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May 30, 2007

HLB’s Martha Cotton Addresses Potential Pitfalls to Doing Good Research Work

posted by at 2:32 PM

Chicago, IL. – There frequently is a frustrating phenomenon of one particular aspect of the kind of work user researchers do: when the job is done well, what has illuminated about a user experience becomes so instantly accepted by either the client or design team (or both), that all the rigor and effort that went into getting there becomes invisible.

Additionally, user experience professionals are frequently called to measure their value via traditional business metrics, and while this can be done on occasion, frequently the best ways to describe their impact is through compelling stories that in some business situations can be seen to matter less than what a spreadsheet says.

Enter Martha Cotton, Vice President of Research for HLB, who will be offering her expertise as part of the 2007 Computer-Human Interaction Forum of Oregon (CHIFOO) Program Series. Her seminar, entitled, “Making the Invisible Visible: The Problem With Doing Good Work.” will examine these phenomena and offer ways to reclaim some visibility and give voice to the value of research, especially in ways that promote the value of the work in business contexts. The talk takes place Wednesday, June 6th at the World Trade Center in downtown Portland, OR.

“Currently, what I see as being the two main challenges to communicating our value as research practitioners are visibility of the creative process and calculability of outcomes from that process,” stated Cotton. “In my talk at CHIFOO, I hope to continue the interesting dialogue that concerns not just the Human-computer interaction (HCI) community, but the vast umbrella that encompasses the entire creative field.”

Ms. Cotton provides leadership in planning and implementing all aspects of HLB’s various research programs. This includes ethnographic and observational research, focus groups, user interface development, and data collection and analysis. She has been featured at numerous conferences and conventions, the most recent being the IDSA Midwest Regional Conference in Kohler, WI, and the International Home and Housewares Show in Chicago. In addition to her role as VP of Research, Ms. Cotton is also one of the three members of the SEED Group, HLB’s design strategy and innovation team.

The 2007 CHIFOO Program Series addresses different aspects of promoting the organization’s value – whether to management, a client, or a potential employer – and how to have their work recognized and integrated into business practices. Local and national practitioners and researchers will present their tried-and-true methods for effectively selling the HCI discipline and user-centered solutions. For more information, visit the CHIFOO website (http://www.chifoo.org/index.html).

About HLB: HLB is one of the largest privately held product design consulting firms in the world with expertise in strategy and realization for the consumer, medical and industrial marketplaces. HLB leverages a unique approach called Meaningful Design™ to create products and services that make lives more enjoyable, more convenient and more fulfilling for those who use them. HLB is responsible for countless diverse and widely recognized products, including the Johnson & Johnson Embrace Heart Stabilizer, the Motorola NFL Coaches Headset, and the iRobot Roomba Discovery Floorvac. Offices are located in Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles. Visit www.hlb.com for more information.

Contact:
Lewis Berkover
Herbst LaZar Bell
312-454-1116 ext. 255
lberkover@hlb.com