Usability Bootcamp: The Rigors of Making User-Friendly Sites

Last week I had the opportunity to attend Perfetti Media’s first Usability Bootcamp. The two-day intensive class was taught by none other than founder and usability expert Christine Perfetti in downtown Boston.  Attendees ranged from the green UX newbs to the old hat UX savvy.

Over the two days, we went through the main steps of planning, facilitating and analyzing a usability test as well as some tricks and tips of the UX trade. The course involved hands-on learning at almost every key point: we constructed tasks and conducted short usability tests, participated in KJ Method analysis, and even acted as computers through a paper prototype test. In every sense, it was a bootcamp; the material could easily cover a week’s worth of classes and I came home from day two ready for bed. And despite the short duration, the information learned is so valuable – already I am implementing needed changes within our process. I’ll be posting more in-depth about these topics soon, so check back here or subscribe to our RSS.

This bootcamp is all about usability done right, in a manageable timeframe. If you can spare the two days, get out to San Francisco and attend the second session; you (and your users) will be glad you did.