Usability Engineering and Software Engineering:
Intersections
Date and time:
April 13, 2005 (Wednesday)
6:00 p.m. Dinner at La Madeleine for those who would like to join
us (directions below)
7:30-9:30 p.m. Program
Location:
Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center, Meeting Room B
4805 Edgemoor Lane
Bethesda, MD 20814
Description:
As usability professionals, we believe that usability engineering
is an integral part of software development. But our opinion isn’t
always shared by the software engineers who plan, manage and carry
out software development projects.
In recent years, we’ve certainly made inroads into winning
acceptance for usability engineering. But we’re not there
yet. And we won’t be there until usability engineering practices
are integrated into software engineering practices. Usability engineering
must be an expected and undeniable part of software development
projects.
This talk began as a presentation to SPIN (Software Process Improvement
Network). In that talk, Teri O'Connell opened a dialogue with software
engineers. She highlighted parallels between usability engineering
and software engineering. She described the intersections where
usability engineers and software
engineers can collaborate to build usable software:
complementary roles
shared goals and values
hospitable life cycle models
corresponding processes
compatible skill sets
In this joint UPA/HFES presentation, Teri explains why she chose
the topics she did to open a dialogue with software engineers. In
addition, she provides and seeks opinions on how to promote this dialogue
between the two groups.
Speaker:
Theresa A. (Teri) O'Connell, Humans and Computers, Inc.
Teri O'Connell is a well-published researcher and popular speaker
in the area of usability engineering (UE). After holding management
and senior positions for major IT consulting firms, she formed Humans
and Computers, Inc., a small woman-owned business that makes computing
technologies compatible with people.
She has integrated UE practices into over 100 software development
projects (from telecommunications to finance) in North America and
Europe. Her U.S government clients have included the defense agencies,
the U.S. Census Bureau, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Teri played a major role in developing and applying machine translation
evaluation methods, as part of the DARPA Machine Translation Initiative.
She has researched human interaction with natural language technologies
and with personal autonomous intelligent agents. Other areas of
expertise include access to technology for senior citizens and users
with physical disabilities, and software internationalization and
localization.
Registration:
Advance registration is recommended. You can register using our
online registration
form.
Cost: $5 for UPA DC Metro and HFES Potomac Chapter members
$10 for non-members
Directions to the Program:
The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center is located at
4805 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814. The Center is in the two-story
County office building on the plaza level of the Metropolitan complex,
above a County parking garage. View
the MapQuest Map
By Car:
The entrance to the parking garage is marked with a large blue Bethesda
Center parking sign. Parking is available in the garage - $.75 per
hour short-term (3 hours or less), $.50 per hour for over 3 hours.
If you are coming south on Old Georgetown Road (from the Beltway
use exit 36), turn right on Woodmont Avenue and the parking entrance
is almost immediately on your left (second driveway). If you are
coming south on Wisconsin Avenue/Rockville Pike, turn right onto
Woodmont Avenue, go south for approximately one mile, cross Old
Georgetown Road, and the parking garage entrance is the second driveway
on your left. If you are coming north on Wisconsin or west on Rt.
410, take Old Georgetown Road north, turn left at the second traffic
light (Woodmont Ave.) and the garage entrance will be on your left
(It's the second driveway). Take the elevators from the parking
garage to the plaza level (P). The building is located at the center
of the plaza. County and American flags and a sign bearing the County
seal mark the entrance to the building.
By Metro, Bus or on Foot:
The building is located across the street from the Bethesda Metro
station. From the Bethesda Metro Station, take the escalator from
the bus bay to the plaza level, turn left, walk past the clock tower
and across to the Metropolitan plaza using the pedestrian bridge.
If you are walking from any other location, the Center's street
entrance is at 4605 Edgemoor Lane (corner of Old Georgetown and
Edgemoor) and is marked with County and American flags. Take the
elevator to level 2 for meeting rooms.
Directions to Dinner:
La Madeleine is located at 7607 Old Georgetown Rd, Bethesda, MD
20814. The restaurant is a short walk from the Bethesda metro stop. View
the MapQuest Map
