What are the successful career steps in the rapidly changing environment of today's Information Science profession? What can SLIS students do to best prepare themselves? 2002 MIS alumnus Chris Hall answers these questions and more as he discusses his successful Information Science career. Chris, who appeared in the SLIS Alumni News in 2004, rejoins us to celebrate his new position as Senior Interaction Designer for the Mitchell User Experience. Everyone interested in a career in Information Science will certainly benefit from this email interview with Chris.
Which SLIS degree did you complete?
I was in the information science program. I focused on human computer interaction and information design for web applications. This was the choice I made coming into the program and I am very glad I made it. I have found myself in a challenging and satisfying career doing exactly what the program prepared me for.
Can you tell us a bit about your current professional position?
I currently live in San Diego, California (coming up on three years now). I am an interaction designer for Mitchell International Inc. Among other things our company produces software for the auto insurance industry. There are dozens of applications that we offer, both desktop and web applications. I work with a user experience team to ensure that the design of the software meets the needs of the customer, is easy to use, and is consistent and integrated with all of our software products. As an interaction designer, my focus is on validating business requirements by reviewing wireframes and interactive prototypes with the customers in an iterative fashion. When the requirements are set, I create a high fidelity prototype along with design documentation for our development team to build from. I will then work to ensure that what is built is in line with the design. Other tasks that I am involved with are some up front user research, user and task analysis, evaluating use cases and business requirements, and the occasional data model and .NET code snippet.
For the first year working here, I was the UX lead on a 1.0 release of an enterprise level web application which has had a two year development cycle. My daily work varies depending on the stage of the software development and I am right now working mostly with QA to ensure that bugs are worked out of the software. I am also beginning to be involved in user research for another 1.0 web application.
The work environment is highly collaborative within my team and with other teams at the company. I work closely with UX to receive information from the usability engineer which helps make design decisions, the visual designer who provides design comps and style guides and review my work with the other interaction designers as well as the whole team. Other teams that I work closely with are product management, architecture, data management, development, QA, and support.
What coursework at SLIS did you find most valuable?
Coming into SLIS, I had no experience with web design so the course(s) that teach HTML, CSS, and JavaScript were very helpful. The course on information architecture was also extremely helpful because I am constantly dealing with issues regarding navigation, categorization of information, and how it all maps together. The PERL class was good for me because learning a robust scripting language is critical not only for prototyping but speaking with developers. Same with Data modeling, you have to know enough to understand what is going on around you. Other key classes were learning and understanding how to conduct user and task analysis, cognitive walkthrough, heuristic evaluation, usability testing and HCI principles. User centered design (UCD) is what we practice.
What was your experience like here at SLIS?
SLIS was a good experience for me. Most projects were team based and that is good experience for the business world because you have to be able to communicate with different types of people, ask the right questions from your users, and produce on tight schedules.
Which faculty members did find the most influential?
Howard Rosenbaum was my advisor during my time at SLIS. Aside from that, I took as many of his classes as I could and found them all highly relevant, entertaining, and educational. Even after graduating, I continued (and still do) to correspond with him about career choices, research sources, industry best practices, etc...
How does your current career compare to your expectations when you came to SLIS?
I didn't have the foggiest idea of what I would be doing when I first came in other than I wanted to work in tech and make good money. The job track after graduating was great, I didn't get this interaction designer position immediately but went from web programming/design to interface design to interaction design... each time I got closer to a position that I felt I deserved because of the distinct skills I learned in information science. Patience was the key I suppose. I wanted an HCI type job right away but you have to allow yourself to gain experience and whatever you do, you can apply UCD and HCI principles so that you can advance in that job or sell your skills in the next one.
In general, what advice would you give to current SLIS students?
It depends on their goals I guess. I went for a degree that would get me a job vs. the research academia route. So in my case, the advice I would give is think of everything in applicable, practical terms. Do a project not for a grade, do it so that you can show a potential employer how qualified you are. The other thing I would say is capitalize on every opportunity that you have. I gained invaluable experience with a UX internship and a taxonomy internship both of which were posted to SLIS students. I got a job at IU as a webmaster while in school and that was great too. Basically I went from NO resume to a stuffed two page resume by the time I left. The other important thing is to pick your professors brains and really connect with them so they know who you are and what your goals are... they are here to help.
What are your plans for the future?
Right now I am continuing to progress and gain experience as an interaction designer and hope to get promoted to a senior interaction design position. Beyond that I have several options. I could manage a team of interaction designers or user experience professionals, I could pursue a career in product management, product architecture, process design. I might consider becoming a consultant or working for myself in some capacity.
Posted March 07, 2007