Over 6,000 individuals since 2002 have become Certified Usability Analysts. Attaining this certification has made a difference to so many UX professionals in their careers. Many have also attained the advanced Certified User Experience Analyst (CXA). Enthusiasm, discipline, and a strong drive to make things better are some of the hallmarks of successful CUAs. They are leading teams, participating at higher levels of decision-making, and extending the influence of UX even further in their organizations. HFI is delighted to highlight the stories of a few individuals who have been honored in the past as CUA of the Month and have now provided us with updates of the value they received from the certification. “Today I am fortunate to have a global role at IBM with responsibility for exceeding customer expectations as it relates to driving strategy beyond UX. Fortunately I have been able to use what I’ve learned to help our team drive a transformation of change within the business of our clients. All of this would not have been possible had I not received my CUA. The CUA is about passion to me, love what you do and it will show.”- Farzana Sedillo About the author Mary M. Michaels is Global Director of Training Evolution, Certification, and Strategic Advisor at Human Factors International. Her expertise includes all aspects of user-interface design: stakeholder and user interviews, personas and scenarios, task analysis, information architecture, wireframes, visual design, usability testing, and institutionalization of usability. She is skilled in strategy development and design for Web sites, intranets, and applications. Industries include: e-commerce, financial services, government, healthcare, insurance, nonprofits, and telecom. Mary oversees and manages HFI’s training courses, their content, and the instructors for HFI worldwide. She also leads and performs test development and item writing for the CUA and CXA certification exams for individuals.