CT UPA January Edition

1. CONNECTICUT CHAPTER OF USABILITY PROFESSIONALS
JANUARY 17, 2009
www.ctupa.org
NEWSLETTER
Our January Meeting Ride Share Program
Packaging of the Usability Professional -- #om the Recruiter/ In 2009, we are going to
be reaching out to our growing
Headhunters Point of View
membership for more
participation. One thought is
to “ride share” to our monthly
meetings. It is a great way to
meet fellow usability
professionals -- and cut down
on the expense of traveling to
a chapter meeting.
If you are interested in
learning more about the
program -- please send me a
note, or introduce yourself to
me at the next meeting.
Miles Jennings
- Herb Wexler,
Vice President CT UPA
Matt Forbes
herbwexler@optonline.net
The next Chapter meeting will uncomfortable, it behooves all of
be held on Thursday, January 22, us to be prepared for the
2009 at Open Solutions Inc. in “unexpected,” and be ready to seek
Glastonbury CT. An ice storm out and secure a new position if
forced us to postpone this topic in the need arises.
December. We are thrilled that To that end, we will welcome
the speakers agreed to share their Matthew Forbes, Managing
insights at our January meeting. Director at Apex Systems Inc.,
It goes without saying that in and Miles Jennings, Managing
these troubled economic times, no Director at Modis, Inc. to discuss
company, and no individual “Packaging of the Usability
position is rock solid and Professional – from the Recruiter/
recession proof. It is truly Headhunter’s Point of View.”
alarming to see positions being (Directions to Open Solutions
eliminated in all industries on a on page 2)
daily basis. Although possibly
http://www.ctupa.org
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2. CONNECTICUT CHAPTER OF USABILITY PROFESSIONALS
JANUARY 17, 2009
Meeting location:
Upcoming Meetings
Open Solutions Inc.
Mad*Pow Design
455 Winding Brook Road (4th Floor)
Speaker: Josh Corringham
Glastonbury CT 06033
Genius Design vs. User Centered
Design
Google map to Open Solutions Inc.
SpeedReading People
Speaker: Polly Maglio, VP
From West Hartford: SpeedReading People Inc.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=West+Hartford,
+CT&daddr=455+Winding+Brook+Dr,+Glastonbury,+CT+06033+(Open
EyeTracking Demo
+Solutions
Speaker: Jennifer Knodler
+Inc)&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=41.908205,-72.664385&sspn=0.512028,1.14
SensoMotoric Instruments, Inc.
5325&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=12
From New Haven:
Advanced Card Sorting
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=New+Haven,
Techniques
+CT&daddr=455+Winding+Brook+Dr,+Glastonbury,+CT+06033+(Open
Speaker: TBD
+Solutions
+Inc)&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=41.74242,-72.670245&sspn=0.12834,0.2863
31&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=10 Topic TBD
From Springfield MA: Speaker: from Human Factors
International
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=Springfield,
+MA&daddr=455+Winding+Brook+Dr,+Glastonbury,+CT+06033+(Open
+Solutions
+Inc)&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=41.51632,-72.76189&sspn=0.515157,1.145325
&ie=UTF8&ll=41.908409,-72.623749&spn=0.512028,1.145325&t=h&z=10
CT UPA ONLINE Community
We are always looking for ways to bring more value to members of the CT UPA. In the past we've developed an
interactive wiki, making publishing on the CT UPA site accessible to all members of the chapter. As a result, some of
you added content to the wiki and developed your personalized profiles. Some of you also mentioned that wiki editing
is a bit intimidating and the user interface is not ideal. As a result we've been exploring other ways of presenting
chapter information online. One of them is developing our own social network using Ning. Since its creation in 2005
Ning has attracted over 500 thousand custom social networks both private and those open to the public. The site
appeals to users who want to create networks around specific interests or who have limited technical skills.
Ning provides their network users with the following features:
- own branding and design (within predefined template structure)
- Unlimited number of members with member profiles
- A real-time stream of everything happening across the social network
- Discussion forums and blogs
- Events feature
- Video, photo and custom slideshows feature
- Badge creation to publicize the group among other social networks - Aneta Ha$, Secretary CT UPA
- Live chat component
We are in the process of making final preparations for migration of the CT UPA wiki to Ning and welcome
anyone who has experience setting up social networks and who is willing to help.
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3. CONNECTICUT CHAPTER OF USABILITY PROFESSIONALS
JANUARY 17, 2009
INTERFACE TOOL TIPS...
I recently stumbled onto a
great new tool for “low fidelity
prototyping”. Balsamiq Mockups
has exceeded my expectations --
providing me with a simple to use
interface, and sixty plus controls
and interface components to
ensure quick concept design.
For quite sometime, I’ve been
searching for a tool that creates
output that looks like the
interface was drawn on the back of
a napkin. That type of output has
always helped me get great user
feedback early in the development
lifecycle. That’s where Balsamiq http://www.balsamiq.com/products/
Mockups comes in.
It reflects the intelligent
application design tenants of the
iPhone. Everyone wants
applications that meet their
primary objective (in the case of
Balsamiq Mockups -- nailing the
creation of low-fidelity
prototypes). Balsamiq is fun, and
inspires creativity. For me -- less is
always more -- I design my best
interfaces when I have a limited
set of controls.
A license for Balsamiq
Mockups is very affordable -- and
2 quick mockups by Michael Rawlins
allows you to import graphics. It
also exports in PNG and XML
format.
I give Balsamiq Mockups my
highest recommendation -- an
excellent personal and professional
toolset buy!
- Michael Rawlins
President CT UPA
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