Usability
Leandro Agro
Leandro has more than 10 years of experience as an interaction designer and manager of IxD teams. He specializes in next generation user interfaces that provide human-like interaction with intelligent virtual assistants. At Key-One, in Milan, Italy, Leandro is providing detailed specifications for the behaviors of such virtual assistants, including gesture, language, and social skills; defining emotional models that let these assistants respond to the moods of users; and designing visual user interfaces and voice-recognition systems. Before joining Key-One, Leandro was Advanced Design Director at the innovative startup SrLabs, where he focused on eyetracking for the usability market. While there, he led a design team that created the first hands-free, multimodal GUI with voice and gaze input. Previously, he was co-founder and Vice President of a large eConsultancy with offices in Milan and Boston. Leandro studied interaction design at the Domus Academy, in Milan, Italy. He is actively involved with the Milano Bicocca University, TorVergata University, and others. Leandro is a prolific writer on topics from IxD, usability, and UX to natural, multimodal user interfaces. He was the founder of Idearium.org, the first Italian eZine/community for UX designers, and is co-producer of the Interaction Frontiers conference.
Read Leandro’s blog, in Italian, at www.leeander.com.
Specialties: Interaction Design | UX Design | Usability
Laura Caprio
Laura has been active in Web site design since 1998—first as a Web designer, then as a content designer and editor. In 2001, Laura joined the new Information Architecture team at DNM—now Fullsix. Since then, she has been active in information architecture, user-centered design, and usability testing. Currently, Laura is working as a product manager at Matrix, a company in the Telecom Italia Group—the most important telco player in Italy. In her role at Matrix, she is responsible for UX design and information architecture and is the editor of www.alice.it, one of the best-known Web portals in Italy. Laura is co-founder of www.informationarchitecture.it, the first Italian Web site focusing on information architecture and user-centered design. She is also co-author of the book Information Architecture, the only book in Italian on this topic. For the last five years, Laura has been promoting information architecture and user-centered design through articles, courses, and panels at seminars and conferences, including the Italian IA Summit.
Specialties: Information Architecture | UX Design | Usability
Hilary Coolidge
While at Molecular, Hilary has worked on projects for companies in the financial services, consumer products, Web services, and consulting industries. She was responsible for planning and conducting a usability study for a mobile Web site, produced site maps and annotated wireframes for a Web site redesign for a top-10 consulting company, and created a new home page for a well-known job search company, including new branding and campaign messaging. Other companies she has worked with include Coca-Cola, Boost, BCG, IBM, Monster.com, and Houghton Mifflin. Hilary enjoys bringing her business knowledge and experience to the experience design field.
Specialties: Consulting | UX Design | Usability
Bob Goodman
Principal, at BobGoodman.Net, Inc.
Bob Goodman is a Boston-based UX professional whose consulting business offers a unique integrated model of consulting and creative services, including interaction design, information architecture, usability consulting, copywriting, brand building, and business strategy. Before launching his own business, Bob served as creative director at several leading interactive agencies in New England. As a usability consultant, Bob has run hundreds of usability labs. From these intense and sustained interactions with real-world users, he has extracted a unique set of principles and practices surrounding the user experience. At the core is his understanding of the ways in which a successful user experience flows from and undergirds smart business strategy and lasting brand value. Bob is a member of the UPA, IAI, and SIGCHI, and serves as Boston’s Local Ambassador for UXnet. He is a frequent awards show judge and speaker on UX, design, usability, and IA.
Bob writes about technology and culture on his blog, UXculture.
Specialties: Brand Strategy | Consulting | Information Architecture | UX Design | Usability
Michael Hawley
As director of Mad*Pow’s user experience department, Mike brings deep expertise in user experience research, usability, and design to Mad*Pow clients, providing tremendous customer value. Prior to joining Mad*Pow, Mike served as Usability Project Manager for Staples, Inc., in Framingham, Massachusetts. He led their design projects for customer-facing materials, including e-commerce and Web sites, marketing communications, and print materials. Previously, Mike worked at the Bentley College Design and Usability Center as a Usability Research Consultant. He was responsible for planning, executing, and analyzing the user experience for corporate clients. At Avitage, he served as the lead designer and developer for an online Webcast application. Mike received an M.S. in Human Factors in Information Design from Bentley College McCallum Graduate School of Business in Waltham, Massachusetts, and has more than 13 years of usability experience.
Specialties: Consulting | UX Design | UX Management | Usability | User Research
Patrick Kennedy
User Experience Architect, at Step Two Designs
Patrick has over 10 years of experience in the digital media and Web industries, and his expertise covers many areas, including information architecture, ethnographic and design research techniques, and best practice Web design and development. Over the years, Patrick has advised a wide range of clients, across private and public sectors, both in Australia and the United Kingdom. Patrick is a member of the Sydney chapter of the Usability Professionals’ Association (UPA), the Computer-Human Interaction Special Interest Group of Australia (CHISIG), the Web Standards Group (WSG), the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA), the Web Industry Professionals Association (WIPA), and the Information Architecture Institute (IAI), as well as several smaller special interest groups. Patrick holds a degree in Computer Systems Engineering from the University of Technology, Sydney.
Read more of Patrick’s thoughts on UX on his blog Pat’s Point of View.
Specialties: Consulting | Information Architecture | UX Strategy | Usability | User Research
Afshan Kirmani
A usability analyst with a background in psychology, Afshan analyzes and determines users’ real needs within specific contexts before designing Web sites and applications. Her user studies go beyond the cognitive approaches users take when using a user interface. Applying her knowledge across domains, she believes that, without an understanding of the human mind and interpretive insights, attempts at creativity and innovation fail to deliver what is essential to users. Afshan values opportunities to connect with other experts in the global UX industry and has presented at local HCI meetups. She values innovation and has faith that usability will emerge as a best practice in software design, globally.
Specialties: Interaction Design | Usability
Laurie Lamar
Information Architect and Interaction
Designer, at Lamar Online Design
Laurie Lamar is a consulting information architect and interaction designer in Boulder, Colorado, USA. Her clients range from Fortune 100 companies to nonprofits, government agencies, and startups. Projects include large marketing and support-oriented Web sites, intranet portals, search engines, custom content-management user interfaces, and complex Web applications. Laurie serves with Karyn Young as a UXnet Local Ambassador for the Denver area. She is also chair of the Rocky Mountain CHI chapter. Laurie’s interests include languages, world travel, and the interstices between disciplines.
Specialties: Consulting | Information Architecture | Interaction Design | Usability
Sam Ng
Founder and Director, at Optimal Usability and OptimalSort
As a co-founder and Director of the consultancy Optimal Usability and a passionate generalist, Sam has been involved with over 100 usability and design projects with clients in such diverse domains as government, ecommerce, education, finance, telecommunications, and not-for-profits. With a desire to practice what he preaches, Sam recently led a small team to design and develop the online card sorting tool, OptimalSort. Built on a modest budget and with limited resources, OptimalSort is now being used by hundreds of leading companies and Web professionals worldwide.
Specialties: Consulting | Information Architecture | Interaction Design | UX Strategy | Usability
Matteo Penzo
Director of Design and Development, Research Center, at Consultechnology
At Consultechnology, an ITC company with offices in Milan and Lamezia Terme, Italy, Matteo’s research projects focus on natural interactions between people and computers, automotive applications, and universal design—specifically for the elderly and the disabled. Matteo began his career in information technology working for Anixter International at their Milan and London offices, managing their intranet design and programming team. Then he worked as a project manager for a leading Italian Web agency in Milan, where he managed Internet projects for international Fortune 500 companies. Matteo is a sought after speaker at national and international seminars—including CHI2005, Macromedia, and VNU to mention just a few—and is a professor for the Interaction Design course in the Masters program in Humanistic Computer Studies at Bicocca University, Milan. He has written numerous articles on the subjects of natural interfaces, user experience, and technological innovation. He is also the UXnet Local Ambassador for Milan.
Matteo is the founder and publisher of an online magazine
about user experience for Macromedia® Flash® called
Flashability.
Specialties: Consulting | Interaction Design | UX Strategy | Usability
Isabelle Peyrichoux
Based in Montréal, Canada, Isabelle has six years of experience in conducting user research and designing useful, usable Web sites and applications for organizations in Canada, France, and the United Kingdom. Now specializing in user research, she has significant experience in usability testing, eyetracking studies, non-directive interviews, and focus groups. With a passion for exploring users’ mental models, she is currently focusing on conceptual research, including contextual inquiry and task analysis. Isabelle has a Masters degree in Information Science from the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, in Paris, France. Isabelle has also earned two certificates in psychotherapy and has conducted about sixty psychotherapy sessions with clients and students. She has endeavored to integrate her knowledge of psychotherapy and psychology into her practice as a user researcher and thereby contribute new approaches to the field of user research. An engaging speaker, Isabelle has given presentations and workshops for professional associations and conferences. At the IA Summit in 2006, she spoke about her experience conducting an international needs analysis across North America, Europe, and Africa.
Specialties: Information Architecture | Interaction Design | Usability | User Research
Whitney Quesenbery
Principal Consultant, at Whitney Interactive Design, LLC
Whitney is a user interface designer and usability specialist with a passion for clear communication. As the principal consultant for Whitney Interactive Design, she works with companies around the world to develop usable Web sites and applications. Formerly a principal at Cognetics Corporation, she was the design leader for many design and usability projects. Her project credits include work with companies such as Novartis, Deloitte Consulting, Lucent, McGraw-Hill, Siemens, Hewlett-Packard, and Dow Jones. While at Cognetics, she was one of the developers of LUCID (Logical User-Centered Interaction Design), which promotes the importance of a user-centered approach and usability in design. Whitney is a frequent presenter at industry conferences, including UPA, ACM SIGCHI, STC, tekom, and the IA Summit Winwriters. She is the President of UPA (Usability Professionals’ Association), Past-Manager and Web Manager for the STC Usability SIG, and a member of the Executive Committee for UXnet. Whitney is also the Director of the UPA Voting and Usability Project and is on the US Elections Assistance Commission’s guidelines development committee, where she works to ensure the usability of voting systems.
Column on UXmatters: “Universal Usability—Putting people at the center of design”
Specialties: Consulting | Usability | User Interface Design
Lucinio Santos
For the last eighteen years, Lucinio has been a user experience architect, working on IBM software offerings. During his tenure, he has led, managed, and contributed to usability and design initiatives for systems management, application development, middleware, and portfolio management software. He holds a Ph.D. in Cognitive and Experimental Psychology from the University of New Mexico.
Specialties: UX Design, Interaction Design, User Interface Design, Usability, User Research
Specialties: Interaction Design | UX Design | Usability | User Interface Design | User Research
Paul J. Sherman
Paul is currently Director of User-Centered Design, at Sage Software in Atlanta, Georgia. In the 1990s, he was a Member of Technical Staff at Lucent Technologies in New Jersey. As a consultant, he has conducted usability testing and interface design for accounting and tax preparation applications, Web-based financial planning and portfolio management applications, and eCommerce Web sites. Paul is Vice President of the Usability Professionals’ Association, was the founding President of the UPA’s Dallas/Fort Worth chapter, and is a Full Member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. He is also the editor of Usability Success Stories: How Organizations Improve by Making Easier-to-Use Software and Web Sites, published by Gower in October 2006. Paul received his Ph.D. in Human Factors Psychology in 1997 from the University of Texas at Austin.
Column on UXmatters: “Envision the Future—The role UX professionals play”
Specialties: Usability | User Interface Design
Daniel Szuc
Principal Usability Consultant, at Apogee Usability Asia Ltd.
Daniel is based in Hong Kong and helps companies in Asia like PCCW, HSBC, CSL, China Light & Power, Sunday, Cathay Pacific, Marriott, ADB, and Yahoo! China make their products easier to use. He has also worked with Telstra Australia and IBM. Daniel has spoken on Usability in Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Malaysia, United States, and Australia, helping to develop new groups of interest in the region. He recently co-wrote and released the Usability Kit with Gerry Gaffney. Daniel is a founding member and President of the UPA China Hong Kong Branch, co-founder of the UPA China User Friendly conferences, and holds a BS in Information Management from Melbourne University Australia.
Specialties: Consulting | UX Strategy | Usability
Todd Warfel
Founding Partner, at Messagefirst
At Messagefirst, Todd focuses on research and design of consumer and b2b products. A recognized leader in the design research and usability fields, Todd speaks regularly at universities and industry conferences and contributes to industry publications. With over 14 years of industry experience and a background in English, cognitive psychology, and product design, he has worked on over a dozen industry-first products. Todd has done work with a variety of clients, including Albertsons, AT&T Wireless, Bankrate, Bank of America, Comcast, Cornell University, Dell, GSK, IntraLinks, Palm, Sallie Mae, Splenda, SBC, SUNY, and Tufts University.
Blog: toddwarfel.com
Specialties: Consulting | Interaction Design | Usability | User Research
Russell Wilson
Currently the Director of Product Design at NetQoS, Russ reports directly to the CEO and is responsible for the company’s R&D budget and interface design for all NetQoS products. He redesigned their flagship product, SuperAgent. Previously, Russ was the VP of Engineering at HyPerformix, a simulation and modeling company. Before joining HyPerformix, Russ founded a successful startup that generated over $4 million in revenue. As both CEO and CTO, he prototyped all interfaces for the company’s products and worked closely with clients to improve usability. Russ has extensive experience in interaction design, rapid prototyping, and usability and holds a BS in Computer Science and an MS in Software Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin. Russ is the Austin Local Ambassador for UXnet and an Austin representative for IxD, as well as a member of ACM, IEEE, SIGCHI, UPA, ASIS&T, and AIGA.
Read Russell’s blog, Dexo Design.
Specialties: Interaction Design | Usability
