Date and time:
June 21, 2005 (Tuesday)
7:00-9:00 p.m. Program
Dinner: Pizza will be served at the beginning of the program.
Location:
George Mason University’s (GMU)
Arlington Campus Professional Center (a.k.a. “the Original
Building”)
Room 268
3401 N. Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22201
Description:
How to Stop Tearing Your Hair Out: Q & A on Dealing
with Client-Management Issues
A a panel of seasoned consultants lead a question-and-answer session
for solutions to your burning client-management questions. They’ll
each share a top-ten list of their key recommendations before answering
questions and guiding group discussion. This session should be highly
interactive. Bring your remaining hair and examples of a thorny
client-management problem you’re struggling with, or better
yet, submit a question
or problem in advance to discuss at the meeting. Come ready
to share your own war stories and recommendations.
Some examples of client-management issues include:
Your client starts out by including you in all meetings. However,
after a few weeks, they suddenly seem to be holding important
meetings without you. Suddenly you don’t know what’s
going on. Yet they insist they're happy with you and want to continue.
What do you do? What's really going on? And how do you find out
most effectively?
One of the stakeholders "knows" what the webpage design
should be, regardless of the data and actual needs. She reacts
angrily to your ideas whenever they don’t exactly coincide
with her own. In fact, she’s been accusing you of wasting
time. You suspect she might have a hidden reason for being this
resistant and aggressive.
The client hired you to conduct research for a group of people
who have more clout than he does. One false move, and you might
torpedo your client—and your contract.
As the internal user-experience professional, you're responsible
for working with several other production departments. They expect
you to bless their designs when they come to you at the last minute.
If you don’t, you’re killing their schedule. If you
do, you’re killing your integrity.
You’re missing key information for conducting the work,
and you don’t realize it until halfway through the job.
Everything’s changed, and it might be your fault.
You're testing a prototype of a new design. The marketing department
insists on inviting 4 or 5 people to your usability test sessions
without telling you. In fact, they've told the customers they'll
benefit from the session because they'll get to "learn"
the software. The customers arrive expecting you to tell them
how the software works. How do you conduct the test properly without
upsetting the customers, the marketing staff, and your boss?
Panelists:
Thom Haller, long-time information architect and “user
advocate”, and founder of Info.Design consultancy
Dick Horst, Ph.D., CPE, is the founder and President of UserWorks,
Inc., a 15+ year-old consulting firm specializing in human factors
and usability engineering. He has consulted for and managed both
human factors product evaluations and user-centered design projects
for organizations in industry, government, non-profits, and academia.
Dick’s background is in experimental psychology and psychophysiology.
He is a Certified Professional Ergonomist and an active member
of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, the Usability Professionals’
Association, and the Special Interest Group on Computer Human
Interaction of the Association for Computing Machines.
Registration:
Advance registration is recommended. You can register using our
online registration
form.
Cost: $5 for UPA DC Metro Chapter members
$10 for non-members
Directions to the Program:
By Metro: Take the Orange Line to the Virginia Square/GMU metro
stop. Exit the station and make a 180 degree turn, so you will be
facing North Fairfax Drive. Across the street and to the right,
you will see the FDIC building (a large building with a lot of glass,
and a new building under construction). The Arlington Campus
is the next building to the right. Cross the street toward the FDIC
Building (if construction permits), and walk past that building
to the GMU Arlington Campus. The entrance to the GMU building is
facing the FDIC building. Room 268 is on the same floor where you
enter the building.
By car: The George Mason parking lot is limited to decal holders.
Some parking meters are available on the street, particularly on
N. Fairfax Drive in front of the law school. From Washington,
D.C.: Cross over the Roosevelt Bridge; follow signs to the George
Washington Parkway North. Once on the parkway, exit at Spout Run
(left exit). Cross Route 29 (Lee Highway). Spout Run becomes Kirkwood
Road. The Arlington Campus is on the right, at Fairfax Drive. From
I-66 heading east: Exit I-66 at Glebe Road/Fairfax Drive (exit 71).
The exit ramp becomes North Fairfax Drive. After traveling one mile
on North Fairfax Drive, you will see the FDIC building on the left.
The Arlington Campus is next door.
