Ask Eric: Questions & Answers

August 20, 2004 – submitted by Carlos Celi of Clifton, NJ

Question: I'm interested in the HFI certification, but I'm concerned that HFI is not taking part in the effort by the UPA to standardize certification. Would this mean that if an official certification is introduced, that I would need to re-certify?

Thanks!
Carlos

Eric's response: When we created the certification we did it because their was a crying unmet need. In order for usability to become a mature profession we needed a specific and practical certification method. We did that and there have been over 400 people certified to date.

HFI is continuing to try to support certification worldwide. Dr. Phil Goddard, one of our executive directors, is on the Board of Certification in Professional Ergonomics. We would like them to create a certification specific to software ergonomics that is practical for practitioners to take. We met just this last week with UPA certification advocates in Europe. I understand it was a positive meeting. I hope we can work even more closely together with them. We are trying to move this field forward and we will. As the world's largest usability firm (by a factor of 9) we consider it our responsibility.

I can't know how UPA or other organizations will move in the area of certification. It does seem clear to me that these offerings are a number of years away. If we can have the HFI certification become the UPA certification (an idea I proposed almost two years ago) we will of course make every effort to see that previous certificants maintain their status (as we did with the people certified by Weinschenk Consulting Group).

June 30, 2004 – submitted by Anonymous

Question: I am considering a graduate program related to usability and human factors. I am fortunate enough to live near Virginia Tech and know there are some good programs there. I have considered an advanced degree in Human Factors Engineering, Instructional Technology, or Computer Science with a focus in HCI. What I'm not sure about is which of these programs would be most beneficial to me (and my career). My bachelor's degree is in computer engineering, and I have worked as a programmer / manager for a multimedia / software / Web development company for several years. I have been told that I have great instincts when it comes to user interface design and usability issues (unlike most programmers), but I have no formal training. Do you have any advice on which graduate program might be best for me, and what types of career opportunities would be available to me when I finish?

Eric's response: First I think it is very important to stop relying on 'great instincts' and get the benefit of the research-based models and principles. Learn the process of user-centered design. With this in hand you can THEN apply your intuition with a good chance at optimal design.

The VPI programs are very good. Unless you want to do training avoid the instructional design track. Either of the other tracks will be a great foundation.

May 16, 2004 – submitted by Pinky Thakkar of Bloomington, IL

Question: Dr. Eric, your information regarding Informal Usability was very useful for my project Business Analyst to understand our users needs much better and many changes were done to make this easier.

I want to do my HCI certification. Could you recommend me some books where I can read through or some tips where I can clear my exams. I want to become a Human Factors person and do some research in them. Could you guide me how do I go about.

Eric's response: Well if you want to be serious in the HCI field you need more then just informal processes for sure. In India I am collaborating with the National Institute of Design to setup a Masters program to our specifications. This program will include certification and will mean spending two months with me in Mumbai. HFI India does also offers public and onsite courses as well.

Hope to see you,
Eric

March 15, 2004 – submitted by Suresh Adhikesavan of Greensboro, NC

Question: Hello Dr. Eric! I'm a human factors graduate in the job search phase. I have two questions.

1. Looking at 'Software Development/ Programming' as a domain and 'Research in Interaction Design' as a different domain (though I have had a lot of reasons backing up the significance of the latter) I have always found it difficult to defend its degree of vitality in the software creation process. "Attach numbers - like statistical results" or "Add a price tag to show the difference" have been my words of advice, but when they say "We have people who are highly experienced in what they do, they know when to take off the programming hat and put on the designer hat", I often find it difficult to find words to debate. What do you think can help me?

2. Is there a field that concentrates on 'Redesign of user interfaces?' if so does it have a specific name? We do have a lot of research and guidelines framed for designing interfaces and Web pages but what about when a designer is employed to 'enhance' a user interface that is bad and already in use?

Eric's response: Suresh, in my experience UI designers and technical staff are VERY different. Certainly they must have a totally different background. You will find few programmers with extensive training in cognitive psychology or usability engineering. I also have noticed that the UI designers must have a different style and world-view. I will say I have found only 2-3 people in my whole career who have done both well. I suggest in presenting this case you point to the very, very different education and training requirements for the two jobs. There is very little overlap.

Your question on the strategy for enhancement of application usability is important. First I would say that MOST of the work we do is enhancement. The HFI methodology is focused on enhancement and you have to read the fine print to do an application from scratch. But perhaps you are referring to the smaller tactical usability enhancement situation. This is interesting and indeed I have seen little written on it. The key is that you will have a limited budget for changes. You must select the changes that have a substantial impact on usability but are also cheap to implement.

February 16, 2004 – submitted by Vic Hazra of Albany, NY

Question: Hi Eric. I've been in the field of UI design for last 7 years and have been primarily working on Government Projects (conversion from Mainframe to Web) for the last 3 years, I do not see a growth here unless I get a formal degree in HCI. I can do a masters program anywhere in Europe (preferably then I get to pay local fees), America is too expensive. Would you have a list of rankings of the institutes in Europe?

Eric's response: This is from our Managing Director in Europe, Dr. John Meech.

I'm pretty sure that if this is from a resident of the US they will need to satisfy residency requirements in the UK before they will be eligible for UK fees - usually three year's residency, I think. Here is a summary of the regulations.

Here are pretty good lists of UK HCI courses:

• Undergrad
• Postgrad

The best source of UK university ranking information is from the Times, but not at the level of detail I think is being asked for. However, I don't think this covers HCI specifically, more likely the department that hosts the course. I'm not sure if something exists Europe-wide.

January 9, 2004 – submitted by Alok Singh of Fairfield, IA

Question: I'm a Web site designer and want to be an information architect someday. Is it possible to get a list of the top 10 Web sites that use the principles of information architecture or human factors to successfully get "hits"? Thanks and regards for all of your work for promoting human factors and information architecture.

Eric's response: First, NO Web site EVER gets hits due to good information architecture; with the exception of good word of mouth. Hits happen because of good advertising, search engine placement, and brand recognition.

In terms of sites that use usability practitioners, currently MOST major sites have some level of usability staff involved. It is a sorry site that would not have had some attention from professionals in the field. Especially good examples of serious usability efforts include Dell, Fidelity, and Staples.