Susan Feinberg
Department of HumanitiesWhat obstacles prevent websites, programs, and software from being user-friendly? As director of IIT’s Usability Testing and Evaluation Center (UTEC), Professor Susan Feinberg investigates possible answers to this question. Her field of study is usability and human-computer interaction. Feinberg is interested in the interaction between the user and products designed to assist the user, especially products that involve a computer. For example, nearly all of us use computers, but frequently, we have difficulty with some software we are using, such as digital photo editing software, or we wish online educational programs were less text-heavy and boring.
Feinberg’s research indicates that one of the answers to better interaction between the user and the computer lies in developing software and programs based on user-centered design. In the UTEC lab, she tests websites and other products for ease of use and efficiency. Feinberg and her students also design e-learning games for children, teenagers, and adults. So far, they have designed, developed, and rolled out three e-learning games, all of which have won awards from the Society for Technical Communication (STC). As a result of her research and expertise in usability and e-learning game design, in 2006 Feinberg was awarded the Jay R. Gould Award for excellence in teaching from STC.