2012 Calendar!
A few things worth sharing…
Our 2012 calendar has been finalized! As always, the calendar is subject to change – so pay attention to the monthly email meeting announcements.
Oh yeah… We’ve changed this from the User Experience Special Interest Group (UX SIG) to the Customer Experience Special Interest Group (CX SIG). Larry Marine started the User Interface Special Interest Group (UI SIG) in 1996. In 2003, I took it over and changed the focus to UX. Now, I am changing the focus a little more. Where Larry was focused on the user interface design, I broadened the focus to user experience design and now I am broadening it more to customer experience design. The format will stay pretty much the same but with more emphasis on how organizations determine, develop, and deliver their experience to their customers.
One more thing… The Customer Experience Revolution is out! Buy your copies now for the holidays.
Happy 2012!
Sean
Join us on Tuesday, October 25, at 5:30 pm at Intuit to review Suddenly Smart’s SmartBuilder
Company Overview
Suddenly Smart has been providing e-learning solutions since 1999. In the e-learning industry, there has been substantial interest in rapid authoring tools that enable non-technical users to create e-learning content. While many practitioners realize that the type of e-learning produced by these tools is often boring and ineffective, they are frustrated by the difficulty of making their e-learning engaging, interactive, and thought-provoking. Suddenly Smart’s goal is to make it faster and easier to build effective e-learning by providing an innovative e-learning authoring platform, SmartBuilder. Customers include Google, Qualcomm, Red Hat, YMCA of the USA and numerous small and medium-sized enterprises.
The Product
Suddenly Smart is in the process of redesigning and rebranding their website. The website is the main channel for providing information to prospective customers and for encouraging customers to take the first step in the sales process – signing up for a free SmartBuilder account.
Suddenly Smart objectives for the new website:
• Convince prospects that SmartBuilder is a valuable and unique tool for creating e-learning
• Help build a brand image that the company is a partner in helping organizations create effective e-learning; not just a tool provider.
• Entice prospects to sign up for the free version of SmartBuilder, and ultimately to convert to the Pro version (paid version) of the tool.
Suddenly Smart will present draft versions of the home page plus other key pages.
The User
• Training professionals who create e-learning as a part of their job.
• The majority of these have experience with existing e-learning tools and technologies.
• Most are not programmers.
SDSIC UX BIG: Creating Cutting-Edge Mobile Apps
Almost 800,000 apps have been developed for the Apple and Android app stores. Of these, 1 in 4 were downloaded and used just once. With so many apps out there, how do you make sure your app stands out and is used regularly? Our panelists will discuss three key areas to ensure that your application provides a great user experience and stands out from your competitors.
The 5 W’s of Mobile UX Requirements
Your mobile app should never be your web app squeezed into a smaller screen. In this talk, you’ll learn about defining requirements for a winning application: one that is easy to use, assesses your customers’ needs while on-the-go, and targets your ROI. You’ll learn the 5 W’s tool that you can use when you define your next application.
Game Changing Mobile Design (Case Studies)
Here we will show you leading edge applications that are raising the standards for mobile applications. You’ll learn what works well, what you should avoid, and how to set the trends in your industry. The discussion will be highlighted by real-time demos of forward-thinking applications.
Looking to the Future in Mobile UX
What are the trends in mobile applications – both in content and technology? How will cloud computing affect your application? Should you employ augmented reality? And what are the implications for all of this technology on your applications? Find out how to plan the future for your current application.
Panel
Wendy Eichenbaum – Founder, Ucentric Design, LLC
Wendy is the founder of Ucentric Design, a UX consulting company. She has 20 years experience in UI Design, Usability, Focus Groups, Technical Writing, and Requirements Analysis. She has worked on desktop, mobile, and web applications in many industries including GIS, Health Care, Computers, Social Media, Telephony, Music, Retail, Education, and Finance. Wendy was trained in Human Factors Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.
Phil Ohme, MS, CHFP – Principal Interaction Designer, Intuit Inc.
Phil is with Intuit San Diego where he recently designed & launched the first mobile application for accountants. In the UX field for over 15 years, he has designed & tested drop-dead easy interactions on everything from all-in-one printers (HP) to in-vehicle navigation systems (Ford) to insurance & tax software (Mitchell, Intuit) as well as early prototypes at several web and mobile start-ups.
Dayan Golden, – User Experience Lead, Nokia
Dayan Golden is a leading UX professional in San Diego specializing in mobile and multi-media entertainment. She has worked with companies to bring exciting new technology to market including the first Sony Digital Cable/DVR combo, HP Photo Sharing & Online Ordering, and Intuit Electronic Filing program. As a User Experience Lead at Nokia, Dayan has been researching trends and concepts for the next generation of mobile phones.
DATE: October 18, 2011
TIME: 5:30 pm – 6:00 pm – Registration, Networking and Refreshments
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm – Program
FEE: Member – Pre Register Only – $35.00
Non Member – Pre Register Only – $45.00
PLACE: Intuit
Bennett Conference Room – Bldg. 3
7535 Torrey Santa Fe Road
San Diego, CA 92129
Register at http://www.sdsic.org/events.aspx
The Customer Experience Revolution
Jeofrey Bean of Del Mar Research and I are putting the final edits on our new book, The Customer Experience Revolution. It will be available January 2012. Jeof and I have interviewed folks who have shared their talents with Apple, Google, Yahoo!, Amazon.com, JD Powers and more to gain insights into how great companies create great experiences. The book is being published by Brigantine Media and Waterside Productions for international publication rights.
We sold our first order of The Customer Experience Revolution to a UX SIG member after announcing it at our last meeting! I am happy that it was one of our own UXers that bought the first book! You can order yours at www.cxrevolution.com.
Join us on Tuesday, September 27, at 5:30 pm at Intuit to review Extrabux.com
Company Overview
Before Extrabux built its unique comparison shopping engine, consumers needed to visit multiple websites to get the lowest prices online. First they must go to a standard comparison shopping site to find which retailers sell a product and their corresponding prices. Next, they need to scour the web for the best available coupon, testing each offer to make sure it actually works on their item. After that, they need to visit a cash back site to see which retailers on their list offer cash back and how much they can earn. Lastly they must pull out their calculator, factor in all the discounts, calculate the varying tax and shipping rates and hope it all works properly, because even if they did all that right, the coupon they used could invalidate the cash back, wasting all the work they put in.
Extrabux.com saves consumers time and money by smoothly combining comparison shopping with coupons, cash back and tax & shipping charges to find the lowest price on nearly every product sold online. Extrabux works with over 2,000 merchants, 1,300 of whom are among top 2,000 retailers online, ensuring that shoppers buy only from reputable online retailers. According to a Webcredible poll, price and retailer reputation are the two most important factors when consumers make an online buying decision; Extrabux works to address both. Consumers can save by combining discounts to find the lowest prices on the over 8MM products in Extrabux’s database, or they can simply browse Extrabux’s list of over 4,000 coupons and earn cash back on top of those great deals to save every time they shop online.
Extrabux is cash flow positive, has grown 250% over last year and is nearing a $1MM annualized revenue run rate.
Current Project
Extrabux is constructing a full redesign of its site in time for the holiday season. The goals are to give Extrabux a fresh look, while solving problems identified with the old design. Extrabux’s metrics focus on creating user sign ups, getting users to click-through to merchant websites, and having users complete purchases as that is when Extrabux gets paid (Extrabux receives a commission on every order it helps generate at one of its merchant sites).
Target Customer
Extrabux’s primary demographic is female 24-54. Extrabux’s customer ranges widely in income, but generally they are savvy online shoppers who are aware of all the different way to save online, but would rather save time by having Extrabux do the leg work for them. Consumers can use Extrabux to shop any category including: Electronics, Books, Health & Beauty, Apparel, Travel, Toys & Gifts, etc.
Join us on Tuesday, August 23, at 5:30 pm at Intuit to review Antengo iPhone app
Company Overview
Antengo is reinventing classified listings for the mobile space. Rather than trying to cram a clunky web-based classifieds model onto a mobile phone, they design for mobile from the ground-up. This is done by making the listings 140 characters or less, geo-tagging each one, and providing real-time chat between buyers and sellers without them having to disclose personal contact information. Imagine standing outside of a Cricket Wireless in need of a ticket. Rather than walking around with your finger the air, you can open Antengo on your phone, find a nearby seller, message back and forth, and coordinate the meetup. But it’s not just for tickets – with 32 categories Antengo strives to be the new standard for “real-time classifieds.”
Antengo was recently accepted into CommNexus’ incubator, EvoNexus, received funding from the venture arm of a top strategic partner, and has roughly 27,000 users of their current iPhone app.
Current Project
The Antengo Beta2 project represents a complete UI and UX redesign based on the functionality in the current iPhone app and user feedback. Core functionality includes: post a classified listings, search/browse/filter listings results, communication between buyers and sellers, and facilitating the meetup to exchange goods/services.
The two most important metrics that we measure today are downloads and posts. As such, encouraging users to share on platforms outside of the app (like Facebook and Twitter) are crucial. In addition, making the post process as quick and painless as possible is critical. A close third in metrics that we measure is the number of communications sent between users. This can be a call, text, email, or preferably our soon-to-be cross-platform messaging service.
Target Customer
Antengo’s demographic spans a wide cross-section of smart-phone users. There are a total of 32 categories, including: Tickets, Clothing/Accessories, Volunteer, Donate, Carpool, Sports & Activities, Tech Gadgets, Temp Jobs, Yard Sales and more. While this provides for a wide variety of target demographics, Antengo is launching the bulk of its marketing efforts at live events and on college campuses.
A little celebration after the meeting this Tuesday…
After the meeting this Tuesday, Jeof and I are going to celebrate the completion of the first draft of our book that we will be sending off to our publisher this week. If you are interested, we’ll be meeting at our usual watering hole that we go to after the UX SIG. 
Join us on Tuesday, June 28, at 5:30 pm at Intuit to review ICW Group’s “Snap” (by FirstBest)
Company Overview
ICW Group is a privately held family of multi-line property and casualty insurance carriers. We provide Workers’ Compensation, Earthquake, and Personal and Business Auto insurance. Based in San Diego, California, our companies consist of Insurance Company of the West, Explorer Insurance Company and Independence Casualty and Surety Company. All of our insurance products are sold through a network of independent agents and brokers.
Current Project
Snap is a Web 2.0 product that has been created by software vendor FirstBest. It is an “agent portal” that allows our agents/brokers to submit business, secure quotes, and bind policies. It greatly improves processes for everyone and therefore agents are heavily encouraged to use this portal for all transactions. Our overall goal is to achieve a greater adoption rate and a satisfying experience for our customers.
Typically, each quarter, we submit enhancement requests to FirstBest. Currently, we are reviewing requests for an update planned for the end of the year. While most requests are for underwriting and quoting functionality requirements, there is always an opportunity to make usability improvements along the way!
During this session, we will review the Snap Product in hopes of gaining valuable insights into usability issues that our customers are experiencing. We hope to communicate this to our vendor with the possibility of prioritizing some improvements for future releases.
Target Customer / Task
Our audience is Insurance agents/brokers who are usually intermediate to high-level users, who spend most of their day using interfaces from around 10 competing carriers. The goal is to make the Snap product effortless for agents that are transferring skills from one system to the next. We wish to be “easier to do business with”, and this interface is an important part of this objective.
Many agencies will use a ‘bridge’ that uploads much of the needed information from their own agency management system. Our task will involve pulling up a policy with uploaded data and completing it for submittal.
Join us on Tuesday, May 24th, at 5:30 pm at Intuit to review TriTech.com
Company Overview/About TriTech
TriTech Software Systems provides highly integrated public safety products and services to police, fire and EMS agencies that address nearly every facet of public safety command and control, deployment, logistics, and decision support. Our systems provide a high degree of data sharing between personnel-whether at headquarters, in a vehicle, or at a remote location. TriTech understands the challenges that public safety agencies face each and every day and the critical importance of immediate access to information. Our solutions ensure the safety of your field personnel by giving them the fast access to mission critical data.
Regardless of your Agency’s size or need, we have a solution for managing your agency’s operations. From small towns to major metropolitan cities, TriTech’s flexible and configurable solutions will enable your agencies to streamline operations, minimize response times and maximize resources.
The employees of TriTech have a rich background in public safety so we understand your needs. We combine 20 years of focused public safety and medical transport expertise, technical knowledge, customer service with more than 2,300 law enforcement, fire and EMS client installations. We deliver systems we stand by 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. From deployment to integration to unfailing support, we are your trusted partner for mission critical public safety systems.
Current Project
During this session, the TriTech web marketing team will share our newly deployed corporate website (www.tritech.com) promoting our three separate product solutions serving our different market segments with public safety (law, fire and emergency management services) and medical transport. This new website is designed to clearly present our large and small agency solution suites along with our EMS products that are offered as standalone solutions or integrated with key products (CAD). The intent of tritech.com is to incent the prospects to obtain information and more quickly convert (contact TriTech), by giving them the feeling we are the industry leaders.
Customer Information
TriTech’s target demographic spans across public safety and EMS/Medical Transport agencies (all sizes)
A few clients include: San Diego Fire-Rescue, City of Austin (Police, Fire and EMS), City of Dallas, Oceanside Police, City of Minneapolis, etc…
Decision Makers include:
- Police and Fire Chiefs, EMS Directors, EMS Transport CEOs/Business Owners, Medical Directors, 911 Communications Center Managers, City and Municipality CIO’s
Influencers:
- Medics, Dispatchers, IT Manager, high ranking staff in Law/Fire agencies (Lt, Battalion Chief, etc.)
- Age is concentrated in the 40-50 years range