Usability Elevator Pitch
Videos are available here.
Presented at: 2007 User Experience Conference, Boston
With Debbie Cook & Andrew Wirtanen
Summary
As usability professionals, we have a harder time explaining what we do than, let's say, accountants. Our best attempts at explaining usability often meet with responses such as "You make things user friendly? They pay you for that?" and "Human Factors? Do you mean Human Resources?" We all have a responsibility to evangelize usability in the workplace as well as in our daily lives. How do we explain what we do in a way that is easily understood by people outside the industry, without trivializing the value of what we do (or our value for that matter)? If you cringe every time somebody asks you what you do for a living, come to find out how usability luminaries, and...well...how we can address this thorny issue. We will share tips from seasoned user experience professionals on explaining the job we do - along with some video clips of them in action. We will also share our own perspectives on the key aspects of effective explanations of usability. You will come away with the skill to deliver the ideal usability pitch in any situation, whether it be a job interview or a cocktail party.