Date and time:
August 24, 2006 (Thursday)
7:00-9:00 p.m. Program
Dinner: 6:00-7:00 p.m. at La Madeleine for those who would like to join us (directions below)
Location:
Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center, Conference Room A
4805 Edgemoor Lane
Bethesda, MD 20814
Description:
Informed by usability test results, you redesign a web site or an application. But is the new design really better than the old one? How can you know? How can you demonstrate to management that the new design really is better? In what specific ways is it better?
You don't know if you don't measure, and you can't measure without metrics.
In the presentation, Dr. Patricia A. Chalmers will present the basics on metrics. She will show us the different sources of metrics and the different types of metrics. In a brief case study, she will describe how metrics helped her compare an old web site to a prototyped new design. Clear metrics resulted in:
Increased funding for completion of the project
Accolades from senior management, and
Nomination for an award
But the most important result was knowing that the client's needs were met.
Biography:
Dr. Patricia A. Chalmers is employed by the Air Force Research Laboratory and serves as the Air Force Science Advisor to the U.S. Joint Forces Command. She advises the Joint Forces Command on software usability, behavioral science, and cognitive (learning) science, including educational technology. She also advocates for collaborative research among scientists of the Department of Defense.
Her interests include usability, cognitive science, information visualization, information management, and experimental psychology.
She is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, where she received her B.A. in Psychology, MLA in Education and Psychology, and Ph.D. in Educational Psychology.
Registration:
Registration closes at noon on the day of the program. Registration is now closed.
Cost:
$5 for members of the UPA-DC Metro chapter
$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
