I’m very happy and relieved that I passed the Human Factors International—Certified Usability Analyst Exam. I believe my experience taking the exam is atypical in that I passed the test without taking any of their seminars.
I was very interested to see if I could pass the exam as a benchmark of my knowledge and experience. It was a very tough exam and I had to take the test more than once to pass (HFI allows one free retest if you fail the first time). I think the exam is probably a lot less stressful if you’ve taken the seminars, but each person’s learning style and preference is different. I chose not to take the seminars because I would need to finance it myself. However, I hope I have the opportunity to take the seminars sometime in the future. I’ve heard from reputable sources that they are excellent and worthwhile.
I studied every possible thing I could find on the HFI site. With the help of a study partner, I read about 60 research papers, the 11 gui design articles form the website, 22 white papers from the website, the UI Design Newsletters from the website (at least read December for each year) and I analyzed the glossary. I also read About Face 3 by Alan Cooper and The Usability Engineering Lifecycle by Deborah J. Mayhew. I compiled a 27-page Word document of notes (sorry I won’t share this, as I said each person’s learning style and preference is different).
The advice I would give to those planning to take the exam without the seminars would be to study a lot and/or have a lot of experience in the field. Is the exam tailored to the seminars? I don’t think so. I think the seminars are probably the fastest and most efficient way to learn the material that’s on the exam. However, I’m proof that it’s possible to pass the exam without the seminars. Good luck on your CUA exam!
20 Responses to “Passed the HFI—Certified Usability Analyst Exam (CUA)”
January 10th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Congratulations on your certification! Working with you over the past few years, I’ve always been impressed by the way your designs consistently reflect the thought you’ve given to the end user’s needs and perspective, so it’s only fitting that you’re now have official recognition.
July 31st, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Hello Eric, I found your page through the link from humanfactors.com.
I’m also interested in taking the CUA exam, because I’m trying to transition my career (I’ve been network engineer for several years and have designed web sites on the site). I have a few questions for you:
1. Which 60 research papers did you use to study for the exam? Are these the white papers found on the site? If not, where could I find them?
2. I’m looking for a volunteering opportunity to gain practical experience on interaction design. Do you know of any places where I could look?
Thank you. I enjoyed reading your posting. Please feel free not to reply.
July 31st, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Hi Daniel,
The research papers are from the bibliographies of articles on the HFI website. They were the result of hard work by my study partner David (I’ve since lost contact with him). Those were mostly helpful for the section of the exam on recent research in the field (only 10 questions).
Your site is really nice. Seems like you should be able to get a lot of practical experience in interaction design by working on your own projects.
Good luck if you decide to take the HFI CUA exam.
August 1st, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Eric,
Congratulations! I am interested in taking the CUA exam. How long did study for the exam?
August 1st, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Hi Nathan,
It’s hard to say how long I studied because it’s a combination of many things, but I guess I had my eye on taking the exam for a couple of years and focused my work that way and probably hit the books for few months before the exam date.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Thanks Eric. I figured a few months before the exam date would be a good allotment of time. I plan on doing the self study. I am very encouraged by your posting and your experience. Thank you for sharing. Good luck to you in you career. Nathan
August 1st, 2008 at 10:07 pm
@Nathan
Good luck to you! You can never learn enough about user-centered design.
Eric
August 11th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
Eric, I’m going to begin my self-study with the goal of taking the test in November or January. Do you mind if return here to ask you questions during that time? Also, how did you find your study partner?
Nathan
August 11th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
@Nathan
Go for it and Good luck! I can’t remember where I found my study partner. I think it was on craigslist via google.
August 19th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Eric,
Did you purchase all the books by Chris Wickens? Did you pay for the reprints of all the articles listed in the reference sheet by Human Factors? I’ve started compiling and determining cost and it looks like it will cost about $1200 -$1400. Does that sound realistic to you?
Thanks for your help.
August 21st, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Nathan,
Nope. I didn’t purchase any books by Chris Wickens. The research articles were gathered by my study partner, and I was under the impression that they were all available from libraries.
September 25th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
I’ll be honest: I don’t know how anyone passed this test without taking the classes. Whew! it was tough and it was frickin’ open book!
September 25th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
Did you pass?!
May 12th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
Hey Eric,
Will you be available (1-2 hour max) to mentor/guide me for cracking the CUA exam? I am having hard time coming up with the money to attend the seminar.However i have taken The Science and Art of Effective Web and Application Design around late 2000.
Thanks
Alok
May 13th, 2009 at 10:55 pm
Good luck taking the exam! 1-2 hours of tutoring wouldn’t be effective. You have to try to figure out the study path that works best for you. It may take some time, but you can do it.
April 12th, 2010 at 11:36 pm
Hi Eric,
Can you explain the pattern of the test. Little more details of the test like how many sections and what type of sections that will help u sin the directions to prepare fir the test I am planing to do it my self or if my company ready to invest on me the I will take the courses. I appreciate your help.
thanks
Vinay
April 13th, 2010 at 1:54 am
Hi Vinay,
I can’t remember the details of the test other than what I wrote about above. There are lots of details about the sections of the test on the HFI web site.
Good luck!
Eric
June 23rd, 2010 at 7:32 pm
Hi Eric,
It’s great you’re such a self-starter and able to learn all this without taking the courses. That said, other than proving to yourself you learned the materials, has being certified been at all useful for your career?
thanks,
Tevi
June 24th, 2010 at 1:46 am
Hi Tevi,
It’s definitely useful in my career. I feel it gives me additional credibility as an expert and I think it also sets a quality standard for me to strive to uphold.
Your site looks awesome. I don’t think you have too much to worry about…
Eric
June 24th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Thanks, Eric! My reasoning for getting certified would be exactly that. I think I’ll do it!