World Usability Day Press Releases

43 countries host events to support transportation being easier and safer to use while more energy friendly for our
environment 

Read the Press Release

Boston MA – October 28, 2008 -- On November 13, 2008, towns and cities around the world will focus on a common global concern – transportation usability and its impact on our environment. World Usability Day 2008 will launch the Global Transport Challenge at www.worldusabilityday.org to help individuals measure their everyday travel usage; monitor their carbon travel footprint and compare it with others around the world;  and minimize their energy usage through alternative travel choices, carbon offsets and simple travel changes.  Additionally, with events in 40 countries and counting, World Usability Day is estimated to bring together 50,000 participants and volunteers from corporations, organizations, and universities to focus on transportation issues globally.  World Usability Day was founded in 2005 as an initiative of the Usability Professionals’ Association (UPA) to ensure that the services and products important to life are easier to access and simpler to use. (www.upassoc.org) 
 
As it kicks off its fourth annual global series of events on the benefits of usability engineering and user-centered design, transportation will play center stage.  Crossing cultural boundaries and bringing together people from major cities like New York and London to far-reaching regions such as Iceland, Hong Kong, Uruguay and first-time event hosts in Pakistan, Reunion Island, Estonia and Peru, the events the ground by thousands of volunteers.

According to World Usability Day founder and director Elizabeth Rosenzweig the first three World Usability Days have been a tremendous success, and the significance of the day continues to grow as a way to bring the world together towards a common goal of making life easier.

Please note: you must download the Microsoft Office Live Meeting Software prior to the webcast. We recommend that you download the software well in advance of the webcast. These instructions (.doc) will guide you through the process.

Our closing session, which will be webcast live on November 8th at 6:00 pm United States Eastern Standard Time (11:0 pm GMT!), will feature an address from Redmond, WA, entitled “Learnings from the Healthcare Industry:  Trends, challenges and directions for best principles”.   Microsoft’s Andrew Kirby and Linda Walmer talk about challenges and progress in this area, including what we can all do in the effort to create and apply best practices in this domain.  Andrew Kirby is Director of the National Health Service Common User Interface project in Microsoft’s Solutions Development team in the UK.  Linda Walmer is User Experience Director in the Health Solutions Group at Microsoft, located in Redmond, WA.  (And Bill Gates even chimes in with a taped closing statement!)  

To read and post more event highlights, go to the World Usability Day Community site! 

A live webcast plenary session to open World Usability Day 2007 in Boston has just wrapped up. You can watch a recording here: http://tinyurl.com/37p5zv

At the login screen, enter your name. “Recording key” should be left blank.

For more highlights from World Usability Day 2007, check out the World Usability Day Community site! 

With less than a month to go until World Usability Day 2007, now is the time to:

• Register your event today at www.worldusabilityday.org. You may register anytime up to November 8th and we will promote your event. Registering by October 29th guarantees timely delivery of your World Usability Day backpacks, calendars, posters and other materials.

Please note: University, Student and Webcast-only events can register for free. If your location can not pay the registration fee, please email us to receive a  World Usability Day scholarship. We want  EVERYONE included in and registered for World Usability Day 2007.  Email: caryn@worldusabilityday.org for help with registration or call 617.905.5691.                 

• Contribute to our NEW World Usability Day Community. Go to www.worldusabilityday.org and click on Community.  You can post blogs, articles, white papers, photos, podcasts, contribute to our World Usability Day Passport and more. Share your stories on Healthcare and Usability challenges and solutions.  Let us hear your voice.

• View the 2007 global events and make plans to attend an event in your city.

• Volunteer at an event near you or for our global webcasts.  Email: events@worldusabilityday.org for more details.

• Photograph or video an event. We will have a news desk working round-the-clock on World Usability Day to upload the latest news and views from global events. Work with our team to provide a lens into your event and share it worldwide in real-time.

• Support our worldwide PR team with your stories.  Before, during and after World Usability Day,  let us know what's happening. Send your stories to: events@worldusabilityday.org.

• Share this email with your colleagues, friends and family and encourage them to get involved. This year's focus is Healthcare.  Everyone is affected by healthcare and usability everyday!

World Usability Day 2007 wants to thank our sponsors for their support.

Here’s how:

• Create a local event – energize your company, community, university or collaborate with your local UPA Chapter or business association. Sign up to mailing list to get more information.
• Be a Sponsor – get recognized as a leader. See our 2007 Sponsorship Opportunities!
• Volunteer – be part of our team globally or locally.  Sign up now for event leader info, announcements, and volunteer opportunities.
• Sign the World Usability Day Charter – show your support now!  www.worldusabilityday.org/charter.
• Submit a story about Healthcare and Usability for our website – share your experiences. Send them to us now.
• Sign up for our email newsletter – keep informed of the latest news and information. Sign up to our general newsletter.
• Get more information about World Usability Day – spend some time on our website and if you have questions you can email or call Caryn Saitz, executive director at caryn@worldusabilityday.org , 617.905.5691.

The UPA International Conference in Austin hosted the kick-off event for World Usability Day 2007 on June 13 with a program entitled “ Healthcare Usability in the Trenches.”  The theme for World Usability Day 2007 is Healthcare.

The program featured Jason Rossback, Zoll Data Systems, Theo Mandel, Ph.D, Interface Design and Development, LLC, Janine Purcell from the Veterans Health Administration and Ed Israelski from Abbott. Additionally, Elizabeth Rosenzweig Founder and Director of World Usability Day and Caryn Saitz, Executive Director discussed exciting upcoming plans for 2007. 

This program was sponsored by Techsmith.

United States 

Governor Proclaims November 14 "New Jersey Usability Day"
"When you can’t use a product, who you gonna call?  UsabilityNJ, the local chapter of the Usability Professionals’ Association, for one." [ More ] 

NPR Celebrates "Make Things Easier Day"
"Today is World Usability Day, a day to promote intuitive engineering and user-friendly design. National Public Radio commentator and humorist Tim Bedore is all for it, if only we could come up with a better name..." [ More ]

World Usability Day: A Challenge for Everyone, by Elizabeth Rosenzweig
From the current issue of the Journal for Usability Studies. "Every citizen on our planet deserves the right to usable products and services. It is time we reframe our work and look at a bigger global picture." [ More ]

SIGCHI Endorsement
"...World Usability Day allows us to share our experiences, tools and techniques, and hopes and promises, with people who might not know that usability is their right." [ More ]

Another Year, Another World Usability Day
E-consultancy.com writer Tom Stewart considers the legacy of World Usability Day, assesses the current state of user-centered design, and praises the World Usability Day Charter as a "statement about how technology should make life better" in this article. [ More ]

Morae Newsletter Interview with Elizabeth Rosenzweig 
Elizabeth Rosenzweig is not only the director of World Usability Day; she’s also the founder.  “That’s right - I’m chief cook and bottle washer,” she laughed. [ More ]

UXpod Interview with Elizabeth Rosenzweig 
Elizabeth Rosenzweig talks to Gerry Gaffney about World Usability Day 2006 for a UXpod User Experience Podcast. [ More ]

Focus on End-Users 
A BizReport article by Helen Leggatt. [ More ]

World Usability Day Urges More User-Friendly Technology
The St.

CNN Headline News Interview with Elizabeth Rosenzweig
Recorded in the morning of World Usability Day 2005.

Download the attached mp3 file, and listen with any MP3 player.