Paul Sherman is founder and principal consultant at ShermanUX. He has worked in the field of usability and user-centered design for the past 12 years. He was most recently Senior Director of User-Centered Design at Sage Software in Atlanta, Georgia, where he led efforts to redesign the UI and improve the overall customer experience of the Peachtree Accounting desktop application and ePeachtree web-based app.
While at Sage he also designed and implemented a customer-centric contextual innovation program that sought to identify new product and service opportunities by observing small businesses “in the wild”. He also led efforts to modernize and make consistent Sage North America’s product user interfaces.
In the 1990’s he was a Member of Technical Staff at Lucent Technologies in New Jersey, where he led efforts to develop cross-product user interface standards for several telecommunications management applications. As a consultant he has conducted usability testing and interface design for banking, accounting and tax preparation applications, Web-based financial planning and portfolio management applications, and ecommerce Web sites.
Paul received his Ph.D. in 1997 from the University of Texas at Austin. His research focused on how pilots’ use of computers and automated systems on the flight deck affects their individual and team performance. Paul is Past President of the Usability Professionals’ Association, was the founding President of the UPA Dallas/Fort Worth chapter, and serves on the UPA’s Board of Directors and Executive Committe. He is also contributor and editor of the Gower book Usability Success Stories: How Organizations Improve by Making Easier-to-Use Software and Web Sites, published in October 2006. He writes a regular column for the online user experience magazine UXmatters and has presented at conferences around North America as well as Asia, Europe, and South America. Email Paul at paul@shermanux.com.
Session Talk: Changing Minds and Removing Barriers
Let’s face facts: usability testing does not equal a good user experience! Strategic user experience planning can yield a unified and consistent user experience. And strategic design leads to great user experiences. This presentation will explore the differences between tactical usability and strategic user experience, and provide attendees with guidance and motivation to pursue strategic user experience as a goal.
Some Other Things About Paul Sherman
Paul has got a PhD. He started the HCI program at UTD. He created an Accesibility program with Sharron Rush. He was President of UPA National. He started the DFW-UPA. Paul has written a book. Simply put, Paul has done it all. Most importantly, he is super nice with loads of smarts.
Alfonso de la Nuez is co-founder at UserZoom, the leading online (or remote) user experience research software company. He has 14-years experience in the field of Digital Marketing, Web Design and User Experience, having worked for companies such as Dell Computers, Icon Medialab (now LBi) and Proxicom. He also co-founded Xperience Consulting, one of Europe’s most experienced usability consultancies. He teaches usability and web design courses at various universities and academic institutions, and is a frequent speaker at conferences. When he’s not working he enjoys playing basketball. Back in his younger days (when he was in way better shape) he was included in San Diego’s All-Time High School List Best all-time guards. He ended up playing NCAA Div I Baketball for San José State University, where he played on an athletic scholarship and shared the court with various NBA players.
Session Talk: How to Conduct Global UX Benchmarking
You can’t manage what you can’t measure, so… How do you actually MEASURE web usability and user experience? In this talk you’ll discover what, why, and how to conduct website user experience & usability benchmarking. You’ll learn how to effectively measure the quality of a website’s user experience across various competitors, within one industry, across time, using an online quantitative research methodology commonly referred to as “unmoderated remote usability testing.” Some of the benefits of UX Benchmark studies are:
• Understanding which firm is delivering the best customer experience in a specific industry and why
• Identifying where your company stands against its competitors
• Quantifying areas of excellence versus areas of improvement
Some Other Things About Alfonso de la Nueg
Alfonso has a great smile (obviously). Plus, he plays some pretty serious hoop ball, too. Hmm…with his baskteball skills and world traveling. I think he should try out for the Globetrotters.
Elizabeth Rosenzweig is is Founder and Director of World Usability Day, which she started on 2004 after her term as President of Usability Professionals Association was completed. World Usability Day has grown to include 44 countries with over 180 events. Elizabeth frequently publishes in industry journals, has written chapters in 3 published books and presents lectures at conferences around the world.
Elizabeth has worked as a consultant and employee in several major corporations for 25 years. Her experience includes design and development, ranging from website and, applications, to hardware products and technology development. Elizabeth has completed projects for many major corporations as well as academic institutions. Elizabeth holds 4 patents in intelligent user interface design.
Session Talk: Spark Your Creative Juices
Have you ever been stuck on a problem? Did you ever suddenly come to an answer to some issue that was simmering in the back of your mind? Your mind literally operates at the speed, as you solve problems consciously and sub-consciously let other problems simmer. So, how do you spark those creative juices?
Creativity and innovation can be sparked through a systematic approach to problem solving. And, it can be pretty darn fun, too. In this session, you will learn about the various stages of creative thinking. You will learn about different methods, tools, and styles for how you can creatively solve your problems. You will walk away a more creative person and a better problem solver.
Some Other Things About Elizabeth Rosenzweig
Elizabeth loves Southern Fried Chicken. She is a global traveler. She holds several patents (now, that is creative)!
Big Design Conference is supporting World Usability Day 2010. Mark your calendars for 11 November 2010 for this year’s World Usability Day, where user experience professionals gather in different locations to learn, share, and grow. The theme for this year is: Communication.
World Usability Day 2010 will serve as an impetus to creating greater awareness for designs, products, and services that improve and facilitate communication around the world. If you consider how the consumer market has seen very robust sales of smart phones, the fast adoption of social networks, or the robust design of the iPad, you just know this theme of communication is timely. Plus, most designers work in the area of communication (data visualizations, marketing messages, upsell).
Big Design has decided to support World Usability Day 2010 as a financial sponsor. Plus, we have invited Elizabeth Rosenzweig, Founder of World Usability Day, to be a speaker at the Big Design Conference. You do not want to miss her talk on creativity and its impact on design decisions. If you are in the Dallas area, DFW-UPA will have its annual celebration at the Sabre headquarters. Check the DFW-UPA website (www.dfw-upa.org) for more details, as we get closer.
Last year, the theme for World Usability Day was sustainable design. I had the pleasure of being the co-chair with Nathan Shedroff. As we started our duties, Lou Rosenfeld sent me Nathan’s book to read, Design is the Problem: The Future of Design Must Be Sustainable.
Nathan’s book is flat out awesome. It sets out to define the landscape of sustainability–reduce, reuse, recycle, and restore. The sustainability landscape is a tricky one. You can be more sustainable in one area (ex: reduce) and less sustainable in another area (ex: recycle). While I will not giveaway too much, the example of the hybrid car versus a pick-up truck is inspired thinking. Buy the book for just this example.
High-Level Book Review
Nathan explains each of the landscapes of sustainability (reduce, reuse, recycle, restore) to show this very simple concept: sustainable design is smart design. When we create products for future consumption, we do need to look at how our design stack up in each of the sustainable landscape.
You will enjoy the analysis in each chapter. Real-world examples are throughout the book. Nathan will get you to a point, where you do examine the very “meaning” of your designs. It is an important book for your reference.
Nathan is our keynote speaker on Friday. Plus, he will be around to sign copies of his book.
Get This Book
You can either buy this book at the Big Design Confernece or buy it from the Rosenfeld Media website using the promo code of BIGDESIGN10.
Aaron Hursman is a passionate user-advocate that is lucky enough to do what he loves for a living. As the lead User Experience Architect for Slalom Consulting in Dallas, he applies user-centered design principles and techniques for his clients to various enterprise solutions like Microsoft SharePoint, ASP.NET, and dashboard and business intelligence applications. Aaron has 12 years of consulting experience, has a background in web development and enterprise applications, and enjoys participating in the social web. Aaron holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management information systems from the University of Texas at Austin. He may be contacted at aaronh@slalom.com.
Session Talk: Effective Deshboard Design (Why Your Baby is Ugly)
As enterprises and other organizations look to sift through and make sense of the all the structured and unstructured data available to them, dashboards are being positioned as the solution to their problems. However, a dashboard needs special attention to the visual design or the dashboard will fail to meet expectations. If not carefully designed, a new dashboard can leave consumers unsatisfied, frustrated, confused, and even overwhelmed.
Aaron Hursman will share his experiences designing effective dashboards that deliver on the promise of targeted, accessible, and actionable information. He will discuss examples from both his personal work and contributions of thought-leaders in this space. Through these examples, he will present practical dashboard design techniques. He will also present effective approaches to take during design and construction. Finally, Aaron will explain the challenges and obstacles that dashboard designers face today, and how to mitigate the risks that result.
Some Other Things About Aaron Hursman
Aaron gave this presentation to a room at SxSW, which was virtually full. We were impressed with how well that Aaron managed the back channel conversations on twitter. If you have a question, Aaron will answer it. He is smart, knowledgeable and loves to share his thoughts. Check it out.
Like last year, we are catering in some great box lunches from some local eateries that the Dallas natives love. The box lunches will be placed on several different tables throughout the trade show. There should not be any long lines. During lunch, you have several options:
| This Lunch Option |
Means This |
| Ask the Experts |
Ask Chris Bernard and Chris Koenig any question about Microsoft, their latest projects, and more |
| Creative Suite 5 Demo |
Learn about what’s new in CS 5 in the Forum from Adobe expert Lynn Grillo, starting at 12:15 PM |
| Cartoon Carnival |
Watch animated shorts from the 24-Hour Film Project, starting at 12:15 in the Theater |
| Networking Lunches |
Create your own opportunity or go to a table where you can network with World Usability Day, DFW-UPA, UX Book Club, and more. |
The goal of lunch at the Big Design Conference is to enjoy some local food, meet some people, share a laugh or two, and learn something along the way. Personally, I want to watch the animated shorts on one of the days, then I might Ask the Experts or see a demo of CS5.
Earlier this week, I attended the STC Summit in Dallas. I spoke in the Usability and User Experience track on the importance of sketching in the design process. The STC organizers did a wonderful job putting on thier conference. Molly Holzschlag of
Molly.com was scheduled to give a keynote presentation, but she had to cancel at the last minute because of an ear infection. Rumors did spread through the conference about a keynote speaker missing. As rumors go, they were mostly negative and completely FALSE.
Yesterday, I sent an email to Molly to let her know that people were extremely disappointed about her not making the keynote talk. Molly is a wonderful thinker and leader in the community. The conference attendees did want to see Molly. In many respects, the extreme disappointment is a tribute to Molly’s contributions. The audience wanted to see Molly, hear her voice, and learn from her. Molly and I exchanged some really great emails. She told me about her ear infection and these antibiotics that prevented her from traveling.
Today, I want you to take a few minutes to pray for Molly Holzschlag.
A Prayer for Molly
Lord, lift up the spirit of Molly Holzschlag, as she battles this ear infection. Let her know that people are thinking good thoughts. Let her feel as good as she possibly can, while taking these antibiotics.
Lord, help Molly’s body to heal. Let the antibiotics destroy the infection. Let the food she eats help Molly feel better. Help her body to rest at night. Help her body to not feel any side-effects from the anitbiotics.
Lord, help Molly’s mind during this time, too. Replace negative thoughts with positive ones. Remove any stress. No headaches. Let her mind be at peace, while she recovers.
Bless the body, mind, and spirit of Molly. Please let her get better soon.
Amen.
I am an avid reader of design books. I have read books by Jakob Nielsen, Jared Spool, Russ Unger, Ginny Redish, Donna Spencer, Nathan Shedroff, Paul Sherman, Joshua Porter, Steve Krug, and Louis Rosenfeld. While I cannot speak for all of the Big Design Conference organizers, I do know that this writer (Brian Sullivan) is a big fan of the work of Susan Weinschenk, especially her last book called
Neuro Web Design: What Makes Them Click?.
As with most books these days, we seem to get an obligatory blog, where authors continue conversations with their audience. Susan’s blog for
Neuro Web Design is a wonderful example of not only continuing the conversation, but also starting new ones. She shares her thoughts on the latest technology, trends, and topics. As with all of her writing, Susan organizes her thoughts, provides relevant examples, and engages you to interact with her. It is not your obligatory blog for a published book.
For example, Susan is giving us her Top 100 Things You Should Know About People. Each of these entries goes on for several paragraphs. Susan does not just enter a quick thought or show a quick movie. Susan Weinschenk is not an author to “mail it in.” Instead, she throws herself into her blog. You can tell that this person is a Big Design Thinker.
When you get a chance, go over to her blog and subscribe to her newsletter. Susan Weinschenk was the first and only person that I thought of to keynote this Big Design Conference.
What makes them click? Come to Big Design Conference and ask Susan. Go to her blog to get her latest insights.
