Competency A
Apply technology informatics skills to solve specific industry data and information management problems, with a focus on usability and designing for users;
Personal Definition and Importance
I feel like Competency A can be condensed to the following: Apply informatics skills to solve problems for users. This is the purpose of informatics which resides in the domain of technology around data and information systems designed for end users. This reason I chose to pursue a graduate degree in informatics is to complement my undergraduate degree in computer science - information systems. My undergraduate degree helped me develop technical problem solving skills, but without any real focus on users. This graduate degree provided me with frameworks that I lacked for designing with end-users in mind. For the informatics profession as a whole, filling in the gap between technical developers and end-users is key. There are other considerations such as legal requirements, best practices, etc. But learning to link development and design for end-users is paramount. All informaticists do not need to know how to engineer and design, but that is a goal of mine. I do believe that linking the end-user to data is the most important consideration for technology informatics.
Supporting Informatics Courses
While all the courses in the SJSU Informatics program address competency A, in some way or form, I believe that INFM 204: Human-Centered Design exemplifies my personal objective of developing a focus on users and their connection with technology and information systems. The skills developed in INFM 204: Human-Centered Design can be used for many different types of end-users. Many different kinds of customers, but not just customers. INFM 200 Informatics: Fundamentals was the introductory course and surveyed informatics as a whole. Different types of employees in a company or organization, from management to entry-level workers need to be considered. INFM 205 Informatics: Project Management is about collaborating and the various users and platforms and tools they use. While I did learn technical skills as an undergraduate student, I have learned to see some of those skills value as not just building something but simplifying software with users (not developers) in mind. I enrolled in this Informatics program with one major goal being to develop user-centered design skills and not only has the program delivered it also expanded how I view previous education. My initial fascination with technology is simple; Now I view it not as what can be technically created, but why and for who.
Evidence
Evidence 1: INFM 204 Website Redesign Report
The reason I selected this report for this competency is that it displays the skills and knowledge as described in the following summary as it relates to designing for users. The concepts and frameworks I learned in INFM 204 are a great foundation for further developing user-centered design skills. Wire-framing, personas, user journey, card sorting, and many other skills were explored and developed in this course. This report required reviewing an existing website and suggesting improvements based on accepted user-centered design concepts.
NOTE: Redacted to anonymize group partners and website owner.
Evidence 2: INFM 200 Final Paper on Decision Support Systems
The reason I selected this paper for this competency is that it describes many different ways to consider and help decision makers (end-users) in making informed decisions. The summary that follows looks at end-users in many different contexts as decision makers. This report surveys Decision Support Systems (DSS) as a tool for end-users to make informed decisions. This reviews 4 scientific articles. The first article explores iterative design of a DSS based on user feedback. The second article explores the way information is presented and cognitive bias, especially in relation to risk taking when making decisions. The third article explores training users in the use of a DSS as well as exploring how both individuals and organizations can interact with a DSS and possible outcomes for those interactions. The fourth article explores negotiating and deliberating via a DSS.
Evidence 3: INFM 205 Project Management Software Analysis
The reason I selected this analysis, or review, is as a focus on usability for various users on a single project in the context of project management. This is an analysis on Wrike, a project management software. I considered online reviews, ease of use, compatibility and integration, and options and pricing; I provided a verdict on the value of using Wrike project management software. The online review portion gives an overall sentiment of the product from reputable and current sources. Ease of use is important to consider all of the stakeholders working on the project, not just the management level employees or tech-savvy collaborators. Compatibility and integration are important to consider for being able to use the different tools and platforms all the different types of collaborators use. The options and pricing section are important to know how customizable a piece of existing software is along with price points. Of course, the verdict is necessary to weigh all categories and the overall value of the software. Focusing a piece of software and its' usability in order to aid various types users or collaborators is important.
Professional Application Value of Skill
The evidence above demonstrates my ability to think and design with the end-user in mind. This sort of design as expressed in the evidence takes into account various types of end-users and the interaction between various types of end-users. I have frameworks for user-centered design, but can also analyze different purposes and goals of both individuals with businesses and organizations who must interact with different goals on a cooperative project. I can analyze existing software in order to integrate it into something usable for various types of end-users, from employees to customers.