[Sigia-l] re: UPA Conference -- thoughts?

[Steve Krug]

Noel Franus was kind enough to write:

>> The Usability Professionals Association conference in July looks like

>>  it actually has a pretty decent lineup.... So I'm considering going.
How many
>>  of you have been to a UPA conference? Was it worthwhile, and if so,
why?

>> (Steve Krug, I know you're, um, lurking...and I know you're
>> presenting. Feel free to sell yourself silly.)

Julie Ratner and I *are* doing a tutorial at UPA called "Phone Usability
Testing: A 'Deep, Deep Discount' Method That Gets Results" which I'm
sure will be the best thing since sliced bread.

But that's not what draws me out of the shadows where I ordinarily lurk.

I know attending conferences is a tough decision these days,
particularly if you're paying the freight yourself. But for anyone who
hasn't been to UPA before and is trying to decide whether to take the
plunge, I have to say this:  I can't recommend it highly enough.

Last year was the first chance I had to attend UPA (it always seems to
coincide with family vacations), and it was the first conference I've
been to in many years where I was *always* torn choosing between
sessions, because they were *all* practical, intelligent, thought
provoking, experience-based, and useful. No thinly-veiled sales pitches.
No experiments proving which interfaces appeal most to lab rats. Just
useful stuff. (Imagine that.)

If you haven't gone before, and you can swing it somehow, do yourself a
favor and go.

Steve

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Steve Krug                          Advanced Common Sense
skrug at sensible.com
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