Washington, DC, USA

Interfacing Systems Engineering

Hear UPA DC member Dr. Mary Lozano give a talk sponsored by the Potomac Chapter of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES).

Speaker: Dr. Mary Lozano, Technical Advisor for Northrop Grumman Corporation Electronic Systems

Topic: Interfacing Systems Engineering and Human Performance Modeling
Tools: Improving the Design of Human-Systems Integration

Where: Positano Restaurant
4940 Fairmont Ave. Bethesda MD 20814
Three blocks from the Bethesda Metro Station on the Red Line.
Parking garages are across the street and also around the corner.
301-654-1717

Schedule:
6:00 pm - networking with Mary and others
6:30 - dinner: order off the menu; each person pays their own. (see menu info)
7:30 - coffee/tea and dessert, courtesy of the Potomac Chapter. (If you prefer, you can skip dinner and come for complimentary coffee/tea and dessert!)
7:40 - Mary’s talk on “Interfacing SE and HP Modeling Tools”
8:30 - questions/discussion and wrap-up

RSVP: Please notify Derek Schultz (mediadesign@att.net; 301-656-1897) by Wednesday 9/17/08
=> if you plan to attend, and
=> whether you’ll be there for dinner or coffee/dessert only.

Abstract: In a well-designed human-machine system, the system performs better jointly than either the human or the machine does separately. Human reliance on the automation associated with machines can result in loss of operator vigilance and situation awareness, more opportunity for human error, lack of practice and, hence, a
decrease in skills and an increase in workload demands during high tempo, high risk conditions. A proper allocation of functions to the machine and the human can help alleviate these challenges, challenges that become more acute with increased demand for more autonomous systems. A technique for accomplishing this type of allocation could involve the integration of two modeling tools - the Systems Modeling Language (SysML) design and analysis language tool and the Integrated Manpower and Personnel Integration (IMPRINT) task network modeling tool. A combined SysML-IMPRINT tool would overcome limitations of each individual tool - SysML does not satisfactorily capture human performance adequately, whereas IMPRINT does not have advanced system engineering data necessary to adequately identify human driven constraints. Interfacing SysML and IMPRINT would allow systems engineering to include human performance as a critical design parameter, and would also allow the interaction of human-system performance to be assessed throughout the system life cycle. This presentation will discuss the use of SysML and IMPRINT to address the challenges of human-machine systems integration.

Speaker Bio: Mary L. Lozano, Ph.D. is a Technical Advisor for Northrop Grumman Corporation Electronic Systems (NGES), providing technical information to Supportability Engineering team for various project areas in Department of Defense operations. For the first ten years of her career, she was a federal employee with the U.S. Department of Navy, the Office of Personnel Management and the U.S. Army at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. Employment with aerospace industries included workload and performance measures for military operations, system safety engineering, researcher and development specialist, analyst of crew station tactical displays for the military, and evaluator of workstation suites for FAA air traffic controllers. Dr. Lozano collaborated with international partners for project design and review for the following industries: Rockwell International-North American Aircraft, McDonnell Douglas Space Systems - International Space Station, General Dynamics Land Systems and Advanced Information Systems, Hughes Aircraft, Raytheon Company - US Navy DDX, SAIC - Future Combat Systems, and Anteon - US Coast Guard Deepwater Program.

Posted in Calendar | Local meeting | UPA | Washington, DC, USA
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UPA-DC Summer Networking Event

Celebrate summer and UPA-DC with help from mediabarn! Join your UPA-DC colleagues and friends at Oyamel, Tuesday, July 29, and share experiences, insights, and trends. Plus get a free drink ticket for an icy, festive beverage while you chat!

Light hors d’œuvres provided.

Location:
Oyamel
401 7th Street NW
Washington, DC 20004
(202) 628-1005

When you arrive, ask for the UPA-DC crowd.

Posted in Calendar | Local meeting | Social networking | UPA | Washington, DC, USA
Tags: DC-IA | DC-UPA | Networking
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Words, Words, Words: Controlling the Unnecessary Sprawl of Terminology (DC, USA)

Although there are plenty of words in our language to choose from, our technical environments unconsciously encourage us to create new terms, abuse existing terms, and forget the basics of good technical communication. This presentation will describe why controlling technical terminology is so critical to our success, explain common terminology challenges that writers and editors face today, and discuss tools, tips, and tricks for how you can control the unnecessary sprawl of terminology.

Friday, June 27, 2008 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM

Fees $15 for non-members of STC Washington DC chapter

RSVP Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Posted in Calendar | Local meeting | STC | Washington, DC, USA
Tags: STC Washington DC
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EightShapes Documentation workshop (Washington, DC, USA)

With a date like 8/8/08, we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to launch EightShapes’ public workshops!

And so, join us on August 8 for the first of a series of public workshops. We’ll start with our sweet spot, documentation, and see where it goes.

Since it’s our first, the workshop on 8/8/08 is specially priced at $345.

Want to create better documents?

Attend a one-day documentation workshop on hosted by EightShapes.

Date: August 8, 2008 (9am – 5pm)
Location: Cafritz Conference Center, on the GW campus in downtown Washington, DC (metro accessible!)
Cost: $345, includes morning and afternoon sessions, materials, and lunch Register (via PayPal): http://eightshapes.com/workshop.php

EightShapes believes in great documentation, whether we create it for you, or help you to do it yourself. This Documentation Workshop is our first public training event, intended to take your wireframes, flows, and patterns from “good enough” to “more than enough”.

This workshop is for user experience professionals at all levels who create detailed documentation as part of their work.

The Schedule:

Morning
Documentation Fundamentals with Dan Brown: Spend four hours with the author of Communicating Design—the only book on user experience design documentation—as he leads you through an exploration of wireframes and flows.

Afternoon
Advanced Wireframing and Annotations with Nathan Curtis: Take your wireframes to the next level by energizing your annotations, providing more structure, more detail, and more polish.

Conclusion
Sit through the credits and you’ll get more than a Samuel L. Jackson cameo. EightShapes will demonstrate a version of the documentation system used by many of their clients. The system provides a foundation for creating essential user experience documents efficiently and consistently.

The Location:

The event will take place at the Marvin Center of the Cafritz Conference Center, located on the George Washington University campus in Washington, DC.

To Register:

Visit http://eightshapes.com/workshop.php for more information and to reserve your spot. We look forward to seeing you there!

Posted in Calendar | Training | Washington, DC, USA
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What I Learned at the Usability Conferences - 2008 (Washington, DC, USA)

Location:
Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center
4805 Edgemoor Lane
Bethesda, MD 20814

Description:
There are several conferences each spring of interest to usability professionals, but deadlines and budgets may limit our ability to attend. Featured below are the panelists, several local professionals, who will be sharing ideas and insights from the conferences that they attended in the first half of 2008. Join us for this interactive discussion!

Information Architecture (IA) Summit - Lisa Goldberg, Hallie Wilfert

Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Computer-Human Interaction (CHI) Conference - Elizabeth Buie

Society for Technical Communication (STC) Annual Conference - Allen Rotz

Usability Professionals Association (UPA) Annual Conference - Melanie Huston

University of Maryland HCIL Open House - Lisa Battle

IxDA Interaction 08 - James Melzer

Registration:

Not necessary for this free event.

Cost:
Free

Directions to the Program:
The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center is located at 4805 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814. The Center is in the two-story County office building on the plaza level of the Metropolitan complex, above a County parking garage.

By Car:
The entrance to the parking garage is marked with a large blue Bethesda Center parking sign. Parking is available in the garage - $.75 per hour short-term (3 hours or less), $.50 per hour for over 3 hours. If you are coming south on Old Georgetown Road (from the Beltway use exit 36), turn right on Woodmont Avenue and the parking entrance is almost immediately on your left (second driveway). If you are coming south on Wisconsin Avenue/Rockville Pike, turn right onto Woodmont Avenue, go south for approximately one mile, cross Old Georgetown Road, and the parking garage entrance is the second driveway on your left. If you are coming north on Wisconsin or west on Rt. 410, take Old Georgetown Road north, turn left at the second traffic light (Woodmont Ave.) and the garage entrance will be on your left (it’s the second driveway). Take the elevators from the parking garage to the plaza level (P). The building is located at the center of the plaza. County and American flags and a sign bearing the County seal mark the entrance to the building.

By Metro, Bus or on Foot:
The building is located across the street from the Bethesda Metro station. From the Bethesda Metro Station, take the escalator from the bus bay to the plaza level, turn left, walk past the clock tower and across to the Metropolitan plaza using the pedestrian bridge. If you are walking from any other location, the Center’s street entrance is at 4605 Edgemoor Lane (corner of Old Georgetown and Edgemoor) and is marked with County and American flags. Take the elevator to level 2 for meeting rooms.

http://www.upa-dc-metro.org/events/2008/06-26-08.htm

Posted in Calendar | Local meeting | UPA | Washington, DC, USA
Tags: upa dc metro
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10 Week Course: Storytelling Strategies for Organizations

The class write-up:”Once considered an odd idea, organizational storytelling has become widely recognized as a powerful, results-driven tool for success. This class will help you discover how narrative forges connections, strengthens relationships, informs strategy, enhances persuasive communication - and ultimately supports improving organizational performance. Managers, consultants, executives and communicators of all types will benefit from learning how to align narrative with personal/organizational mission, track the history of organizational storytelling, identify and use the seven elements of narrative form, and explore strategies for crafting clear content.”

The experience:

Although the class provides us opportunities to explore the research and practice of storytelling, it succeed in forging relationships among classmates - and exchanging practical ideas and examples we can apply in different ways. The class is conducted much like a graduate school seminar - opportunities for reading, researching, and reflecting. Special guests provide value to the class experience, and we always have fun learning and exchanging stories.

The cost and location:

The cost is $360 for ten weeks. Don’t worry if you need to miss a week or two as the class is designed to accommodate adult learners.

The class is held at USDA Graduate School/Capitol Gallery (L’Enfant Avenue metro stop). Check the USDA <http://grad.usda.gov/course_details.php?cid=MGMT4500E> site for more detail.

Two Blurbs About the Instructor

An official blurb: Thom Haller teaches principles of performance-based information architecture and usability and has more than 15-years experience with Graduate School, USDA. As a speaker and storyteller, Thom presents strategies for decreasing user frustration and increasing organizational efficiency.

An unofficial blurb offered by story guru Seth Kahan <http://www.sethkahan.com/>: Thom is a renegade instructor, subverting the dominant paradigm by providing rebelliously unconventional perspectives that encourage creativity and relentlessly bring the mainstream back into alignment with humanity’s creative potential (from which it has seriously strayed).

Posted in Calendar | Training | Washington, DC, USA
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UPA 2008 (Baltimore, MD, USA)

The international UPA 2008 conference will be held in Baltimore on June 16-20, 2008.

This is a great conference for people new to usability as well as for experienced practitioners. You will meet wonderful people and get lots of practical tips and ideas. Monday June 16 and Tuesday June 17 are tutorials and workshops, while the main conference runs Wednesday June 18 through Friday June 20.

The theme of this year’s conference is “The Many Faces of User Experience: Usability through holistic practice.” Many types of professionals touch the user experience of a product. Marketing specialists, graphic designers, computer scientists, business analysts, psychologists, information architects, technical writers and others bring valuable perspectives to usability and user experience. UPA 2008 invites you to share perspectives and learn from the experiences of other practitioners.

This year’s conference will feature a special full-day program on usability in e-Government on Tuesday, June 17. There will be panel sessions on the status of usability in the U.S. Federal Government and in other governments around the world, small group discussions, and presentations and case studies on a wide range of topics.

UPA 2008 will also introduce a new topic called Managing User Experience. It includes sessions geared towards user experience managers, directors, or team leaders.

Find out more details about the conference.

Posted in Annual association conference | Calendar | UPA | Washington, DC, USA
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IxDA DC Kick-off Social ~ RSVP!

IxDA D.C. is throwing a Face-2-Face Social so we can meet in person for drinks, socializing, and planning upcoming events based on user (you–the community) research. As such, we will be gathering both qualitative and quantitative data on the interests of the local IxDA & IA communities. We might even craft some personas (using pictures from later in the evening) to bring our archetypes to life.

So — come one, come all to this April IxDA D.C. social event. Bring your business card, or fill out a blank one there, and we will have a door prize raffle of something cool. You can RSVP to wkevans4@gmail.com

>> When: Monday, April 28th, 5:30 - 7:30pm (but feel free to stay late!)

>> Where: Cafe Citron, Dupont Circle, 1343 Connecticut Ave., Washington D.C.

>> Map: http://tinyurl.com/4guhzb

This a great opportunity to connect and network with local IxDA and IA folks - many of whom just returned from the IA Summit and are burning to share all the brilliant ideas and methods they learned.

The IxDA D.C. coordinators will be there and want you to contribute ideas as we plan upcoming events!

Please RSVP to Will Evans: wkevans4@gmail.com since we will be reserving the space.

/ IxDA D.C. Coordinators

Posted in Calendar | Events | IxDA | Washington, DC, USA
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Revolving Door Technique: a low-planning, multi-topic rapid data

Near the end of 2006, the new, quite large website we were working on was nearing launch. Most site product areas needed rapid user feedback due to an aggressive development schedule. And, as we neared launch, more functionality was available so it was actually feasible to test user response to the working elements. However, with a 2-person research team and MANY disparate small research needs, we had to develop a way to effectively get customer input within days of the frequent requests.

We developed the Revolving Door technique in response to this need. It’s called Revolving Door because we scheduled participants to come in a steady stream over a period of 5 weeks and altered the usual research request process allow last-second requests to come in, thus shuffling and changing what topics were put in front of the revolving series of participants.

Working with lots of different topics with a high volume of participants and providing analysis within 2 to 3 days of starting testing helped us learn a lot about juggling disparate needs. We are eager to share what we learned in order to help other research teams provide agile, rapid research with confidence and without going bonkers.

Date and time:
April 22, 2008
6:00-7:00 p.m. Dinner at La Madeleine for anyone who would like to join us
7:00-9:00 p.m. Presentation

Location:
Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center
4805 Edgemoor Lane
Bethesda, MD 20814
Presenters:

Leah Rader: With 10 years experience in understanding and crafting
user experiences through qualitative research methods, Leah most
enjoys the improvisational moments in participant interviews. She has
delved into the behavior and thinking of customers as a head
researcher for consulting firms, e-Lab, Sapient, and Matter. She
started up the user experience research practice for Marriott
International and most recently has worked with Revolution Health as a
freelance researcher.

Beth Toland: Beth has a broad range of experience having worked in
most major functions of the web–from design and information
architecture to content development and research. Her specialty is
messaging and branding which is particularly useful in solutions
development and opportunity mapping. Beth has led projects for
consulting firms Andersen and Sapient, and helped build the research
practice at Marriott International. Most recently, she developed the
research offering at Revolution Health, where she pioneered several
new data collection methods.

Registration:
Please register online at
http://www.upa-dc-metro.org/registration/event/beginEventReg.php

Cost
$5 members
$15 nonmembers

Directions to the Program:
The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center is located at 4805
Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814. The Center is in the two-story
County office building on the plaza level of the Metropolitan complex,
above a County parking garage.

By Car:
The entrance to the parking garage is marked with a large blue
Bethesda Center parking sign. Parking is available in the garage -
$.75 per hour short-term (3 hours or less), $.50 per hour for over 3
hours. If you are coming south on Old Georgetown Road (from the
Beltway use exit 36), turn right on Woodmont Avenue and the parking
entrance is almost immediately on your left (second driveway). If you
are coming south on Wisconsin Avenue/Rockville Pike, turn right onto
Woodmont Avenue, go south for approximately one mile, cross Old
Georgetown Road, and the parking garage entrance is the second
driveway on your left. If you are coming north on Wisconsin or west on
Rt. 410, take Old Georgetown Road north, turn left at the second
traffic light (Woodmont Ave.) and the garage entrance will be on your
left (it’s the second driveway). Take the elevators from the parking
garage to the plaza level (P). The building is located at the center
of the plaza. County and American flags and a sign bearing the County
seal mark the entrance to the building.

By Metro, Bus or on Foot:
The building is located across the street from the Bethesda Metro
station. From the Bethesda Metro Station, take the escalator from the
bus bay to the plaza level, turn left, walk past the clock tower and
across to the Metropolitan plaza using the pedestrian bridge. If you
are walking from any other location, the Center’s street entrance is
at 4605 Edgemoor Lane (corner of Old Georgetown and Edgemoor) and is
marked with County and American flags. Take the elevator to level 2
for meeting rooms.

La Madeleine is located at:
7607 Old Georgetown Rd
Bethesda, MD 20814.
The restaurant is a short walk from the Bethesda Metro stop.

Posted in Calendar | Local meeting | UPA | Washington, DC, USA
Tags: | DC | upa
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Web 2.0 Design: The Agony and the Ecstasy (Arlington, VA, USA)

User experience teams can wander into unknown territory when we redesign our Web 1.0 products into Web 2.0 offerings. Lillian Christman, of Plateau Systems, will share with you the story of one user experience team’s Web 2.0 adventure. Ms. Christman will discuss how the team arrived at their usability goals, what the most salient aspects of Web 2.0 are to them, and what the most salient features of our redesign were. She will also speak about their design collaboration as well as general process issues. Ms. Christman will conclude with a short summary of lessons learned and some thoughts about our next design cycle.

Date & Time

March 12, 2008
6 – 7 PM A light dinner will be provided at the event location.
7 – 9 PM Program

Location

SRA International, Inc.
3434 Washington Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22201
202.282.3080

Presenter Bio

Lillian Christman is Director of User Experience at Plateau Systems, an Arlington startup that provides web-based talent management software. Prior to joining Plateau, Christman directed user experience at Q.Know Technologies where she led the design of a tagging and collaboration extension to the Microsoft Office suite. Christman worked in the Silicon Valley for 15 years, designing the user experience for software startup products and large-scale enterprise appplications. She holds a PhD in sociology from Vanderbilt University. Ms. Christman is currently leading the Web 2.0 redesign of the Plateau user experience. Instrumental to this effort are Plateau’s “usability partners”, targeted customers and user groups, who are actively collaborating in the redesign.

Details at UPA DC Metro site.

Cost

$10 members
$20 nonmembers

Registration required.

Posted in Calendar | Local meeting | UPA | Washington, DC, USA
Tags: upa-dc | Usability Goals | Web 2.0
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