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CUA of the Month – July, 2012
Certified Usability Analyst
Director of UX
Expanding a career beyond web design
by Sheldon Kreger
Today, working as an internet professional requires a diverse set of skills. There are many traits which differentiate an experienced web developer from a less seasoned individual. Although there is certainly value to simply having many years of work experience under your belt, many CUAs have also learned a variety of skills and have contributed to their companies in more ways than one.
In fact, there seems to be a natural progression of professional development in the web industry. People tend to get involved with many aspects of the web development process—from design to backend, from management to programming—and eventually find something they really enjoy.
Bill Yudichak, our CUA of the Month, seems to fit this description perfectly. Early in his career, while working as a traditional web designer—focusing on graphic design and illustration—Bill became involved with web site maintenance.
“Developers would build us tools, and I kept going back to them with suggestions. I would ask for particular improvements, and often they liked my ideas. It really felt natural for me, but the programmers were always surprised by the concepts I would bring forward. Some of the changes I suggested seemed obvious to me, but often these thoughts hadn’t crossed the minds of my coworkers. Eventually, I realized that it might be worth getting more involved in this kind of work.”
It was the combination of Bill’s natural propensity toward user experience design and his desire to specialize that drove his decision to pursue CUA certification. “I wanted to expand my career beyond a web designer,” said Bill. “Remaining strictly within that profession became somewhat limiting, and I wanted to move forward. Certainly the money is better in UX, but that wasn’t the primary motivation for me. On top of this, I think that a background in usability makes a person better at web design too.”
However, the bottom line reasoning for Bill’s move into this field is surprisingly simple. “Being able to make things easier for people really appealed to me,” explained Bill. “That’s how I initially became interested in user experience.”
Currently, Bill works as the Director of UX at WeDoCommerce. He is involved in all aspects of usability work, and directs his team through a variety of projects for their clients. Bill explains that his training has proven to be invaluable to WeDoCommerce.
“We recently had another technology company pass us work specifically because we have a UX team,” said Bill. “They had a desktop application they wanted to turn into an online application. We used many of the methods I learned during my training—on site contextual research, usability testing, remote research, watching how people use the current product.”
Bill and his team were able to provide valuable insight to their client from their research.
“The company which hired us had a lot of preconceptions about what might be good and bad about their software. We were able to do some research and provide conclusive insight into the things they were interested in. Of course, some of their initial thoughts were valid, but others were not. Regardless, we were able to give them concrete feedback and made specific recommendations on how to resolve the problems.”
Of course, working on a small team creates some specific challenges for Bill and WeDoCommerce. But, by working strategically, Bill says that he is able to leverage his team’s time and knowledge to provide insight under a variety of circumstances.
“Ideally, we would use every technique I learned about during the training. Of course, things don’t always happen that way. It really depends on the needs of the client. Even if we go through just one or two of the key steps of the process, it can make a big difference in the quality of the final product.”
Looking back on the expanding success of WeDoCommerce, Bill realizes that the company’s decision to support a UX team was wise.
“Usually, when clients compare us to our competitors, we are the company that has a bridge between development and usability. This connection makes a big difference when it comes to landing a new client. It has really distinguished us in the market and undoubtedly fueled our recent growth.”
Each month we highlight the successes and achievements of a different member of our CUA community. If you are a Certified Usability Analyst and would like to be considered for CUA of the Month recognition, please send a brief professional bio to hfi@humanfactors.com
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Reviewed: 18 Mar 2014
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Terms and Conditions for Public Training Courses
Reviewed: 18 Mar 2014
Cancellation of Course by HFI
HFI reserves the right to cancel any course up to 14 (fourteen) days prior to the first day of the course. Registrants will be promptly notified and will receive a full refund or be transferred to the equivalent class of their choice within a 12-month period. HFI is not responsible for travel expenses or any costs that may be incurred as a result of cancellations.
Cancellation of Course by Participants (All regions except India)
$100 processing fee if cancelling within two weeks of course start date.
Cancellation / Transfer by Participants (India)
4 Pack + Exam registration: Rs. 10,000 per participant processing fee (to be paid by the participant) if cancelling or transferring the course (4 Pack-CUA/CXA) registration before three weeks from the course start date. No refund or carry forward of the course fees if cancelling or transferring the course registration within three weeks before the course start date.
Cancellation / Transfer by Participants (Online Courses)
$100 processing fee if cancelling within two weeks of course start date. No cancellations or refunds less than two weeks prior to the first course start date.
Individual Modules: Rs. 3,000 per participant ‘per module’ processing fee (to be paid by the participant) if cancelling or transferring the course (any Individual HFI course) registration before three weeks from the course start date. No refund or carry forward of the course fees if cancelling or transferring the course registration within three weeks before the course start date.
Exam: Rs. 3,000 per participant processing fee (to be paid by the participant) if cancelling or transferring the pre agreed CUA/CXA exam date before three weeks from the examination date. No refund or carry forward of the exam fees if requesting/cancelling or transferring the CUA/CXA exam within three weeks before the examination date.
No Recording Permitted
There will be no audio or video recording allowed in class. Students who have any disability that might affect their performance in this class are encouraged to speak with the instructor at the beginning of the class.
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