Join us for this event when Gayna Williams of Microsoft will present on the User Research behind Windows Vista.
Windows Vista is the next Windows release (previously code-named "Longhorn") that will replace Windows XP. Delivering a new operating system that turns ordinary tasks into extraordinary experiences, provides a visual style that is compelling and engaging, and leverages the power of new technologies to users' advantage and yet provides a familiar and predictable environment is a challenge. The Windows user research team has taken on new responsibilities to drive the user experience of this release. With new responsibilities go new challenges. The team knew at the inception of Windows Vista that user experience would encompass significantly more than they had focused on in the past, and they expanded their skill set and approach to rise to the new demands of driving the development team to deliver a great user experience. They built personas, benchmarked code, evaluated the emotional connection of the product, developed an instrumentation strategy, and did much more. This talk will share insights of the work and methodologies that has taken the Windows user research team from the planning to the release of Beta 1.
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.
Gayna Williams is User Research Director in the Microsoft Windows Client organization. Her group comprises usability engineers, ethnographers, and data miners, and has pioneered a range of new usability approaches at Microsoft, including persona use, wide-scale real-time consumer data collection, and exploratory ethnography. In ten years at Microsoft, she has worked as usability engineer or manager for a range of products including Internet Explorer, MSN, NetMeeting, and consumer products. Her undergraduate training was in ergonomics at Loughborough University. She earned a MS at the University of Minnesota in human factors, conducting research on advance traffic information systems for use by general and aging driver populations.
If you or someone you know would like to attend, please register by emailing events@upamn.org that you will attend.
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