STC Berkeley: May 2006 Monthly Meeting

Technical writers have a saying, “if it’s hard to explain in the documentation, it’s going to be hard to use.” Did you ever wish it was possible to write the documentation before the product is built? Have you ever felt that you understood the user better than the implementation team who built the product? Come learn about ways to reduce confusion, frustration and lost time in the software development process through Goal-Directed™ Design.

Goal-Directed Design is an interaction design methodology developed by Cooper, a consulting company in San Francisco. Every feature in a Goal-Directed design can be tied to user research through personas and scenarios. Goal-Directed designs are documented in a design blueprint that communicates the intent, architecture and behavior of the interface in text, pictures and storyboards, before the product is built. Implementation teams use the design blueprint to evaluate technical difficulty and create accurate project schedules. Managers use design blueprints to gain consensus on what to build, and to gain funding.

Please join Lane Halley to learn about team roles, useful meeting tools and documentation techniques used at Cooper.

Speaker:

Lane Halley, Principal Consultant, Cooper

Principal consultant Lane Halley began her Cooper design career in 1997. Ms. Halley is responsible for many of the best practices used by Cooper teams and taught at Cooper U. She was responsible for several of the design projects featured in founder Alan Cooper’s book The Inmates are Running the Asylum.

Over the past 20 years, Lane has gained first-hand experience with the software development process by working with software development teams at Microsoft, The Software Toolworks, Mindscape and SenSage. She has designed and delivered successful desktop, Web, and enterprise products.

Lane was a founder of the Silicon Valley chapter of Women on the Web. She has been a presenter for the Inland Empire chapter of the STC and Jared Spool’s UIE Roadshow.

Reservations:

Reservations must be received by noon on the Friday prior to the meeting. On-line reservations are available on April 13, 2006.

Monthly Membership Meetings

The Berkeley chapter meets the second Wednesday of the month.

Continuing in May, 2006 we will meet in the Town Room (on the second floor) of the Shattuck Plaza Hotel in Berkeley, CA.

Program Ideas
Fees
Agenda
Location and Directions

Membership Meeting Program Ideas?

If you have a suggestion for a meeting topic you'd like to hear more about or if you'd like to be a presenter, send an email to Joe Devney, Acting VP of Programs.

Membership Meeting Fees

For the meeting and dinner, reserved on the Chapter's website in advance:

Members: $18
Non-members: $21
Student members: $15

For the meeting and dinner at the door:

Members: $21
Non-members: $24
Student members: $18

Note: If you do not reserve dinner in advance, dinner may or may not be available on a walk-in basis. We order dinner for the number of reservations plus a few walk-ins.

To attend the program only:

Members and non-members: $12
Non-STC-Members: $15
Students: $10

NOTE ONE: Non-members are always welcome to STC meetings.

NOTE TWO: All members of the San Francisco Chapter of the IABC are welcome to register for Berkeley STC General Meetings at the member price.

If you wish to pay by cash or check, send email to that effect to treasurer@stc-berkeley.org, and then bring payment to the meeting.

If you wish to pay be credit card, please reserve using our online storefront.

Interested in becoming a member?

Membership Meetings Agenda

6:00 -- Networking, conversation
6:30 -- Buffet served
7:15 -- Chapter business, announcements, jobs available*
7:30 -- Formal program
8:30 -- Conversation, off-line questions for the speakers, follow-up on job announcements
9:30 -- Clear the room, move conversations to the sidewalk

*Attendees are encouraged to announce open positions. Please bring job listings for distribution. Recruiters may introduce themselves, but may not describe open positions in detail. Save that for one-on-one after the program.

Location and Directions

Shattuck Plaza Hotel
2086 Allston Way
Berkeley, CA

The Shattuck Plaza Hotel is located at 2086 Allston Way in downtown Berkeley, immediately west of Shattuck Ave. We meet in the Towne Room on the second floor.

The Shattuck Plaza Hotel in Downtown Berkeley, just off of Shattuck

The hotel is within walking distance from the Berkeley BART station; meter parking on the street is free after 6:00 p.m.

The Shattuck Plaza Hotel Lobby

Directions to the Shattuck Plaza Hotel

By BART:

Emerge from the Berkeley BART station.
Walk south on Shattuck one block.
Turn right on Allston.
The Shattuck Plaza Hotel is on the left.

By car:

Metered parking on the street is free after 6:00 p.m.

From north of Berkeley: I-880 south and get off at the University Avenue exit. Follow University east to Shattuck and turn right. Allston is three blocks south of University, and the Shattuck Plaza Hotel is on the South side of the street.

From south of Oakland: SOUTH: Take I-880 north to downtown Oakland, and then bear right onto I-980. Take the Martin Luther King exit and bear left to merge onto Martin Luther King Way. Turn right onto Adeline just past the sharp curve. Adeline will merge into Shattuck Avenue. Turn left on Allston and the hotel will be on the left side of Allston.

From San Francisco: Take the Bay Bridge towards Oakland (I-80 East). At the end of the bridge, take I-80 east towards Berkeley. Get off at the University Avenue exit. Follow University east to Shattuck and turn right. Allston is three blocks south of University, and the Shattuck Plaza Hotel is on the South side of the street.

From far East Bay: Take Highway 24 West through the Caldecott Tunnel. Exit at Highway 13 north towards Berkeley. Turn right on Shattuck Avenue. Turn left on Allston and the hotel will be on the left side of Allston.

Please email webpage corrections or webpage comments to:

Jim Dexter (internet@stc-berkeley.org)

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