Ask Eric: Questions & Answers

November 14, 2005 – submitted by Chandana Reddy of Hyderabad, India

Question: I'm a Graphic Designer with five years of experience in both Web and graphic design. I hold a Bachelor's Degree In Fine Arts. I would like to update myself by doing the usability designer course offered by Human Factors. I would request to clear some of my doubts
1) Who is eligible for doing this course?
2) What are the qualifications required?
3) Will it help any designer or is it just for Web-based designers?
4) How is it going to help me in India?
I heard from my friend this course is for Web designers. I'm into Graphics and I really love what I'm doing. I would not want to shift my work area but I would like to keep updating myself. If you can shed some light on how it is going to be useful in my work it would help me take the right decision to join the course or not. Thank you, Chandana

Eric's response: The HFI usability courses do not have a prerequisite. It is certainly useful to be familiar with computer systems and the system development environment. But we have had people take them without much background and still benefit.

You will find that these courses do help your graphic work. The "Science and Art of Effective Web and Application Design" is particularly applicable. The other three courses are helpful to support the user-centered design process. But, for example, if you do not plan on doing usability testing, a course in usability testing will be of limited value.

September 14, 2005 – submitted by Sanjat Mishra of Bangalore, India

Question: Dear Dr.Eric,
I would like know what are the designations and hierarchy for the usability career in an IT industry. Is it similar to software engineers or something else? How do they get treated in industry.

Eric's response: There is not really a standard set of titles for work in the usability field. But the general growth path is similar.

You start fresh from school as a trainee. You get classes and some easy/boring stuff to do.

Then you get good enough that you can start to do projects.

You start being really trusted on projects. Then you have a big decision. Some people want to just do technical work and they continue to do more advanced usability work. Others decide to go into management.

Whatever path you take, you can be assured of a lifetime of challenges.

April 14, 2005 – submitted by Sharon Harris of Marietta, GA

Question: Can you recommend a degree program in user interface design in the Atlanta area (or a quality online degree program)? I'm a technical writer with 15+ yrs. experience with an undergraduate degree in Journalism. I'm interested in transitioning into a role involving UI Web design (preferably for e-commerce).

Eric's response: The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society has a great listing of all the graduate programs in the field. It is available on their Web site. I am not aware of a top-end program in Atlanta however. CMU has a very good program that will tend to accept people from eclectic backgrounds. VPI, RPI, and GWU are also very good programs with solid software usability focus. We have also had very good results with staff who completed their training at Clemson.

February 23, 2005 – submitted by Shashank Maheshwari of Gurgaon, India

Question: For last 4 years I am working as Web designer and worked on portals, shopping cart sites, etc. Will the (HFI-Certified Usability Analyst program help me in enhancing my career prospects. There are companies in India who are continuously looking for Usability Testing Engineers, User Experts, etc. Could you please tell me if this course will help me get better job opportunities. I have knowledge of HTML, DHTML, XML, XHTML, XSL, DOM, JavaScript, CSS etc.

Should I do this course? or only .NET, Java Programmers, etc. can do this course?

Eric's response: Well there is a full set of HFI courses in progress as I write this here in Mumbai. There is no question in my mind that it is the best usability training available. Heck, I'm teaching some of it. :) Also, we are working hard on more extensive training offerings here in India.

Training in technology, like HTML and .NET is only marginally useful for usability work. When we hire here at HFI we barely note it. The only thing you might consider in addition to usability training is more study of English. Good English skills are very important unless you intend to develop software in the vernacular.

February 11, 2005 – submitted by Selwyn Christian of New York, NY

Question: I want to learn software testing and QA so my question is do I have to know languages like C, C++, Visual basic, Oracle, C#, PL/SQL in order to be a good tester. What all does the good tester need?

Eric's response: This is not our expertise. But lower level QA staff need only exercise software, following a testing plan, and identify the failures. You will not need to understand how the software works. However higher level QA staff must understand the technology so they can anticipate where problems will occur and develop efficient test plans.

February 7, 2005 – submitted by Fadi Abu Bakr of Amman, Jordan

Question: I am a master degree student. My thesis will be in the hospitals software. (It is doing well like expected.) Can you give me any suggestions on some specific issues that would be great to research? And any sites where I can find research related to mine.

Eric's response: The most current hot topic in the usability field is emotional design. I think this applies VERY well to medical environments. For example nearly 30 years ago I wrote a white paper on how to design physical restraints (for us in an early CAT scanner) that were not frightening.

Given that you are in the Middle East I would also suggest looking at cross-cultural issues. I have been in a number of sessions where designs suggested that physicians in the Middle East can be treated very generically as they know English. But are there differences in medical practice? Currently most device and software developers don't bother to test in the Middle East. Are they missing something?

January 21, 2005– submitted by Ed Miller of North Bend, WA

Question: Hi Dr. Schaffer. Great Web site!

I've been a software designer/ developer for quite sometime. I have a strong passion for usability as well as the look and feel of the final product; fine art with functionality. I would like to obtain a degree in Human Factors Engineering; however, I'm having a difficult time locating a school in the state of Washington. Do you know of any distance education programs in this field of study?

Thank you and keep up the great work.

Eric's response: To work in the usability field it is best to hold a masters degree. I am not aware of an effective program providing a distance masters in the field at this time. I suspect that this will be difficult. Very basic training in usability is possible in a distance education format. We have also been able to provide advanced training to professionals. But getting a real core foundation in the field really requires being there. I personally spend hours every week with HFI intake training classes. I need to see them do interviews with each other. I need to be sure they understand concepts like "mental model" and "psychodynamics" in a very personal way. It is hard to see how to get this done remotely.

There are basically only two paths. One, do a formal degree. This is really the best foundation for a career in the field. If this is not possible, find a place to work that has a solid institutionalized usability team and let them train and mentor you.