UPA Monthly: September 2007

The monthly newsletter of the Usability Professionals' Association

In This Edition

Usability in the news
Chapter news
UPA news
UPA Publications
Save the date

Usability in the News

"I Want to Reduce GUI as Much as Possible" --- Toshiyuki Masui, Apple (TechOn, 26 June 2007)
"For example, if you consider an alarm clock, which can be set only by adjusting its hands, there would be no need for a complicated GUI to set the time to record a video. What is important is to operate the equipment by actually touching it."

The Return of Black! (PingMag, 19 Jul 2007)
"This summer, we are fully into black mode. Right now, the colour black, or "Kuro" in Japanese, is surprisingly enjoying widespread popularity in Japan."

Australian banks mull self-service (The Age, 16 July 2007)
"The bank's senior vice-president, Doug Sprecher, said the kiosks helped to "migrate branch staff away from transactional activities and toward higher value activities."

Making Phone Systems More Human (CRM Buyer, 30 July 2007)
"Meeting customer needs should always mean ensuring the quality and performance of the automated systems and self-service applications on which customers rely, and having the confidence that applications and systems will work as an organization and its customers expect."

'Less is More' Online (University of Missouri, 9 July 2007)
"Researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia have found that less is more when it comes to online content. In a study that examined responses to pictures viewed online, the researchers found that people were able to pay more attention to pictures selected from a small array of choices than from a large array of choices. These findings may have implications for Internet search engines, advertising and news sites."

Chapter News

UPA Boston
Client Side Story: Making Ajax, RIAs, and Browser-side Intelligence Usable
26 Sep 2007
Contact: kelly.faidell@staples.com by Friday, September 21st

UPA-DC Metro Chapter - Second Annual Conference - Call for Participation
Washington, DC on 12 Oct 2007
User Focus: A one day exchange of ideas and experiences that demonstrate the value of usability in successful design The DC Metro Chapter of UPA invites you to its second annual conference at the Renaissance Washington DC Hotel.
Contact: conference@upa-dc-metro.org

UPA China - Hong Kong Branch
Mobile Usability in the US: Widgets & Search
13 Sep 2007

Photo of the Month
Share a Chapter event photos - use the 'upachapter' tag.

Promote your UPA Events on UXNET
If you have a local UPA Event which you wish you publicize on the UXnet website, contact your "Local UX Ambassador" or even better become a "Local Ambassador" if there isn't one in your area. This helps to promote your event to a wider community and helps to build the UXnet organisation that UPA supports.

Chapters in Formation

Join the Chapters Group

Learn more about UPA Chapters

Looking for a chapter in your city? Contact: chapters@usabilityprofessionals.org

UPA News

User Friendly 2007
The theme of 2007 is Connecting User Experience Communities.

UPA Europe 2008
The first European regional conference of the Usability Professionals' Association (UPA) will take place in Torino, Italy, named the 2008 World Design Capital. Hundreds of designers and usability specialists are expected to attend.

LINKEDIN – Networking among UPA members and more
Do you want to find quickly and easily other UPA members with similar backgrounds and needs? Join us on LinkedIn today.

Learn more about your Board of Directors.

UPA Publications

UPA - Journal of Usability Studies - August 2007: Volume 2, Issue 4
Surviving Our Success: Three Radical Recommendations - Author: Jared Spool

The UPA Voice (June, 2007)
Thumbnail: Susan Dray By Cliff Anderson
"Susan Dray was one of the first women in the field of usability. Since then, she's started her own company, published and spoken extensively, done important work with a number of professional organizations, and carved a niche for herself in field work and international usability. Through it all, though, her philosophy has remained the same: "If the user can't use it, it doesn't work."

Want to write an article for a UPA publications?
Contact: publications@usabilityprofessionals.org

Want to advertise in a UPA publication?
Contact: assocdir@usabilityprofessionals.org

Save the Date

World Usability Day
November 8, 2007

User Friendly 2007

New email or address?
Keep your member profile up to date, so you don't miss any mail.

Thanks to Our Contributors

Melanie Rousseau (Québec Chapter), French
Silvia Zimmermann (Swiss Chapter), German
Alberto Lacalle (Spanish Chapter), Spanish
Michele Visciola (UPA Italia), Italian
Adriana Betiol (Brazil Chapter), Portuguese
Yaniv Michaeli (UPA Israel), Hebrew
Natasha Voynarovskaya (UPA Russia), Russian
Denny Huang (UPA China), Chinese
Tadashi Kobayashi (HCD-Net), Toyohiro Kanayama (UPA), Japanese
Daniel Szuc (UPA China-Hong Kong), English, News scout

Contact UPA Monthly