Call

CUA of the Month – December, 2013

Rajesh Kalidindi
"Whenever I test with the end users on any design, whether a typical information worker, consumer, or someone with special needs, they challenge my assumptions and predictions. That itself increases my passion toward making the software easy to use."
 
Rajesh Kalidindi
Design Researcher
Microsoft

Championing UX for the Impaired

by Jim Garrett

Our CUA of the Month comes from business giant Microsoft. But as we learn from Rajesh Kalidindi, this giant has a heart. Rajesh has been at Microsoft for the past five and a half years, championing user data, accessibility, and design excellence.

Rajesh started at Microsoft as a UX Designer. He quickly transitioned to a full-time research role. As a Design Researcher in the User Experience team for MSIT, Rajesh received an opportunity to lead design and development initiatives required to maintain compliance with Microsoft standards and federal regulations for the impaired. Rajesh works on a daily basis with a team of ten people, including interaction designers, visual designers, and user researchers. He works with a myriad of teams and individuals who work on behalf of implementation efforts and programs which focus on accessibility. He received his CUA certification in 2006.

Where do you function within the vast Microsoft enterprise?

Our division is called Microsoft IT. We support Microsoft internal products and services as well as the infrastructure which tests and supports all the latest products about to be released. The products and services we produce serve the 100,000-plus employees of Microsoft worldwide, covering lines of business applications in Finance, Human Resource, Legal, Help and Support, and more.

What is your role there as a researcher?

My primary responsibility is to represent users in their POV: their needs, desires, response. I observe users and bring all their wants and needs to the business and design teams. My passion is to build empathy toward the users, especially those with disabilities. Accessibility is big part of my job. I seek to bring not only the “average” user needs to bear, but also the needs of those who require additional support, services, and functionality. It is my role to influence the engineering teams — to make sure whatever we build is usable for people of all sorts, including those with impairments.

How do you test for that?

I use various tools to verify all of the accessibility requirements such as a color contrast analyzer, screen readers, etc. We also have usability labs at Microsoft where we test for overall ease of use and product benchmarks, and conduct focus groups and interviews. At times we invite our own employees who have impairments to test our solutions. We also recruit people outside of Microsoft for usability and accessibility testing. We have a dedicated usability lab for doing the accessibility testing. We have all the various assistant technologies, so if a user comes here they have an option to bring their own assisting technologies or they can use our settings in our lab. Windows comes with a default for a few accessibility features. You can access them in Control Panel, Ease of Access Center.

Can you tell us about some of the current projects you’re working on?

At the moment I am working on various products and services for Sales and Marketing, Business Intelligence, and Procurement. I also spend part of every week working on Accessibility evangelism, training, and assessment. My work influences the direction of products, informs design decisions. I draw on feedback from financial analysts, business stakeholders, and information workers who use data and productivity applications heavily.

And where do you come into the picture with your research?

During the pre-envisioning stage, I help project teams to identify their personas, scenarios and XO (Experience Outcomes) that eventually influence the multi-year product roadmap. Once the project is in flight, usability studies and evaluations will influence the design decisions and product experiences. After the product launches, benchmark studies measure top tasks in the experience, which will help set direction for the next version of the product.

What do you think was the most significant thing you learned from CUA training?

Before joining Microsoft, I was a UX consultant. I had to wear multiple hats: sometimes a designer, sometimes researcher, sometimes UX and user evangelist. When I had this role, I felt like I was all over the place. I feel I have gained knowledge and insight about the entire user-centered design process in the training. Before the training, I was more or less picking various tools as needed.  This training helped me to have a framework for the entire user experience life cycle, which improves my planning and methodology selection.

I finished the certification and I did other consulting jobs before I joined Microsoft, but what I can say now after certification, is that good user research and user-centered design is natural to me. It is in my DNA now.

Where do you see yourself continuing in the UX research world?

Users and customers do not need just good looking UI and venues any more. Great UI has to be functional and meet their needs effectively. Users must be able to complete their tasks no matter what software or device they are using.

Research is a key to bringing user needs and desires to businesses, product teams, and designers. Research provides user insight and product recommendations that help them to make right design decisions. We help them focus on supporting task completion. That is the first critical measure of success for the products.

I feel that the research is going to be a very big part of business engagement and success in the coming years. Actually, it is already a big part now. UX research will clearly include customer research and market research, thus providing a holistic view of the market and the user. It may expand into predictive analysis to help envision and influence the future for some products. I see a lot of potential for the UX research field to continue to transform and grow.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

Every time I do the evaluations with actual users, it boosts my energy and grows my passion for great design and user empathy. After many years spent with users, sometimes I am tempted to feel that I can mimic users and predict how they will evaluate. But it is not the case, not true. Whenever I test with the end users on any design, whether a typical information worker, consumer, or someone with special needs, they challenge my assumptions and predictions. That itself increases my passion toward making the software easy to use. I’m making these users happy; I’m enabling them to do their job. Moreover, I get excited when I see that people with impairments are having fun with new technology. That’s what drives the passion to continue in this field and also enables me to go to work every day.

CUA of the Month

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

Privacy policy

Reviewed: 18 Mar 2014

This Privacy Policy governs the manner in which Human Factors International, Inc., an Iowa corporation ("HFI") collects, uses, maintains and discloses information collected from users (each, a "User") of its humanfactors.com website and any derivative or affiliated websites on which this Privacy Policy is posted (collectively, the "Website"). HFI reserves the right, at its discretion, to change, modify, add or remove portions of this Privacy Policy at any time by posting such changes to this page. You understand that you have the affirmative obligation to check this Privacy Policy periodically for changes, and you hereby agree to periodically review this Privacy Policy for such changes. The continued use of the Website following the posting of changes to this Privacy Policy constitutes an acceptance of those changes.

Cookies

HFI may use "cookies" or "web beacons" to track how Users use the Website. A cookie is a piece of software that a web server can store on Users’ PCs and use to identify Users should they visit the Website again. Users may adjust their web browser software if they do not wish to accept cookies. To withdraw your consent after accepting a cookie, delete the cookie from your computer.

Privacy

HFI believes that every User should know how it utilizes the information collected from Users. The Website is not directed at children under 13 years of age, and HFI does not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under 13 years of age online. Please note that the Website may contain links to other websites. These linked sites may not be operated or controlled by HFI. HFI is not responsible for the privacy practices of these or any other websites, and you access these websites entirely at your own risk. HFI recommends that you review the privacy practices of any other websites that you choose to visit.

HFI is based, and this website is hosted, in the United States of America. If User is from the European Union or other regions of the world with laws governing data collection and use that may differ from U.S. law and User is registering an account on the Website, visiting the Website, purchasing products or services from HFI or the Website, or otherwise using the Website, please note that any personally identifiable information that User provides to HFI will be transferred to the United States. Any such personally identifiable information provided will be processed and stored in the United States by HFI or a service provider acting on its behalf. By providing your personally identifiable information, User hereby specifically and expressly consents to such transfer and processing and the uses and disclosures set forth herein.

In the course of its business, HFI may perform expert reviews, usability testing, and other consulting work where personal privacy is a concern. HFI believes in the importance of protecting personal information, and may use measures to provide this protection, including, but not limited to, using consent forms for participants or "dummy" test data.

The Information HFI Collects

Users browsing the Website without registering an account or affirmatively providing personally identifiable information to HFI do so anonymously. Otherwise, HFI may collect personally identifiable information from Users in a variety of ways. Personally identifiable information may include, without limitation, (i)contact data (such as a User’s name, mailing and e-mail addresses, and phone number); (ii)demographic data (such as a User’s zip code, age and income); (iii) financial information collected to process purchases made from HFI via the Website or otherwise (such as credit card, debit card or other payment information); (iv) other information requested during the account registration process; and (v) other information requested by our service vendors in order to provide their services. If a User communicates with HFI by e-mail or otherwise, posts messages to any forums, completes online forms, surveys or entries or otherwise interacts with or uses the features on the Website, any information provided in such communications may be collected by HFI. HFI may also collect information about how Users use the Website, for example, by tracking the number of unique views received by the pages of the Website, or the domains and IP addresses from which Users originate. While not all of the information that HFI collects from Users is personally identifiable, it may be associated with personally identifiable information that Users provide HFI through the Website or otherwise. HFI may provide ways that the User can opt out of receiving certain information from HFI. If the User opts out of certain services, User information may still be collected for those services to which the User elects to subscribe. For those elected services, this Privacy Policy will apply.

How HFI Uses Information

HFI may use personally identifiable information collected through the Website for the specific purposes for which the information was collected, to process purchases and sales of products or services offered via the Website if any, to contact Users regarding products and services offered by HFI, its parent, subsidiary and other related companies in order to otherwise to enhance Users’ experience with HFI. HFI may also use information collected through the Website for research regarding the effectiveness of the Website and the business planning, marketing, advertising and sales efforts of HFI. HFI does not sell any User information under any circumstances.

Disclosure of Information

HFI may disclose personally identifiable information collected from Users to its parent, subsidiary and other related companies to use the information for the purposes outlined above, as necessary to provide the services offered by HFI and to provide the Website itself, and for the specific purposes for which the information was collected. HFI may disclose personally identifiable information at the request of law enforcement or governmental agencies or in response to subpoenas, court orders or other legal process, to establish, protect or exercise HFI’s legal or other rights or to defend against a legal claim or as otherwise required or allowed by law. HFI may disclose personally identifiable information in order to protect the rights, property or safety of a User or any other person. HFI may disclose personally identifiable information to investigate or prevent a violation by User of any contractual or other relationship with HFI or the perpetration of any illegal or harmful activity. HFI may also disclose aggregate, anonymous data based on information collected from Users to investors and potential partners. Finally, HFI may disclose or transfer personally identifiable information collected from Users in connection with or in contemplation of a sale of its assets or business or a merger, consolidation or other reorganization of its business.

Personal Information as Provided by User

If a User includes such User’s personally identifiable information as part of the User posting to the Website, such information may be made available to any parties using the Website. HFI does not edit or otherwise remove such information from User information before it is posted on the Website. If a User does not wish to have such User’s personally identifiable information made available in this manner, such User must remove any such information before posting. HFI is not liable for any damages caused or incurred due to personally identifiable information made available in the foregoing manners. For example, a User posts on an HFI-administered forum would be considered Personal Information as provided by User and subject to the terms of this section.

Security of Information

Information about Users that is maintained on HFI’s systems or those of its service providers is protected using industry standard security measures. However, no security measures are perfect or impenetrable, and HFI cannot guarantee that the information submitted to, maintained on or transmitted from its systems will be completely secure. HFI is not responsible for the circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures relating to the Website by any Users or third parties.

Correcting, Updating, Accessing or Removing Personal Information

If a User’s personally identifiable information changes, or if a User no longer desires to receive non-account specific information from HFI, HFI will endeavor to provide a way to correct, update and/or remove that User’s previously-provided personal data. This can be done by emailing a request to HFI at hfi@humanfactors.com. Additionally, you may request access to the personally identifiable information as collected by HFI by sending a request to HFI as set forth above. Please note that in certain circumstances, HFI may not be able to completely remove a User’s information from its systems. For example, HFI may retain a User’s personal information for legitimate business purposes, if it may be necessary to prevent fraud or future abuse, for account recovery purposes, if required by law or as retained in HFI’s data backup systems or cached or archived pages. All retained personally identifiable information will continue to be subject to the terms of the Privacy Policy to which the User has previously agreed.

Contacting HFI

If you have any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, you may contact HFI via any of the following methods:
Human Factors International, Inc.
PO Box 2020
1680 highway 1, STE 3600
Fairfield IA 52556
hfi@humanfactors.com
(800) 242-4480

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.

Course Materials Copyright

The course and training materials and all other handouts provided by HFI during the course are published, copyrighted works proprietary and owned exclusively by HFI. The course participant does not acquire title nor ownership rights in any of these materials. Further the course participant agrees not to reproduce, modify, and/or convert to electronic format (i.e., softcopy) any of the materials received from or provided by HFI. The materials provided in the class are for the sole use of the class participant. HFI does not provide the materials in electronic format to the participants in public or onsite courses.