RUX June: What we talk about when we talk about UX

Wednesday, June 26, 2013
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Dominion Digital, Inc.
4101 Cox Road, Glen Allen, VA (map)

What approaches and terminology do we use to talk to others about our day-to-day and long-term user experience work? How do we sell ourselves and get buy-in for our activities? Is there such a thing as too much transparency? A panel of UXers from corporate, non-profit, startup and educational worlds discusses lessons learned from communicating UX work to internal stakeholders as well as clients.

Get more info and RSVP at Meetup.com.


2013 RUX Meetups

RUX February: Brand & UX: Toward a New Interpretation

Wed Feb 27 at 6:15 PM

Corrugated Box Building, 201 W 7th St, Richmond, VA (map)
Mark Badger will get us thinking about the intersections of brand and UX. It’s not that those charged with overseeing the brand and those responsible for creating user experiences can’t, don’t, or have not collaborated. But it is fair to say that the relationship has often been…contentious. And yet, strategic thinkers from both camps seem to be zeroing in on the same target. More info…

RUX April: Are We Building the Wrong Thing Righter?

Wed Apr 24 at 6:00 PM

Snagajob, 4851 Lake Brook Drive, Glen Allen, VA (map)
Ryan Shriver of Dominion Digital shines the light on Agile and Lean product development frameworks that drive better customer value outcomes. Over the past decade, Agile and Lean methods have brought enormous benefits to teams and organizations. These improvements have primarily focused on helping them build things faster, with higher quality and improved collaboration. What hasn’t been a focus is ensuring teams are building the right things. More info…

RUX August: Framing the Story: Using Comics for Better UX

Storytelling is a crucial UX skill. Who are the users? What problems are they trying to solve? Why do they need your website or software? Where will they use it? When? Comic strips and storyboards are a great way to communicate about people, their relationships, and context over time. When used at the right moment during a project, comics bring ideas to life, illustrate complex scenarios and simplify requirements. In this fun and engaging roundtable discussion, RUXsters will glimpse rare comics selected by Cindy Jackson, Archival Assistant for Comic Arts @ VCU Special Collections, share favorite comics and graphic novels, and discuss ways to use comics for better UX. Seats are limited to 25 (free admission), so sign up early for an evening of BZZZT!, ZAP!, POW!

Wednesday, August 29, 2012
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
VCU James Branch Cabell Library
901 Park Avenue, Richmond, VA

RSVP »


Next meeting: Book club

For the next RUX meeting, we’re doing a book club! The book is Susan Weinschenk’s 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know about People. The date is December 7…the place is to be determined.

Why not support local business and buy the book from an indie bookstore, Fountain Bookstore in Shockoe Slip: bit.ly/u7XnzU


Midwest UX Slides available

Last weekend the first Midwest UX conference took place. Held in Columbus, OH, it was a joint venture between two local groups: UPA Columbus and IxDA Columbus.

What an intensely incredible conference! More than 200 folks gathered from all over, including several countries. The preponderance of attendees were from the surrounding areas: Pennsylvania and Michigan and Indiana and Illinois and, of course, Ohio. Even our own Joe Sokohl attended (and presented).

Check out this great list of presentations you can browse. Also, set aside April 27 for a ReDUX of three conferences: IxDA, IA Summit, and Midwest UX. Place to be determined.


Let’s get together!

How about a RUX happy hour this Wednesday night? Sound good? Y’all want to get together, chat about all things UX: VisD, IxD, IA, UT, CS, whatever.

Where: Xtras Café in Carytown: 3322-B West Cary St. Richmond, VA 23221 – (across from Mary Angela’s)
When: Wednesday, Feb 23, 6-8pm
Who: Information architects, interaction designers, user interface designers, web designers, software and Web developers, data architects, library and information scientists, content strategists, industrial designers, technical writers, business analysts–in short, anyone interested in building up the user’s experience in software and hardware.


Creating Value with Consistent User Experience and Multichannel Integration

Brand Image Director at ALPS Corporation Jonas LaRance talks about brand, experience, and business value. As he describes his talk:

Wow, what a title! If I could I’d work the word synergy in there too. Come discover the important lesson behind the jargon when I give an inside look how Vanns.com (no, not the shoes) a mid-size clicks-and-bricks retailer in Missoula, Montana (where?), gives its customers what they want and is ranked as the number-one online electronics retailer in Consumer Reports. It’s all in the user experience, the multichannel integration, and of course the reflexes.

Set your calendars for March 31, 6:00-7:30 p.m.

Location update!

We’ll be meeting at Ironworks Consulting, 4121 Cox Road, Ste 205 in Glen Allen. See you there!


RUX February Meet Up

Meet and connect with fellow UX practitioners from Richmond’s vibrant user experience community. IxDA board member Joe Sokohl will share highlights from the recent Interaction 10 Conference. Admission is free. Pay only for drinks and food.

When:
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Where:
Barrel Thief
11747 West Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23233
(804) 364-0144
http://www.barrelthiefwine.com/shortpump

When:

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Where:

Barrel Thief

11747 West Broad Street

Richmond, VA 23233

(804) 364-0144

http://www.barrelthiefwine.com/shortpump

What:

Meet and connect with fellow UX practitioners from Richmond’s vibrant user experience community. IxDA board member Joe Sokohl will share highlights from the recent Interaction 10 Conference. Admission is free. Pay only for drinks and food.

About RUX:

We are a group of information architects, librarians, web developers, usability experts, user experience designers, and other like-minded people from the Richmond/Charlottesville area. Our events are designed to facilitate communication and collaboration among UX practitioners in a relaxed and informal setting. Meetings are free and open to all levels of experience. Students are welcome. Whether you’re a seasoned user experience professional or a newbie, please join us for stimulating conversation! Visit: http://richmondux.com


Presentation from the January Meeting

Here’s the PDF from Tom & Joe’s presentation at the joint RUX/Agile Richmond meeting.

http://www.slideshare.net/jsokohl/rux-agile-jan-10


Let’s Get More Agile for 2010!

If you missed Tom and Joe’s November presentation, here’s your chance to hear it as the Richmond User Experience Group teams up with Agile Richmond to present Agility for Agile Professionals!

Doors open at 5:30, presentation is from 6-7:30.

Date:
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Time:
5:30pm – 7:30pm
Where:
Apex Systems- 4400 Cox Road, Ste 100, Glen Allen

Description

Agile team professionals often find themselves working on projects with tight deadlines, tighter budgets, and unreasonably high expectations for success. Too often user research, usability, and design processes are compressed or even cut entirely for the sake of time, while development and business analysis time is increased. As UX professionals become more involved with agile development methods, we have discovered novel approaches to user-centered design that are adaptable to any budget or deadline.

This discussion will explore how user research, usability, IA and interaction design practices are adapted and thrive in agile projects.

Focusing on their experiences at Agile 2009 in Chicago this past fall, they will discuss:

  • How to provide timely and valuable UX support to stressed web development teams
  • How to let go and modify research/design/development dogmas
  • How to advocate for users when time for user research and usability are unavailable
  • How to balance rigor, quality, and speed

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