UPA 2012 Overview
Henderson, Nevada
June 6-8
Andrew Wirtanen
User Experience Specialist, Atlantic BT
Strip = A M Resort = B
Goodbye, "UPA"
Do you have "usability" in your job title?
Dan Saffer
• UX Evangelism
• @xvangelist
• aka Ronnie Battista
but shh...
The Reverend
• "The best leaders are also
the best followers"
• Transformative leadership o Challenge
o Connect & communicate
o Be a role model
o Inspire
• Not all effective leaders
are great leaders
Keynote [Ron Riggio]
5 Second Test [Jeff Sauro]
• 5 second tests do
not predict site
usability
• But, they may be
useful for other
things (e.g. first
impressions)
Desire Paths of Design [Rosenberg]
• Strategies when
working with desire
paths:
o Make unofficial path
official
o Pave by desire (don't
pave!)
o Prevention (e.g.
fence)
o Improve the
designed path (e.g.
lights)
Quick Check Testing [Walser,
Rubin]
• Move beyond the usability lab o Print out screenshots
o Use Google Forms, Flickr, Feedback Army, etc.
• Explain purpose to participants and ask
good questions
• More: Howto.gov/firstfridays
On Being Agile [Panel]
• "There is no right process"
• Iteration 0/Discovery/Sprint 0/Spike is
necessary
• "Design studio exercise" = everyone sketch!
• Teach developers about personas and the
basics of design (e.g. CRAP)
Web Analytics [Mike Beasley]
• What can you
measure? o Funnels
o Short Action
o Engagement
• Conversion rate
only shows
attempt... not long-
term dedication
• Ask your client: o Why does your site
exist?
o Where does the
website fit into the
overall experience?
o What things do users
want to do?
o Do users want to do
them?
Promoting UX [Cory Lebson]
• You have to get
buy in; you can't
just say "I do UX"
• How to spread UX
o Start small
o Lunch & learns
o Don't try to say
everything
• Problems get fixed
if stakeholders are
involved in the
process o Involve your client in
usability testing,
expert reviews, etc.
We Do Focus Groups Too [Panel]
• Use focus groups early on to help generate
ideas with representative users
• One focus group (4-8 ppl) per persona
• You can't reach consensus
• Use them correctly!
A Common Problem
• Usability testing != focus groups
• Xtranormal video from Steve Krug...
Toward a UX Certification [Molich]
• UX professionals could not agree on the
answers for some of the proposed questions
• Could be very useful when hiring new
employees
• Whether the field needs a certification is
another debate...
Let's Take a Test!
Which two of the following heuristics are
related primarily to accessibility:
1. Follow platform conventions
2. Make all functionality available from a keyboard
3. Keep users informed about what is going on
through appropriate feedback
4. Provide text alternatives for any non-text content
5. Provide useful and usable help and documentation
6. Speak the users' language
My Talks: UX on the Cheap
• User Research on
the Cheap o Client worksheet
o Client kickoff
o Analytics
o Unmoderated tools
o Build Personas
• UX Design on the
Cheap o Co-Design
Workshop
o Wireframing &
Prototyping Tools
o Dealing with Agile
o Dealing with
Responsive
Two conferences in 2013: DC & Shanghai
The Local Chapter
• ABT = Nano
Sponsor
• ABT Members o Andrew W.
o Colin B.
o Daryl H.
o Eileen A.
o Mark R.
o Nancy J.
o Peter B.
Thanks!
Some good sites:
• uxmag.com
• uxmatters.com
• uie.com/brainsparks
• alistapart.com
A couple good books:
• Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug
• The Design of Everyday Things by Don
Norman
Recommended
