Ron, Are you documenting hardware products or screen-based interfaces?

I'm curious about this topic because it seems like the emphasis should
be on the evaluation, design or problem solving, with less emphasis on
any specific type of documentation only. Shouldn't the documentation
should fit the communication need?

Personally, I'm worried about having become pigeon-holed into having
experience with one type of documentation vs. another, even though the
process in the end is basically the same.


--- In houstonhfes@yahoogroups.com, Ron Vutpakdi <vutpakdi@...> wrote:
>
> Good topic!
>
> My documentation mainly consists of clickable PDF
> files.  The files are usually in landscape tabloid mode with mockups /
> wireframes at full scale.  Often, I will make the mockups/wireframes
> "clickable" by embedding hyperlinks to "buttons" and such. 
>
> Mockup/wireframe goes on the left with annotation running along the
right side.
>
> PDFs
> seem to work well because they can be viewed at full scale (to give a
> better impression of what an interface will look like), can be
> hyperlinked (for navigation and a better impression of "feel"), and can
> also be printed to regular paper or tabloid paper with scaling handled
> automatically by Acrobat Reader.  Each of our floors has a Xerox Print
> Centre with letter, legal, and tabloid paper loaded.
>
> That said,
> if I can just give a quick answer or a quick sketch, I will do that and
> leave no formal documentation (other than a notation in my daily notes).
>
> Ron
>
>
============================================================================

> Ron Vutpakdi
> vutpakdi@...
>
> --- On Tue, 10/28/08, alliwalk1980 <alliwalk19@...> wrote:
> From: alliwalk1980 <alliwalk19@...>
> Subject: [houstonhfes] Documentation in Human Factors Engineering
> To: houstonhfes@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Tuesday, October 28, 2008, 6:07 PM
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>             I'm curious to know some of the methods that HF or
Usability Engineers
>
> document design solutions for products. For instance, I used to work on
>
> the design of printers, and our documentation took the form of written
>
> specifications to describe how the devices worked. If I was working
>
> with something screen-based, visual mock-ups might be my documentation
>
> of choice.
>
>
>
> How do you provide your documentation to the developers or mechanical
>
> engineers you work with?
>
>
>
> Allison
>

I know that there are common severity ratings (to HF and Usability
professionals), but does anyone know if there are any standard
ratings? "Standard" as in ISO?

- Allison

I got a question today about page load times. The question is, what a
reasonable computer response time for a web page load would be, for
collaboration activities.

The problem they're trying to solve is that if your current server
response time is adequate, then it isn't worth the time and expense to
set up a new server.

"Do you have access to any data about what reasonable web response
times might be? Or any approach of suggestions?"

I'm guessing that if I look up some info on ACM, I'll be able to find
some papers on this topic. Does anyone have any tips?


Allison

I'm curious to know some of the methods that HF or Usability Engineers
document design solutions for products. For instance, I used to work on
the design of printers, and our documentation took the form of written
specifications to describe how the devices worked. If I was working
with something screen-based, visual mock-ups might be my documentation
of choice.

How do you provide your documentation to the developers or mechanical
engineers you work with?

Allison

Don't forget- Houston HFES quarterly meeting next Monday at 7 PM!

_____________________________________________
From:   Thaxton, Sherry S. (JSC-SF)[LM] 
Sent:   Monday, October 13, 2008 4:37 PM
Subject:        Houston HFES Discussion Panel

Houston HFES Quarterly Meeting- Discussion Panel
Monday October 27, 2008- 7:00 PM
Rice University Humanities Building, Room 117
Presented with University of Houston-Clear Lake, University of Houston, and Rice University.
Please join us for a discussion panel comprised of local HF professionals representing a variety of industry fields.  Food will be served.  Please see the attachment for more details including a map.  Note that though free parking is available behind the stadium, this parking lot is not on a shuttle route.

RSVP to: Phil Kortum past-president@...
Please RSVP by October 20.

<<Microsoft PowerPoint - Oct27 Panel.pdf>>
Sherry Thaxton
Houston HFES Secretary
281-483-7413

Houston HFES Quarterly Meeting- Discussion Panel
Monday October 27, 2008- 7:00 PM
Rice University Humanities Building, Room 117
Presented with University of Houston-Clear Lake, University of Houston, and Rice University.
Please join us for a discussion panel comprised of local HF professionals representing a variety of industry fields.  Food will be served.  Please see the attachment for more details including a map.  Note that though free parking is available behind the stadium, this parking lot is not on a shuttle route.

RSVP to: Phil Kortum past-president@...
Please RSVP by October 20.

<<Microsoft PowerPoint - Oct27 Panel.pdf>>
Sherry Thaxton
Houston HFES Secretary
281-483-7413

Hello all,
I hope this email finds all of you safe and dry--hopefully even with power. I
know many of us
were profoundly impacted by hurricane Ike and I'm sure all of us know someone
who was
too.

I will not be able to attend the National Human Factors and Ergonomics
conference next
week in New York. I found out from Lynn Strother that those of us who cannot
attend
because of the hurricane can get a full refund of our registration fees. If you
need to do this,
please email the registration director, Christine Reinhard
(christine@...) and cc
Lynn Strother (lynn@...). They will take care of it.

I hope you all are doing as well as possible and you'll be seeing a note from us
soon about
the first quarterly meeting. It will be in October (the 27th) at Rice for
National Ergonomic
Month.

Take care, be safe, and hope to see you all soon,

Camille

We are looking for an ergonomist that has experience working with office
personnel.   This person needs to be an independent consultant, not
associated with any of the office furniture manufacturers and located
in the Houston area.

Thanks for your help.


Gayle Smith
Vanguard Environments, Inc.
7026 Old Katy Road Suite 260
Houston, Texas 77024
713.871.8686 phone
713.871.8788 fax
www.vanguardenvironments.com
Sponsor IFMA, IIDA, RDA, USGBC-GHAC
Build Green.   Everyone Profits.

Please think about the environment before you print this email.

Thanks Ron.

Another question for the list...

Do you think it is possible to conduct a usability test without
asking users the reason why they acted in a certain way, such as by
not asking any follow up questions?

What do you feel is the benefit of follow-up, if any?


--- In houstonhfes@yahoogroups.com, Ron Vutpakdi <vutpakdi@...> wrote:
>
> I think that it is hard to distill success or failure into a simple
one dimensional scale/score that always works.  Yet, presenting to
management, a single score would help make things more
understandable. 
>
> There ought to be several dimensions (say on a 3 or 5 point
scale): 
> success or failure
> how long things tookhow much the user struggled
>
> Maybe also add how important the task is?
>
> That maps (in some ways) to how I prefer to rate usability issues
and how we rate software bugs:
> how important is the issue
>
>   how often does the issue come up
> how long might the issue take to fix
>
>
>
> You could sum up the the scores on the individual parts into a
total score.
>
> Maybe the key is to come up with a single score, but also to
represent to back up the score with an explanation. 
>
> Ron
>
======================================================================
======
> Ron Vutpakdi
> vutpakdi@...
>

I'm curious to know how other people measure task success for
participants in a usability test. That is, what scale or score system
do you use?

For instance, in Morae the ratings, or "score" values, are:
  2=minor
  1=medium
  0=severe
I don't really understand their reasoning, but maybe I'm not clear
about how they are qualifying these scores.

I know that a usability test is a qualititative tool and that much of
the value is seen in the behavior and/or commentary of the
participants. However it's still the case that results are tied to
quantitative scores, or that those scores are used to "sell"
something to management. What I wonder is how to choose a
score/rating that describes the users behavior in such a way as to
not misrepresent the participants actions.

Thanks
Allison

Hi
  Is anyone going to HFES in September? If so, how are you getting to
the hotel from the airport?

Thanks!

Here's the link to our site for the positions I mentioned – if you know
of anyone who is looking our firm is a great place to work!

http://www.usabilitysciences.com/about-us/careers/



--- In houstonhfes@yahoogroups.com, "alliwalk1980" <alliwalk19@...>
wrote:
>
> If anyone is interested, Usability Sciences in Irving, TX, has
openings
> for a few positions.
>
> http://www.usabilitysciences.com/about-us/careers/
>
> 1.800.820.1222
>

If anyone is interested, Usability Sciences in Irving, TX, has openings
for a few positions.

http://www.usabilitysciences.com/about-us/careers/

1.800.820.1222

Hi Jon-Eric,
Did you ever get a bite on this? How much were you looking to sell it for?
Cheers,
Camille

--- In houstonhfes@yahoogroups.com, "Jon-Eric" <je@...> wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> I'm consolidating down to one lab machine and I have an extra copy of Morae.
If anyone's
> interested in purchasing it below the off the shelf price, please contact me
off-list. It's the
> latest version (2.01) that works with Vista.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Jon-Eric
> je@...
>

Hello all,
If you're planning on attending the national meeting of HFES in September,
registration has
just opened.

http://www.hfes.org/web/HFESMeetings/08AMregistration.html

You have to be registered to get the room rate of $199 per night and those rooms
will go
quickly.

Hope to see you all there!!!

Cheers,
Camille

Hi all,

I'm consolidating down to one lab machine and I have an extra copy of Morae. If
anyone's
interested in purchasing it below the off the shelf price, please contact me
off-list. It's the
latest version (2.01) that works with Vista.

Thanks!

Jon-Eric
je@...

My subdivision is planning to start an outdoor movie program and I'm on
the committee tasked with obtaining the equipment for this.  We'll have
anywhere from 100-500 residents show up at events, so we need to find a
screen, or system, that would be appropriate for different sizes of
groups. This is really not my area of expertise, but is definitely one
where Human Factors is a major issue, so I thought I'd put it out there
for this group.

Does anyone have any experience with outdoor A/V equipment that you
could recommend a direction to take? or could you provide guidance with
factors we need to consider when discussing options with vendors?

Thanks for any input!

-Terri

I will be attending...

There is no cost for this event but you do need to RSVP as space is
limited.

I spoke to Patrick Gabriel at HumanScale and the deadline is to RSVP
to him by mid-day Wednesday 12th March.

Hope this helps.                   Andy...

--- In houstonhfes@yahoogroups.com, "Jiun-Yin Jian" <jjian@...> wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> I would like to attend the event. A quick question: how much is
> registration? If in any event that I can't make it, my colleague
will
> substitue for me.
>
> Thank you.
> Irene Jian
>
>
> On 3/11/08, Andrew Muddimer <Andrew.Muddimer@...> wrote:
> > Get up to date on the latest ergonomic findings and trends with
> > Humanscale's Design Smart Seminars. Professor Alan Hedge will
present:
> > • Ergonomic requirements for the modern office
> > • The effects of keyboard and mouse design on posture
> > • Ergonomic chair design requirements and optimal seated posture
> > • Visual ergonomics and new screen technologies
> > • The economic advantages of ergonomic interventions
> > • And more
> > ALAN HEDGE, PhD, CPE
> > FHFES, FErgS, FIEA
> > Director of the Human Factors and Ergonomics program at Cornell
> > University, Professor Alan Hedge is an extensively published,
> > internationally recognized expert in ergonomics. Professor Hedge
has
> > appeared on numerous television shows, including the Today Show,
> > Weekend Today, the Early Show and NOVA, and has been featured in
> > Time, Business Week, the Wall Street Journal and the New York
Times.
> > WHEN
> > Tuesday, March 18, 2008
> > 11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. | Registration & Lunch
> > 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. | Presentation
> > 1:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. | Q & A
> > WHERE
> > Hyatt Regency Houston
> > 1200 Louisiana Street
> > Houston, TX
> > 713-654-1234
> > RSVP
> > RSVP3@...
> > 212-353-1383
> > Please RSVP today March 12, 2008.
> > ADDITIONAL INFO
> > Complimentary parking will be provided. Please provide your
parking
> > ticket at event registration for validation.
> > > Complete seminar details
> > http://www.humanscale.com/about_us/programs-edu.cfm#hedge
> > > Learn more about Design Smart Seminars
> > http://www.humanscale.com/about_us/programs-edu.cfm
> >
> > ***From one of our sponsors - Vanguard Environments***
> > ***Best Regards,      Andy...***
> >
> >
>

Get up to date on the latest ergonomic findings and trends with
Humanscale's Design Smart Seminars. Professor Alan Hedge will present:
• Ergonomic requirements for the modern office
• The effects of keyboard and mouse design on posture
• Ergonomic chair design requirements and optimal seated posture
• Visual ergonomics and new screen technologies
• The economic advantages of ergonomic interventions
• And more
ALAN HEDGE, PhD, CPE
FHFES, FErgS, FIEA
Director of the Human Factors and Ergonomics program at Cornell
University, Professor Alan Hedge is an extensively published,
internationally recognized expert in ergonomics. Professor Hedge has
appeared on numerous television shows, including the Today Show,
Weekend Today, the Early Show and NOVA, and has been featured in
Time, Business Week, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.
WHEN
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. | Registration & Lunch
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. | Presentation
1:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. | Q & A
WHERE
Hyatt Regency Houston
1200 Louisiana Street
Houston, TX
713-654-1234
RSVP
RSVP3@...
212-353-1383
Please RSVP today March 12, 2008.
ADDITIONAL INFO
Complimentary parking will be provided. Please provide your parking
ticket at event registration for validation.
> Complete seminar details
http://www.humanscale.com/about_us/programs-edu.cfm#hedge
> Learn more about Design Smart Seminars
http://www.humanscale.com/about_us/programs-edu.cfm

***From one of our sponsors - Vanguard Environments***
***Best Regards,      Andy...***

I agree that Workpace is annoying when you're actually trying to
work. But that's a very subjective response. As a tool to enforce
compliance to a company's ergonomic standards, it is an effective
tool. The argument for it could be, "If you were taking breaks as
prescribed, you would never be 'Workpaced'."

In the context of the rest of company culture, which is very people
centric, it might seem a little heavy handed. In the absence of that
culture, Workpace could be seen as a welcome display of company
concern. (I worked in a company where you had to have or develop a
back problem *before* getting an ergonomic chair.)

Personally, I would not uninstall Workpace right away. Again, I do
agree that Workpace is highly irritating at times. On the other hand,
I don't naturally break when I should, my wrists do get tired,
etc...it serves a purpose for me. But, maybe there is a better
option.

Allison

--- In houstonhfes@yahoogroups.com, "Dishman, Aaron" <AIHM@...> wrote:
>
> Just a quick word about Workpace, it can be a severe detriment to
> usability/productivity.  In our implementation, the software can
> actually shut down operations on the employee's machine for up to
three
> minutes.  Most of the people I have spoken with find this very
> frustrating and generally resent the application as a result.
>
> People describe this as being "Workpaced".  This kind of heavy
handed
> implementation creates a general sense of resentment to otherwise
> productive efforts to improve office ergonomics.  If we could
uninstall
> it, I think most of us would.
>
> One the other hand, there is a program here for people to
immediately
> report discomfort resulting from ergonomic issues.  Treatment
usually
> involves troubleshooting the problem and educating the employee
> regarding proper positioning/behavior for the affected physical
area.
> Prevention is obviously better than a cure but there are better
forms of
> prevention than Workpace.
>
> Aaron
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: houstonhfes@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:houstonhfes@yahoogroups.com]
> On Behalf Of alliwalk1980
> Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2008 8:29 AM
> To: houstonhfes@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [houstonhfes] Re: Office Ergonomics Video Training
>
>
>
> Andrew,
>
> I'm not sure I understand how the "video" part comes into the
> ergonomics training, but at work we have a product called WorkPace
> installed on our machines. It has similar features to the others
that
> were recommended. We also have ergonomics support staff who come
around
> and assess our computing environment.
>
> http://workpace.com/PRODUCTS_WPOFFICE
> <http://workpace.com/PRODUCTS_WPOFFICE>
>
> Hope this helps!
>
> Allison
>
> --- In houstonhfes@yahoogroups.com
> <mailto:houstonhfes%40yahoogroups.com> , "Andrew Muddimer"
> <Andrew.Muddimer@> wrote:
> >
> > Hi there fellow Houston HFES members,
> >
> > I was wondering if anyone has a good recommendation for Office
> > Ergonomics Video training, and a self assessment form.
> >
> > I did this a long time ago, and it needs a refresh. I just
thought I
> > would ask who has any experience and or recommendation with other
> tools.
> >
> > Obviously mine was the best, but I admit it is now dated. (1990
was a
> > long time ago).
> >
> > Thanks for any feedback, Andy..
> >
>

I posted minutes from Friday's conference call.  Please let me know
about any additions or corrections.

Sherry