Topic
It took a massive failure of our economy to get people
back on their feet and their heads on the surface of the
planet. But now, we have "recover". Where do we
start?
This is a video recording of a keynote lecture delivered
by Jared Spool at an STC Region 7 conference in 2002. Jared's
target audience are technical communicators and usability
practitioners who are trying to make their work relevant
while coming to grips with the realities of an economic
downturn.
Jared Spool is a recognized authority on user interface
design and human factors in computing. A software developer
and programmer, Jared founded User Interface Engineering
in 1988. He has more than 15 years of experience conducting
usability evaluations on a variety of products, and is an
expert in low-fidelity prototyping techniques.
Jared is on the faculty of the Tufts University Gordon
Institute and teaches seminars on product usability. He
is a member of SIGCHI, the Usability Professionals Association,
the Association for Computing Machinery, and the IEEE. He
is a regular tutorial speaker at the annual CHI conference
and Society for Technical Communications conferences around
the country. Jared can be reached at jspool@uie.com.
Have
you ever wondered how to create a search function that will
actually help people find information? Most Web sites
have some kind of search feature, but all too often, it fails
to provide the answers needed to guide users. Debates among
experts about the usefulness of the search function have done
little to help webmasters make good design decisions.
In this seminar, Whitney Quesenbery takes a fresh look
at the problem by approaching it from the users' point of
view. With a model that starts from the users' perspective,
the presentation helps us understand the search function
as one element in the users' tool kit of information-gathering
methods. Results of a series of usability tests on search
behavior helped form the basis for this model.
This presentation will:
- Define a model for looking at the entire user experience
of search
- Look at the design questions raised by each step of
the model
- Review some successful (and a few not-so-successful)
search designs
- Explore how meta-tags and other markup can improve search
success
- Look at some of the new search techniques, from visualizations
to facets, that are now emerging as mainstream capabilities
Whitney Quesenbery designs interfaces for projects from
Web sites to applications and helps companies improve the
usability of their products. Long concerned with the relationship
of people and computers, Quesenbery was a developer of the
Logical User Centered Interaction Design (LUCID) framework
for a user-centered design process.
As a principal at Cognetics, her projects ranged from the
original Hewlett-Packard LaserJet 4 Travel Guide to hospital
management software, Web applications, and corporate information
tools. For STC, Quesenbery has managed the Usability SIG
and is the webmaster for its popular Web site (www.stcsig.org/usability).
She is also the director of outreach for the Usability Professionals'
Association. She can be reached at whitneyq@wqusablity.com.
Do you know that one of the top 20 fastest growing employment
fields in the USA is a relatively unknown profession called
technical communication? And that people in this profession
are paid salaries comparable to those of engineers?
Learn more about Technical Communication, the value it
provides (in terms of corporate image, sales, costs and
even a matter of life and death), the required skills, and
more through this talk.
Joo Khim TAN managed the Technical Communications section
in Creative Technology Ltd for five years before moving
on to design and develop an e-learning portal with web services
for HP Education almost three years ago. She now works as
an Instructional Technologist in the Teaching & Learning
Centre of Ngee Ann Polytechnic, specialising in the design
and development of web-based applications and courseware.
She also works part-time as an Engineering Communication
tutor for the UTS Bachelor of Engineering in Aerospace Operations
program.
Joo Khim was the president of the Singapore chapter of
the Society for Technical Communication for the years 2000-2003.
She has a degree in Computer Science/Information Systems
from the National University of Singapore. She has also
studied online for more than three years with Singapore
Polytechnic, Elementk.com (previously known as Macromedia
University) and an Australian university. She's currently
pursuing a Masters degree in Educational Technology.
Joo Khim can be reached at jookhim@alumni.nus.edu.sg.
Technical
writers are well positioned to move into the rapidly growing
instructional design (ID) field. Many of their core skills
are essential in ID practice; however, some behavioral science
competencies expected of ID professionals are not commonly
associated with technical writing. Individuals who want to
make this career transition may require specialized training
or targeted development activities.
In this presentation, speaker Constance Billé, whose
own career has spanned both fields, will share information
on how to acquire the additional competencies needed to
take this career path, and will review competency models
developed by professional organizations that serve instructional
designers. She will also discuss many educational options
and career planning strategies available. Sample résumés
will be used to illustrate how an ID manager might regard
different backgrounds. Participants will have the opportunity
to measure their own career readiness using a self-assessment
and planning tool. This seminar is appropriate for any STC
member interested in a career in instructional design.
Constance
Billé has more than 20 years' experience as a writer,
producer, consultant, and manager of training and technical
communication. She presently leads an instructional design
group for Towers Perrin, an international consulting firm.
Before joining Towers, she pioneered e-learning with German
software giant SAP; managed training and documentation for
IMS Health, a division of Dun & Bradstreet; and developed
custom training and documentation for Merck, Abbott Laboratories,
Dow, IBM, and the Environmental Protection Agency. She is
also an illustrator and has taught English literature.
Billé holds a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania
and an M.Ed. in educational media from Temple University.
She is a senior member of STC and has been a chapter officer
of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD)
and the International Association of Business Communicators
(IABC). Bille can be reached at billec@towers.com.
Is
it enough that information we use is clear and concise? Isn't
there some part of human nature that also responds to beauty?
Traditional architects repeatedly use the term "beauty
in design." Drew Hubbell, a commercial architect suggests,
"Beauty in design affects all facets of our lives,
enhancing our awareness." What does that description
mean and how can we apply it to information architecture
and design?
Information design solutions incorporate design approaches
that take into account human factors, perception, graphic
design and usability testing to ensure a clear translation
of any data. Information architects and designers work to
find ways to attract users, keep them engaged, and move
them through data environments. Perhaps by studying the
aesthetic tastes of user groups, more functional information
displays can be developed.
This telephone seminar will focus on the "beauty"
in effective information displays and how to learn from
the visual cues that saturate the world around us. During
the seminar, participants will work through online exercises
and be challenged to define how "beauty in design"
translates into their own work as technical communicators.
Phylise
Banner is an instructional technologist for the University
Without Walls, the adult distance education program at Skidmore
College in Saratoga Springs, New York. Working with faculty
and students, she develops online learning experiences geared
specifically for asynchronous Web delivery.
A senior member of STC, Phylise is a regular presenter
at international STC events on the topics of information
design and creativity. With a background in fine art, graphic
design, and data analysis, she approaches the world of information
design from both sides of the brain.
She is currently in the Instructional Technology doctoral
program at Nova Southeastern University, focusing on free-choice
learning methods as they apply to online learning. Phylise
can be reached at pbanner@skidmore.edu.
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