Stories

November 5th and over 120 designers, technologists, usability professionals and public attendees gathered at the NIAS Auditorium at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. The event: World Usability Day, which was founded to ensure that the services and products important to life are easier to access and simpler to use. Organized and supported by CHI Bangalore, UPA Bangalore, leading usability companies, and usability enthusiasts, the event focused on Healthcare, Education, and Government Services and other public services and utilities that touch our lives everyday. This local event was sponsored by Cisco, Google and Human Factors International.

World Usability Day was founded to ensure that the services and products important to life are easier to access and simpler to use. WUD focuses on raising awareness and visibility of usability and user centered design and is organized every year by volunteers and local event coordinators from around the world. Whether usability professionals or just enthusiastic (or frustrated) users, each participant makes a contribution to "making life easy".

Usability and its Impact in Making Better Public Services – Bangalore, November 05, 2007

On Nov 5, 2007, World Usability Day will be hosted at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. The event is being organized and supported by UPA Bangalore, CHI Bangalore, leading usability companies, and usability enthusiasts. The event will include designers, technologists, business professionals and is open to public.

WUD Bangalore 2007 will focus on applying ‘usability’ and ‘design’ thinking to making life easier and more usable for the common man (us!) in India. Among other areas the event will focus on Healthcare, Education, and Government Services and other public services and utilities that touch our lives everyday. It will include how Information and Communication Technologies and services can make this happen.

In his talk “Why Intuitive Design?” Bill Moggridge talked us through how people adopt technology. He speaks about the divergence in the evolution of SMS/ text messaging in Japan & US as an example of this transition. Another major focus of his keynote was to look beyond the myth surrounding the creation of several iconic “digital technology products”.

The user study for designing e-Government systems should include aspects like various human factors (cognitive and physical); age and gender based preferences; economic, historical, linguistic, social, cultural and political background; illiteracy (script and computer both), physical disabilities, environmental conditions, electricity and internet connectivity limitations, etc. Assistive user interfaces be designed and technology support be provided to address the wide range of user needs. Ignoring these aspects amounts to being discriminative and depriving many citizens from availing the rightful government services. Indian e-government initiative requires a much more encompassing vision, with an objective of universal design and usability for the citizens, if it has to truly serve and be successful.

Chibangalore was formed to address the growing needs of the HCI professionals and students in Bangalore. Within the last year and half , 6 events have been organized with host of speakers from around the world. 2007 kick starts with an event in March. Topic: Expanding the Boundaries of HCI Date : 22th March 2007 Venue : St. Mark ' s Hotel 4/1 St. Mark's Road Bangalore - 560001 Time : 3:00 - 5:45 pm

To make Chibangalore as a more inclusive forum this new website has been initiated. You can contribute as an author; add comments to the articles, rate authors, add biographies etc. So please go ahead register yourself using the register link on the top right corner and start contributing!.