Contact: Carla Hills, MSU Usability & Accessibility Center, (517) 353-8977, hillsc@msu.edu; Geoff Koch, University Relations, (517) 432-0924

10/27/2005

From washing machines to Web-based communities, usability and accessibility issues cut across a range of industries. However, most technology should be easy for everyone to use.

This common design denominator – how to create products and services that are understandable by diverse audiences – is the focus of a Nov. 3 Michigan State University conference.

The conference, part of World Usability Day and presented by the MSU Usability & Accessibility Center and the Michigan Usability Professionals’ Association, will take place from 1 to 5:30 p.m. at the MSU Union Ballroom and will feature noted usability experts and authors. Registration is free but required due to limited seating.

World Usability Day is an international series of events organized by the Usability Professionals’ Association to raise awareness of the benefits of usability engineering and user-centered design. Beyond MSU, events are scheduled at 80 locations in 35 countries.

Featured speakers at the MSU event include:

• Joseph Konstan, professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Minnesota and author of “Word of Mouse: The Marketing Power of Collaborative Filtering.” Konstan will discuss usability components of e-commerce Web sites and direct marketing.
• Carol Barnum, professor of information design and co-director of the Usability Center at Southern Polytechnic State; author of “Usability Testing and Research.”
• Laura Vennie and Sara Ulius Sabel, usability specialists from Whirlpool Corp.
• Stephen Blosser and Michael Hudson, staff members at MSU’s Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities.

Prior the conference, informal tours of the MSU Usability and Accessibility Center lab facility will be offered from 10 a.m. to noon at the Kellogg Center.

Sponsors for Michigan World Usability Day include the Michigan Chapter of the Usability Professionals’ Association, TechSmith, Sun Microsystems and several MSU campus units.

For more information visit the Web at www.usability.msu.edu