August 2005 Contents

Articles

What to Do When a Prospective Client Doesn't Respond to Your Proposal
It takes an average of seven (some even say 10) sales calls to close a deal. So if you always give up after the first couple of tries, you'll never sell your service to anyone. It's your responsibility to remind your prospects (sometimes again and again) that they are interested in your proposal. It's your responsibility to be persistent until they're ready to continue the conversation.

By Ilise Benun

Projects and Events

UPA 2005: Reflections of a First-Timer
With the encouragement of a couple of members of the Dallas-Fort Worth UPA chapter, I decided to attend this year’s UPA conference in Montreal. After six and a half years in technology product management and marketing, I wanted to learn more about the usability field and hopefully gain some insight that would help guide me in the next phase of my career.

By Debbie A. Spalding

UPA 2005: Post-Conference Reflections

Face-to-face industry gatherings serve an important role in the User Experience field. In addition to the obvious benefits gained from the impromptu, or sometimes deliberate, networking sessions that take place throughout the week, conferences offer a variety of career-development opportunities as well. Participants are able to discover new methods and processes, to exchange techniques with one another, and to review material that they may not have encountered during the previous year.

By Joi Roberts

UPA Supports Maintaining Human Engineering Standard
Six months ago, I approached the UPA with a request for sponsorship so that I could join the Department of Defense’s Human Factors Engineering Technical Advisory Group (DoD HFE TAG). The UPA graciously offered its sponsorship and I plan on periodically reporting the group activities in the UPA Voice.

By Baruch Sachs

Thumbnails

Thumbnail: Jared Spool
Jared Spool is usability’s “bad boy.” With his challenging opinions and his theatrical way of presenting them, he has excited and frustrated usability practitioners and thought leaders for many years. Agree or disagree, love him or hate him, you have to give him credit. Jared’s is one of the most easily-recognized names in the field.

By Cliff Anderson