TecEd’s CEO Stephanie Rosenbaum joined other elite professors and design colleagues who contributed their knowledge and expertise to the chapter on “Usability Evaluation” in this world-class Encyclopedia. Stephanie wrote an invited commentary to Gilbert Cockton’s article, in which she presents the viewpoint of practitioners in the industry.

The Encyclopedia of Human Computer Interaction is an ever-expanding body of knowledge that covers areas relevant to the design of interactive products and services like websites, household objects, smartphones, computer software, aircraft cockpits, you name it. Published at Interaction-Design.org the encyclopedia is free, includes HD videos, commentaries, and lots more. Part of the organization’s mission statement: “We foster synergy at the very highest level between science and high-tech companies. We mix elite professors from Stanford, MIT, Cambridge, etc. with elite designers from Google Research, Apple, IBM Research, etc. And together we produce top-grade, open, and free online learning materials to the benefit of both industry and academia all over the world.”

Learn more about and enjoy this invaluable resource:
Website: http://www.interaction-design.org/encyclopedia/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/interactiondesign.org

At the conference, TecEd CEO Stephanie Rosenbaum lead a Special Interest Group discussion on “Current Issues and Improving Information Usability” and Garett Dworman, TecEd senior consultant, was part of the planning team. They both learned the latest technical and psychological insights on technology and human behavior to help provide meaningful user experience solutions to TecEd clients!

The ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in Austin, Texas is the premier international conference on human-computer interaction.

 *Association of Computing Machinery

Keynote address at the 2012 iXDA Conference (Interaction Design Association)

Amber Case is a cyborg anthropologist and user experience designer who focuses on mobile software, augmented reality and data visualization, and reducing the amount of time and space it takes for people to connect. Case has been featured in Forbes, WIRED and Time, and also founded Geoloqi.com, a private location sharing application, out of a frustration with existing social protocols around text messaging and way finding.

Case has spoken at conferences all around the world including TED and was featured in Fast Company 2010 as one of the Most Influential Women in Technology.

View her keynote address

Customer experience is holistic with many touch points within an organization. TecEd’s Cynthia Zimber explores what this means at the SPARK Marketing Roundtable that addresses: What Makes a Truly Great Customer Experience, and Why Does it Matter?

Managing and controlling how your business interacts with your customers affects your bottom line. That’s right – the hard cold cash that keeps your company afloat. Before you can manage customer interactions, however, you need to build an understanding of what makes your customers tick and know how to handle customer expectations, behaviors, and the unexpected – without the aid of a crystal ball. Our panel of customer experience experts will share their stories on how to improve customer service operations & customer loyalty, turn an unhappy customer into a raving fan, and tips on how to pay attention to your customer at every touch point. This is your chance to ask the experts how you can gain valuable customer insight that will impact customer engagement, retention, and long-term customer partnerships.

Click here to view the presentation.

The 2012 Marketing Roundtable is a monthly series featuring regional talent who discuss practical and cost-effective innovation marketing. Program topics range from brand strategy to social media, and from financial accountability to guerrilla marketing.

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Cynthia Zimber comments on Brian Solis‘ article in Fast Company.

TecEd likes this article in Fast Company as it gets to the heart and soul of what our business is dedicated to: the user experience! Creating a great user experience is an art and science. The flashiest ad, mobile app, or product is only as good as the experience the actual user has with it, and Brian outlines this critical point quite nicely, here is an excerpt:

User experience is a priority that should, in some way, find a home within the design of any new-media strategy.

With the explosion of social media and smart devices, customers are becoming incredibly sophisticated, elusive, and empowered. As a result, the dynamics that govern the relationship between brands and customers is evolving.

But even in this era of engagement and “two-way” conversations, the reality is that the relationship businesses hope to have with customers through these new devices, applications, or networks and their true state are not one in the same. In fact, it is woefully one-sided, and usually not to the advantage of customers, which for all intents and purposes still affects businesses.

Rather than examine the role new technologies and platforms can play in improving customer relationships and experiences, many businesses invest in “attendance” strategies where a brand is present in both trendy and established channels, but not defining meaningful experiences or outcomes. Simply stated, businesses are underestimating the significance of customer experiences.

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For more information on how TecEd can help with your company’s accessibility compliance needs, please contact us.

TecEd’s Cynthia Zimber explored differing perceptions of usability. Engineers and programmers may think what they designed is a breeze to use, yet the people who actually use that app or website are frustrated. What happened? Passing a QA cycle is not the same as earning a passing grade from customers. Cynthia shared a few hilarious examples, and listeners had a chance to submit “usability bloopers” they have suffered.

Download Cynthia’s interview and the podcast for the first hour of the Internet Advisor show.

Spring, 2011

Stephanie Rosenbaum, TecEd founder and CEO, is the 2011 recipient of the Ken Rainey Award for Excellence in Research from the STC (Society for Technical Communication).

Stephanie’s award cites:

For her pioneering work in developing new usability research methods, her generosity in sharing insights and techniques through publications and conference presentations, and her exemplary role as mentor and coach of others interested in conducting research.

Stephanie has been an STC member since the 1970s. She was named an STC Fellow in 1988, and was recognized in 2000 as one of ten Exemplars among the STC’s then-25,000 members.

About the Ken Rainey Award

The Ken Rainey Award honors a lifetime of quality research in the field, research that has made positive, significant contributions to technical communication practice and teaching. Award criteria includes demonstration of quality research design, appropriate methodology deployment, sound methods for data collection and data analysis, ethical treatment of study subjects, and influencing practical theory or teaching.

This panel provides real-world guidelines for user experience managers and others who deal with user research budgets. It examines the relationship between methods and business strategy: how should an organization spend whatever budget it has for user research? Despite the many in-depth explorations of user experience research methodology, practitioners—especially user experience managers—still struggle with the challenge of choosing the research that will add the most value to their company’s products and services. Presented at the 2011 Usability Professionals Association (UPA) International Conference.

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What is the role of translation in multinational user experience research studies?

For researchers in user experience groups at multinational companies, as well as researchers in consulting firms who perform projects for global clients. Topic discussed in 2010 at an Idea Market event.

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Multiple Facilitators in One Study: How to Establish Consistency

For larger studies, assigning one facilitator may miss an opportunity, such as catching select participants or delivering timely results. This presentation provides guidelines, with case study examples, for establishing consistency in multiple-facilitator studies. Presented at the 2010 Usability Professionals Association (UPA) Conference.

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Mentoring to Build UX Skills in Business Environments

Mentoring employees may be a key to business survival in today’s economy. Two experienced practitioners describe different circumstances and needs for mentoring employees and discuss what they discovered is a shared methodology for building new skills and responsibilities within their existing organizations. They also present the results of research from a survey of UX practitioners about mentoring best practices. Presented at the 2010 Usability Professionals Association (UPA) Conference.

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Creating Usable Self-Service Interactions

In today’s economy, more and more of our transactions with organizations to research and purchase products and services are self-service; they involve no interaction with a human being. This paper explores people’s experiences both with self-service transactions and with processes where the interaction migrates from self-service to human mediation. Presented at the 2010 International Professional Communication Conference (IPCC).

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Investing in User Research: Making Strategic Choices

This panel examines the relationship between methods and business strategy: how should an organization spend whatever budget it has for user research? Despite the many in-depth explorations of user experience research methodology, practitioners—especially user experience managers—still struggle with the challenge of choosing the research that will add the most value to their company’s products and services. Presented in 2010 at the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) Conference.

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Using “rapid experimentation” to inform customer service experience design

This case study describes how Cisco followed a “Rapid Experimentation” methodology in conducting iterative, high velocity pilot studies to inform a large global customer service experience design project. The research findings described in this case study informed the design of a better mechanism for customers to select their expected outcomes, so Cisco can provide a personalized service experience. In Human Factors in Computing Systems: CHI 2010 Conference Proceedings.

When Mobile Products Compete: Does User Experience Lose

Is the pace and competitiveness of the industry at the expense of creating a good user experience for people? This panel discussed the state of the mobile platforms, evidence of the effect of the development pace on the UX, and how app and handset developers can integrate UX methods into their rapid environments. Presented at the 2010 Internet User Experience (IUE) Conference.

Winning Budget for User Research: Is There a Silver Bullet?

This interactive discussion will explore how to identify the tangible benefits of user research to win funding. Whether dealing with internal or external clients, many of us have experienced resistance to allocating budget for user research. We’ll provide some value proposition tools and you will be able to contribute your own as we build a case for user research based on ROI and other benefits. Presented at the 2010 Internet User Experience (IUE) Conference.

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Branding, Search Engine Optimization, & Usability: Competing Interests & Required Components for Success—Usability Perspective

This presentation describes how branding, SEO, & usability contribute to website success. Presented at the 2009 Internet User Experience (IUE) Conference.

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