Developing Usable Experiences

Degree requirements completed

April 22nd, 2010 11:22 am —  92 views

I just cleared off my desk. There were stacks of books, papers, and piles of scribbled notes. A couple hours ago I had problem sets and discussion notes and previous exams spread out as a supportive cast for the statistics take home final I was working on and which is now finished.

And I can say just finished, even though it was 47 minutes ago1. That’s nothing compared to how much time has passed since I posted my first blog entry after having attended my first graduate degree lecture. My brain was on fire. I was seeing collections everywhere. I had a noisy Dell tower keeping me warm and I thought it was awesome.

That was a long time ago. I wondered how long so found a site that would calculate the date from my first post to this post. Here it is, the time spent indentured to the pursuit of a Masters degree nobody understands and a blog that is marginally entertaining.2

3 years, 7 months, and 14 days
(114,220,800 seconds)3

I made it through. I learned a lot.4 I understand so much better the connected world accessed through designed interfaces. From the infrastructure, to the design, to the psychology, to the usability, to the study of what works and what doesn’t when people and computers come together. Nerdy IA/UX stuff that people building stuff should know and understand.

And it’s changing all the time. People are connected through technology in ever increasing ways. Regardless of device we find ways to stay connected, to communicate, to interact synchronously and asynchronously. This is leading to more connected social networks with broader reach and dispersion.

Someone who understands and can adjust to the ramifications of a connected society while leveraging available technology is needed in virtually every industry. At a high level, that’s what school has trained me to do. All along I’ve been exercising that training in the real world, in my real job.5

I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next. In the mean time, I should probably mow and do some vacuuming or something. Maybe eat some lunch.

Image: Taken walking to one of my last sessions at the B school last week.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  1. …according to my status on Facebook. [↩]
  2. Not entirely true, but I recall most reactions when I’d tell someone my specialization. It wasn’t like being told you’d won a pony or a spaceship. [↩]
  3. Summers are counted because the shadow of fall class looms distant, on slow approach. [↩]
  4. And recently about alots. [↩]
  5. The same job from which I took a vacation day today to focus on my last take home final. [↩]

Related Posts

5 Comments 

It’s late and nearly over

April 13th, 2010 10:01 pm —  21 views

I drove back into town tonight to meet with some classmates to work on a presentation that we’re giving on Thursday. At the moment I’m listening to some Robert Cray. I should be working on something but I’m not.

But in reality, I don’t have a ton left to do. The presentation is coming along as well as can be expected given the circumstances. It’s not a significant portion of our grade but I still want it to be good. Our research isn’t terribly interesting, but we’re exercising skills we’ve learned over the last 12 weeks, so that’s something.

Less than two weeks until the focus of the last four years comes to an end. Then a fast week wrapping up stuff, getting commencement tickets, a gown, and preparing the house for guests…then graduation.

You want it. I want it. It’s time. Is it going to matter?

Classmates over the last few years are now working for Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft. I work for a pretty big company already, but not doing what I truly want to be doing.

Will I be able to leverage my usability, design, and development skills to blaze a brighter future? I sure hope I get the chance. Time will tell.

Related Posts

1 Comment