UX & Product Management: Two (well, three) Upcoming Events

Posted: December 16, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: conferences, events, presentations | Tags: , , , | Comments Off on UX & Product Management: Two (well, three) Upcoming Events

It’s almost as if we planned it.

Back in November, we began discussing our programming slate for the first half of 2016. In addition to hosting World IA Day on February 20th and chairing the UX track of InnovateVA on March 25th, we discussed having an event on product teams in January (Building Balanced Core Teams, January 20th at Snagajob).

core-energy-WP

Then earlier this month, Rosenfeld Media announced that they would be producing an event on Product Management and UX called, well, Product Management + User Experience. Given the success of our two previous virtual conference events, we figured: yeah…why not. So, in addition to our Core Team event on January 20th, we will hosting Rosenfeld Media’s PM+UX two weeks later to the day, on February 3rd at Gather.

PMUX-WP

As if that weren’t enough for you: friend of RUX and RVA Jeff Gothelf will be returning to Richmond on February 9th for an all-day workshop on Lean UX in the Enterprise. We’re not producing Jeff’s event, but we’re happy to help promote it!

So, that’s the news. Tickets to Building Balanced Core Teams are on sale now, with Early Bird pricing through January 10th; tickets for the virtual conference on PM+UX are also on sale now for $25. Follow the links to Eventbrite pages with detail on content, timing, and locations.

Hope to see you at two or three of these!

Lean UX and Design Thinking event follow up

Posted: January 19, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: events, presentations | Tags: , , , | Comments Off on Lean UX and Design Thinking event follow up

Thanks to all who came out the morning of January 9th to hear Jeff Gothelf’s talk, Better Product Definition with Lean UX & Design Thinking. The feedback we’ve received to date is overwhelmingly positive, and we are encouraged by your show of interest in the intersection of UX, product development, design thinking, and Agile methodology—we had over 200 attendees!

As you know, we collaborated with our friends at AgileRichmond to bring Jeff to RVA. Though the partnership with AgileRichmond is new, we look forward to working together again on future events for the Richmond community, including but not limited to InnoVAte Virginia 2015!

Many of you have been asking about videos and slides. Here they are:

– Video (produced and hosted by Snagajob): http://snagajob.wistia.com/medias/q4xz3ojzf8
– Deck: https://www.dropbox.com/s/y1tq10airdm8mnd/2015_RUX_Better_Product_Definition.pdf

We also want to give one more big thank you to our event sponsors: Snagajob, Singlestone Consulting, ICF Interactive, Carmax, CapTech Consulting, and Capital One. Please send us any additional feedback at: info@richmondux.com

RUX January: Jeff Gothelf will be here in RVA [Co-Produced with AgileRichmond]

Posted: December 9, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: events, presentations | Tags: , , , | Comments Off on RUX January: Jeff Gothelf will be here in RVA [Co-Produced with AgileRichmond]

After closing out 2014 with the terrific UX Futures conference, we are starting off 2015 with a bang! Our friends at ICF are hosting an all-day workshop with Jeff Gothelf in Fairfax, VA on January 8th. Since he’ll be relatively close by, we asked him if he’d be willing to come down 95 to speak with us the next day. To our delight, he agreed!

On January 9th, in partnership with AgileRichmond and hosted by Snagajob, RichmondUX is proud to host Jeff for his presentation: “Better product definition with Lean UX and Design Thinking.”

LeanUX-RVA

Requirements-driven product definition is a sure-fire way to get 100% of the wrong product launched. The assumptions that requirements are based on are usually not accurate enough to determine the exact solution those requirements dictate. Instead, teams should focus on creating a series of hypotheses that define potential solutions to their business problem and then work together to learn which of these hypotheses are keepers and which ideas to kill.

In Jeff’s case-study rich talk you will learn:

  • What lean ux is and how it builds off design thinking
  • How to de-risk your projects and ensure their greatest chance for success
  • Why working from assumptions and hypotheses is far more successful than a strict set of requirements

Attendees will also receive a copy of Lean UX, the definitive guide to integrating UX design with Agile and Lean software development.

Schedule

  • 10:00-10:30 – Networking
  • 10:30-11:15 – Jeff’s presentation
  • 11:15-11:45 – Moderated Q&A
  • 11:45-12:00 – Book signing

How do I get tickets?

Tickets are $20 each, through Dec. 31st, $25 through Jan. 8th, and will be $30 at the door. Purchase yours today, via EventBrite.

Who should attend?

Own Lean UX, The Lean Startup, or A Project Guide to UX Design? Be there. If you are interested in UX design or strategy, Agile/Scrum, Lean Startup, Product Management, and/or design thinking, you should be there as well.

OK, so who is Jeff?

Jeff Gothelf is Neo’s lean evangelist, spreading the gospel of great team collaboration, product innovation and evidence-based decision making. He is a speaker and thought leader on the future of user experience design, often teaching workshops or giving talks on building cultures that support teamwork and innovation. Jeff is passionate about advancing the principles that lie at the core of Neo, and often does so on a global scale.

Prior to joining Neo, Jeff lead the UX design teams at TheLadders and Web Trends. Earlier he worked with and lead small teams of software designers at AOL. He is the co-author (with Josh Seiden) of Lean UX: Applying Lean Principles to Improve User Experience.

Thank you to our sponsors!: CapitalOne, CapTech Consulting, Carmax, and Snagajob.

Upcoming Local UX & Design Conferences

Posted: September 14, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: conferences | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment

If you’re looking for opportunities to get educated or inspired over the next month or so, you need look no further. Starting with RVA Design Week this Wednesday and followed by edUi 2014 at the end of the month, there will be more design, UX, and web-related events in the area than usual. All of them are affordably priced—some remarkably so—and we have discount codes for the more expensive of the bunch. Check them out:

RVA Design Week  |  Wed. 9.17 to Sat. 9.20
rvadesignweek.com

Richmond’s first Design Week, produced by our local AIGA chapter, starts with a kick-off party at Hardywood on Wednesday, featuring Richmond’s Coalition Theater. Thursday evening, there will be a screening of Design the New Business at the Grace Street Theater, followed by a panel discussion on the role of Design and Design Thinking in business. RUX co-organizer Hope Norman will be on the panel, which will be moderated by another RUXster, Mark Badger. Friday evening features a talk by Debbie Millman (also at Grace Street), followed by two separate Adobe training workshops at Gather on Saturday. Apart from the kick-off party ($5), event prices are $15 for AIGA members and $20 for non-members.

EdUI 2014  |  Mon. 9.29 to Wed. 10.1
eduiconf.org – Discount code: RVA ($100 off Standard Price)

For the fourth year in a row, Richmond is hosting the edUi conference. Produced primarily by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, edUi offers a rare lineup of speakers, including top web innovators that will inspire and enlighten web designers, developers, managers, and user experience and interaction design professions from any industry. This year’s featured speakers include Stephen P. Anderson, author of Seductive Interaction Design, and Matt Novak, contributor to Gizmodo, WSJ, and The Atlantic. RUX founder and co-organizer Joe Sokohl will give a talk on bringing your wireframes to life through prototyping, and RUX co-organizer Mark Badger will be presenting on iBeacon and eduction. EdUi is Richmond’s biggest UX-focused event, and we are excited to be able to offer a discount code (RVA) to make it that much easier to attend. With the discount, you get three (3) days of presentations and workshops for $500. Single day registrations are also available.

ConvergeRVA  |  Fri. 10.10
convergerva.com – Discount code: RUX ($20 off)

ConvergeRVA is a design conference focusing on people who creatively change the landscape of the ways we work for and on the web. It features talks that cover; user experience, visual design, illustration, front-end and back-end development. This year, ConvergeRVA takes place in the beautifully restored Hippodrome Theater. In addition to the inspiring talks, there will be plenty of opportunities to eat, drink and party with the speakers and other attendees. Early bird pricing is still available ($99, $45 for students & AIGA members).

A little further north, our friends in IxDA and UXPA DC have a couple of events planned for the middle of October.

Eye Tracking in UX Design  |  Thu. 10.16
eyetrackingux2014.com – Discount code: RUX

If you enjoyed Jennifer Romano Bergstrom’s RUX presentation last spring, this day-long conference is for you. RichmondUX is proud to be a strategic partner for The Eye Tracking in UX Design Conference, taking place on October 16 in Washington DC. Leading experts in eye tracking will discuss how they have taken advantage of eye-tracking technology to understand, design, and evaluate user experience. Want to attend? Please use code RUX when registering to get 25% off.

UserFocus 2014  |  Fri. 10.17
2014.userfocus.org – Discount code: RUX

The day after Eye Tracking in UX, join UXPA DC for their annual UserFocus conference. There, you’ll learn about the latest trends in UX, creative new tools, and innovative techniques in the field, connect to network about new job opportunities, and get motivated to use what you learn on your very next project! Again, please use code RUX when registering to get 25% off.

Thats’s it for now, but check back soon for details on Wearables + Things coming to D.C. October 20-21 and InnovateVA in Glen Allen on October 24th.

Presentation from the January Meeting

Posted: January 24, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: meetings, presentations | Tags: | Comments Off on 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!

Posted: January 4, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: events, meetings, presentations, Uncategorized | Tags: | 2 Comments

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

Resources for Better Agile UX

Posted: November 23, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: research, training | Tags: | 1 Comment

Agile User Experience Projects
Nielsen  |  November 4, 2009
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/agile-user-experience.html

Agile Development Projects and Usability
Nielsen  |  November 17, 2008
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/agile-methods.html

Quick and Dirty Usability Testing: Step Away from the Book
Chisnell  |  October 20, 2008
http://www.uie.com/articles/usabilitytesting_dc

Agile Methods and User-Centered Design: How These Two Methodologies Are Successfully Integrated In Industry
Fox, Sillito, Maurer  |  Agile Conference 2008, Toronto

Weekly User Testing: TiVo Did It, You Can, Too
Nielsen  |  July 2008
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/weekly-usability-tests.html

Twelve Emerging Best Practices for Adding UX Work to Agile Development
Patton  |  June 2008
http://agileproductdesign.com/blog/emerging_best_agile_ux_practice.html

The Impact of Agile on UCD: Mixed Messages From a Before and After Survey
Barnum and Dayton  |  Usability  Professionals’ Association Conference, Baltimore, Maryland  |  June 16-20, 2008
http://usability.spsu.edu/image_assets/agile.pdf

Making Usability Recommendations Useful and Usable
Molich, Jeffries, Dumas  | August 2007
http://www.upassoc.org/upa_publications/jus/2007august/useful-usable.pdf

Adapting Usability Investigations for Agile User-centered Design
Sy  |  Journal of Usability Studies, v.2, n.3, May 2007

Clash of the Titans: Agile and UCD
Cecil  |  December 2006
http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2006/12/clash-of-the-titans-agile-and-ucd.php

User Experience Activities on Agile Development Projects
Ambler  |  October 2005
http://www.agilemodeling.com/essays/agileUsability.htm

Streamlining Usability Testing by Avoiding the Lab
Spool  |  May 25, 2005
http://www.uie.com/articles/streamlining_usability

UCD in Agile Projects: Dream Team or Odd Couple?
McInerney and Maurer  |  Interactions, v. 12, n.6, 2005

Case Study of Customer Input for a Successful Product
Miller  |  Proceedings of the Agile Development  Conference, IEEE Computer Society, Washington, DC, 2005

Process Agility and Software Usability: Toward Lightweight Usage-Centered Design
Constantine  |  September  2002
http://www.foruse.com/articles/agiledesign.pdf

Agile Usability Yahoo! Group
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/agile-usability/

Agile2009 Conference – UX Stage
http://agile2009.agilealliance.org/users

November Meeting

Posted: October 24, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: meetings | Tags: | Comments Off on November Meeting

Agility for UX Professionals
Wednesday, November 18, from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. (more details later)

Two hours of UX war stories from the trenches!
Or,
How UX can be agile without having to be Agile: Surviving the project battle successfully.

Free pizza and soda for the first 15 attendees, sponsored by Regular Joe Consulting, LLC.