◆HCD-Net is planning to start another accreditation test on HCD, in addition to the "HCD Professional" and "HCD Specialist". It will be called "Accreditation Test on HCD", which will examine only on the knowledge in the HCD field, and will not ask about examinee's actual project experience. This test will be applied mainly for beginners or freshman in a corporations.

For further detail plan shall be announced during 2014 to start in 2015 fiscal year. Watch this statement.

Human-Centered Design Organization (HCD-Net) has started to think about "Human Centered Design" more than 10 years in Japan, as a non-profit organization.
It is already studied that point of view of HCD has very often fall off from the field of academic programs, industrial trainings, political actions by the government, therefore non-profit organization such as HCD-Net shall follow as its main action role.
HCD-Net is configured by professionals who have been worked for a long time in each field of academy or corporations, etc. HCD-Net activities had been started based on ISO 9241-210 (ISO 13407), though, members are still continuing their study on these standardizations. For detail activities on HCD-Net, see "About us".

Main activities of HCD-Net are 1. Research, 2. Education, 3. Diffusion and Advocacy, 4. Promotion, 5. Standardization and Accreditation, 6. Internationalization.
HCD-Net knows that there are many people who needs HCD considerations and information, such as system engineers & programmers, usability engineers & designers, user interface designers, information architects, developers of product plan or design, manufacturers and sales departments, or managers of these business areas.
Moreover, there are so many people who want to study about HCD, such as engineers in many fields, system engineers or programmers, graphic designers, product designers, service business field relations, governmental activities, and people who is thinking user interface is important. All they are the target of the promotion activities.

If you need any contact to HCD-Net, you are welcome.

HCD-Net Headquarter

Attn. Human Centered Design Organization
c/o Sociomedeia,Inc.3F Modelia Colors.36-13 Wakamatsu-cho,Shinjuku-ku,Tokyo,162-0056,Japan
E-mail : secretariat＠hcdnet.org

"Certification Committee of HCD-Net" in Japan had a meeting with Thomas Geis, from Germany, Nigel Bevan and Jonathan Vaughan Earthy, from UK. They could have a fruitful discussion on "Certification Test of HCD and UX field" together and exchanged opinions to each other, at Chiba Institute of Technology in Tsudanuma, Chiba prefecture, Japan. For this meeting Prof. Masaaki Kurosu, Prof. Masaya Ando, Ms. Rika Waida, Mr. Seiji Hayakawa and Mr. M. Takahashi, who are all main steering members of Certification Committee of HCD-Net attended as representatives of HCD-Net, an professional organization for promoting HCD and UX in Japan.

"Certification Committee of HCD-Net" in Japan had a meeting with Thomas Geis, from Germany, Nigel Bevan and Jonathan Vaughan Earthy, from UK. They could have a fruitful discussion on "Certification Test of HCD and UX field" together and exchanged opinions to each other, at Chiba Institute of Technology in Tsudanuma, Chiba prefecture, Japan. For this meeting Prof. Masaaki Kurosu, Prof. Masaya Ando, Ms. Rika Waida, Mr. Seiji Hayakawa and Mr. M. Takahashi, who are all main steering members of Certification Committee of HCD-Net attended as representatives of HCD-Net, an professional organization for promoting HCD and UX in Japan.

When starting the meeting, each person introduced by themselves, and their back ground and the HCD or UX activities at their site were reported. Then, HCD-Net explained the purpose, and the evaluation system of the "Certification Test" started since 2009. Thomas Guis also explained "Certified Professional for Usability and User Experience (CPUX, http://www.uxqb.org/en)", which is establishing recently in Germany according to his reference.


Many opinions about German and Japanese professional certification test were exchanged with many questions and answers, though, it was clarified that there are not so large difference between Germany and Japan on basic recognition on the certification system. Although domestic HCD or UX environment in Germany and Japan is different, an approach idea, which is based on the actual activities and experiences and the evaluation way of competence of HCD and UX professionals are very similar. It can be said Japanese analysis on the certification system and competence system are little bit in detail, but that is why there people should meet and share those information, and this kind of meeting shall be promoted co-operatively by Germany, UK and Japan to the other countries.

Reference:
1) http://www.uxqb.org/en/
2) http://www.isql.org/
3) http://www.hcdnet.org/en/
4) “Certified Professional for Usability and User Experience (CPUX)” in Germany
5) “Certified Human Centered Design Professional” System by HCD-Net, in Japan

Forum

May 19, 2012 at Tokai University, Tokyo

 * Keynote Speaker Professor Takashi Iba "Experience Mining and Sharing by Laguage Patterns"

 *3 parallel sessions and a reception followed.

 *More than 150 participants

Seminars

at Nagoya

  1 April 28, 2012  40 participants

     "Visual Method in HCD + Workshop"

     *Lecturers: Mr. Satoshi Asano, Prof. Tadashi Kobayashi

  2 May26, 2012  31 participants

     "Observation in HCD + Workshop"

    *Lecturers: Mr. Satoshi Asano, Prof. Tadashi Kobayashi

  3 June 30, 2012  40 participants

     "Story Telling in HCD + Workshop"

    *Lecturers:Mr. Yohei Sakai, Prof. Tadashi Kobayashi

  4 July 14, 2012 31 participants

     "Report from Overseas conferences, User Experience Value Analysis for UXD + Workshop"

     *Lecturers: Mr. Hideyuki Hirano, Prof. Masaya Ando

  5 August 25,  28 participants

     "DIY Usability Test"

     *Lecturer: Mr. Tetsuya Tarumoto

  6 September 29, 2012

     "XB Method + Workshop"

     *Lecturer: Ms. Naoka Misawa

at Shizuoka

  1 July 31, 2012 16 participants

     *Lecturer: Mr. Tetsuya Tarumoto

at Osaka

  1 August 18, 13 participants

    *Lecturer:Mr. Yohei Sakai

at Yokohama

     October 7, 2012

    *Speaker:Mr. Kondo, Mr. Wakisaka, Prof. Yamazaki, Mr. Mizumoto, Mr. Asano, Prof. Ando, Prof. Kamihira, Ms Waida

at Shibuya

     November 28, 2012  67participants

     "Comprehensive Design -Principles of IA"

     *Lecturer: Mr. Hasegawa

Salons

 No. 27  May 23, 2012  35 participants

     "Web Service and Globalization from HCD viewpoint"

     *Speakers: Mr. Oguri, Mr. Tachihara, Mr.Kondo

 No. 28  July 3, 2012   37 participants

     "Marketing and UXD"

     *Panelist:Mr. Hirohiko Takahiro, Prof. Masaya Ando, Mr. Atsushi Hasegawa

No. 29  August 8, 2012  48 participants

     "HCD and Society"

     *Speakers: Mr. Katahiko Nomura, Mr. Kouichi Wakasugi, Prof. Kazuhiko Yamazaki

No. 30  Sept 21, 2012 at Kobe   42 participants

     "HCD and Results: Case Studies"

     *Speakers: Mr. Ariyoshi, Ms Kohno, Ms.Tsukuda, Mr. Watanabe, Ms. Yamagishi, Prof. Yamazaki

No.31 November 21, 2012   27 participants

     "HCD and Service Design"

     *Reports by Mr. Kondo, Mr. Hasegawa.

     *Panel Discussion: Mr. Kondo, Mr. Hasegawa, Prof. Yamazaki

For Corporate Members  December 21,2012  34 participants

     *Lecturers: Ms. Baba, Mr. Mizuta, Mr. Honda, Mr. Sueyoshi.

     *Round table discussion

World Usability Day in Japan

November 8, 2012   32participants

     "Usability in Global Business Scenes"

    *Speaker Mr. Kimura

    *Panel Discussion: Mr. Noda, Ms. Hamachi, Mr.Watanabe

HCD Research Proceedings

December 14, 2012 92 participants

    *10 long sessions, 5 short sessions, and 4 posters presented.

Others

*SciFi-SIG: Online and Offline meetings, and reports

*Kansei-SIG:Online and Offline meetings

*Certified HCD Professional 3rd Gathering

  November 22, 2012  16 participants.

Date:

March 2nd 2012 @Tokyo

Discussion Theme:
Space and User Experience

Invited Speakers:
- Akihisa Hirata / Architect
- Masaaki Takahashi / Journalist

Discussion Summary:
When designing an architecture, it is important for architects to leave some free space for users to create their own way to interact with the architecture. So to say, the experience of each user evolves organically in his/her own living context.

In the board meeting in September 2012, it was decided that my essays on the HCD should be uploaded here. As a President of HCD, I'm regularly writing a series of essay on the monthly newsletter of our organization. Essays that will be uploaded here won't be the translation of those written in Japanese, but will include some new ones. Anyways, please note that these essays reflects my own personal view and are not related to any of the official viewpoint of the HCD-Net. So, please enjoy.