notes

IxD10 – Friday

Friday, February 5th

This was the first day of the main conference. I wasn’t sure what to expect. It was raining and since the conference sessions were held in more than one location, I had to walk a few blocks. I didn’t mind though. Definitely an interesting way to see Savannah.

Besides the keynotes, I selected sessions based on design strategy and design research. There were a couple of slots I wasn’t sure where to go so I just rolled the dice. I’m glad I did.

10:00 am – Nathan Shedroff – Meaningful Innovation Relies on Interaction and Service Design (Keynote)

Ah, service design. This ended up being somewhat of a controversy at the conference. Some people felt they’ve been doing this for years and years. Others felt this was really just emerging as a discipline. Like lots of things in user experience, what service design means depends on who you ask. I think it means using our problem solving skills to understand, and design, an entire service. This extends beyond just a single software product. One of the service design students I met from SCAD had a good example of this. Think about the iPod. This hardware device, can’t really function without iTunes. This software application, can’t function without a huge library of music. Etc. Think these products and processes were designed in isolation of each other?

A few bits from Nathan’s keynote I found interesting:

• Meaning. It deepens the connection you can make with an audience.
• All design is the process of making experiences.
• All design is the process of evoking meaning.
• Research is the key to strategy.

Slides: nathan.com/thoughts
Video: vimeo.com/9659499

11:00 am – Dave Gray – Knowledge Games: A Grammar for Creativity and Innovation

When Dave first started talking about the AK-47, I knew this was going to be a different presentation. He wasn’t talking about gun ownership rights. This was about the design philosophy of the AK-47:

Don’t design for a perfect world, because the world isn’t perfect. Design simple things that are rugged, reliable, simple and easy to use; things that work even when conditions are chaotic; things that work even when they are mostly broken.

Simple, rugged, reliable, lightweight. I like that. The story of the AK-47 is actually very interesting and I’d encourage you to read about the history and the man that designed it (even if you don’t like guns).

Dave also talked a lot about ideas. He talked about how to most people, ideas are like their babies. They nurture them. Care for them. Want them to succeed. But, like some babies, not all ideas are good. We need to recognize when they aren’t good and be willing to move on. Dave used the analogy, “We need to kill more babies.” Out of context of the presentation, this may seem a little harsh. But, I think it’s true. You need to be willing to let go of your ideas when they aren’t good. I’ve found this process of letting go can be quite freeing. It opens you up to new ideas (and less diapers to change).

A few bits from Dave’s presentation I found interesting:

• Design for chaos.
• Some processes are linear. Some are non-linear. They’re still friends.
• There is a difference between a business process and a design process.
• Don’t overthink it.

Dave also talked about the ten essentials, or building blocks, needed for running a knowledge game (i.e. a framework for running a participatory design session to generate new ideas or refine existing ones):

1. Opening & Closing
2. Fire Starting
3. Artifacts
4. Node Generation
5. Meaningful Space
6. Sketching and Models
7. Randomness
8. Improvisation
9. Selection
10. Try something new

I really enjoyed Dave’s presentation. I look forward to learning more when his book comes out in May.

More Info: knowledgegames.net
Video: vimeo.com/9658327

12:00 pm – Nate Bolt – Remote Design Research

I was really excited about this session because it’s one of the areas I’m really interested in. I’ve done a decent amount of on-site design research but the closest I’ve come to any sort of remote research are telephone calls.

Nate started out by explaining the difference between market and ux research. Market research is about opinions. UX research is about behaviors. I think this is especially important to note. There have been times when a research project of mine has been postponed because some felt a marketing research project would yield the same results. It didn’t. It’s not the same thing.

When to go remote?

• You don’t need to see their native environment
• You want realtime feedback (e.g. users currently online using an application)
• You have a lot of observers
• You can’t get to their location

When remote = fail?

• Lack of bandwidth
• Translation/language
• Minors/kids
• If you need to see their faces

Designing remote studies:

• Time aware tasks. Make tasks relevant to their time/need.
• Real time objectives. More impact than other research deliverables.
• Portable research.
• Change on the fly. Iterating.

Remote Design Research Tools:

• Usabilla
• Chalkmark
• Loop11
• Ethnio
• Plainframe

Communication Tools:

• Phone
• VoIP/Skype
• Adobe Connect (Nate’s fave. $39 a month plan.)
• Live Look (No plugin required. Use in a pinch.)
• WebEx
• GotoMeeting

Recording Tools:

• Hardware: JK Audio phone patch
• Software: iShowU HD, Camtasia

Recruiting for Remote Design Research:

• Live recruiting = gold standard
• Agencies
• Customer lists (not panels)
• Craigslist (last resort)
• Live recruiting math: 10k uniques a day, 200 respondents, 10 scheduled, 6 participants
• Incentives? Collect min personal info. Amazon gift certificates.

When tech breaks?

• Have a one phrase card sitting on your desk, “Can you hold for one sec while I adjust something on my end?”

What they worry about?

• Who are you?
• Can I trust you?
• If you can see my screen can you see my face?
• Will you be able to take control of my computer?
• Will you help me remove the plugin?
• Will I get in trouble for installing the plugin?
• Is this going to end up on YouTube?

As you can see, there was a ton of information in this session. I’m looking forward to digging into these techniques. Nate also reiterated something I’d learned in the Mental Models workshop. He said to, “Burn the script. Find out what matters.” I like that.

More Info: remoteusability.com/
Book: rosenfeldmedia.com/books/remote-research/
Video: vimeo.com/9841981

1:00 pm – Lunch and Dry Clothes

Lunch was held at The Olde Pink House restaurant. It was refreshing to dine at such a unique place. Not your typical conference fare. After a tasty lunch I headed back to the hotel. I needed to dry off and catch up on some email.

3:30pm – Richard Banks – The 40 Year Old Tweet

The title of this session almost prevented me from going. Almost. Even though I’m starting to get tired of Twitter and its kin, I’m glad I went. This wasn’t about Twitter. It was about all the digital artifacts we’re creating out there on services like Twitter. The title of the session came from an entry found in a journal. A family member was willed a large number of journals and they contained years and years of rather mundane entries. Entries not unlike those we tweet. Put together chronologically, these create a history of us.

So what happens with all of these artifacts when we’re no longer here? Richard, and his team at Microsoft Research, are working on possible solutions to this problem. It’s really worth watching the video of his presentation. It really moved me and reinforced the responsibility we have as designers.

Video: vimeo.com/9664533

4:30pm – Jon Kolko – My Heart is in The Work (Keynote)

I didn’t take notes in the closing keynote of the day because honestly, it was hard to concentrate. I kept thinking about responsibility. Every design decision we make, affects someone. Think about that for a second. Our talents and skills, can be used to help people beyond just software. That’s heavy stuff.

For more heavy stuff, watch how Jon closes out the day. I really can’t do justice to his presentation with my words. But, the one thing I will note is that Jon is starting a little school down in Austin. The Austin Center for Design, “exists to transform society through design and design education. This transformation occurs through the development of design knowledge directed towards all forms of social and humanitarian problems.” In other words, they’ll be teaching how to use design skills to help people. That’s very cool.

Video: vimeo.com/9665365

Conclusion & Thoughts

It was a good day. I couldn’t believe there were two more days of sessions left. I definitely feel more responsible as a designer now. I’ve always wondered if the type of work I do can be applied to things beyond software. After seeing that this *is* happening, I think the answer is yes.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at 3:17 pm and is filed under User Experience. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.