IN THIS ISSUE:
User Experience Happenings
Techniques
Inside Tec-Ed
Tec-Ed, Inc.
4300 Varsity Drive
Suite A
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
Contact Numbers
MI — 734.995.1010
CA — 650.493.1010
NY — 585.454.7440
Email
inquiries@teced.com
Website
www.teced.com
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Times are tough, but they've been tough before: the 1973 oil crisis, the recessions of the early 1980s and 1990s, and the bursting of the dot-com bubble in 2001. Tec-Ed was there through all of them, and we're still here. We've been a steady presence since 1967, offering user-centered design and documentation to help make your products, websites, and services more competitive.
Why Conduct User Research?
As the economy contracts, businesses and consumers alike are cutting back. It's more important than ever to spend wisely and make every dollar count.
User research is essential, even when budgets are tight. Practitioners and organizations have been measuring and communicating the ROI of user research since the 1990s. What's more, user research can help avoid bad user experiences that lead to "customer churn" and falling profits. Read Tec-Ed's white paper for tips you can use to protect the user research line item in your budget. [Read more: HTML version]
The Power and Economy of Words
User research and expert evaluation often reveal issues with labeling and other text in the user interface. Improving on-screen terminology and messaging can greatly improve the user experience. Even better, making these changes is relatively inexpensive and requires minimum coding.
The user interface of a product, service, or website is the primary way companies communicate with customers, and providing excellence in communication is why Tec-Ed was founded. We can:
Collect user data to inform decisions about terminology and messaging Suggest wording improvements to optimize on-screen text Create guidelines your staff can use in developing and maintaining future text
Contact Stephanie Rosenbaum at stephanie@teced.com to discuss how your product, service, or website can benefit.
Tec-Ed Design Pictured in Wall Street Journal
 A user interface designed by Tec-Ed for ShotSpotter appeared in a Wall Street Journal article (May 29, 2008) about a gunshot location system used by police departments nationwide. Read our case study [PDF version 102KB] to learn how Tec-Ed worked with ShotSpotter, the
leading developer of acoustic-surveillance technology, to redesign its Public Safety Console.
 Tec-Ed coordinated with Director of Software Engineering Fedor Gavrilchenko (middle), pictured here with one of the Oakland Police Department helicopters equipped with the mobile version of the product.
Remote Attended User Research: Cost-Effective and Effective
Remote attended user research is a practical solution for including a wider variety of people as participants while containing research costs, both of which are highly desirable in today's economy. Tec-Ed regularly conducts remote user interviews and usability testing with participants throughout the world.
Stephanie Rosenbaum and Laurie Kantner describe the trade-offs between in-person and remote usability testing, and the methodology used to support remote participants and observers, in "Learning About Users When You Can't Go There: Remote Attended Usability Studies," prepared for the 2008 International Professional Communication Conference. [Read more: PDF version 125KB]
Remote facilitated usability research was the topic of an Idea Market led by Lori Anschuetz at UPA 2008. Read the Afterthoughts for a summary of the discussion by user experience researchers from global B2C and B2B enterprises and smaller U.S.-based consulting firms. [Read more: HTML version]
Tec-Ed and CHI 2009 Organizing Committee
Tec-Ed staff members often take leadership roles in our professional societies. The latest example is Garett Dworman, who is the Committee Co-Chair of Courses for CHI 2009 (the Human Factors in Computing Systems conference of the ACM's Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction), which will take place in Boston next April.
New Recruiting Coordinator
Finding participants who accurately reflect the target audience segments is critical to successful user research. That task now falls to Tec-Ed's new recruiting coordinator, Erin Weiner. Erin is responsible for identifying, screening, and scheduling participants for all Tec-Ed research projects. She has a Bachelor's degree in Human Resources and Society from Michigan State University.
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