Category: writing

Publications

My academic and research publications are listed below.

Information Science
Technical Standards
Vision Science
Real Estate Research

All blog posts are published on this site and at at Medium.com.

Information Science

Whysel, N, S. Thurow & B. Corwin. (October 30, 2023). “Not an Afterthought: Ongoing Accessibility Evaluations During Development of Science Gateway Websites – Life and Earth Sciences.” Poster presentation (accepted). Gateways 2023, Science Gateways Community Institute, Pittsburgh, PA.

Phuong et al. (November 14, 2022). “Informatics-enabled Preparedness for Natural Hazards to Minimize Health Impacts of Climate Change.” Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA, 29(12), 2161–2167. https://doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocac162

Whysel, N. & LeVasseur, L. (June 2, 2022). Spotlight Report #6: Proffering Machine-Readable Personal Privacy Research Agreements: Pilot Project Findings for IEEE P7012 WG. Internet Safety Labs.

LeVasseur, L. & Whysel, N. (May 4, 2022). CPPA Pre-Ruling Stakeholder Sessions. (Statement on Dark Patterns). Internet Safety Labs.

Whysel, N. (February 24, 2022). Designing Respectful Tech: What is your relationship with technology? Web. Boxes and Arrows. Online.

Whysel, N. (January 18, 2022). Spotlight Report #5: Me2B Alliance Validation Testing Report: Consumer Perception of Legal Policies in Digital Technology. Me2B Alliance.

Whysel, N, Alexanyan, K. & Little, K. (November 5, 2021). Spotlight Report #3: Me2B Alliance Validation Research: Consumer Sensitivity to Location Tracking by Websites and Mobile App. Me2B Alliance.

Gesing, S., Brandt, S., Bradley, S., Potkewitz, M., Kee, K., Whysel, N., Perri, M., Cleveland, S., Rugg, A. and Smith, J. A Vision for Science Gateways: Bridging the Gap and Broadening the Outreach. In Practice and Experience in Advanced Research Computing (PEARC ’21), July 18–22, 2021, Virtual Conference, ACM, New York, NY. [full text preprint]

Corwin, B., Thurow, S. & Whysel, N. (April 20, 2021). Accessibility Compliance and Assessments for Gateway Websites in Life Sciences: Toward Inclusive Design [Conference presentation]. The Information Architecture Conference. Online. [program] [poster]

Whysel, N. (November 19, 2020). Accessibility Compliance and Assessments for Gateway Websites in Life Sciences: Toward Inclusive Design [Poster presentation]. City Tech’s 18th Annual Poster Session. New York City College of Technology, City University of New York. Online. [program] [gallery– slide 20]

Thurow, S. N. Whysel & B. Corwin. (October 19, 2020). Accessibility Compliance and Assessments for Gateway Websites in Life Sciences: Toward Inclusive Design. Gateways 2020. Science Gateways Community Institute, Virtual Conference. [poster and supporting reference materials]

Thurow, S., & Whysel, N. (October 30, 2019). How to Create and Maintain an Effective Information Architecture and Navigation System for Science Gateway Websites. Gateways 2019. Science Gateways Community Institute. Retrieved from osf.io/t8mq9

Whysel, N. (June 12, 2019). NYC Charter Revisions and GIS Oversight. GISMOnyc.

Whysel, N. (March 16, 2019). IA Gateway. Poster presentation. The Information Architecture Conference 2019, Orlando, FL, USA. [program]

Thornhill, K., Colt, J., Davis, S., Dragovic, N., Marshall, H., Melton, S., … Young, S. W. H. (2018, December 17). Digital Libraries User Personas Best Practices. OSF. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/WPB8Q

Whysel, N. (February 9, 2017). Help Millennials Make Better Financial Decisions. Decision Fish.

Whysel, N. (May 7, 2016). Pinterest as Digital Archive. Poster presentation. ASIS&T 2016 Information Architecture Summit, Atlanta, GA.

Whysel, N. (June/July 2015). Information Architecture in Wikipedia. ASIS&T Bulletin.

Whysel, N. (April 25, 2015). IA and Wikipedia. Poster presentation. ASIS&T 2015 Information Architecture Summit, Minneapolis, MN.

Whysel, N. (Ed.). (2006-2013). IA Institute Annual Report. Information Architecture Institute.

Whysel, N. (Ed.). (2006-2013). IA Institute Salary and Benefits Survey. (Advisor for 2014 and  2015 editions). Information Architecture Institute.

Edelstein, J., Li-Madeo, C., Marden, J., Whysel, N. (2013). “Linked Open Data for Cultural Heritage: evolution of an information technology.” In Proceedings of the 31st ACM international conference on design of communication. Greenville, N.C.: Association for Machine Computing.

Whysel, N. (10 May 2013). Linked Open Data in Cultural Heritage Institutions, Poster presentation. 2013 Pratt SILS Student Showcase, New York, NY.

Dowling, K., Hart, D. & Whysel, N. (April 5, 2013). Folksonomies and Social Tagging in Museums, Poster presentation. ASIS&T 2013 Information Architecture Summit, Baltimore, MD.

Whysel, N. (30 November 2012). “Archiving Digital Maps.” (unpublished student paper). New York, NY: Pratt Institute.

Whysel, N. (13 November 2012). “Folksonomy: The Evolution of a Knowledge Organization Concept.” (unpublished student paper). New York, NY: Pratt Institute.

Whysel, N. (22 March 2012). Incident Timeline and Review of Technology Advances at OEM Since 2001 (revised). Poster presentation. ASIS&T 2012 Information Architecture Summit, New Orleans, LA.

Whysel, N. (16 November 2011). Incident Timeline and Review of Technology Advances at OEM Since 2001. Poster presentation. NYC GeoSymposium 2001-2011-2021, New York, NY.

Whysel, N. (20 June 2011). “Finding IA at the Enterprise Search Summit,” IA Institute News.

Whysel, N. (1999). “Search Engine Position Strategies,” Virtuous Reality Interactive, Inc. Workshops.

Technical Standards

I collaborated in the development of the following technical standards providing key subject matter expertise in the specifications and supplemental guidance.

ISL Safe Software Specification for Websites and Mobile Apps v1.1. (July 5, 2022). Internet Safety Labs.

Me2B Safe Technology Specification v1.0. (April 29, 2022). Me2B Alliance.

Mobile Authentication Assurance Statement (MAAS) Draft Specification. (October 27, 2020). Federated Identifiers for Resilient Ecosystems Work Group, Kantara Initiative.

User Experience Guidelines and Metrics. (June 10, 2016). IDEF Knowledgebase. Identity Ecosystem Steering Group.

Baseline Functional Requirements (Usable Requirements and Best Practices). (June 6, 2016). IDEF Knowledgebase. User Experience Committee, Identity Ecosystem Steering Group.

Vision Science

Zaidi, Q., Yoshimi, B., Flanigan (Whysel), N. and Canova, A. (1992). Lateral interactions within color mechanisms in simultaneous induced contrast. Vision Research, 32, 1695-1707, 1992.

Zaidi, Q., Yoshimi, B. and Flanigan (Whysel), N. (1990). Tests of spatial additivity for induced color contrast. Optical Society of America, Annual Meeting, 1990. (Opt. Soc. Am. Tech. Digest Series, 15, 206, 1990).

Real Estate Research

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. (2000). “1999 Nassau/Suffolk Counties, New York,” In ULI Market Profiles, New York, NY: Urban Land Institute.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. (2000). “1999 New York City, New York,” In ULI Market Profiles, New York, NY: Urban Land Institute.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. (1999). “1998 Nassau/Suffolk Counties, New York,” In ULI Market Profiles, New York, NY: Urban Land Institute.

Price Waterhouse LLP. (1998). The 1998 CRE Real Estate Technology Survey. New York, NY and Chicago, IL: The Counselors of Real Estate and Price Waterhouse.

Price Waterhouse LLP. (1998). “1997 Nassau/Suffolk Counties, New York,” In ULI Market Profiles, New York, NY: Urban Land Institute.

Price Waterhouse LLP. (1997). “1996 Nassau/Suffolk Counties, New York,” In ULI Market Profiles, New York, NY: Urban Land Institute.

Price Waterhouse LLP. (1997). “CRE Technology Survey,” Counselors of Real Estate Newsletter. Chicago, IL: The Counselors of Real Estate.

Price Waterhouse LLP. (1997). “Real Estate and The Internet,” Real Estate Now. New York, NY: Price Waterhouse.

Price Waterhouse LLP. (1996). “1995 Nassau/Suffolk Counties, New York,” In ULI Market Profiles, New York, NY: Urban Land Institute.

Price Waterhouse LLP. (1996). “1995 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ,” In ULI Market Profiles, New York, NY: Urban Land Institute.

Price Waterhouse LLP. (1996). “1995 Dublin, Ireland ,” In ULI Market Profiles. New York, NY: Urban Land Institute.

Price Waterhouse LLP. (1995). “1994 Nassau/Suffolk Counties, New York,” In ULI Market Profiles, New York, NY: Urban Land Institute.

MacCrate, J. R. & Whysel, N.Y. (1994). “Land Investors Still Want High Returns,” Mortgage News.

MacCrate, J R. & Whysel, N.Y. (1992). “Cost Segregation As a Tax Savings,” Real Estate Trends and Events Newsletter. New York, NY: Price Waterhouse LLP.

MacCrate, J. R. &. Whysel, N.Y. (1992). “Investment Value vs. Appraisal Value,”” Real Estate Trends and Events Newsletter. New York, NY: Price Waterhouse LLP.

MacCrate, J.R. & Whysel, N.Y. (1992). “Land Investors Still Want High Returns,” Real Estate Trends and Events Newsletter. New York, NY: Price Waterhouse LLP.

MacCrate, J.R. & Whysel, N.Y. (1992). “Real Estate and the Internet,” Real Estate Trends and Events Newsletter. New York, NY: Price Waterhouse LLP.

MacCrate, J.R. & Whysel, N.Y. (1992). “Real Estate Cycles,” Real Estate Trends and Events Newsletter. New York, NY: Price Waterhouse LLP.

MacCrate, J.R. & Whysel, N.Y. (1992). “Transfer Tax,” Real Estate Trends and Events Newsletter, Price Waterhouse LLP, 1992.

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Me2B Alliance

Background

The Me2B Alliance is a standards development organization comprised of software engineers, policy analysts, UX experts, business and philanthropic leaders who are committed to giving individuals more say in how technology treats people. We are setting up a rigorous independent testing and certification program for websites, apps and connected devices. The Me2B Alliance is comprised of working groups for Me-s (the consumer), B-s (the business) as well as the Policy and Legal and Certification working groups. Together, we are setting the standard for Respectful Technology.

My Role

My role at the Me2B Alliance is twofold: I am leading up the Research and Validation practice to provide user experience and other research services to the various working groups, exploring questions around the consumer experience of their relationship with digital technology.

Secondly, I am developing the product integrity testing framework for digital technologies, in particular mobile apps and websites. This framework, coupled with data integrity and security testing, makes up the requirements for Me2BA certification.

User Research Methods

Ethnographic Research

I am engaging consumers in one on one conversations about their relationship with technologies they use in their day to day lives. Research questions range from and their understanding of privacy policies, terms of use agreements and other agreements they make implicitly by using a technology. for example, do users change how they interact with a website when they are familiar with the legal terms of the website? And would a score make a difference?

Preference Testing

I performed a series of tests of the certification mark to be used as a symbol of trust in connected digital technologies. This included interviews, focus groups, unmoderated 5-Second preference tests and surveys.

Product Integrity Testing

I developed a UX Integrity framework for the Me2B Safe and Respectful Technology Framework (now published as the Me2B Safe Specification). This framework was based on an applicaiton of IA heuristics to ensure that notices of data collection, use and sharing is Clear, Findable, Accessible, Credible and Communicative or understandable by a wide audience of human and machine readible or accessible devices.

Tools

Interviews and Focus Groups: Zoom, UserInterviews.com, Surveymonkey

Preference Tests and 5 Second tests: UserInterviews.com

Collaboration: Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Microsoft365, Trello, Monday

Artifacts

Safe Tech Audit: IA as a Framework for Respectful Design (April 23, 2022)
Conference Presentation: Information Architecture Conference 2022

Spotlight Report #5: Me2B Alliance Validation Testing Report: Consumer Perception of Legal Policies in Digital Technology (January 18, 2022)

Spotlight Report #3: Me2B Alliance Validation Research: Consumer Sensitivity to Location Tracking by Websites and Mobile Apps (November 5, 2021)

Shedding Light on Dark Patterns: A Case Study on Digital Harms (April 28, 2021)
Conference Presentation: Information Architecture Conference 2021

Webinar: Me2B Research: Consumer Views on Respectful Technology

Future Plans

We are planning to conduct three focus groups per month of consumers and digital product designers/managers. The research will continue to evolve our understanding of how consumers experience their relationship and risks with respect to digital technologies.

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The Occasional Mentor: Kill Your Darlings

Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash

THE OCCASIONAL MENTOR is a semi-regular column based on questions I’ve answered on Quora, heard on Slack groups, and other career advice I’ve given over the prior month. Feel free to challenge me in the comments, if you have a different experience.

Kill Your Darlings

I am working on a project with a friend who is acting as a client for a capstone project with an agile development class. She complained to me that the students were unable to create a simple one-sheet deliverable featuring a proposed design. The problem: WordPress hasn’t been set up yet. It didn’t occur to them that they could mock it up in a drawing program or simply sketch it by hand.

When I do in-class studios, I will often make the design students work entirely on paper and whiteboard, no computers allowed, to ideate and create a paper prototype. It can be done in two hours end to end. Is the final deliverable App Store ready? Of course not. But it is enough to move quite a bit toward a testable idea.

Students today, and especially developers, don’t understand the power of a piece of paper that you can throw away. When you start coding (or drafting in WordPress) too soon, you get too married to the code, making it hard later on to incorporate new learnings from your user research. It’s better practice to stay as low fi as possible for as long as possible. That’s at least one day of a five day sprint. Sometimes two (testing the paper artifacts with users). Then “Kill your darlings” before they become too dear.

Note: The phrase “Kill your darlings” (or “murder your babies”) is often attributed to William Faulkner and is a feature of many descriptions of the Beat poets: William Borroughs, Allan Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac et al. In fact, the concept “murder your babies” can be traced to Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, a British writer and literary critic in a 1916 lecture series at Cambridge. (Quiller-Couch, Sir Arthur (2000) [1916]. “XII. On Style”. On the Art of Writing: Lectures Delivered in the University of Cambridge, 1913–1914 (Online ed.). Bartleby.com.)

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The Occasional Mentor: On Data Science in UX, Content Strategy vs UX Writing and the Durability of Digital Humanities

THE OCCASIONAL MENTOR
A monthly(ish) column based on questions I’ve answered on Quora, heard on Slack groups, and other career advice I’ve given over the prior month. Hope you like it, but feel free to challenge me in the comments, if you have a different experience. Below are questions I answered in June.

How are the user experience design and data science professions connected with each other?

June 6, 2018

According to Wikipedia:

“Data science is an interdisciplinary field that uses scientific methods, processes, algorithms and systems to extract knowledge and insights from data in various forms, both structured and unstructured, similar to data mining.”

A data scientist is a person who is skilled in quantitative research and can formulate a study, analyze the results and create reports to inform other people about the topic of study. They may work with spreadsheets, statistical programs, graphical interfaces, and programming languages like Python, Java, JSON, R, SQL, MATLAB, SAS, C and F#, among others. They may also work with text analysis software, geographic information systems (GIS) and visualization tools like Tableau and Gephi.

UX designers use the results of quantitative research, created by data scientists and UX researchers. The reports help the designers understand user behavior, based on data collected from digital product user logs, web analytics, or quantitative user research tests. These data may describe typical user paths and places where users tend to drop off or bounce away from the app. It could include the results of A/B tests, card sorts, heatmaps, user flow diagrams and demographic and conversion data.

UX designers may also use the output of data studies in the content of the products they are designing for. These studies would be relevant to the subject of the product, not user generated data. For example, an infographic or other visualization that illustrates aspects of the product: weather maps, income disparity charts, election results.

What is the difference between a content strategist and a UX writer?

June 6, 2018

A content strategist creates a plan for all of the company’s reusable content assets. This can include graphics, text, labels, photographs, charts, PDFs, videos, audio files, documentation, directories, etc. The content strategist creates policies and manages the programs that house and govern content. This could include inventory, storage, workflow and governance of content (such as who has access to what type of content, who is responsible for updating or archiving content, who can delete or create new content).

A UX writer prepares written content for use in any number of media, including advertising, apps and websites, video/audio/animation, PR, etc. with a focus on maintaining a consistent user experience across all channels. This can include articles, product descriptions, documentation, headings, headlines, labels, microcopy, essentially anything that needs to be written in words.

Is the digital humanities an enduring movement or a trend?

June 6, 2018

I think it will endure. Academics need to create original research. Digital projects and analysis represents an exciting way to discover new things about subjects that otherwise seem to be studied to death. Applied to art, literature, history and other subjects in the humanities, digital projects open up a whole frontier of analytics and visualization where computational study used to be rare. This can take the form of text analysis, network diagramming, geographic information systems, 3D printing and even the creation of virtual worlds.

Where it can hit a road block is the fact that people who pursue humanities don’t often have the skills or competence required to utilize computational tools in their research. This isn’t their fault, it just happens to be rare in humanities curricula. That is why many universities are investing in developing IT and library staff who have these skills.

Ultimately, schools will include more and more digital studies electives in humanities programs. So like art and art history programs now may include chemistry and material science in units on art preservation, and English departments will have more an more computer scientists on hand to help with digital humanities projects.