Thursday, April 8th
"Why Can't Johnny Search?"
Please join us at the April Usability Professionals' Association-Minnesota Chapter meeting. Jeff Werness will be sharing his search expertise through a presentation entitled "Why Can't Johnny Search?" and the Target Usability Center in downtown Minneapolis has graciously offered to host the meeting.
Session Overview
"Why Can't Johnny Search?"
The general state of search functionality is typically a result of conflicting objectives and changing priorities. We'll take a look at what's really important in addition to some IA and usability approaches to help clear the tangle of technology, user expectations, and client demands.
About Our Presenter
Jeff Werness was most recently with Best Buy for four years, where he was responsible for information architecture, search, navigation, and usability engineering for BestBuy.com. He also served as a subject matter expert in content management and user testing for the company's affiliated e-commerce brands and intranet initiatives.
Prior to joining Best Buy, Mr. Werness worked for and consulted with USBank, 3M, British Telecom, the Peace Corps, Pillsbury, WalMart, the University of Minnesota, Herman Miller and others developing highly navigable, searchable, and usable information spaces on the Web.
Meeting Details:
- Date/Time:
- Thursday, April 8th, 6:00 PM
- Place:
- Target Usability Center
- Address:
- Target Plaza North
- 1000 Nicollet Mall
- Minneapolis, MN
- Phone:
- 612-761-0731
- Host:
- Pam Boehmer, Target Usability Group Lead
- Speaker:
- Jeff Werness
- Topic:
- "Why Can't Johnny Search?"
Agenda:
- 6:00 Networking
- 6:30 Business meeting
- 7:00 Speaker Presentation
- 8:00 Adjourn / After-meeting food, suds and networking
RSVP & Dues
Please RSVP if you wish to attend. Just send the names of the people in your group who'll be attending to LBennett@LifeTimeFitness.com.
Non-member visitors are welcome, but are asked to pay five dollars to attend each meeting.
Haven't joined our chapter yet? It's only $20 for the calendar year, and you can sign up at our monthly meetings. More information is found at: http://www.upamn.org/join.shtml
Directions & Map:
Map URL: http://snipurl.com/TargetUsability
Directions to the Target Usability Center:
Coming from the west on 394 (St. Louis Park, Wayzata, Minnetonka):
- Follow the 394 signs into downtown
- Take the 12th Street North exit (Exit #9A)
- Get into the left hand lane.
- Take a left at Hennepin Avenue (1st stoplight)
- Stay in right hand lane.
- Take a right onto 10th Street South. Get into left hand lane.
- Take a left onto LaSalle Avenue (LaSalle might not be marked - watch for the Bullseye sign)
- The parking ramp will be immediately on your right side.
- Take the Target Store elevators to the 2nd floor (Skyway level).
- Get off of the elevators and head out of the store.
- Take a right out of the store and follow the corridor around the bend (you will pass Starbuck's and Quizno's).
- Take a left at the 10th Street Skyway and cross.
- Check in at the Security Desk for Target Corporation.
Coming from the northwest on 94 (Maple Grove, Brooklyn Park):
- Follow the exit signs for 4th Street North and 7th Ave. (exit #230)
- Follow the 4th Street North exit
- Take right on 1st Ave. North
- 1st Avenue North will eventually turn into Hawthorne Ave.
- Go to 10th Street North and take a Left.
- Go to LaSalle Avenue and take a left (LaSalle might not be marked - watch for the Bullseye sign)
- The parking ramp will be immediately on your right side.
- Take the Target Store elevators to the 2nd floor (Skyway level).
- Get off of the elevators and head out of the store.
- Take a right out of the store and follow the corridor around the bend (you will pass Starbuck's and Quizno's).
- Take a left at the 10th Street Skyway and cross.
- Check in at the Security Desk for Target Corporation.
Coming from the north on 35W. (New Brighton, Arden Hills, Moundsview):
- Take the Washington Ave. exit (exit #17C)
- Take a right
- Go to 1st Ave. N. and take a left
- 1st Avenue North will turn into Hawthorne Ave.
- Go to 10th Street North and take a Left.
- Go to LaSalle Avenue and take a left (LaSalle might not be marked - watch for the Bullseye sign)
- The parking ramp will be immediately on your right side.
- Take the Target Store elevators to the 2nd floor (Skyway level).
- Get off of the elevators and head out of the store.
- Take a right out of the store and follow the corridor around the bend (you will pass Starbuck's and Quizno's).
- Take a left at the 10th Street Skyway and cross.
- Check in at the Security Desk for Target Corporation.
Coming from the south on 35W. (Richfield, Burnsville):
- As you near the city, you will see signs for Hwy. 65. Follow these signs into downtown. (Exit #16A)
- Take the 11th Street/E Grant Street Exit
- Keep Left at the fork in the ramp.
- Merge onto 11th Street South.
- Go to LaSalle Avenue and take a Right (LaSalle might not be marked - watch for the Bullseye sign)
- You will cross over 10th Street South and the parking ramp will be immediately on your right hand side.
- Take the Target Store elevators to the 2nd floor (Skyway level).
- Get off of the elevators and head out of the store.
- Take a right out of the store and follow the corridor around the bend (you will pass Starbuck's and Quizno's).
- Take a left at the 10th Street Skyway and cross.
- Check in at the Security Desk for Target Corporation.
Coming from the east on 94 (St. Paul)
- Take the 11th Street exit (exit 233A)
- Keep left at the fork in the ramp.
- Merge onto 11th Street South
- Go to LaSalle Avenue and take a Right (LaSalle might not be marked - watch for the Bullseye sign)
- You will cross over 10th Street South and the parking ramp will be immediately on your right hand side.
- Take the Target Store elevators to the 2nd floor (Skyway level).
- Get off of the elevators and head out of the store.
- Take a right out of the store and follow the corridor around the bend (you will pass Starbuck's and Quizno's).
- Take a left at the 10th Street Skyway and cross.
- Check in at the Security Desk for Target Corporation.
More Parking Options:
- There is a ramp just across the street from the entrance to the Target Parking Garage
- Ramp: On LaSalle Avenue between 9th and 8th
- Ramp: 9th Street between Nicollet and Hennepin
- There are multiple ramps along Marquette between 10th and 9th
- There are multiple surface lot spaces available, too
Street parking is not recommended as space is limited and it's difficult to find a meter with a long enough time limit.
Help Spread the Word:
Know someone interested in usability? Feel free to invite them to an upcoming meeting. Visitors are always welcome. Please forward this announcement to other area professionals who might have an interest in UPA-MN meetings or activities.
Upcoming Meetings & Events:
- Thursday, May 13th, 6:00 pm, UofM, Walter Library, Alice de la Cova and Lee-Ann Kastman Breuch will present a preview of their UPA Conference presentation "Value of Student Internships."
- Thursday, June 10th - no meeting, UPA International Conference
- Thursday, July 8th - UPA International Conference recap
Do you have an idea for a future meeting or know someone you think would be a good speaker? Contact Laurie Bennett (LBennett@LifeTimeFitness.com) with your suggestions.