Usability Professionals' Association

The User Experience Professionals’ Association (UXPA), formerly the Usability Professionals’ Association (UPA), is a professional association for people interested in user experience.

According to the UXPA official web site, the User Experience Professionals’ Association supports people who research, design, and evaluate the user experience of products and services. Founded in 1991, the original 50-member Usability Professionals' Association has grown to serve a community of nearly 2400 members, worldwide, by promoting usability concepts and techniques through its publications, conferences, World Usability Day, and over 46 active local chapters. In 2012, the organization, at their annual conference, announced a name change to "User Experience Professionals Association," and the acronym to UxPA.

Goals

According to the UPA official web site the UPA's goals are to:

  • provide an international network through which usability professionals can share information about the techniques and methodologies in the profession,
  • create an inclusive community for those interested in usability, whether it is their primary focus or a related discipline,
  • change new product development processes to include a concern for the people who use them by presenting the business case for usability in product development to colleagues, customers, the public and governmental agencies,
  • increase the body of knowledge about usability and user-centered design through professional education, meetings and conventions and other professional interchanges.

Annual Conferences

Historic Conference Themes:

2015: Simplicity, June 22-25, Coronado California, US
2014: Motivation, July 21-24, London, UK
2013: Collaboration, July 9-12, Washington DC, US
2012: Leadership, June 4-8, Henderson (Las Vegas), Nevada, US
2011: Designing for Social Change, June 20-24, Atlanta, Georgia, US
2010: Embracing Cultural Diversity: User Experience Design for the World, May 24-28, Munich, Germany
2009: Bringing Usability to Life, June 8-12, Portland, Oregon
2008: The Many Faces of User Experience, June 16–20, Baltimore, Maryland
2007: Patterns: Blueprints for Usability, June 11–15, Austin, Texas
2006: Usability Through Storytelling, June 12–16, Denver, Colorado
2005: Bridging Cultures, June 27 - July 1, Montréal, Québec, Canada
2004: Connecting Communities, June 7–11, Minneapolis, Minnesota
2003: Ubiquitous Usability, June 23–27, Scottsdale, Arizona
2002: Humanizing Design, July 8–12, Orlando, Florida
2001: Usability- A Winning Experience, June 25–29, Lake Las Vegas, Nevada

Publications

UXPA publishes a magazine, a peer-reviewed journal and two online publications.

External links