This web site is a forum to share information and experiences on issues related to the usability and user-centered design. It is the home of the Usability and User Experience Community of the Society for Technical Communication.
World Usability Day – November 3, 2005 The Usability Professionals’ Association is organizing the first annual World Usability Day on November 3, 2005. This worldwide series of events will promote awareness of the benefits of usability engineering and user-centered design.STC Training Program–October 20-21, 2005 Imagine a two-day course covering the things you need to advance your career in technical communication–an in-depth, focused course taught by some of the most respected names in the field. Five such courses, each covering a different subject within technical communication make up the STC Training Program–a new learning venue designed for today’s professionals. Full information at www.stc.org/training.The Architecture of Content. (Jonathan Price)Creating and Using Personas to Improve Usability (Whitney Quesenbery)Focusing on Content: Making Web Sites Work for Users. (Ginny Redish and Caroline Jarrett)Leadership in Information Management (Roz Tsai)XML: From Hand-Coding to WYSIWYG Authoring. (Neil Perlin)Afterthoughts from the Conference The 2005 Idea Market included six topics from setting contracting rates to managing usability in translation to legal issues for technical communicators. Activators provided these afterthoughts, documentation of the discussion.Usability Interface – May 2005That’s a Good Question by Elizabeth FrickThe Key for Effective Documentation: Answer the User’s Real Question by Michael J. AlbersConducting Successful SME Interviews by Jennifer LambeManaging Customer Feedback on User Documentation by Jaya ParameswaranJust Kick It: Six Things You Can Do to Make Your Computer Run Faster by Renee SchurtzThe World is Ready for Usability. Is Usability Ready for the World? by Kathy StraubThe Book Shelf: Institutionalization of Usability: A Step-by-Step Guide Reviewed by Ruth HaworthUsabilty in Belgium? by David DickA Question of Process by Karen BachmannCommunity News and Conference AnnouncementsUsability: The Next Decade Chauncey Wilson looks at trends in usability and user experience design and helps practitioners prepare to broaden their skills beyond traditional usability and design activities to more strategic thinking. (Intercom January 2005)Usability, User Experience…or Both Manager Karen Bachmann explains the community’s new name and the transformation process that helped define it. (Intercom January 2005)Virtual Communities: Weaving the Human Web Communities are the personal and profession networks that define and shape our lives. Whitney Quesenbery looks at how communities function, and what they mean for the STC transformation. (Intercom January 2005)We’ve Transformed The Usability SIG was one of the first SIGs invited to recharter as a new STC Community. Our new name is the STC Usability and User Experience (UUX) Community.STC Transformation Initiative web siteTransformation and UUX by Karen Bachmann, UUX ManagerTransformation Update by SIG Manager Karen BachmannTransformation Update or…Introduction by Andrea Ames, STC President |