I’ve been getting a lot of emails lately on advice for taking the HumanFactors Certified Usability Analyst (CUA) exam. I’m not sure why now, since I took the exam ages ago (has it been two years??) – but anyway. I thought I would post a brief heads-up about the exam, and strategies on how to take it.

First off, I didn’t take their courses before taking the exam. I took the exam as a benchmark to see if I was keeping up with my professional development; to make sure I was actually somewhat qualified to do what I do. That said, I don’t know how the exam would have been if I HAD taken their courses. Being as I passed without the course, I can definitely say, it’s possible.

I get asked pretty often, “Is the CUA exam hard?” Well, it’s supposed to be a professional certification of a pretty complex subject. YES, it’s hard!! Again, I didn’t take their courses, so maybe I would have thought it was easy after being spoon-fed all the information. Who knows? But I would say my experience was that it was pretty hard and very thorough.

Before taking the test, get your head in the right place. If you’re a seasoned UX designer, you may have all sorts of UXD knowledge floating around your head. Clear your head! This exam is about Usability – as such, it’s a very matter-of-fact test, with questions that get into specificity of scientific studies about cognition, memory, etc. There will be very little if any about persuasive design, emotional design, and other UX areas. Usability. It’s all based on scientific observation, facts, statistics, etc. Take HFI’s advice on how to prepare for the exame – read all the scientific articles (some you have to pay for, some are available for free), read all of their articles and newsletters, read Nielsen’s studies, and read some more wherever you can find. READ!

The test is not perfect. There were a few questions I took issue with, because they utilized old-school practices in their answers. But if you think about theĀ best answer, with a focus on “what’s usable” rather than “what’s the best design choice,” you’ll do better.

Lastly, pace yourself! It’s a long test, so don’t get caught up on a few questions. Set a timer to keep yourself moving. And most of all, relax. It’s just a test.

Good luck!