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Mike Fritz and Paul D. Berger

Everybody can learn something; and everybody can teach something. But the richest and most valuable professional sharing often takes place when people from two generations get together and exchange ideas based on their different journeys.

This series introduces us to a host of Millennials, Baby Boomers, Gen X’ers — and even members of the Silent Generation, born between 1937 and 1945 — as they collaborate, counsel, mentor or reverse mentor across the generational divide.

Actually, as we’ll see in the coming weeks, age gaps seem to shrink, or even disappear, when the multi-generational give-and-take is mutually rewarding.

That’s certainly the case for millennials, who are drinking from the mellow cup of older-generation experience as they launch careers while, at the same time, refilling this aging vessel with the cutting-edge fizz of the digital age.

A Baby Boomer Learns Advanced Statistics From a Master Teacher

Mike Fritz, Bentley alumnus and usability executive at PeopleFluent

“I initially met Paul while taking his graduate course in statistics at Bentley. It was an informative class, and Paul was an amazing guy.

I work in UX (user experience), and I’ve been professionally involved with usability testing for years. So, during the semester, I started wondering why my colleagues in UX don’t take the data they collect through usability tests on Web sites and Web apps, apply advanced statistics, and then try to predict what they need to do design-wise to get the outcomes they want.

When I mentioned this question to Paul, he thought it was fascinating. He had never thought of that. I remember him saying, ‘That’s a whole new data set for me.’

Once we started talking, we realized that there was a great book to be done on this subject. But Paul didn’t know that much about UX. He’s been teaching statistics at the highest levels for almost 40 years, focusing on his students and research, so this is pretty understandable.

Our working relationship as we wrote the book was fantastic. I helped Paul learn more about the real-world UX field. And he was deeply brilliant in the way he taught me advanced statistics. His data prowess is just unbelievable. I was so fortunate that he shared a wealth of knowledge with me. Any statistics problem we came up against, he had a solution.

It was a happy and complimentary professional marriage, for sure. And, looking back, one of the things that made it so fruitful for both of us was the fact that we were patient with each other.”

A Silent Generation Member Learns More About the Blossoming Field of UX

Paul D. Berger, Academic Director of the Bentley Masters in Marketing Analytics

“Mike and I were a wonderful match of talents.

And I think there were lots of surprises for both of us along the way — things neither of us ever thought about. That’s very stimulating and gratifying.

Mike is definitely a cool guy. I would not call myself a cool guy. He’s much more in tune with the user experience culture, and I got a lot from him in this area. But he learned a tremendous amount of statistics as we co-authored.

When we worked on the book, he did the UX-related text, and I did the charts and statistics and statistical discussion. It was a good fit and a good mix. Both of our contributions were essential.

The end product, which is being published this spring, is called Improving the User Experience Through Practical Data Analytics. This is a book that’s more of a practical how-to guide, not a treatise on statistics. It will help readers utilize descriptive and predictive statistical techniques to gain meaningful insight from data collected employing traditional UX research methods.

I think we’re both pleased by the partnership and result.” 

Mike Fritz and Paul D. Berger are co-authors of the recently published "Improving the User Experience Through Practical Data Analytics." Fritz is a Bentley alumnus and usability executive at PeopleFluent, a software company that specializes in human capital management technology solutions. Berger is Visiting Scholar and Professor of Marketing as well as Academic Director of the Master of Science in Marketing Analytics Program at Bentley University.