[Sigia-l] NYC-CHI presents "Applied IA case studies", Wed. Nov. 13 6:30-8:30pm

[Fleur Levitz]

NYC-CHI presents "Applied IA case studies"

Moderated by Scott Weiss, NYC-CHI Chair and Principal,
Usable 
Products Company

DATE/TIME: Wed. Nov. 13 6:30-8:30pm
LOCATION: TechSpace, 41 East 11th Street, 11th floor,
btwn. 
University and Broadway
-FREE-
-NO RSVP NECESSARY-
-FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE-

NYC-CHI is pleased to present this collection of
presentations that 
focus on how site problems were solved through the use
of intelligent 
IA methodologies. See below for abstracts and bios of
speakers.

Space generously provided by TechSpace(techspace.com)
A/V support by Usable Products
Company(usableproducts.com)

Scott Weiss, Chair
Fleur Levitz, Information Chair
Maria Moratis, Vice-Chair
Don Bialer, Program Chair
Shan Chun, Secretary
--------

ABSTRACTS OF PRESENTATIONS:

Bob Huerster:
In the Spring of 2000, Consumers Union began the
process of  
redesigning
Consumerreports.org, the largest publication-based
subscription site on 
the
Web. Inspired by the writings of Kevin Broccoli, Peter
Morville, and 
Louis
Rosenfeld, I approached the site editor with
suggestions to improve the
site's navigation systems.  In my presentation I will
explain how the 
site
editor and I revamped the site's taxonomy. I will then
focus on why I
recommended a site index as a supplemental navigation
system and how I
implemented it. One of the most popular pages on the
site, the index
typically attracts about 300,000 page views per month.
---
Sandy Schlosser:
If your Web site is not ranking in the top 30 results
in major search
engines, chances are your target audience is not
finding you.   This 
session
will explore ways to tweak your site design in order
to increase your
visibility within major search engines.  Keyword
selection, meta-
tags, 
link
text and other Web design elements that may affect
search engine 
ranking
will be discussed.  We will also touch on the
importance of reciprocal
linking.  
---
Josh Seiden:
Have you ever been involved in a religious war about
"the user?" One 
day
the user is like your father, and wants the product to
just work. The
next day, "the user" suddenly seems a lot like your VP
of Engineering:
he really really wants a powerful scripting language.

A good problem statement is critical to the success of
digital product
development. And key to that problem statement is a
clear definition 
of
your user population. One increasingly popular way to
create user
definitions is through the use of personas, a
technique popularized by
Alan Cooper, and described in his book "About Face." 

Personas are detailed portraits of archetypal system
users. Used
correctly, they are simple, powerful tools that can
increase the 
success
of any digital design project. Good personas will
bring clarity,
consensus, and unmistakable design imperatives to your
projects.

In this presentation, Josh will discuss the critical
features of
personas: how to create them, how to use them, and how
to avoid common
pitfalls associated with the technique.
------------------------------------------------
BIOS:

Bob Huerster, Senior Research Librarian, Consumers
Union, publisher 
of Consumer Reports and Consumerreports.org

Bob is an information 
architect,
index editor, and records manager.  Bob's chief
research focus is 
autos, but
he covers a variety of other topics as well.  He has
edited a 
thesaurus 
of
terms relating to consumer products and services for
ten years. He
conceived, created, and edits the popular site index
that was added to
Consumerreports.org in the Fall of 2000. Prior to
coming to Consumers 
Union,
Bob was an Index Editor at Public Affairs Information
Service, a 
database
and print index publisher. 
---
Sandy Schlosser, New Media Product Manager,
ConsumerReports.org 

Sandy is a Cold
Fusion application developer, a web and Intranet
designer, and an
information architect.  Sandy directs the development
of product
enhancements, new products, and applications within
the New Media 
group 
as
well as overseeing user interface issues and directing
changes to
ConsumerReports.org information architecture.  Sandy
heads
ConsumerReports.org's Search Engine Optimization
project, which takes 
a
systematic approach to maximizing exposure of CRO's
pages on search 
engines.
She is a certified Search Engine Optimization
Professional, and is a
recognized expert in the field of Search Engine
Optimization.
---

Joshua Seiden, President, 36 Partners 

Joshua Seiden is a user experience consultant whose
work helps 
companies
create technology products that meet users' real-world
needs. Josh is
currently president and founder of 36 Partners,
(http://www.36partners.com) a consulting firm based in
New York. Prior
to founding 36 Partners, he was a design director at
Cooper 
Interaction
Design, where he worked with Alan Cooper to develop,
refine, and teach
Alan's notions about personas. 


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