Chicago (November 10, 2008)— October 1st marked the kickoff of a two week Usability Marathon in Moscow, Russia. The event was the first of its kind in the Russian user experience market.
The event was organized by UIDesign Group (http://eng.uidesign.ru) a partner company of the UXalliance (www.UXalliance.com), an international network of leading user experience firms.
In addition to UIDesign Group (UIDG), two other UXalliance partners conducted seminars: User Centric, Inc. of the US (www.usercentric.com) and The Hiser Group of Australia (www.hiser.com.au) provided lecturers for the Usability Marathon.
The Russian user experience market is still developing and lacks programs that provide Russian usability consultants with valuable technical knowledge. Natalia Kirillova of UIDG commented on the value of the event, “The Usability Marathon provided Russian usability consultants an applied and practical perspective on state-of-the-art user experience practices. The event exemplified theoretical and methodological knowledge of usability that the Russian practitioner may not get unless they travel to usability conferences abroad or take specific courses.”
The Usability Marathon covered several topics, including usability testing, user-centered design, user experience in the contact center and how to build an effective usability lab. The event was hosted by four teachers who presented a total of thirteen seminars in four weeks with two hundred people in attendance.
UIDG provided the localization of all lecture materials including adaptation of presentations and exercises plus translation of handouts and lectures from English to Russian.
One of the lecturers, Robert Schumacher, Managing Director of User Centric said: “The opportunity to exchange thoughts with professionals from Russia was very rewarding. UIDG did a magnificent job in putting this together. In the end, the beneficiaries will be Russian users.”
Through this and other activities, UIDG will continue to serve and support Russian clients as well as foreign firms who need to enter the vibrant Russian market.
The UXalliance network is the largest international usability service with a team of over 220 user experience experts worldwide and more than 40 international testing rooms. The UXalliance has flourished since being founded in 2005, differentiating itself by selecting the leading companies in each country, and implementing standard quality policies to guarantee superior results for clients.
