Thursday, January 13, 2005

3M Usability - The Sampler Platter

To help get the New Year started off with a bang, 3M will be hosting the January UPA meeting. As our hosts, they'll be sharing information on a sampling of their business products. Topics will include: the usability of searching and browsing, design of a health care handheld device, and an update on the self-service checkout stations presented the last time we visited 3M. Please see the additional information provided below.

This is a meeting you won't want to miss, whether you are new to the world of usability, or an experience practitioner. 3M is a world leader in innovative product designs, and their usability experts play a significant role in 3M's success. Long time UPA-MN attendees will appreciate seeing the evolution of the checkout stations, while more recent UPA-MN attendees will want to get a glimpse of the role of usability in a worldwide corporation.

Meeting Details:

Date/Time:
January 13, 2005, 6:00 PM
Place:
3M Company
Address:
Building 235, 3M Center, Maplewood, MN 55144 (View Map)
Host:
3M Company
Phone:
952-851-3160 (before mtg)
Speakers:
A Star-Studded Line-Up!
Topic:
3M Usability - The Sampler Platter

Agenda:

About Our Speakers and The Topics

John Kruse is a Senior Human Factors Specialist. He has a PhD in Psychology from the University of Minnesota, and has been at 3M for 19 years. John will open the presentations with some comments about browsing and searching. John has studied and synthesized the work of well-known experts, and while their work is of great value, it only underscores how much more there is to learn.

Brian Brooks is a Senior Human Factors Engineer. He has dual Ph.Ds in Neuroscience and Cognitive Psychology from Iowa State University, and will soon be celebrating his one-year anniversary with 3M. Mary Pat Laboda has been with 3M for 15 years, spending the last 4 years in the usability arena. Mary Pat's usability knowledge has come from a variety of sources, including research, conferences, workshops and seminars, but her most valuable resource has been working with other usability practitioners. She has coordinated several formal usability projects with internal and outside professionals, in addition to conducting a number of informal usability tests. Brian and Mary Pat will be talking about a current Web development project using the Six Sigma methodology. They are tasked with improving the findability of content on the high-level directory pages that were recently launched on 3M.com. Their goal is to guide 3M.com users to products they wish to purchase, and provide local and on-line purchasing options for the products.

Brian Linzie is a human factors engineer with a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from the University of Minnesota. He has been on contract at 3M for nearly two years, and has worked on a variety of graphic, text, and hardware interfaces for 3M products and services. Brian will discuss his work on a hand-held medical device. He'll focus on changes they made to the physical form to enhance its comfort and holding security, while at the same time considering constraints from the context of use.

Peter Eisenberg is a Senior Human Factors Specialist that has been at 3M for 21 years. He's worked on a wide variety of products ranging from tape dispensers to heart/lung machines. Peter will follow up on the self-service checkout device for libraries that was shown at the last UPA meeting hosted at 3M. At that time, the device was undergoing early concept testing. Since then, the concept has nearly completely changed and the device is about to become a released product.

Cost & Registration

 

If you or someone you know would like to attend, please register by emailing Laurie Bennett that you will attend.

Directions & Map:


View Mapquest map to 3M

View Mapquest Map

 

map to 3M

Driving Directions from the West (Minneapolis/St. Paul):

  1. East on I-94 to Century Ave. Exit
  2. Left (North) on Century Ave. under freeway
  3. Go "2 Blocks" North of freeway to Conway Ave. and turn Left
  4. Building 235 is the second building on the Left
  5. Look for signs for Visitor Parking

Driving Directions from the East (Wisconsin):

  1. West on I-94 to Century Ave. Exit
  2. Right (North) on Century Ave. under freeway
  3. Go "2 Blocks" North of freeway to Conway Ave. and turn Left
  4. Building 235 is the second building on the Left
  5. Look for signs for Visitor Parking

Help Spread the Word:

Know someone interested in usability? Feel free to invite them to an upcoming meeting. Visitors are always welcome. Please forward this announcement to other area professionals who might have an interest in UPA-MN meetings or activities.

Upcoming Meetings & Events:

Do you have an idea for a future meeting or know someone you think would be a good speaker? Contact Laurie Bennett (LBennett@LifeTimeFitness.com) with your suggestions.

Last update: October 05, 2005