Eric's New Year's Resolutions for 2006

The usability field has become part of mainstream site and application development. We can celebrate this transition...but there's still a LOT to do.

Dr. Eric Schaffer
CEO, Human Factors International, Inc.

	Seven Resolutions for the Usability Profession
	Get even more executive champions on board. A few years ago they were rare – now they are commonplace. Usability professionals must speak the language of executives: strategy, process, positioning, and business models.
	Research emotional design. We know how to measure emotions but need more guidance about how to generate emotions. (This knowledge applies to far more than video games.)
	Train and mentor the 1 million usability people needed worldwide. The potential market is about $55 billion per year…let's get to work. To become a mature profession, the usability industry must adopt best practices, standards, and certifications.
	Focus on the "x internet." The increasing complexity of Web applications requires serious usability attention. In the past, design took place without involving usability professionals, and usability was only introduced when a disaster occurred. Let's correct these old cycles and have usability present from the start this time.
	Keep evolving cross-cultural design skills. The world is shrinking. Applications used in only a single-culture context are getting rare.
	Improve worldwide usability collaboration. We can only succeed as an industry if we work together effectively with our usability colleagues worldwide.
	Sell the value of usability. Take the opportunity during EVERY project and with every organization you work with.
	Our recommendations to help achieve these resolutions
	Creating an optimal usability strategy requires many different elements and extensive experience. HFI's senior experts will work with your management team to develop an effective action plan.
	Stay abreast of all the latest advancements in usability research with our monthly e-newsletter. It offers practical recommendation that you can apply immediately.
	HFI is the leader in usability training and certification. Over 700 practitioners worldwide have earned their Certified Usability Analyst™ credential. Attend one of our public courses or bring us onsite to teach at your company.
	Calculate the return on investment (ROI) to show how applying usability principles early in the design cycle saves time and money later on. Our July 2005 Webcast explains everything you need to know.
	HFI's Center for Ethnography and Contextual Innovation is leading the way with new approaches for localization and globalization. Find out how we can help your global initiatives.
	HFI has pioneered an offshore model for usability collaboration. Leverage our remote Center of Excellence teams to expand and support your existing operations in a cost-effective, scalable manner.
	Create internal case studies to build usability awareness and generate momentum for growth.

If you are in the usability field, congratulations: Our time is NOW!