UPA Minnesota

Thursday, June 9, 2005

A Case Study for Strategic Usability Success

Successful collaboration on large projects requires an approach to user-centered design that distinguishes project roles and responsibilities. Jennifer Bohmbach, Susan Dray, and Lyle Kantrovich will present this case study showing an example of bridging corporate cultures for a more holistic UCD approach. They ’ll outline how three firms collaborated on a large website redesign, following a User-Centered Design approach in a company where UCD isn’t yet commonplace.

If you, or someone you know, would like to attend this event, please register by emailing events@upamn.org that you will attend. See the information below for more details and special notes about the meeting location.

Meeting Details:

Date/Time:

June 9, 2005, 6:00 PM

Place:

Target Corporation

Address:

Target Plaza North, 1000 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN [View/Print Maps: Mapquest | Google Maps]

Host:

Target Usability Group

Speakers:

Lyle Kantrovich (Cargill), Jennifer Bohmbach (Sun Microsystems), and Susan Dray (Dray & Associates)

Topic:

Presentation - Bridging Consultancy and Client Cultures: A Case Study for Strategic Usability Success

Agenda:

• 6:00 pm   Networking, food & beverages
• 6:30 pm   Welcome & brief Chapter meeting
• 7:00 pm   Presentation
• 8:00 pm   Adjourn to optional after-meeting food, suds and networking

About Our Speakers and The Topic

Jennifer Bohmbach is the former Experience Design Practice Director in the North American interactive business unit of J. Walter Thompson, connect@jwt. With over nine years of experience, she has developed information architectures and conducted usability studies for clients including National Cable Communications, Thomson West, UnitedHealthcare, United States Marine Corp, U.S. Bank and Cargill. She formerly served as Minnesota AIGA Experience Design Committee Chair and on the board of the Minnesota Interactive Association. She has also taught classes in the web development and design. She began her career at techies.com where she founded the User Experience Practice and is currently working for Sun Microsystems as the Chief Information Architect of Sun.com.

Since 1979, Dr. Susan Dray has worked in the field of human factors to increase the quality and intuitiveness of user interface designs for users around the world. She has worked as both an internal and external consultant, and combines expertise in interface evaluation, usability evaluation, and contextual and ethnographic research with a cross-cultural and organizational perspective. As President of Dray & Associates, Inc., she consults internationally on interface design and usability. She has evaluated and helped redesign user interfaces for all types of websites, desktop and Web applications, as well as both hardware and software consumer products and technical equipment. She specializes in international user studies, and has conducted user research in 17 countries, including one of the largest international usability evaluations ever done - studying 120 users in 8 countries in Europe and Asia.

Lyle Kantrovich is the User Experience Director at Cargill where he leads an internal team that provides consulting and training in usability and user centered design. He enjoys seeing business clients realize the value of user-centered design. His experiences include design for web, handheld, and client-server applications. Lyle is President of the Minnesota UPA Chapter, a SIG-CHI member, and a regular contributor to Information Architecture discussions on SIGIA-L. He has written articles for SIG-CHI's Interactions magazine, Boxes and Arrows, and his web site Croc O' Lyle.

 

Cost & Registration

• Non-members: $10
• Professional Members: Free with your 2005 membership
• Student Members: Free with 2005 membership

 

If you or someone you know would like to attend, please register by emailing events@upamn.org that you will attend.

Directions & Maps:

View/Print Driving Maps: Mapquest | Google Maps

 

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:

• July 14th - Networking Events TBA
• August 11th - TBA
• September 8th - TBA

Do you have an idea for a future meeting or know someone you think would be a good speaker? Contact our Program Directors (ProgramDirector@upamn.org) with your suggestions.