with project plans We are looking for degreed usability specialist with formal usability experience. We are not looking for web designers who have applied usability as part of their web design work.

If interested, send resume and contact:

Susan Deutsch

Technical Recruiter

586-649-7656

sdeutsch@fastswitch.com

Fast Switch, Ltd. Is a 13-year-old IT Consulting company with offices in Detroit, MI and Columbus, OH and doing business in almost half the states in the union. We’re a financially strong, privately-held company that is 100% consultant and client focused. You are our most important asset!

We’ve differentiated ourselves by being creative, flexible, and fast. Throw out everything you’ve heard, seen, or felt about every other IT Consulting company. We’re different. Our consultants and clients tell us so, and it’s our great people who make the difference! We do unique things, and we do them for Fortune 10 companies, Inc. 500 companies, and technology start-ups. We also have a strong belief in giving back to the communities we serve.

Our benefits are second to none and thanks to our flexible benefits options you can choose just the benefits that you need or want, options include:

• Medical and Dental (Fast Switch pays 85% of premium)
• Vision
• Personal Time Off (PTO) Program
• Long Term Disability (100% paid)
• Life Insurance (100% paid)
• 401(k) with immediate vesting and 3% (of salary) dollar-for-dollar match
• Training
• Education Reimbursement

Plus, we have a lucrative employee referral program and an employee recognition culture.

We have won the Columbus Business First “Fast 50” award 4 times in the last 5 years because of our strong growth which translates into more and better opportunities for our consulting staff members.

If interested, send resume and contact:

Susan Deutsch

Technical Recruiter

586-649-7656

sdeutsch@fastswitch.com

To view all of our open positions, please go to: www.fastswitch.com and navigate to our “Careers” page, or get there directly at: http://tinyurl.com/cmjkmb

You can also follow us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/fastswitch

And you can become a fan of Fast Switch on Facebook at: http://tinyurl.com/y9y3gdp

The Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti

The Michigan UPA invites you to an evening of networking and fun on Tuesday, December 8th at the Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti. This is your chance to skip the speaker and enjoy the company of fellow usability professionals.

New Update: The Ypsilanti Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (Thank you Mary Zucchero) will be providing a number of tasty appetizers throughout this event as their way of welcoming the Michigan UPA and the announcement of next year’s Internet User Experience 2010 conference.

Also, the Michigan UPA will be raffling off a copy of IUE2009 Conference Proceedings along with IUE2010 T-Shirts.

The Corner Brewery is located in Ypsilanti, near historic Depot Town. There is abundant parking, great drinks, and great atmosphere. This is a free event and a great opportunity to catch up with other people in the field and meet new people. We hope to see you there!

When

Tuesday, December 8, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM

Where

Corner Brewery
720 Norris St
Ypsilanti, MI 48198

Map

Cost

Free admission! And now, free appetizers! (except for any drinks or additional food that you choose to order)

The Michigan UPA will be presenting a live usability experience with the Michigan Chapter of the Usability Professionals’ Association from 3:00 – 3:30pm on November 12, using everyday clocks and focusing on button types, display technologies, and product features. We will present our findings at the end of the conference.

We need volunteers and participants! Please contact events@miupa.org to sign up as a volunteer.

World Usability Day event information:

You are invited to Michigan World Usability Day 2009, hosted by the Michigan State University Usability & Accessibility Center.

When:

Thursday, November 12, 2009

9:00-5:00

Where:

Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center, East Lansing

Event Description

This year’s theme is Designing for Sustainable Communities, and the event will feature a special session on accessibility in the global knowledge economy, talks from the Ford Motor Company, Comerica Bank, and Oakland County eGovernment, an Assistive Technology Expo, a workshop on WCAG 2.0, and more!

Please register at http://usability.msu.edu/conf/2009/ by Monday, November 9, 2009.

Participants are given a choice of two exciting events in the morning. An Assistive Technology Expo will present an opportunity to observe real-world usage of text-to- speech software and other assistive technologies with Steve Pollo (Mee, Inc.) and Al Puzzuoli (Information Technologist, Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities, MSU). The WCAG 2.0 Workshop will educate attendees on the latest Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and how they apply in a Web 2.0 world, presented by Mike Elledge and Graham Pierce (Assistant Director and User Experience Researcher, Usability & Accessibility Center, MSU), and Carl Bussema and Carl Raymond (Information Technologists, University Outreach and Engagement, MSU). Tours of the Usability & Accessibility Center will be available after the morning events, and will be followed by lunch.

The afternoon will begin with a special session on Contemporary Issues of IT in the Sustainable Global Knowledge Economy, moderated by Dr. Rex LaMore (Director, Center for Community & Economic Development, MSU). George Boersma (Director, Office of Technology Partnerships, Michigan Department of Information Technology), will discuss current federal initiatives that will extend broadband infrastructure into under-served and rural areas. Kirk Riley (Executive Director, Information Technology Empowerment Center, MSU), will discuss the work of the Information Technology Empowerment Center (ITEC) in increasing the technology skills of Lansing area residents. Sharron Rush (Executive Director, Knowbility) will discuss how IT accessibility allows individuals with disabilities to more fully participate in the modern world, and Dr. Mark Wilson (Associate Director, School of Planning, Design & Construction, MSU) will explain the global knowledge economy and how each of the topics presented fits in. After the talks, the presenters will be engaged in a panel discussion, and the audience will be invited to ask questions. Later in the afternoon, Shane Schulze (HV Battery Engineer, Ford Motor Company) will present on the topic of hybrid car usability, Salina Washington (Oakland County eGovernment) and Dr. Constantinos Coursaris (Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media, MSU) will discuss eGovernment Services for a Sustainable County, and John Rivard (Comerica Bank) will speak about virtual forms delivery.

As a manager, you will lead, coach, mentor, participate in sales efforts, be a thought leader and produce initiative deliverables, white papers etc and more.

As a leader of UX, you will lead projects, analyze customers, conduct research, and create strategy and deliverables that execute on that strategy and more.

You have a passion for UX design and experience leading teams as well as being in front of the client and championing the user experience. On a scale of 1-10 in Visio you are an 11, and of course, when you need to go the extra mile to get the job done, it’s a no brainer.

Contact:

Laura Hunter
Vivid Resources
laura.hunter@vividresources.com
office-424-237-2602
cell-559-303-9018
fax-310-919-1801laura.hunter@vividresources.com
www.vividresources.com