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. At the time, UPA decided not to pursue certification.

A workshop held at the UPA 2002 Conference recommended to the UPA Board several prerequisites toward certification, including the definition of a Body of Knowledge. This recommendation placed a BoK in the center of several future activities, including defining a curriculum, identifying roles, creating a self-assessment tool, and, maybe eventually, a certification.

The Usability BoK is at the center of other aspects of developing the profession, including a curriculum, role development, a self-assessment tool, and eventually a certification.

2004

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. The workshop participants agreed that a Usability Body of Knowledge should:

• Represent a broad consensus regarding the profession itself and the range of knowledge, skills, and methods that should be mastered by practitioners in the field.
• Will necessarily be broad and inclusive in scope, because our profession is inherently multidisciplinary and draws on a wide range of other practices.

Following that workshop, the BoK Working Group established a framework for subjects that will be included in the future Usability BoK and begun recruiting volunteers for the project.

2005

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.