I recently was sent a link about a Q&A session on Usability by Jared Spool. There was a time where I had time to surf the internet to keep up to date on usability information in the community, but lately I’ve been so busy working on a project that reading this article  really reminded me that I need to spend more time observing the work practices of our users. According to Jared, the number one mistake of a designer is not to treat observing users as a nice-to-have an not a requirement. Due to the economic climate, I have had to come up with some work around solutions to spending time with users, through surveys, emails, phone interviews, but nothing really replaces the 1 on 1 user observation.

I had recently been thinking of scheduling some time with internal users, according to Jared I should be spending at least 2 hours every six weeks. I think it’s time that I schedule some time with these people, and to make sure that I am creating satisfying user experiences.  

I also found a copy of the Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines from the Department of Health and Human Services. I really enjoy this guide because it uses real research and sources for answers to so many web-related questions that come up during the design process. This is a valuable resource for when you can’t get to users to get the answers that you may need.

I also just read on mariobourque.com that Mario is going to be conference lead and committee member for IDEA2009, and IxDA2010. Hopefully my product will be released, the economy will pick up and I will be able to get more active in the UX community again, and attend some of the upcoming conferences this year. Attending a UX conference is always a way to refresh your skills and learn some new ones in the field of Usability and Human Computer Intraction.