About the Usability BoK

History of the Project

The idea for this project grew out of the UPA’s 2001-2002 project to investigate certification for usability professionals, which included a survey of almost 1,000 people on their attitudes towards certification.

A workshop held at the UPA 2002 Conference determined not to pursue certification at that time, and recommended to the UPA Board several prerequisites to certification, including the definition of a body of knowledge. This recommendation placed a body of knowledge in the center of several future activities, including defining a curriculum, identifying roles, creating a self-assessment tool, and, eventually, a certification.

A body of knowledge is at the center of other aspects of developing the profession, including a currculum, developing roles, a self-assessment tool and eventually a certification.

A workshop held at the UPA 2004 Conference established a vision and scope for the guide to the body of knowledge, that has resulted in the activities described on this site. Since that time, the BoK Working Group has established a framework for subjects that will be included in the future Usability BoK and begun recruiting volunteers for the project.

During the UPA 2005 conference, the BoK Working Group led a SIG (special interest group meeting) and a poster display (below), in order to discuss the BoK with UPA members and conference attendees. Input from those sessions continues to inform the work of the project team.