Usability NJ

Come join us for an exciting UXD Show and Tell PLUS GOOD FOOD – prepared by our Vice President – Marilyn Tremaine!

Program:
6:00 – 6:30 – Arrival and socializing
6:30 – 7:00 Intro of new officers, attendees
7:00 – 9:00 – UXD Show and Tell
9:00-9:30 Linger over more drinks and some clean up

Where:
Rutgers University Core Building
CoRE Building, Room 701
Piscataway, NJ 08854

Phone: 609-933-0270

Directions:
http://www.caip.rutgers.edu/(Click on Maps and Directions)

Important: Do not use your GPS system for the final leg of your journey. Instead,
follow the directions above. The GPS system will take you to the delivery dock of the
building. You want to go to the parking lot in front of the building shown in the
picture above.

You can park in all campus parking lots without worrying about ticketing after 5:00
PM. Do not park at the meters or in places that say reserved.

Bring a design problem or a completed design on powerpoint slides if you are looking for expert comments and suggestions from members

Please Note: If you are going to give a presentation, let Chris Avore know: avore@erova.com

Chris Avore runs a bang on Show and Tell that is incredibly informative. Marilyn is trying to get some cool people who have just launched a major website to come and talk about their design so there should be lots of interesting stuff going on.

We will have the food and drinks set out by 6 PM so come with enough time to network with everyone and sip a glass of wine, beer or juice. And, oh yes, Marilyn makes all the snacks at home and has come up with some yummy new summer recipes so come try them out. Food, as always will be for the meat and non-meat lovers.

We start at about 6:30 ish, but if the talking and networking gets intense, we’re relaxed and hold off for a bit. Our first order of agenda, as always, is: Who is looking to hire people and Who is looking for work. We then do self introductions so the new people start to get to know everyone else and vice versa.

And, there will be NEW people. Each of the new officers is bringing two new guests to each meeting. We encourage you to do the same.

We also want to use this time to introduce our plans for the rest of 2010 and to solicit feedback and ideas from everyone.

After this, we begin our great Show and Tell If you have a design you want to present and get feedback on, better hurry and contact Chris as soon as possible. Last time we did this, there was not enough time for everyone.

And when we finish, there is still more wine and more things to discuss, not to mention pairing up of the work needed to the work offered and maybe a few tasties left to munch on.

Join us on Thursday, May 13, 2010 for socializing, networking and a bit of brew at our favorite site:

J. J. Bitting Brewing Company
33 Main Street
Woodbridge, New Jersey
WE HAVE RESERVED THE TOP FLOOR OVERLOOKING THE BAR

Directions: http://www.njbrewpubs.com/directions.html

or one block from the NJ Transit Coast train stop

Special: DRINKS ARE ON US FOR THE FIRST TWO HOURS!

Highlight include:

- Drinking! Really Good Beer! FREE if you were born on MAY13^th

Come join us with an exciting venue of videos and socializing PLUS GOOD FOOD

At our next meeting, we are going to show a series of short mesmerizing videos and then break after each to eat and talk about what we just saw.

We are showing a set of TED videos (www.ted.com):

• Pattie Maes and Pranav Mistry demo SixthSense
• Woody Norris invents amazing things
• John La Grou plugs smart power outlets

Program:
6 – 6:30 – arrival and socializing
6:30 – 6:45 – job info sharing
6:45 – 8:00 – videos and socializing

Place:
Room 601 CoRE Building,
Rutgers University Busch Campus
Piscataway, NJ

Directions: http://dimacs.rutgers.edu/Directions/Directions1.html

Don’t worry about parking – the lot is open to all after 5 PM.

Join us on Tuesday, December 8, 2009 for socializing, appetizers and a bit of brew at one of our favorite sites:

J. J. Bitting Brewing Company
33 Main Street
Woodbridge, New Jersey
WE HAVE RESERVED THE TOP FLOOR OVERLOOKING THE BAR

Directions: http://www.njbrewpubs.com/directions.html

or one block from the NJ Transit Coast train stop

Special: DRINKS ARE ON US FOR THE FIRST TWO HOURS!

Highlight include:

- Drinking!
- Really Good Beer!
- Great Appetizers/Noshy foods (y’know, eat like it’s dinner)
- Practice your Italian – “Can I have a glass of ‘vino’ please?”
- Free Booze? (Are you sure? What’s the catch? (We’re sure. There’s no catch)
- Free Soft drinks your dedicated driver!

Please join UPA Delaware Valley, PhillyCHI and UPA NJ for what promises to be another great learning and networking event. Program includes refreshments and networking.

Theme: Designing for a Sustainable World.

Speakers include: Jackie O’Neil, Director at e3bank, and Tanya Seaman, Co-Founder of PhillyCarShare.

Where:
Comcast Center
1701 JFK Blvd.
Philadelphia PA
The Comcast Center is directly accessible from Suburban Station, a SEPTA Regional Rail station in Center City Philadelphia.

Google Map: http://tinyurl.com/ykrv7we

Cost: FREE! Registration is required

Register now at http://worldusabilityday.eventbrite.com. Seating is limited and registration is required. Comcast security will let you into the building only if you have registered in advance.

Special: Please bring your business card for a chance to win a door prize!

Questions/Comments: Please contact the organizers at upadelawarevalley@gmail.com or phillychi@gmail.com

SPEAKERS

Jackie O’Neil, e3bank

Title: User Experience Design and Sustainability: The story of applying both to the home, and how UXAs can choose to make a big difference.

About Jackie O’Neil

Jackie is a Delaware Valley sustainability leader, advocate, and a winner of the 2007 Philadelphia Sustainability Award. Jackie built the first LEED Gold certified homes in the U.S., which are also net-zero energy homes. Thousands of people, from the U.S. and as far away as Japan and Nigeria, have made the pilgrimage to visit her home and share the vision of what is possible.

She is a director at e3bank, a triple bottom line bank starting up to support more sustainable residential and commercial development and business practices.

Jackie has 30 years of high level management, systems strategy, usability design, web, and user experience design for companies such as The Vanguard Group, where she started and managed web design and usability. She is currently a principal at Intuitive Design Group, where she consults on E*strategy and user experience for companies such as Merck, GSK, Rohm and Haas, Unisys, Fannie Mae, and many more.

Tanya Seaman, PhillyCarShare

Title: PhillyCarShare’s Quest to Make Sustainability Easy and Convenient

Tanya will discuss her experience starting and running the nonprofit car-sharing organization PhillyCarShare – from the standpoint of a driven business professional who is deeply interested in environmental sustainability. She will explore the evolution of the service’s online reservation systems and back-office applications, as well as the challenges and milestones she experienced in creating a convenient, affordable, and sustainable service.

About Tanya Seaman

Tanya co-founded the award-winning nonprofit car-sharing organization PhillyCarShare. She served as its original executive director and was instrumental in the organization’s expansion and tremendous growth. Aided by significant government funding received from 2006 to 2008, PhillyCarShare became the fastest-growing and largest regional car-sharing organization in the world, with over 50,000 enrollments by mid-2008.

Since leaving PhillyCarShare in 2008, Tanya has consulted for government entities as well as car-share clients in their start-up and growth phases. She has provided executive-level consulting to GRID magazine, which covers topics about sustainable living in Philadelphia. She’s also collaborated with Metavera Inc., the principal provider of car-sharing systems in North America.

Tanya holds a Master in City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor degree in Design from the University of California at Davis. In recognition of her assertive leadership, technological prowess, and unequivocal commitment to PhillyCarShare, the Philadelphia Business Journal has recognized Tanya as one of Philadelphia’s outstanding “40 Under 40″.

Title: TBA

Speaker: Cindy Lu, Human Factors International

Program:
6:00 PM – Social Hour, hors d’oeuvres and soft drinks served

7:00 PM – Job exchange followed by presentation

8:00 PM – Question period followed by more socializing

Location:
MISI Company
90 Woodbridge Ctr Dr
Woodbridge, NJ 07095
Phone: (732) 404-1249

Directions:

Visit Misi Company website for directions- http://www.misicompany.com/contact.html

Abstract

Agile development method was created for rapid development of high quality software. It promotes multiple development iterations throughout the life cycle of product development. With agile, there are unique opportunities (such as more collaboration) and unique challenges (such as short cycle time). How the agile team reacts to the opportunities and challenges will affect how the team works together in a positive or negative way which will impact the product delivery. Similarly, the UX professional working on an Agile team also needs to “get agile”, or practice Agile UX. A workshop at UPA 2009 brought together 20 UX practitioners with different agile team experiences to
share their success stories, challenges and solutions. This talk will highlight some key discussion points including best practices, known success factors and sample stories shared by workshop participants. Hope this talk will help UsabilityNJ members understand some current issues and solutions in agile and stimulate discussions on how UX practitioners can be successful in agile environment.

Biography:

Cindy Lu is Vice President in iNautix USA, an affiliate of Pershing and BNY Mellon. She leads a team of user experience designers, graphic designers and a technical writer to support various needs of products and services in the company. Her team strives to bring effective, efficient, consistent and pleasant experience to customers and end users in the financial industry. Cindy has over 15 years of experience in applying human factors in
product designs and user research in various industries such as financial, telecommunications, pharmaceutical and education. Cindy received her Ph.D. and MS from Louisiana State University in Engineering Science with a concentration in Human Factors. She is a Certified Human Factors Professional (CHFP) from the Board of Certification in Professional Ergonomics. She chaired the World Usability Day in New Jersey in 2006.

We invite all members and non members to join us for our October Happy Hour and network with other usability professionals.

Location:
Triumph Brewery
138 Nassau Street
Princeton, New Jersey, 08542
Phone: (609) 924-7855

Directions: Visit Triumph Brewery’s website for directions- http://www.triumphbrewing.com/indexfl6.html

Join Usability NJ for September Happy Hour at JJ Bittings in Woodridge, NJ

Directions:

Check the JJ Bittings website for directions http://www.njbrewpubs.com/directions.html

Come join Usability NJ for August Happy Hour at the Dolce, Morristown, NJ

Directions: Click for directions to Dolce

See you there!

Rain Date: August 23

Location:
Washington Crossing Historic State Park (General Washington Pavilion)

Lord Sterling Rd. and Embarcation Rd.

Washington Crossing, PA 18977

Google Map: http://tinyurl.com/mulvts

Park Website: http://www.ushistory.org/washingtoncrossing/visit/index.htm

Please join Usability NJ along with PhillyCHI, UPA Delaware Valley and PANMA for a family-friendly summer picnic. Children and significant others are welcome to join the occasion. Feel free to bring Frisbees, wiffle ball sets, or any other items to add to the festivities. Park amenities include historic buildings, monuments, trails, scenery, etc. that you can explore before or after the picnic.

Special: Food and drinks will be provided by Dr. Marilyn Tremaine, Vice President, Usability NJ.

Menu: Please follow the link to view the menu: http://www.usabilitynj.org/?page_id=719. If you are concerned about food allergies please email Dr. Marilyn Tremaine – marilyn dot tremaine at gmail dot com to get a list of ingredients in each item on the menu.

PLEASE NOTE: Alcohol is NOT permitted in the park.

Location Details and Parking:

General Washington park pavilion is reserved for the occasion. This is a covered pavilion with picnic tables and grills. Bathroom facilities are located next to the pavilion. This is also the most visible landmark near the pavilion. It is a small brown building which is located at the corner of Lord Sterling Rd. and Embarcation Rd. There is a parking area to the right of the bathroom along Embarcation Rd., and a sign next to the bathroom marked “General Washington”. Next to that sign is a short pathway leading to the pavilion.

Our Sponsors

MISI Company

MISI Company provides Experience Design and Sourcing consulting to Fortune 500 and mid-market organizations in the public and private sector. In business for more than 30 years, MISI’s team of sourcing professionals, technology thought leaders, experience design strategists and architects, audience experience analysts, creative designers, and technical system architects build our client relationships on a foundation of subject matter expertise and industry leadership.

MISI’s Experience Design (XD) group helps clients ensure the mutual success of every interaction between the business and its audience. Whether the XD team is evaluating the performance of existing interactions and user interfaces, designing and developing new ones, or validating business concepts and prototypes, MISI provides the objective, evidence-based guidance necessary to craft experiences that deliver both qualitative and quantitative business results.

MISI’s Sourcing group sources the most sought-after technical talent currently available. We provide access to quality candidates in web technology, application development and infrastructure support. MISI has more than 500 consultants staffed in a myriad of capacities from Project Managers, Business Analysts, and Architects to Developers, Testers and Help Desk.

Marketing Capital Management

Part of the Intelligent Capital Network of companies, Marketing Capital Management brings decades of experience to the table in the marketing and talent acquisition fields. As a trusted partner of advertising agencies and marketing groups throughout the US, MCM has made a dramatic impact on our clients’ bottom line.

We understand that the longer a position goes unfilled, the bigger the impact on your business. We know you don’t get the time you would like to be able to find and interview dozens of candidates to find that just right person – the one with the personality that fits your team and the skill set to jump right into everything you need to get done… That’s where we excel.

Our management team and recruiters have the expertise to understand your requirements and we have access to the top talent in the United States to be able to fulfill those requirements efficiently and timely.

As a market leader we are highly selective in client and candidate selection, focusing on our core competencies in advertising and marketing specialties.

Our success is in the talent of our employees and the unique process we utilize.

Anikto

Named after the Greek word for “open,” the purpose of Anikto LLC is to explore barrier-free design in a variety of digital contexts. The consultancy operates as a firm evangelist for universal design principles, endorsing the creation of highly utile media that benefits users and meets stakeholder objectives. Recent investigations include the adaptation of virtual technologies to social media initiatives and government-funded accessibility projects. Visit Anikto.com or follow on Twitter @ anikto

About the Participating Organizations

UsabilityNJ

UsabilityNJ, the New Jersey chapter of the Usability Professionals Association, is an organization of professionals in user interface design and development and related fields that supports usable design in products and services. Explore this web site to learn more about our organization or join us for one of our upcoming events

PhillyCHI

PhillyCHI is the Philadelphia region’s chapter of the ACM SIGCHI, an interdisciplinary academic and professional group interested in Human-Computer Interaction, User Experience, Usability, and other related disciplines. PhillyCHI holds monthly meetings and socials to network and discuss current topics in HCI. Learn more at http://phillychi.acm.org/

UPA Delaware Valley

The Delaware Valley Chapter of the Usability Professionals’ Association (UPA) provides networking and professional development opportunities for usability professionals, information architects, designers, and other professionals and students in the Philadelphia metro area, including Philadelphia, southern New Jersey, and Delaware. More information is available at http://upadelawarevalley.org/.

PANMA

The Philadelphia Area New Media Association serves individuals and companies involved in digital development. We are web designers, graphic artists, database developers, programmers, information architects, marketers and other professionals. For more information, visit http://www.panma.org.