Boehmer, Pam (Target)
Galbus, Greg (Mayo)
Karyunkina, Barbara (SGI)
Nhan, Penny (U of M)
Walsh, James (Datacard)
Checchi, Libby (Target)
Hansen, Lise (Yamamoto Moss)
Kent, John (Best Buy)
Prigge, David (Cray)
Ware, Katie (Yamamoto Moss)
DeMulling, Dee Dee (Rennaissance)
Heffron Monahan, Carla (American Express)
Madsen, John (Interim)
Schwartz, Heather (Mayo)
Dusso, Jennifer (Mayo)
Hoeppner, Sara (Best Buy)
Makepeace, Anne (Target)
Sit, Richard (IBM)
Friese, Deborah (Leede)
Hogaboam, Tom (IBM)
McConnell, Debbie (Fredrickson)
Veldof, Jerilyn (U of M)
-- we still need a place for this meeting!! If you're interested, please let David Prigge and Lucy Suits know ASAP. Alternatively, David Prigge has agreed to host again.
-- we still need a host for the MN UPA web site. Since Jill Borofka is anticipating a relocation, her company will not be able to host the site any longer. If your company can host the site or you've got ideas for where it could be hosted, please let Jill and Terry Gardiner know ASAP.
-- just a reminder that you need to be a member of the National UPA in order to be a member of the local chapter. Dues for the National UPA are $75 annually.
-- Anne Makepeace and Pam Boehmer run the Target lab and served as our hosts and guides for the evening -- thanks ladies!! Libby Checchi will join them as of May 15, 2000.
Equipment/Space -- The lab consists of 2 formal testing facilities and a team meeting room that is equipped with data-capturing equipment and several other "cool" attributes that lend themselves to the process of identifying findings and solutions for products/services tested in the lab. Target also owns portable testing equipment and is in the process of constructing a new lab in one of their new buildings. [Note: Anyone in the market for gently used usability equipment/space should contact Anne -- they may consider selling the existing space in 18 -- 24 months.]
Testing Volume & Services -- In 1999, the Target testing team conducted 120 usability tests!!! They credit their project teams with helping to make this volume possible by lending a hand with scenario drafting, recruiting, scheduling and logging for the tests. But Anne and Pam (and now Libby) do all of the facilitation and often conduct mini-heuristic evaluations before the tests so the teams can fix any glaring usability issues before going into the lab.
Types of Products Tested -- An interesting discussion ensued about the types of products and services that the Target team tests. Because they're not located in Technologies, they touch an extremely wide variety of products and services (e.g, Inter and Intranet sites, shelving, instruction manuals, ceiling fans, cookware, etc.). Additionally, because they don't charge for their services, Anne feels that teams have been more inclined to use them and to come back for iterative testing.
Roadshow -- Anne and Pam will be taking their work on the road to the West Coast this summer to do some testing in different markets. They hypothesize that geography may impact usability and want to test their theory by going to areas where English as a second-language is more of an issue than here in Mpls. There's a lot of interest around this topic right now so Anne and Pam agreed to share their learnings with the group upon completion of their studies.
-- the following topics were discussed and slated for future meetings as identified below: