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CUA of the Month – October, 2006

Stacy Sundown-Kiene
"The whole process of doing user analysis upfront made a light bulb go off for me. I realized how much work it could save us down the road if we took the time to really understand our users at the start."
 
Stacy Sundown-Kiene
Usability Designer/User Testing
MapQuest

HFI recognizes 1,000th CUA: Mapping the road to usability success

by Jesse Berkowitz

One thousand is quite a large number. If all one thousand CUAs lay down head-to-toe, the line would stretch over a mile long (not to imply they're laying down on the job).

Yet it's taken only five years to surpass 1,000 Certified Usability Analysts (CUAs) worldwide, representing over twenty countries. First launched in April 2002, HFI's CUA program has quickly grown to become the leading credential for usability practitioners.

We're proud to introduce Stacy Sundown-Kiene of MapQuest as our official 1,000th CUA.

"When I heard about being 1,000th CUA, I immediately emailed my manager with the news, since she supported and encouraged me to pursue the training and certification," says Stacy. "The announcement ended up getting passed around our company and I received congratulatory messages from many people here at MapQuest. The CUA credential will definitely help move our usability efforts forward."

Stacy made a conscious career choice to get involved with usability about ten years ago, in her previous position at Fidelity. After conducting her first usability test, she was hooked immediately.

"It was so exciting seeing people interact with something I had worked on," she explains. "While the feedback isn't always positive, you learn so much watching people use your designs."

Stacy has spent the past five years on the MapQuest design team, mostly focused on their well-known public website. While setting goals for '06, she proposed a stronger emphasis on usability methods and was met with great receptivity by management. She researched usability training courses to gain more skills and eventually took HFI's 4-pack in Atlanta – all four courses offered consecutively over a two-week stretch ("That was intense but great!").

"The whole process of doing user analysis upfront made a light bulb go off for me," she recalls. "I realized how much work it could save us down the road if we took the time to really understand our users at the start. The HFI courses gave concrete, well-thought-out knowledge covering the whole range of user-centered design."

Since MapQuest has a small, nimble design team, they can quickly respond to user insights and customer feedback. In addition to usability testing, they regularly conduct focus groups and surveys to get input and new ideas. Many of these have recently been introduced on mapquest.com, such as draggable maps and multi-point routing (trips with stops along the way).

Stacy and her colleagues are also internal advocates for the importance of usability and promote making it part of the standard development process. In fact, they declared the last week of September "Usability Week" and decorated a meeting room with illustrations of MapQuest user personas, customer quotes, and even showed highlights of usability testing videos.

"Many people never really get a chance to see our users interact with the website, so this was a very popular event," says Stacy. "It didn't hurt that we offered popcorn and treats either."

When you're the 1,000th CUA, you've got good reason to celebrate.

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.

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hfi@humanfactors.com
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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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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.