Holistic Focus
Caronne Carruthers-Taylor
Geek Girl Dinner 3
14 October 2009

What is UX
How many women?
Why do it?

User-Centred Design
Interaction Design (IxD)
User Interface (UI) design
Experience Design
Human Computer Interaction (HCI)
Usability
Human Factors Accessibility

Context Requirements
Design solutions Evaluations

The UPA poster ...
User-Centred Design
process, with suggested
activities for each phase
(Usability Professionals’ Association)
http://www.upassoc.org/upa_publications/ux_poster.html

“... a career in Information Technology is often
viewed as a masculine career. It is often
associated with high level mathematical
competence, individualistic working conditions,
and low levels of social skills”.
Amanda Elliot, Women in(to) Computing, 1998, p4

ARE WOMEN
TREE HUGGERS !?
http://z.about.com/d/healing/1/0/g/A/1/ww_gi_hug-tree.jpg

o Human psychology & research
methods
o Basics of graphic design
o Interest in technology
o Interpersonal skills
o Verbal & visual communication skills
o Negotiation & facilitation
o Creativity & vision
o Enthusiasm!

Computer system design & related services
Males
76%
Females
24%
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, August 2009 statistics (original data, not seasonally adjusted)
Division M Professional, Scientific and Technical Services, Subdivision 70, Group 700,
Class 7000 Computer System Design and Related Services

Information, Media & Technology
Males
59%
Females
41%
Source: ABS, August 2009 statistics (original data, not seasonally adjusted)
Division J – Information Media and Telecommunications

UX Australia 2009 conference attendees
Women
40%
Men
60%

To make a difference ...

To make computers work as an effective tool ...
To help people work with computers ...
In a satisfying, effective and efficient way.

How humans interact with computers ...
their overall experience taking into account
the social, cultural & physical environment.

How Changing a Button Increased a Site's
Annual Revenues by US$300 Million (Jan 2009)
http://www.uie.com/articles/three_hund_million_button/
A form, intended to make shopping easier, turned out to only help
a small percentage of the customers who encountered it.
The designers fixed the problem simply. They took away the
Register button. In its place, they put a Continue button with a
simple message.
The results: The number of customers purchasing went up by
45%. The extra purchases resulted in an extra $15 million the first
month. For the first year, the site saw an additional $300,000,000.

“I been looking at your
poster in the hallway for
weeks. I’m interested in
what you guys do. It’s
amazing! I work in IT
Security down the
corridor ...”
http://www.datphan.com/headshot_4_crop_large.jpg

o Usability Professionals Association (UPA), www.upassoc.org
o UX Network, http://uxnet.org
o Canberra IA Community, www.iacanberra.org
o UX Bookclub, www.uxbookclub.org
o Web Standards Group (WSG), http://webstandardsgroup.org/
o Computer Human Interaction Special Interest Group (CHISIG),
www.chisig.org
o Australian Web Industry Association (AWIA)
http://www.webindustry.asn.au/
o And more ...

o Starting a Career in User Experience Design, Nick Finck
http://www.nickfinck.com/blog/entry/starting_a_career_in_user_experi
ence_design
o So you wanna be a user experience designer — Step 1:
Resources, Whitney Hess
http://whitneyhess.com/blog/2009/06/30/so-you-wanna-be-a-user-
experience-designer-step-1-resources/
o Nine Essential Characteristics of Good UX Designers,
Fred Beecher
http://userexperience.evantageconsulting.com/2009/07/characteristics-
good-ux-designers/
o Top Twitter feeds for UX Designers, @dpan
http://www.openthewindow.net/?p=506
o Articles, feeds and links, Steve Baty
http://www.meld.com.au/blog

Thank you
Caronne Carruthers-Taylor
User Experience aficionado, Interaction designer, Usability specialist
Twitter: @caronne
www.linkedin.com/in/caronne
Holistic Focus