Technical Team

Jeff Horvath, PhD, CUA
Executive Director

Job at HFI

• Understanding clients' needs and helping them solve problems
• Managing and mentoring technical staff
• Helping the field of usability mature as a discipline at HFI and in the field at large

Experience

After his doctoral work at UW-Madison, Jeff spent time with Accenture as a Learning Architect helping to direct the development of two web-based training products for the staffs global workforce. Since then, he's spent time consulting with clients of all sizes understand how to institutionalize usability at their organizations. Some of his better-known clients include American Family Insurance, Sprint, Motorola, Mapquest, Lands' End, Miller Brewing, Rayovac, and Remington.

Education

Ph.D. in Educational Psychology (Cognitive Science)
(1998), University of Wisconsin-Madison

M.S. in Computer Science
(1992), University of Wisconsin-Madison

B.S. in Computer Science
(1989), State University of New York at Buffalo.

Favorite Projects

Developing a new (for the time) kind of video-intensive software that helped teachers learn new ways of teaching young children... in ways that dramatically improved their ability to learn and understand math and science.

Areas of Interest and Design Orientation

The psychology behind design and tool use – everything from cognitive science to social psychology. I am particularly interested in exploring how elements of social experiences relate to the rapidly evolving user experiences in today's world – "Web 2.0", mobile devices, gaming, social communities, etc.

Hobbies and Special Interests

Hockey – it's THE best way to have fun, get exercise, and break an ankle that I know.

Science – physics, astronomy, philosophy of science, biotechnology, etc.

Education – there's nothing more fun than seeing a child have an "AHA!" moment.

Favorite Food

Anything with the word "peanut" in it.

Character

Calm, reliable, and rational.

Technical Team