[Sigia-l] NYCUPA 10/28 - Recipe for Success: A Case Study for Usability Testing Techniques

[Joy Zigo]

Greetings,

It has become clear that the blurb for our 10/28 event did not adequately
convey the thrust of the presentation.

While the subject matter involves the presidential election and the
usability of candidate sites, the main subject of the presentation is how to
plan, run, and present findings for a usability test.

The presentation will be of interest to those who are:

● Considering doing some usability testing on their own and want a
step-by-step walkthrough of the process
● Doing usability testing and want to learn a bit more about best practices
● Considering contracting someone to do usability for them

While this presentation cannot convey the amount of detail you would get
from a 1-2 day course or a complete course of study, it will cover the nuts
and bolts of basic usability.

Here are some specific questions Lon will address:

> Exploring the process of planning and executing a usability test:

● What does the project timeline look like?
● What are the ranges of expected costs?
● What are the advantages of hiring a moderator with experience?
● Do you need to test in more than one geographical area?
● How long should the interviews be?

> Understanding specifics of how this comparative usability test was
executed successfully:

● Writing a tight screener for accurate recruitment of an elusive target
group
● Creating a focused moderator's guide for comparative testing of Obama &
McCain sites
● Avoid bias during the interviews through open-ended questions and site
rotation
● Keeping participant emotions in check during the sessions
● Weighing what people say vs. what they actually do on the site for
balanced findings
● How to frame findings & recommendations so that they are actionable and
easy for the project team to digest
● How video clips can illustrate and motivate

I hope you can make it!

Best,
MS
Mark Safire, President & Co-Founder, NYC Chapter of UPA

*
................................................................................................

*

NYC Usability Professionals Association presents:

*Recipe for Success: A Case Study for Usability Testing Techniques
*
Will Website Usability Decide the 2008 Presidential Election? In an age of
media overload how do undecided voters make up their minds about elections?
*
*Come for a presentation on how to plan, run, and present findings for a
usability test.

Do Web savvy Americans turn to the Web for answers and, if so, how much
influence do the candidate's Websites have? Could the usability of the Obama
& McCain sites have a significant impact on the way people perceive each
candidate? Can having a user-friendly Website really sway people's votes?

First Insights wanted to get the answers to these questions and more. Their
team traveled the country and conducted one-on-one usability interviews with
dozens of undecided voters. Lon Taylor, Principal Usability Consultant at
First Insights will explain his methodology, share how he created the
moderators guide and present a host of detailed findings & video clips.
*
Speaker*:         Lon Taylor
                      Principal, First Insights
*
Date:                 *Tuesday, October 28, 2008
*Registration*:  6:00pm (refreshments served)
                    *  *Please arrive by 6 to allow time to get through
security.
                           Photo ID required by security to enter building.
                           It must match the name on the registration list.

*Presentation*:  6:30pm to 8:00pm (includes Q&A)
*Networking*:    8:00pm to 8:30pm
                      Dinner at a nearby restaurant: 8:30pm to whenever
                      (participants pay for their own dinner)


*Cost*:              NYC-UPA Members & Non-Members: $15
Non-members with 1 year membership: $30
Full-time students: $5 (students please provide valid ID)
*
**Note: For this event we are not able to offer discounted member pricing.*

*Location*:        277 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017
(between 47th & 48th, on EAST side of street)
       *Map:   click here for map to the
location<http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=277+park+ave,+ny,+ny&sll=40.75675,-73.975689&sspn=0.007883,0.018089&ie=UTF8&ll=40.756132,-73.975711&spn=0.008403,0.019226&z=16>

***

*RSVP:*             *NO EMAIL RSVPs ACCEPTED FOR THIS EVENT
*                      Please purchase a guaranteed ticket at the event
registration site:
                      http://20081028.eventbrite.com

*
**Registration closes *at 4 PM Monday, October 27th, 2008 (1 day before the
event).

*Refundable *until noon, Thursday, October 30h, 2008 (2nd day after the
event) by sending a request to RSVP at nycupa.org.

*Transferable* on or before noon Monday, October 27th, 2008 (1 day before
the event) by sending a request to RSVP at nycupa.org. You must notify us, and
get a confirmation, of this transfer or it will not be valid.

**

Seats are limited and reservations are first come, first served. We advise
you to register early as previous events have sold out and we had to turn
people away.

Members of our parent organization, the UPA (the Usability Professionals'
Association), must join the NYC chapter to qualify for member rates.  We
encourage everyone to join our parent organization, though you do not need
to do so to become a member of our chapter. You can learn more about our NYC
organization <http://nycupa.org/> or learn about our parent
organization<http://www.upassoc.org/>
.


*About the Speaker
*For the past 15 years Lon Taylor, Principal, First Insights has cultivated
his usability, marketing and advertising skills by achieving measurable
results for Fortune 500 firms and successful start-ups. Having filled a
variety of roles as a usability moderator, senior project manager, director
of marketing, and occasional information architect, he offers clients a
straightforward approach to helping them meet their objectives.

The experience of working across a variety of industries - banking,
insurance, travel, pharmaceuticals, automotive, technology and packaged
goods - gives Lon a unique perspective when new challenges arise. The
diverse nature of the projects Lon completed during his years at Blue Marble
and Novo (part of Publicis Groupe, the world's fourth largest advertising
and media firm) demonstrated his ability to lead multi-disciplined teams and
think creatively.

Lon has published usability related articles in Quirk's Market Research
Magazine, The Journal of Intranet Strategy & Management, and
MarketingProfs.com. He holds a B.S. in Social Education from Boston
University.

*Our Mission
*The NYC chapter of the Usability Professionals' Association (UPA) seeks to
gather members of the marketing, design, technology and research communities
who share a common vision: creating websites, applications, and projects
that are compelling, intuitive and customer driven. By bringing together
professionals from different industries and disciplines and sharing our
collective experiences, the NYC UPA hopes to create a forum for learning and
professional growth in the New York City metropolitan (and tri-state) area.

*Share the Word
*PLEASE FORWARD this email to colleagues, clients, and friends to spread the
news about our organization. Send us any names and emails you would like
added to our mailing list at list at nycupa.org.

*Newsletter Information
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not disclose our emailing list to third parties.

For more information about the Usability Professionals Association (NYC
Chapter), go to http://www.nycupa.org/.