DISQUS

I loved reading this. It's a huge frustration for UX peeps. Who's our target? Everyone! A friend told me today the target market he was given is "people with a lot of money who like to spend freely." I suspect the company will struggle until they figure out who to focus on within that segment.

I wonder if they're targeting several major cities with card readers on subways and bus stations. Perhaps NYC, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago... it is unusual to do an expensive targeted campaign but maybe they also have "no subway" one:

MAYBE IT’S BECAUSE THERE ARE
NINE ROADS MEETING AT AN INTERSECTION WITH NO STOP SIGN,

BUT NO WRONG WAY TO
ENJOY A JAMESON

But that would probably be a bad idea.

This is so funny! You know you'll know get even more hits but those readers will find what they need. A great use of analytics and I wish I thought of that. How would I explain, "washer tuna resume"?

I didn't know I should wait to turn off the water until I dry my hands. Interesting. I guess I can avoid the plague that way.

When I get the blank stare, I usually say, "I study how people work with different products to learn how I can solve their problems." Perhaps I'm letting them believe I can solve everything, but that line seems to help them understand that I'm researching the solution rather than assuming it. I don't think there's a succinct way to say user experience designers research, study, evaluate, wireframe, sketch, design, prototype, test, report, present, evangelize, teach, etc...

One of the challenges I see with the role of "user experience" is that job titles continually evolve. You do a great job to point out some of the possible titles we hold but the reality is that those change over time. Companies evolve those titles and job responsibilies and this makes it difficult for outsiders to get a strong grasp of what we actually do. The other day I noticed a Help Wanted sign at Old Navy, looking for Customer Experience Associates. I'm pleased they care about the experience of their customers, but this seems like another layer of confusion, "customer" vs "user". What can we do to establish job title standards so that our customers and clients can feel confident about what we are called and hopefully learn how to distinguish experience designers from GUI designers, visual designers, and graphic designers?

This list is a great way to communicate general rules to stakeholders. However, I had a couple questions on #2 and #4:

What would you consider to be "pretend" research. Does that mean making claims of research that never happened, or using the wrong type of user?

With the rule of not defining tasks beforehand for 1-1 research, for contextual inquiry and retrospective interviewing, this completely makes sense. What is your stance on using think-aloud usability testing as a research method?

Lawmakers have the authority to determine instructional guidelines for ballots. When these are determined at the local and state level, how do we consistently lobby for change? I would love to see federal guidelines based on Design for Democracy and EAC best practices: http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/design-for-demo.... Although just getting started in the fight for ballot usability, I am overwhelmed by the concern that ballots are not standard.

I did not know Germany was that far behind us in women's equality. I'm not sure if it's the schools I chose, or the type of work I do, but I still haven't felt that limted by my femaleness. Instead I often feel pushed back because I look much younger than I am. People are often surprised by my age and once the reveal is made, their attitude toward me changes and suddenly they treat me as a genius (that's an exaggeration) instead of a naive novice. It's like they suddenly start listening when I'm over 30 instead of under 25.

So for me, it's an agism issue. I'm still not set on wearing suits to look older but wondering if that would help solve the problem or if I should just wear a nametag that says, "Samantha - 32".

I think it's fantastic your blog was mentioned because your points inspired quite a discussion in comments and twitter. The more I think about it, the more I realize I feel somewhat pressured to join woman-centric organizations to enhance my career. Personally, I've never felt like being a woman held me back and so joining other women for networking and education seemed unnecessary. I want to talk to others in my field, not just women. I want to join a professional "persons" group and being a usability analyst without being a "woman usability analyst".

The more I thought about it, the more I began to wonder... are there groups for men in female-dominated roles? How do they feel about this?

I know you'll have a blast and learn so much about the middle east and your faith. I'm had relatives who have gone on these trips but always assumed I'd never qualify as a Unitarian Catholic-Jew. Hehe. But reading about it more it looks like that wouldn't be an issue and now I wish I was six years younger.

Take lots of pictures!

I try to keep my work bookshelf simple since I only have so much room available...

Usability Inspection Methods (Nielsen/Mack)
Prioritizing Web Usability (Nielsen/Loranger)
Contextual Design (Beyer/Holtzblatt)
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information (Tufte)
Writing Software Documentation (Barker)
Sketching User Experiences (Buxton)
Design Basics Index (Krause)

I supplement these books with volumes and CDs of past CHI conference proceedings and tutorials. If I was smart, I would have kept the thousands of pounds of art, design, and history textbooks from art school. I'm kicking myself now.

What makes more sense is qualifying the type of blogging you do. Your blog focuses on user experience so you are a "user experience blogger". Who cares if you're a man or a woman? Do women blog about usability so differently that it needs a qualifier?

Would you believe I haven't noticed any difference in Facebook profiles? What am I missing? I can't wait to find out!