SPaMCAST 64 Carol Smith, Usability, Agile Estimation Part 4

The interview on Show 64 is with Carol Smith.  We discussed the usability.  Usability is a critical component of human facing software.  We discussed the definition of usability, techniques for discovering usability, how to measure it and finally how to test usability.  A powerful interview with a great guest!  Carol is a regular presenter at conferences, has taught usability courses at the college level and has managed a usability department. She is also the Treasurer and Director of Chapters for the Usability Professionals' Association (UPA) Board of Directors. Carol has a Master's degree in Human-Computer Interaction and has over eight years of usability experience. Carol Smith conducts experience research for clients that are both large and small, government and corporate, in a variety of industries through her company, Midwest Research, LLC. Carol takes the time to understand user's needs and behaviors and then creates tools that convey this information in an easy to understand format. Organizations can then integrate users needs and behaviors directly into their development projects.Contact information:Twitter:  carologicWebsite:     http://www.mw-research.com/Tell a friend about the Software Process and Measurement Cast and show them how to subscribe.  Let me know and I will acknowledge you on the next show!  The essay is the conclusion of “Using Functional Metrics in Agile Estimation”.  The essay explains how to integrate the discipline of functional metrics into agile metrics techniques.  Remember that parts one, two and three were included in SPaMCAST 61, 62 and 63.Join the SPaMCAST’s community by joining the SPaMCAST Facebook page and get involved!!!!  http://tinyurl.com/62z5elThere are a number of ways to share your thoughts with SPaMCAST: •    Email SPaMCAST at spamcastinfo@gmail.com•    Voice messages can be left at 1-206-888-6111•    Twitter – www.twitter.com/tcagley•    BLOG – www.tcagley.wordpress.com•    FACEBOOK!!!! Software Process and Measurement               http://tinyurl.com/62z5elUpcoming Speaking Engagements ITMPI webinarProcess Improvement in a Multi-Model World September 15, 2009 11:00 am - 12:30 pm Eastern Time Model based process improvement typically has centered on a single model or framework as the lynch pin to control software process improvement within an organization. The use of a model or framework is an excellent means of reducing random activity unfortunately one model does not cover the whole organization. Process improvement has matured to a point where the span of control needs to be extended which suggests the use of more than one model (e.g. CMMI, ISO, ITIL and Business Process Re-engineering to name a few). This webinar with Tom Cagley will discuss how to manage process improvement in a complex, multi-model environment. More information - http://solutions.compaid.com/forms/WebinarB20090915?ProcessType=PreRegISMA 4 ConferenceBoundaries, Boundaries EverywhereSeptember 15, 2009 9:00 - 9:45 AM          Identifying applications and project boundaries are critical to accurate and repeatable counts however the rules have a lot of flexibility. The presentation will evaluate a variety of types of applications to evaluate the impact of varied perspectives on application boundaries. The presentation will include at least one hands-on exercise to drive home the impact of boundariesThe ISMA conference will be held this September 13-16, 2009 at the Palmer House Hilton – Chicago, IllinoisMore informaton - http://www.IFPUG.org    Next Software Process and Measurement Cast: The next Software Process and Measurement Cast will feature an interview with Laura Brandau.  We discussed the role of business analysts including the definition of the role, typical interfaces, benefits and impacts of actually having business analysts and of course how to measure the impact.  Many organizations have Business Analysts those that make the role work focus