Arizona Chapter of the UPA

REMINDER: Arizona UPA Meeting – 6 PM Thursday, January 19, 2012

2012-01-17T21:34:00.002-07:00

Arizona UPA Meeting – 6 PM, Thursday, January 19, 2012

Join us for the next Arizona Usability Professionals Association (AZUPA)
Chapter meeting on Thursday, January 19, 2012 from 6-8 p.m.

Networking, UX Design Challenges and Hot Topics

There is no charge for this event. Come join the fun!

Meeting Time and Location
Thursday, January 19, 2012, 6 – 8 p.m.
PayPal Scottsdale
9999 N. 90th Street (Across from Home Depot)
Scottsdale, AZ 85258

Phoenix World Usability Day Celebration 2011 - Video

2011-12-28T21:59:00.002-07:00

"To the heart of design" is a phrase that best describes the largest and most successful World Usability Day (WUD) event produced in Phoenix, Arizona, since its first event in 2007.

PayPal hosted and sponsored the event, kicked off with a multimedia presentation of examples from its extensive interaction design team members, numbering 250 strong, worldwide. From personas with a humorous "South Park" feel to in-home studies of individuals such as a deeply committed yet overwhelmed soccer mom, to before-and-after designs that resulted in capturing millions in revenue, the presentations illustrated best practices in user-centered design and methods today. Theo Mandel, Ph.D., Founder of Interface Design and Development and Vice President of the Arizona UPA Chapter, organized the event.

Taking best practices into action, Laura Faulkner, PhD, gave an inspiring keynote address that moved to the "heart of the designer." Expressing the global WUD theme, Dr. Faulkner sparked the audience to see their own work in new ways, and achieve "Design for Social Change" by their daily interactions with the many real humans required to create and deliver amazing designs. To this end, she brought diverse experience from her work as long-time UPA-International conferences co-chair, a research scientist with The University of Texas at Austin, a consultant/strategist with FalconDay Consulting, and even her experience as a certified yoga teacher.

The event, at PayPal's new facility in Chandler, was selected as one of only 5 worldwide WUD Global Partner Events. The 100 attendees were each given a PayPal tote filled with merchandise from event sponsors. Software valued at over $2,500, from Axure and TechSmith, along with other prizes were awarded in a raffle at the end of the event. The PayPal team inspired job seekers with discussion of how it utilizes design professionals, lit up creative thoughts with peeks into exciting current and future projects.

Arizona UPA Meeting – Thursday, January 19, 2012, 6 PM

2011-12-27T22:20:00.004-07:00

Arizona UPA Meeting – 6 PM, Thursday, January 19, 2012

RSVP to arizonaupa@gmail.com

Join us for the next Arizona Usability Professionals Association (AZUPA)
Chapter meeting on Thursday, January 19, 2012 from 6-8 p.m.

Networking, UX Design Challenges and Hot Topics

We had an amazing turnout for our World Usability Day event in November – 100 attendees! We would like to build on this momentum with the first meeting of the New Year of the Arizona Chapter of the UPA!

Join us for networking and discussion on UX design challenges and/or hot topics. Please submit design challenges or hot topics you would like to discuss at the meeting as a comment on this AZ UPA blog announcement (arizonaupa.blogspot.com) and we’ll choose discussion topics at the meeting.

Also, we’ll discuss how often you’d like to meet and what topics and format you’d like to see for the meetings.

Beverages will be served!

Agenda
- Networking
- UX hot topics discussion
- UX design challenges discussion
- 2012 meeting schedule and topics

Meeting Time and Location
Thursday, January 19, 2012, 6 – 8 p.m.
PayPal Scottsdale
9999 N. 90th Street
Scottsdale, AZ 85258

100 attendees expected! Please RSVP if you plan to attend!!

2011-11-08T14:21:00.002-07:00

Only two days until the Arizona World Usability Day Celebration!

** 100 attendees expected! Please RSVP if you plan to attend!! **

Please arrive on time so you don't miss the food and the festivities!

RSVP to arizonaupa@gmail.com

See you there!

Arizona World Usability Day Celebration 2011

2011-10-24T19:06:00.004-07:00

Download or print the Arizona World Usability Day Celebration Poster

Click poster to RSVP to Arizona World Usability Day Celebration at arizonaupa@gmail.com

Arizona World Usability Day 2011 Celebration, Sponsored by PayPal, Inc.

2011-10-12T20:55:00.013-07:00

arizonaupa@gmail.com

Join us for the Arizona World Usability Day 2011 Celebration, Sponsored by PayPal

November 10, 2011

Phoenix has hosted a World Usability Day event since 2007. This year, we are excited to have PayPal, Inc. sponsoring the event. The event will be held at the local PayPal facility in Chandler, AZ.

UPDATE: Our event has been selected as one of World Usability Day's partner events, with only 5 events selected from over 60 worldwide events.

This is a free event, with catered food and drink. There will be giveaways, swag and a raffle for valuable software! Please RSVP for this event.

Invited keynote speaker, Laura Faulkner, will present on the WUD 2011 theme - "Designing for Social Change." Dr. Faulkner is a Research Scientist at the University of Texas and Consultant/Strategist at FalconDay Consulting. She is a three-time co-chair of UPA - International's annual global conferences.

Additionally, design professionals from PayPal and other local organizations will present their work and be available for questions and networking.

Presentation: Designing for Change - Why you matter now more than ever!    Who are you – an expert, an evaluator, a designer, a manager, a networker, a consumer? In every role you put your stamp on a product, a service, an idea, or an implementation. Yet, does it matter? Oh, yes, it does, as do you, and what you bring to the task.

A three-time co-chair of UPA-International's annual global conferences, a senior usability practitioner, and a lifelong student of human beings, Dr. Faulkner has a deep understanding of the field that is evolving through usability to user experience to experience design and more. Far beyond what we call ourselves, what we do every day is what will define everything that matters most. How we say it is what will determine how much of a difference our work will make. Be ready to walk ahead with how to best say it, when, and to whom, in the clear confidence that your daily walk will be Designing for Change.

Event Details

Thursday, November 10, 2011

6:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Note: You MUST RSVP for this event. Facility security will print name tags and we need a headcount for food and refreshments

** RSVP to arizonaupa@gmail.com **

Event Location

PayPal, Inc.

1240 S. Price Road (aka 3000 W. One Payment Way)
Chandler, AZ 85286-6614

Google Maps: http://g.co/maps/w247b

For More Information

Arizona UPA Chapter Blog:
http://arizonaupa.blogspot.com/
World Usability Day Event Page:
www.worldusabilityday.org/arizona-wud-2011-event
World Usability Day Global Partner Event Page:
www.worldusabilityday.org/world-usability-day-announces-call-partner-events
LinkedIn Event Page:
http://events.linkedin.com/Arizona-World-Usability-Day-2011/pub/817856

** RSVP to arizonaupa@gmail.com **

Contact the Organizer

Theo Mandel, Ph.D.

E-mail: theo [AT] theomandel [DOT] com

Phone: 480-664-1202

Map

Arizona UPA Meeting – Thursday, March 10, 2011

2011-02-27T19:41:00.006-07:00

info@arizonaupa.org

Join us for the Arizona Usability Professionals Association (AZUPA) Chapter meeting on Thursday, March 10 from 6-8 p.m.*

Our invited guest for this meeting is Christopher Byra, who will be speaking on the importance of usability testing Mobile e-Commerce apps.

How Mobile-Commerce Magnifies the Importance of Usability Testing

Usability testing as well as performance testing and monitoring are important for an e-commerce site—but even more so for m-commerce (Mobile-Commerce) sites because of the small physical interface users must deal with. This session will walk attendees through how to measure usability and test and monitor performance of an m-commerce site, including such topics as what tasks to ask testers to perform, how to determine success rates or failures, and what to do with the information. It will also look at resources that retailers can tap to assist with mobile design testing.

Agenda

6:00 p.m. Arrival and networking

6:30 p.m. Presentation - Invited Speaker

8:00 p.m. Adjourn

Meeting Location

The Art Institute of Phoenix Gallery Café
Gallery Café

2233 West Dunlap Avenue

Phoenix, Arizona

View Larger Map

Speaker Bio

Christopher Brya, Director, Mobile & Emerging Channels, Choice Hotels International Inc.

Chris Brya leads mobile commerce for Choice Hotels. Among Choice's 6,000 hotels worldwide and 10 brands are Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites and Quality Inn. Under Chris's tenure, the company launched an m-commerce platform in 2008 which has sales well into seven figures monthly. In 2009, it launched the first iPhone app for a global hotel chain. It currently has over 500,000 downloads in 80 countries. Chris also leads the mobile user experience lab for testing new mobile products, applications and services. Prior to Choice Hotels, Chris held positions at Motorola and Revlon.
_________________________________________________________________

*This is a free event, but space is limited. Walk-in attendees are certainly welcome, but please RSVP so that we can ensure we provide the appropriate accommodations.

Arizona UPA Observes World Usability Day - Thursday, November 11, 2010

2010-11-01T23:26:00.111-07:00

Sponsored by the Apollo Group’s User Experience Team

info@arizonaupa.org

The User Experience Team at Apollo Group will host AZUPA’s World Usability Day Event.
The Arizona chapter of Usability Professionals’ Association (AZUPA) is proud to bring you an exciting, jam-packed meeting highlighting this year’s theme—Communication: How products and services impact communication.

We are fortunate to have a cross-section of industries represented by our featured speakers who will talk about the challenges of global corporate communication, the future of game mechanics and keeping users interested and involved, and enhancing online learning environments with social networking.

Not currently a member of the UPA? No problem - non-members are invited to attend our event. Also, you will have the opportunity to join the UPA at a discounted WUD 2010 rate. Details about this membership discount promotion will be provided at the meeting.

RSVP now and join us for the event!

Agenda

6:00 p.m. – Social Mixer*
(light appetizers and beverages will be served)
6:30 p.m.– Presentation 1
7:00 p.m. – Presentation 2
7:45 p.m. – Demonstration
8:00 p.m. – Q&A
8:30 p.m. – Adjourn

*Note: Light appetizers and beverages will be served thanks to our gracious hosts. Please respond as soon as possible so that AZUPA and our hosts can accommodate the appropriate number of attendees.

Location
Apollo User Experience Labs – 2nd Floor
1620 South Stapley Drive
Mesa AZ 85204
View Map

Presentation 1: Our Dilemma: Communicating to a Global Audience in Remote Locations with Limited Connectivity

Linda Hayes and Ruthanne Gilbert of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. will co-present on the challenges of global corporate communication.

Having a company intranet doesn’t mean your employee communication issues are solved. With a global audience that spans from the jungles of Indonesia to the Katanga Provence of the Democratic Republic of Congo to downtown Phoenix and many points in between, employee communications not only have to be creative in message but also in method. This is a continuous balancing act between “perfect world/ideal solutions” and “real world/business reality.” We’ll talk honestly about how our relationship with technology has both helped and hindered our communication efforts.

About the Speakers:

Linda Hayes, Director – Internal Communications

Linda has been with the company for 23 years in various roles, including Logistics, Benefits, Human Resources Communications and most recently Internal Communications. This experience gives her the institutional knowledge needed to navigate a global organization with more than 30,000 employees. She has a B.S. degree in Business Management, with emphasis in Human Resources from Arizona State University.

Ruthanne Gilbert, Manager– Print and Electronic Communications

Ruthanne has been with the company for seven years, all within the corporate communications department. She spent more than 12 years working as a valley newspaper journalist and came to the company from Rural/Metro Fire Department where she served as Public Information Officer/Public Affairs Manager for close to five years. She has a B.S. degree in Journalism from Arizona State University.

Presentation 2: Using Game Mechanics to Increase User Communication, Interaction and Loyalty

Jen Walsh and Scott McAndrew from Terralever will co-present on the future of game mechanics and keeping users interested and involved.

Being on the web isn’t just about providing great content anymore. With the huge social media movement, we’ve seen more and more sites allowing users to communicate with each other through social interactions and sharing. As we move though these evolving iterations and advances, we’re seeing an increased need to provide more.

About the Speakers:

Jen Walsh, User Experience Architect

Jen has been at Terralever since 2004 and leads the user experience planning process. As a user experience architect, Jen focuses on combining the project stakeholder's marketing, branding and business goals with usability, information architecture and interaction design industry standards, ensuring that the client's objectives are met and the end user's expectations are surpassed. She has provided her expertise to companies such as Microsoft, Cisco, Hat Club and Red Bull.

Scott McAndrew, Director of Strategy

As Director of Strategy, Scott’s years of experience working with top brands across various industries is very apparent—he’s passionate about digital marketing and his incredible depth of knowledge proves it. Scott’s 20-year career encompasses the fundamentals of design, marketing and technology. He and his team oversee all upfront strategy and ongoing online marketing for clients, delivering results through both time-tested and innovative solutions.

Demonstration: Enhancing Online Learning Environments with Social Networking

Songmei Han from Apollo Group’s User Experience Team will demonstrate two tools that have recently launch for the University of Phoenix and will speak about how these tools enhance online learning environments with social networking.

The University of Phoenix added two modules (PhoenixConnect and Chat) to its online learning environment to facilitate communication among its students and faculty members.

PhoenixConnect is a private, academic-focused social network serve the University of Phoenix community.

Chat is an instant messaging tool that allows students and faculty members to communicate in real time in the online learning environment.

About the Speaker:

Songmei Han, Ph.D., User Experience Researcher - Product Management & User Experience

About World Usability Day http://www.worldusabilityday.org/

“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. Each year, on the second Thursday of November, over 200 events are organized in over 43 countries around the world to raise awareness for the general public, and train professionals in the tools and issues central to good usability research, development and practice.”

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. is the world's largest publicly traded copper company with headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona. The Company has a dynamic portfolio of operating, expansion and growth projects in the copper industry and is the world’s largest producer of molybdenum. The company’s portfolio of assets includes the Grasberg mining complex, the world’s largest copper and gold mine in terms of recoverable reserves, significant mining operations in the Americas, including the large- scale Morenci and Safford minerals districts in North America and the Cerro Verde and El Abra operations in South America, and the Tenke Fungurume minerals district in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Company has more than 30,000 employees worldwide. It can trace its roots back to 1834 with the founding of Phelps Dodge, which became part of Freeport-McMoRan in 2007.

Terralever was founded in 2002 on the philosophy that online
initiatives, based on strategy and executed flawlessly, result in
big returns—for brand growth and boosting the bottom line.

We begin by developing a tailored strategy to help set brands apart so they can achieve their short and long-term goals.
Terralever leverages our domain expertise to map out a path
and elevate the brand to outperform its competition.

By using the most innovative and effective means available, we deliver the message and drive measurable results.

With a dedicated team of industry experts that are
forward-thinking and passionate about all things digital,
Terralever’s growth has been fueled by lasting relationships
with clients small and large around the world.

By providing ROI driven marketing through strategic thinking, world-class execution and genuine customer service, Terralever delivers every time. Just ask our clients.

Apollo Group, Inc. was founded in 1973 in response to a gradual shift in higher education demographics from a student population dominated by youth to one in which approximately half the students are adults and over 80 percent of whom work full-time. Apollo's founder, John Sperling, believed -- and events proved him right -- that lifelong employment with a single employer would be replaced by lifelong learning and employment with a variety of employers. Lifelong learning requires an institution dedicated solely to the education of working adults.

Today, Apollo Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, University of Phoenix, Apollo Global, College for Financial Planning, Institute for Professional Development, and Meritus University, has established itself as a leading provider of higher education programs for working adults by focusing on servicing the needs of the working adult.

Arizona UPA Meeting – Thursday, August 12, 2010

2010-08-02T10:06:00.001-07:00

UPA Conference in Munich: Sponsored by the Apollo Group’s User Experience Team

RSVP Now!*

Apollo Group’s User Experience Team will host this month’s AZUPA meeting which will include a presentation and photo slideshow summarizing the UPA Conference that was held in Munich this past May.

Summary highlights of sessions from the conference will include:

Disruptive Technology – Google Wave
Outsourcing Usability and Design to India
Benefits of Eye Tracking Studies
Facts and Myths about Usability Testing
Recruiting Low Literacy Participants
And more…

*Note: Light appetizers and beverages will be served thanks to our gracious hosts. Please respond as soon as possible so that AZUPA and our hosts can accommodate the appropriate number of attendees.

Agenda

6:30 PM – Social Mixer (light appetizers and beverages will be served)
7:00 PM – Presentation: UPA Conference in Munich
8:30 PM – Adjourn

Location

Apollo User Experience Labs – 2nd Floor
1620 South Stapley Drive
Mesa AZ 85204

View Larger Map

AZUPA Special Event - UX Lab Tour Sponsored by Apollo User Experience Labs on May 13

2010-05-09T22:18:00.003-07:00

RSVP to info@arizonaupa.org NOW to ensure your spot on the guest list!

UX Lab Tour: May 13 6pm-9pm

This top tier, state of the art facility allows the team of the Apollo User Experience Labs to understand and improve the user experience of their software products for their students, faculty and staff.

The UX Lab includes:

Tobii Eye Tracking Software
Ovo Studios software to capture various behavioral data points
Executive viewing conference room

If your organization is or is planning to implement a UX lab of its own, this is a golden opportunity to learn first-hand all the details involved in the process and to sneak-a-peak at some awesome technology.

Appetizers and beverages will be served thanks to our gracious hosts. Please respond as soon as possible so that AZUPA and our hosts can accommodate the appropriate number of attendees.

Agenda
6:00 pm Arrival and networking
6:30 pm *Lab Tours
9:00 pm Adjourn

*Tours may run in stages depending on the number of attendees.

Location

Apollo User Experience Labs
Suite 200 (2nd Floor)
1620 South Stapley Drive
Mesa AZ 85204

Google Map

Mix it Up! IxDA Phoenix + AZUPA Invite You to Attend this Pre-IA Summit Event

2010-04-01T21:42:00.000-07:00

IxDA Phoenix and the Arizona UPA are proud to co-sponsor a mixer at Hanny's downtown to kick off the IA Summit being held in Phoenix this year.

Hanny's is near the light rail and easily accessible for most professionals in the valley as well as those in town for the IA Summit.

Everyone is invited, members and non members alike, whether you have a profession in user experience or design or not.

The night's agenda will be casual and a way to network and socialize.

Please RSVP and hope to see you there!!

**Please note that payment of any drink and food items you purchase are your responsibility.

Arizona UPA Meeting – Thursday, February 11, 2010

2010-02-04T16:19:00.004-07:00

Join us for the Arizona Usability Professionals Association (AZUPA) Chapter meeting on Thursday, February 11 from 6-8 p.m.

RSVP Now!*

Our invited guest for this meeting is Robert Hoekman who will be speaking on the topic of Web Anatomy Interaction Design Frameworks concept.

At the start of every web design project, the ongoing struggles reappear. We want to design highly usable and self-evident applications, but we also want to devise innovative, compelling, and exciting interactions that make waves in the market. Projects are more sophisticated than ever, but we have fewer resources with which to complete them. Requirements are fuzzy at best, but we’re expected to have everything done yesterday.
What we need is a reuse strategy, coupled with a pathway to innovation.

Web Anatomy delivers:

A guide to using interaction design frameworks
An examination of the psychology behind major frameworks
A thorough look at how frameworks will change the way you work for the better

Agenda
6:00 pm Arrival and networking
6:30 pm Brief business meeting
7:00 pm Presentation - Invited Speaker
8:00 pm Adjourn

Meeting Location
The Art Institute of Phoenix
2233 West Dunlap Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona
Note: The meeting will be in room 456

Speaker Bio
Robert Hoekman, Jr, is a user experience specialist and author who has written dozens of articles and has worked with:

Seth Godin (Squidoo)
Adobe
Automattic
United Airlines
DoTheRightThing.com, and others.

Robert has spoken at industry events all over the world, including:

An Event Apart
Web App Summit
SXSW
Future of Web Design, and many others.

Notable works:

Amazon bestseller Designing the Obvious (Amazon bestseller)
Designing the Moment
Web Anatomy, (coauthored by Jared Spool)

-------------------------------------------------

*This is a free event, but space is limited. Walk-in attendees are certainly welcome, but please RSVP so that we can ensure we provide the appropriate accommodations.

You do not need to be a member to attend. Feel free to come and check us out!!! Also, please feel free to spread the word to any interested colleagues.

Dr. Theo Mandel's "Golden Rules of Web Design"

2009-12-07T13:23:00.001-07:00

Hello:
We have received quite a few requests for Theo's "Golden Rules of Web Design" presentation from our World Usability Day celebration. So, Theo has been kind enough to post the presentation for you to view. Enjoy!

www.slideshare.net/theomandel/mandel-keynote-user-experience-russia-october-25-2009

World Usability Day is Coming!

2009-11-09T13:46:00.004-07:00

RSVP Now!

Please join us for a special event hosted by the Arizona Usability Professionals Association Chapter (AZUPA) and The Art Institute of Phoenix. The event is Thursday, November 12^th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Our speaker will be Dr. Theo Mandel. Theo will discuss “The (New) Golden Rules of Web Design” and present a recap of his recent experience as a keynote speaker at User eXperience Russia conference and UPA Europe 2009.

** Admission is FREE, but space is limited. Please RSVP to ensure we can provide adequate accommodations for all. **
** Food and Drink Provided **

Agenda
6:00 pm Arrival and networking
6:30 pm Brief UPA business meeting
7:00 pm Presentation
8:00 pm Adjourn

Location, Map, and Directions

The Art Institute of Phoenix

Cafe/Dining Room
2233 West Dunlap Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona

www.artinstitutes.edu/phoenix/AboutUs/Map_Directions.aspx

Speaker Bio

Theo Mandel, Ph.D. is the Director of Site Design and Usability at CoolHotNot.com as well as Founder and Principal Consultant at Interface Design and Development, LLC in Scottsdale. Theo is an international specialist in the design, development, education and usability testing of PC and Web software. Dr. Mandel designs technology- and business-based Web sites, Web applications and PC applications that are user-centered, task-oriented, enjoyable and usable.

He is the author of a number of publications and books, including The Elements of User Interface Design (John Wiley & Sons). His first book was The GUI-OOUI War: The Designer's Guide to Human-Computer Interfaces (John Wiley & Sons, 1994). He was also part of the Architecture team that wrote Object-Oriented Interface Design: IBM Common User Access Guidelines (QUE, 1999). Dr. Mandel received his Master's degree and Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Theo is an invited keynote speaker at the User eXperience Russia 2009 conference in Moscow in October. Theo is also the Vice President of the Arizona Chapter of the UPA.

About World Usability Day

What is World Usability Day?

It's about making our world work better.

It's about "Making Life Easy" and user friendly. Technology today is too hard to use. A cell phone should be as easy to access as a doorknob. In order to humanize a world that uses technology as an infrastructure for education, healthcare, transportation, government, communication, entertainment, work and other areas, we must develop these technologies in a way that serves people first…

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. Each year, on the second Thursday of November, over 200 events are organized in over 43 countries around the world to raise awareness for the general public, and train professionals in the tools and issues central to good usability research, development and practice.

For more information: http://www.worldusabilityday.org/

Arizona UPA Meeting – Thursday, October 8, 2009

2009-10-05T20:14:00.014-07:00

RSVP Now!*

Please join us for the Arizona Usability Professionals Association (AZUPA) Chapter meeting on Thursday, October 8 from 6-8 p.m. Our generous host is Gene Tucker of the Arizona State University Technology Office (http://usability.asu.edu/ ).

Our speaker will be Kath Straub, PhD. Kath is the Founder of Usability.org and is an industry leader who approaches usability as the intersection of experimental cognition, social psychology, marketing, and technology. On October 8th Kath will discuss "Convenience, credibility, and content: Designing web content to engage consumers."

Agenda
6:00 pm Arrival and networking
6:30 pm Brief business meeting
7:00 pm Presentation - Invited Speaker
8:00 pm Adjourn

Meeting Location
Arizona State University
Memorial Union Alumni Lounge, Room 202
http://www.asu.edu/map/interactive/?campus=tempe&building=MU

Additional location and parking information:

http://uabf.asu.edu/parking_visitor_tempe

The visitor parking structure closest to the Memorial Union (MU) Building is off Apache Blvd. The Apache Blvd. parking garage fee is $2.00 per hour and is CASH only.

Note that you can also take the light rail into ASU. It is free to park at any of the rail stops that have parking available.

Speaker Bio
Kath Straub works with organizations and government agencies to evaluate and design websites, applications and other resources that help consumers understand more, make better decisions and get more done. Making resources more usable and useful is a key part of that effort. But, as the web has evolved into the primary (and often the only) point of connection between consumers and companies, Kath’s approach has evolved, as well. Today she also enfolds evidence-driven methods that guide the design of engaging, persuasive and empathetic content that educates consumers and shapes key behaviors.

Kath is an energetic and entertaining speaker who presents frequently at conferences and workshops around the world. She's currently the Principal of Usability.org. Prior to that, she spent 9 years as the Chief Scientist at Human Factors International. Kath holds a Ph.D. in Brain and Cognitive Science from the University of Rochester.

-------------------------------------------------

*This is a free event, but space is limited. Walk-in attendees are certainly welcome, but please RSVP so that we can ensure we provide the appropriate accommodations.

You do not need to be a member to attend. Feel free to come and check us out!!! Also, please feel free to spread the word to any interested colleagues.

Save The Dates...

2009-09-21T09:07:00.001-07:00

After a successful World Usability Day meeting last year and two initial chapter meetings this year, we are ready to announce a series of regular events. The chapter will now meet on the second Thursday of every other month from 6-8 p.m. In addition to the regular meetings, we will again host a local World Usability Day event and organize other occasional special events.

Here’s our lineup for the next several months. We’re very fortunate to have local and international luminaries from the field coming to speak. More details about each event will be provided as we get a little closer to each. Meanwhile, please save these dates and make plans to join us!

October 8, 2009 - Bimonthly Meeting
Speaker: Kath Straub
Topic: Convenience, credibility, and content: Designing web content to engage consumers
Time: 6-8 p.m.
Location: Arizona State University
University Technology Office
Tempe, Arizona

November 12, 2009 - Special Event for World Usability Day
Speaker: Theo Mandel
Topic: User experience design: the journey from discovery to advocacy
(A recap of Theo’s keynote presentation from User eXperience Russia and UPA Europe 2009)
Time: 6-8 p.m.
Location: The Art Institute of Phoenix
2233 West Dunlap Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona

December 10, 2009 - Bimonthly Meeting
Speaker: Elisa Delgado
Topic: Internationalization and localization for UI design and evaluation
Time: 6-8 p.m.
Location: Gangplank
325 East Elliot Rd Suite 34
Chandler, AZ 85225

February 11, 2010 - Bimonthly Meeting
Speaker: Robert Hoekman
Topic: Web Anatomy Interaction Design Frameworks
Time: 6-8 p.m.
Location: The Art Institute of Phoenix
2233 West Dunlap Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona

April 8, 2010 - Joint meeting with the Phoenix Interaction Design Association (IxDA)
Speaker: Whitney Quesenbery
Time: 6-8:30 p.m.
Location: Gangplank
325 East Elliot Rd Suite 34
Chandler, AZ 85225

Arizona UPA Meeting Notes: June 18, 2009

2009-07-08T14:44:00.096-07:00

Speaker: Miguel Almaraz, AZUPA President

Bringing Usability to Life: Making everyday things better

UPA2009 Conference –Takeaways

The UPA 2009 Conference was held June 8-12 in Portland Oregon.

Conference Website

https://www.usabilityprofessionals.org/conference/2009/

Contact AZUPA for Conference Proceeding .pdfs

The conference proceedings were purchased for the Arizona Chapter of the UPA and are available to AZUPA members. Please contact arizonaupa@gmail.com to gain access to all 42 files…that is 25.2 MB of usability related content that you can read to your heart’s content!

Conference proceedings were not offered as .pdfs for the following topics:

Persuasive Presentations
Neuro Web Design

Miguel Almaraz offered his insights from the presentations.

Persuasive Presentations: How to Craft and Deliver Compelling Usability Presentations
Presented at UPA2009 by Susan Weinschenk

Usability professionals are experts at:

Testing
Evaluating
Finding issues
Making recommendations

Challenges for Usability professionals:

Relaying the message to the stakeholders as a “call to action”
Communicating the “what’s in it for me” to business units

Key Questions to ask when preparing the content of your presentation:

Who is your audience? Business unites, end-users, etc.
Does your presentation grab your audiences’ attention?
Is it compelling and able to keep their attention?
Is it persuasive?
What is your call to action when you make a recommendation?
What does your recommendation mean to the different business groups?

Your report is not your presentation

Source: Adapted from COLOGNY/SWITZERLAND, 08SEP07-
Cover of the World Economic Forum's Global Information Technology Report 2008-2009.
Copyright World Economic Forum (www.weforum.org)

How to prepare your presentations:

Learn how to correlate recommendation to business department’s benefit.
Presentation should allow you to talk to the issue, answer questions they have yet not asked, and spur questions for you to answer during the presentation.
Do not tell them what you think is important…They don’t care.
Talk to them about what is important to them.

Presentation Tips

Use your skills as a Usability professional to make your presentations better. Apply the same principles to make a better experience better for the end-user, in this case your audience.
Pay attention to text size, amount of text, font selection, choice of background, chart vs. tables
Use images to tell the story

Example:

KOMO Staff & News Services.(2009, January 16)
’Miracle on the Hudson’: All survive crash into river. KOMONews.com.
Retrieved from http://www.komonews.com/news/37658674.html

Group Discussion Takeaways:

Know your audience. Some people will interact more with the presenter some more with the graphic elements.
Use a disconnected image as a strategy to get audience to tune in. If the deck of the presentation is given as a handout or included in the report, the image that was designed to be an “attention grabber” needs to be clearly identified and noted to provide context and relevance when referencing the deck at a later time.
[For Presentations] try to have as little content in the slides as possible and have a separate handout as takeaway.
Author Edward Tufte on PowerPoint, “PowerPoint is a competent slide manager and projector. But rather than supplementing a presentation, it has become a substitute for it.” ( Tufte, E. (2003). Power Point is Evil. [Electronic Version] Wired 11.09. Available from http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt2.html)
Presentation vs. PowerPoint document: Not every PowerPoint deck is designed to be delivered as a “presentation”. PowerPoint can be used for more than just presentations: information repository, rapid prototyping, illustrating key concepts to your stakeholders. Know your audience to know what content is appropriate to include and how to display that information.
Try writing a presentation outline before you design it. This technique can help you focus on the points you need to make.

Neuro WebDesign: What Makes Them Click?
Presented at UPA2009 by Susan Weinschenk

Susan Weinschenk presented ideas from her book. There are three parts of the brain.

Weinschenk, S. (2009). Neuro WebDesign: What Makes Them Click? New Riders Press (p.3)
Retrieved from http://neurowebbook.com/Images/pictures/pageshots/brain1.jpg

Old Brain

This was the first part of the brain that evolved. It scanned the environment and dealt with issues of survival:

Is it food? Can I eat it?
Is it a threat? Can it hurt me? Can I hurt it?
Can I have sex with it (to propagate my species)?

This part governs unconscious decisions and is predictable irrational and governs the automatic bodily responses such as breathing and digestion.

Mid Brain
This is where emotions are processed. This is where marketers play. Your emotions drive decisions that are made by the old brain.

New Brain
This is the part that governs conscious decisions. The old brain feeds the new brain the decision and the new brain has to justify the decision.

Research Study: Rude Group vs. Nice Group

Participants of each group were subjected to different language and scenarios through survey questions. Each group was instructed to let the facilitators know when they finished the survey. They wanted to see which group would notify the facilitators upon survey completion.

They found that Rude group were more likely to interrupted the facilitators (who intentionally had their backs turned and were engaged in conversation).

Group Discussion Takeaway:

We can use these types of studies to influence the behavior of Website visitors.
Refer to the Suggested Reading List for recommendations from the group to learn more about neuro Web design and persuasion.

Terminology from the Meeting

Usability Gestalt: term used during the meeting to describe approaching the creation of presentations or surveys as an organized and structured whole rather than the sum of their constituent parts.

Priming: is a term used by Malcom Galdwell as a method of persuading someone’s brain to respond a certain way. In his book Blink he wrote about an experiment where subjects read a list of words related to old age; these subjects were found to walk more slowly after the experiment.

Captology: is a term coined by B.J. Fogg in 1996 to refer to the study of computers as persuasive technologies

Suggested Reading List

Neuro Web Design: What Makes Them Click?
By Susan M. Weinschenk

The Cognitive Style of Power Point
By Edward Tufte

Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do
By BJ Fogg

-Submitted by Jonathan Mann

Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (Voices That Matter)
By Garr Reynolds

slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations
By Nancy Duarte

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
By Malcolm Gladwell

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
By Robert Cialdini

Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive
By Robert Cialdini

-Submitted by Robert Hoekman, Jr.

TED Video: Renny Gleeson on antisocial phone tricks

Website aesthetics - what has it got to do with usability?

-Submitted byLaurie Goldstein

2009-06-17T08:14:00.003-07:00

Arizona UPA Meeting - Thursday, June 18, 2009

Just a reminder...
Please join us for the Arizona Usability Professionals Association (AZUPA) Chapter meeting on Thursday, June 18. AZUPA President Miguel Almaraz will present a summary of this year's International UPA conference. Miguel's presentation will include industry updates, best-practices, and other insights from his experience this week in Portland, OR (http://www.usabilityprofessionals.org/conference/2009/). The conference theme this year is Bringing Usability to Life: Making everyday things better.

Other chapter meeting attendees will also be welcome to informally share their experiences from the UPA conference. In addition, you'll learn about the UPA and meet local colleagues who share a passion for all things related to creating compelling user experiences.

Speaker Bio
Miguel Almaraz is currently the User Experience Project Manager for Choice Hotels International and President of the Arizona UPA. He holds a B.S. from Arizona State University and a MBA from Western International University.

Meeting Location
The Art Institute of Phoenix
2233 West Dunlap Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona

Note: The meeting will be in room 456

Map: www.artinstitutes.edu/phoenix/AboutUs/Map_Directions.aspx

Agenda
6:00 pm Arrival, networking and light snacks
6:30 pm Brief business meeting
7:00 pm Presentation - Invited Speaker
8:00 pm Adjourn

This is a free event, but space is limited. Walk-in attendees are certainly welcome, but please RSVP to this address so that we can ensure we provide the appropriate accommodations.

You do not need to be a member to attend. Feel free to come and check us out!!! Also, please feel free to forward this message to any interested colleagues.

You are receiving this e-mail because you have signed up for the Arizona UPA mailing list, have attended a previous Arizona UPA meeting, or have attended a Phoenix World Usability Day event. If you no longer wish to be on this mailing list, simply reply to this address and request to be removed.

First-Ever Arizona UPA Meeting - Thursday, April 30, 2009

2009-04-23T15:01:00.002-07:00

Please join us for the first-ever Arizona Usability Professionals Association (UPA) Chapter meeting on Thursday, April 30. Dean T. Barker, Director of User-Centered Design at Sage Software, will speak on integrating user-centered design into various software processes.

Dean will explain why software projects fail and how user-centered design (UCD) can be used to improve and optimize your product development methodology. He will present a structured approach to tailoring and integrating UCD into the software development process. In this presentation you will also learn about the critical gaps in your software development methodology, how to unify design and development, how to express UCD in the "language" of your methodology, how to promote usability activities within development, and how to make UCD a routine part of your software processes regardless of whether you're using waterfall, agile methods, the Rational Unified Process (RUP), or other methodologies.

You'll also learn about the UPA and meet local colleagues who share a passion for all things related to creating compelling user experiences.

Speaker Bio
Dean T. Barker is the Director of User Centered Design and User Assistance for Global CRM Solutions at Sage Software. He has over fifteen years of experience in design and software product development. He has been a co-editor and author of ISO standards for Software Quality and is co-author of the book Designing Effective Speech User Interfaces. Mr. Barker has a B.A. in Business Management and Communication and a M.S. in Software Engineering from the University of Minnesota. He is also the Membership Chair for the Arizona UPA Chapter and is the Phoenix-area Local Ambassador for UXnet.org, an online community connecting people, organizations, resources, and ideas to enable the growth of User Experience as a practice.

Meeting Location
The Art Institute of Phoenix
2233 West Dunlap Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona

Note: The meeting will be in room 456

Map: www.artinstitutes.edu/phoenix/AboutUs/Map_Directions.aspx

Agenda
6:00 pm Arrival, networking and snacks
6:30 pm Brief business meeting
7:00 pm Presentation - Invited Speaker
8:00 pm Adjourn

This is a free event, but space is limited. Walk-in attendees are certainly welcome, but please RSVP to this address so that we can ensure we provide the appropriate accommodations.

You do not need to be a member to attend. Feel free to come and check us out!!! We look forward to meeting you.

"Save the Date"

2009-03-31T10:14:00.002-07:00

Hello everyone,
Well as you may have noticed, we missed our March meeting date. For that I apologize. Despite our challenges, the "transition team" has had meetings and made great strides in formalizing our local chapter of the UPA. Thanks to everyone for their effort.

So where does that leave us now? Well, now we are at the point when I ask that you "save the date" - April 30th, 2009 because that is when we will have our first full chapter meeting.

Although we are currently working to finalize the meeting location and topic of discussion, we do know that this meeting will be free to all who want to attend. So, please feel free to invite your friends and colleagues. Stay tuned for more details.

Thanks,
Miguel.

It won't be long...

2009-01-26T09:31:00.002-07:00

Hello everyone.
I just wanted to send out a quick update for you. The core team met last week to discuss the next steps for the Arizona UPA. I'll send out information as it is finalized, but right now, let me share with you that we are planning on having our first official full chapter meeting by mid-March. I'll keep you posted.
Thank you.

Progress and Update of Arizona UPA Chapter

2008-12-09T09:00:00.004-07:00

Hello everyone.

I wanted to pass along a note about our growth and progress in chapter formation for the Arizona UPA.

We've had a steady stream of newcomers and signups in the past month both to our distribution list found on our website and for those that have joined the Arizona UPA outright. Thanks to you all for doing so.

For those that have joined the Arizona UPA, just so you know, your membership actually starts the day we officially form the chapter. So if you've joined in November or December of 2008, when we formalize in January 2009, only then does your yearly membership clock start ticking. So don't worry about any fees not being utilized. You're going to get your value and then some.

And that alludes to our status. We've informally completed the chapter bylaws and definitions. Our "transition team" will meet in early January to sign and formalize and then it goes to the national chapter of the UPA. So our goal is to have the first "official" meeting of the Arizona UPA in February 2009. Dates/times/places and agenda will come via this list.

So, in the interim while we are dotting i's and crossing t's, if you have any topics that you'd like to see covered, or have a speaker that would be of interest for our group, please email us and let us know. We'll be setting up the next 3-4 months of meetings in January as well, so let us know what you'd like to learn, hear, see, etc.

It's OUR group. Let's define it in our way, with what we want and build this into a very robust, active organization!

I'll talk with you soon. Have a great holiday season! And pass this along to any friends or colleagues that might be interested.

Thanksgiving Arizona UPA Membership Drive

2008-11-24T19:47:00.003-07:00

The holidays are upon us and I wanted to make mention to you are looking to all of you to get the word out to your friends and colleagues and have them join the Arizona UPA Chapter or at the very least make sure they get on our mailing list.

We had a nice turnout at the World Usability Day and had some people join up as well as sign up for the updates, but we'd like to get everybody we can involved in this chapter, either through regular email correspondence and updates or as actual Arizona UPA members.

We are finalizing the chapter paperwork and should have that resolved at the in December with the goal of having our first formal meeting in January 2009. Place/time are obviously TBD, but anyone and everyone that joins in December will essentially get December for free as we will be extending the 12-month membership to 13 months for all of our charter members. Just an incentinve to have you join this year and extend through December 2009.

Anyway, we'd like to hear from you as well about topics areas of focus to cover in 2009 as we will begin working on our agenda for the first 6 months of meetings this month. Any/all information, requests and suggestions are appreciated.

Again, thanks for signing up for updates here and joining (if you've done so already.) Keep spreading the word and sending colleagues this site link: http://www.arizonaupa.org.

We'll see/talk to you soon!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Success at World Usability Day in Phoenix

2008-11-14T06:15:00.003-07:00

Thanks to everyone who came to the World Usability Day in Phoenix last night. Last night's event was the fourth annual global event to create awareness for usability.

It was a great time to meet new people and network with those in our industry. As we progress with AZ UPA chapter formation (more on that in future emails/posts), we'll likely see each other again!

Special thanks to go out to our hosts, the Art Institute of Phoenix, our guest speakers, companies that donated gifts for our raffle and Theo Mandel from Interface Design and Development for organizing another WUD event.

We also want to thank Hillary Foose of Metro Light Rail who graciously gave a keynote for us that related transportation to usability and provided us with details on Metro Light Rail and what we can expect to see in the coming months.

Again, a great event and thanks to all who attended.

PS: Be sure to tell your colleagues about Arizona UPA and to have them sign up on this site for updates or to join. There is knowledge, strength and great networking in numbers!

Phoenix World Usability Day Event – November 13, 2008

2008-10-29T19:48:00.006-07:00

Mark your Calendar!
Phoenix World Usability Day Event – November 13, 2008
Fourth Annual Global Event to Create Awareness for Usability

Arizona professionals interested in hardware/software usability and human factors are invited to attend the second World Usability Day event in Phoenix. Please join this awareness and networking event designed to grow the Arizona usability community. The event is scheduled for Thursday, November 13, 2008 from 6:00 - 8:30 p.m. Seating and refreshments are limited, so you must RSVP to attend this event. Event details are below.

The agenda is now being finalized. Presentations and/or panel discussions are planned on transportation usability experiences and case studies. This is a networking event, so local companies are encouraged to introduce themselves and describe their usability efforts. Any interested presenters should contact Theo Mandel (contact information below). This meeting is also an initial effort to form an Arizona chapter of the Usability Professionals' Association (UPA). An overview of the UPA will be presented and attendees will be able to sign up for more information on the formation of the Arizona UPA Chapter.

Sponsors include the Usability Professionals' Association (www.upassoc.org) and World Usability Day (www.worldusabilityday.org). The local event is sponsored by the Art Institute of Phoenix (www.artinstitutes.edu/phoenix/).

A more detailed agenda will be published shortly.

About World Usability Day

The Usability Professionals' Association (UPA) has announced World Usability Day (WUD) 2008 will take place on November 13, 2008. This year's focus will be on transportation. World Usability Day 2007 was a tremendous success. UPA, along with its allied organizations coordinated over 200 events in 175 cities in 40 countries that attracted over 50,000 attendees and volunteers at worldwide site locations, as well as through webcasts online at the WUD website, www.worldusabilityday.org.

World Usability Day was founded in 2005 with a mission to increase the public's awareness of the need to make services and products important to human life easier to access and simpler to use. Global issues such as healthcare, education and government are addressed through expert forums, exhibits, events and initiatives in locations throughout the world.

World Usability Day - Phoenix Event
Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008, 6:00 - 8:30 p.m.

Art Institute of Phoenix

Cafe/Dining Room
2233 West Dunlap Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85021

** Admission is FREE **
** Food and Drink Provided **

Map and Directions:
www.artinstitutes.edu/phoenix/AboutUs/Map_Directions.aspx

RSVP Required!
Please RSVP with number of attendees, including name,
title, and e-mail address to: theo@theomandel.com

Event Schedule

6:00 p.m.:
Begin food and refreshments
6:30 – 8:30 p.m.:

(Final agenda - to be determined)
Networking, speaker and panel presentations
Door prizes (software, t-shirts, books and more...) - You must be present to win!

Contact Information

Theo Mandel, Ph.D.
Interface Design and Development, LLC
theo@theomandel.com
480.664.1202