I am the one and only...

No not Chesney Hawkes.

I am the first and currently only HFI Certified Usability Analyst in the UK.

It hasn't got me a pay rise, or made anyone think that my design suggestions are that much better than they were. so what was the point? Well it was has definitely given me is the confidence to support my suggestions with reasoned arguments when meeting resistance to change or irrational decision making.

British institutions dropped the idea of creating a certification after initial market feedback suggested that established usability professionals were not interested in professional certification. This seems a shame as usability is far too often the remit of the academically inclined, many of whom will have an MA and would most likely see little benefit in a professional qualification in light of their academic ones. Whilst I think there is no replacement for experience I would welcome a professional qualification that represents a standard of quality; based on work produced. Such deliverables are not easy to achieve but are essential to any level of credence as a usability engineer or interface designer.