Craig M. MacDonald

Changing perspectives on evaluation in HCI: past, present, and future

Evaluation has been a dominant theme in HCI for decades, but it is far from being a solved problem. As interactive systems and their uses change, the nature of evaluation must change as well. In this paper, we outline the challenges our community needs to address to develop adequate methods for evaluating systems in modern (and future) use contexts. We begin by tracing how evaluation efforts have been shaped by a continuous adaptation to technological and cultural changes and conclude by discussing important research directions that will shape evaluations future.

User experience librarians: user advocates, user researchers, usability evaluators, or all of the above?

User Experience (UX) is gaining momentum as a critical success factor across all industries and sectors, including libraries. While usability studies of library websites and related digital interfaces are commonplace, UX is becoming an increasingly popular topic of discussion in the community and is emerging as a new specialization for library professionals. To better understand this phenomenon, this paper reports the results of a qualitative study involving interviews with 16 librarians who have “User Experience” in their official job titles. The results show that UX Librarians share a user‐centered mindset and many common responsibilities, including user research, usability testing, and space/service assessments, but each individual UX Librarian is also somewhat unique in how they approach and describe their work. As a whole, the research sheds light on an emerging library specialization and provides a valuable snapshot of the current state of UX Librarianship.

Culture and information architecture: a study of American and Arab academic websites

This paper investigates the information architecture (IA) of American and Arab academic websites in light of Hofestedes theory of culture and Marcuss elements of design reflecting culture. Using 60 academic websites from American and Arab cultures, the results show that IA is influenced by the cultural dimension of Power Distance and suggest that web designers and developers should strongly consider cultural factors when making design decisions, particularly those related to IA.

Developing a Community of Practice to Support Global HCI Education

ACM SIGCHI has been supporting research in HCI education for many years, most actively from 2011-2014. At CHI2014, a workshop on developing a new HCI living curriculum was held, building on three years of research and collaboration. We believe the time is right to develop and implement the suggested HCI living curriculum. We propose a hands-on workshop to develop a concrete active community of practice of HCI scholars and educators, sharing and collaborating to develop course outlines, curricula, and teaching materials. The workshop will define the conceptual framework and user experience of the HCI living curriculum, develop its information architecture and infrastructure, and evaluate how existing platforms do and do not fulfill the proposed needs. Post-workshop initiatives will aim to move towards implementing the first iteration of the living curriculum.

The HCI living curriculum as a community of practice

HCI education reflects the continual evolution of HCI, embracing the changing landscapes of technology, infrastructure, and technology use. This forum aims to provide a platform for HCI educators, practitioners, researchers, and students to share their perspectives, reflections, and experiences related to HCI education. --- Sukeshini Grandhi, Editor

Assessing the implementation of authentic, client-facing student projects in user experience (UX) education: Insights from multiple stakeholders: Assessing the Implementation of Authentic, Client-Facing Student Projects in User Experience (UX) Education: Insights from Multiple Stakeholders

User experience (UX) is often cited as one of the fastest growing occupations, creating opportunities across nearly every sector for individuals skilled in the application of user‐centered design principles and methods. Many information and library schools have responded to this demand by introducing more UX coursework into their curriculum, but the proliferation of agile software development and lean product design has incentivized organizations to look for experienced individuals for UX roles, even those that are considered entry‐level. As a result, aspiring information professionals face a paradoxical situation in which they are required to have UX experience before they can gain UX experience. This article provides an assessment of one institutions efforts to overcome this experience gap by offering opportunities for students to participate in three types of authentic client‐facing UX projects. Through surveys of students and clients served over four academic years, we provide a set of lessons learned and recommended best practices for incorporating project‐based learning opportunities into UX courses.