Hello everyone,
We apologize for the delay in posting this, but we will not be having a meeting in May. Due to the national meeting being in June, we will not have a meeting next month either. We will resume in July for a more informal, fun discussion on the national conference. Anyone that goes to Baltimore next month is welcome to share their findings at the July meeting.
Enjoy the beginning of the summer.
Paul
On Wednesday, April 30, 2008 at 6:30 p.m., Wisconsin Usability Professionals Association (WI-UPA) members engaged in an informal panel discussion on conducting an effective job search. Our panelists included four experts from Madison-area recruiting firms who shared their perspective on what it takes to stand out in the job market. The panelists included Sean Kelley from Robert Half Technology, Kate Williams from QTI Group, Jackie Mortell from Smart Solutions, Inc. and Chris Giese from Comprehensive Computer Consulting. Following the panel presentations, attendees were provided an opportunity to have their questions answered by our panelists. Panelists spoke about how to organize and format resumes, keys to getting your resume noticed and reviewed, salary ranges, regional hiring needs, and the importance of experience in relation to education and certification.
Hi everyone,
This is a reminder for the next UPA-WI meeting. It will be 6:30 Wednesday night, the 20th, at the Caribou Coffee in Monona - 115 E Broadway, 53716.
The planned agenda is:
- Discussion on direction of UPA-WI
- Quick poll on UPA website - are people registered?
- Discuss ideas for future topics, speakers, locations
- Other business
- Topic of the night (based on earlier discussion)
Hope to see you there.
Paul
Hi everyone,
This came my way earlier this week and I thought it would be something of interest. US News has rated usability specialist as one of the best 31 careers in their 2008 list. I think this is fantastic news for all of us in this field.
Here are the weblinks:
Paul
Hello Wisconsin UPA members,
There has been a lot of confusion lately about the group and meetings lately. One of my resolutions for 2008 is to get things back on track.
I am going to try and establish a consistent meeting schedule for the next year. General meetings will be on the third week of every month. We will alternate days of the meetings to not exclude anyone. The goal is to have a special presentation every other month and to have regular meetings in between. At those regular meetings we can have conversations about usability, our roles, and choose topics of interest.
These are the dates of the UPA-WI meetings for the next 3 months:
Wednesday, February 20th - Caribou Coffee
Tuesday, March 18th
Thursday, April 17th
More dates will announced later. For the 2/20 meeting, please let Maggie or myself know if you plan to attend. If a large group is interested, we will need to find a different location.
Finally, there is a small group of us acting as the UPA-WI board to plan these meetings. If you are interested in being part of this effort, please let myself or Maggie know. And please continue to provide input on meeting ideas and potential meeting locations.
Thank you,
Paul
Below is email for meeting from Maggie ~Andrea
Hi all,
Had some confusing conversations and some failure-to-deliver notices
so forgive me for pinging you yet again. The plan is to meet next
Thursday, Jan. 10 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. (or so) at the Caribou Coffee
off Monona Road. Hope to see as many of you as possible then.
Agenda open but… Goal: let’s make plans for meeting dates and times
for the next 6 months. Let’s plan to update our website, create a new
mailing list, and see what we want to plan for a February program.
No need to reply yet again, for those of you who have already received
clarification about the meeting. Thanks for your patience. J
Also, feel free to forward to any interested parties.
Location:
Caribou Coffee
115 East Broadway
Madison, WI 53716
(608) 223-0194
Get directions
We’ve been taking it easy this summer, but we all know that fall is here—and now, with school, after-school, and sports events and the fall and winter holidays rushing towards us, we’ll be busier than ever. To help keep everyone busy enough, we’d like to announce two events of interest for WI UPA members and associates (that means everyone out there who cares about usable, accessible software and websites). Two experts share their knowledge and experience and invite you to share yours.
Please share this information with anyone who may be interested in attending.
You are cordially invited to a free seminar!
To ensure we have plenty of space, please RSVP Leah Downey (leah.downey@tdstelecom.com)
We had a few people show up to the informal meeting on July 26th. The highlights included:
- Paul talked about the UPA conference in June and reviewed a panel discussion about the future of usability.
- We will start up regular meetings again in September. The next meeting date will announced in the near future.
- If anyone is interested in planning meetings or being an interim officer, please let Paul or Maggie know.
- If you haven’t checked it out, the website has been updated. The URL address is still the same.
- There was a discussion about organizing a World Usability Day event in Wisconsin. This year’s topic is healthcare. If you are interested in helping organize an event, let Maggie or Paul know.
- We are going to continue on in a startup mode. We are not going to exclude anyone from our meetings, regardless of UPA membership.
- Social time on the Union Terrace
Thanks to everyone that showed up. See you all in September.