Michael DeVries

GREETINGS! Let me introduce myself. I am a Senior Usability Researcher, Analyst, and Designer with 18 years of cross industry experience. My primary strength is in usability testing of all kinds. I have designed a usability lab, conducted usability studies in the field, moderated focus groups, and much more. Most recently, I created a competitive user experience program that after two years supported over 20 functional groups, including project management, executives, advertising, and even legal. I have a solid grasp of fundamental and special case usability research methodologies and analytics. My professional interests include developing measures to answer questions like, "Do customers like the way the web site looks," and "Does this icon really get across what it needs to?" I am keenly objective and depend upon the customer, through their behavior, statements, and preferences, to help me provide guidance for practical, usable, and yet emotionally engaging designs.

About this Site. I designed and programmed this site to begin learning HTML and CSS, and to better understand first hand design issues related to the web. I am not a graphics designer, so the graphics are what they are, and should get the job done. While this site provides visuals for understanding the context of my portolio, much of the thought behind my work is in the text.

Why I'm a User Experience Professional. I believe that user research and intentional design are an integral part of any human-machine, user interface success. My experiences have convinced me that listening to usability participants and watching what they do define what I should see in a product, and not the other way around. I believe that usability, usefulness, and user experiences should be considered not just in companies that deliver products and services, but in the activities of our daily lives, like the programs parents take their children to.