Backstage Blog

It’s ironic that in this age of social distancing the IA community has come together like never before to make IAC20 a success. We’ve drafted in more volunteers to help us plan the logistics and format for IAC20 – our first digital information architecture conference.

We’re hearing that while some of you have lots of time on your hands, others are feeling overburdened and fatigued by increased work demands. We’re trying to strike a balance with the new format that will let as many people participate as possible while reducing the amount of attention people need to devote each day. We’re very close to having the format settled. We’re trying to find a balance that will work during these unprecedented times.

So we do ask for your forbearance and forgiveness in advance. We’re all trying to adapt to a situation that’s changing daily. As the IAC team, we’re going to do our best to adapt IAC 20 to the current moment, but we won’t get it all right. Please give us the latitude to make some mistakes along the way. 

That said, IAC has always been a conference by and for the IA community. You — all of you — are what has always made this conference great. We know that if you’re willing to take this crazy ride with us, we’ll figure this out and have something special to share and celebrate together.

Kyle has been working as an independent UX Research Consultant for the last 15 years. She’s based in New Hampshire and is originally from Philadelphia. She specializes in user research and usability testing. She’s the Founder and President of NH UXPA and served as the Chair of PhillyCHI. She’s also been serving as the IAC Mentorship Director since 2017. We asked her the same few questions we do of all the team:

What’s been your favourite moment as an IA (so far)?

It’s an honor to be able to help people by creating a better experience for the products they use. It’s always fascinating to learn more about the end user’s world in order to design better for it.

What made you decide to volunteer for IAC?

I’m passionate about mentorship and the growth of this industry. It’s rewarding to be able to give back to this community, which has given me so much, in a way that also provides an outlet for my passion.

What does the theme mean to you – what are you hoping to see, hear, sense or share during IAC20?

I love this year’s theme because we truly are the Sense Makers! I’m looking forward to Abby Covert’s keynote. Her book, How to Make Sense of Any Mess, was absolutely pivotal for me in understanding how information is actually created. It changed the way I think about information and our ability to manipulate and control the data that’s being used to interpret the content that we create and present to the world.

Where can people find you?

Company website: www.usableinterface.com Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-soucy-a844b4/

Twitter: @kylesoucy

Update 14 March

We want to express our sympathy and support for everyone who has faced disruption or difficulties due to COVID-19.  We can definitely empathise.

Over the last few weeks we’ve been planning for how to respond. Our priority has always been to safeguard the health of our community and act responsibly. But we also wanted to find a way to come together, share ideas and learn from each other.

Going digital
2020 is a big year for information architecture. As more and more people begin to make sense of working remotely and occupying digital places, we’ve decided to take the conference digital for IAC20.

We know that social interaction is an important element of IAC. While a “remote” conference might not have exactly the same feel as our face-to-face events, we’re working on plans to keep the IAC magic. We already have support from sponsors including Mural.co and we’re exploring tools and technologies to make it a great experience. We’re working with our speakers to make sure the content gets to our attendees, wherever they are. We’re developing plans for how participants can interact and ask questions of speakers. And we’ll also have opportunities for social interaction and those “corridor conversations” in digital environments. We have plans for remote networking and careers center sessions. Plus we’re working on remote karaoke… watch this space.

We’re also evaluating whether any of our workshops could work remotely. There will definitely be workshops that are cancelled. If any do go ahead we anticipate content and pricing will change. We’ll be in touch about that shortly.

Same dates – April 16th-18th Main program
We’re planning on keeping the same dates for the initial streaming and realtime interaction. But the digital conference gives us more flexibility to arrange sessions and interactions – so we’re aiming to make this a truly global conference.

Same great content
We’re still working on the logistics and confirming speakers. But our aim is for the digital conference to give you access to the same content we would have hosted in New Orleans. Plus we’ll be offering video access to all talks for at least a year, audio downloads of talks and transcripts of all talks.

Slightly cheaper pricing
We’ve reduced the price of IAC20 to $850.

If you paid more than $850 then we’ll offer a credit for the difference. You can either take that as a refund, a credit for IAC21 or EuroIA 20 in Berlin or donate to our IAC scholarship program. Look out for another personalised email to administer this.

If you already donated to the conference we’re ensuring that this donation continues to extend access to the conference to students. We’re hoping the new digital format means we can extend the reach of IAC20 even further.

Let the good times roll…
We’re excited about the idea of going digital. It will give our attendees access to more content than ever before – you can now sit through every single session. And you don’t need to take notes – you’ll have access to transcripts, audio and video.

A digital conference wasn’t our first choice. But this decision gives us two opportunities to support the development of information architecture – we share ideas and bring people together safely.

We’re working every day to develop and finalise plans – and we’ll be sharing those plans and updating the website regularly. We’ll be in touch regarding any workshop registrations and updates when plans are a little more developed.

Update 8 March

We’re continuing to make plans for IAC20 in light of the COVID-19 virus. We really want to host a conference that allows people to consume and participate in an event that stays true to what makes IAC great. And we’re looking at alternative ways to deliver an IAC experience in case the risks of a face-to-face conference mean we can’t meet in New Orleans in April.

We’re monitoring the latest advice and will follow all best practices for helping attendees remain safe. We will announce our finalised plans and contingencies on or before 15th March. But in the meantime we’re happy to answer questions at info@theiaconference.com

Update 3 March

We are aware of concerns about traveling to IAC20 this Spring due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The conference chairs discussed the situation with Vanessa Foss of Kunverj on our chairs call yesterday (1st March). We of course want everyone to have a safe and enjoyable conference.

Local authorities in New Orleans announced no heightened risk of contracting the coronavirus during carnival season and are monitoring the situation. At the time of writing this, there are currently no reported cases in Louisiana. See report and follow local news at: https://www.wdsu.com/article/there-is-no-heightened-danger-new-orleans-officials-give-update-on-coronavirus/31123403

While this news is heartening, we are aware that things can change very quickly. It is good to exercise caution and create contingency plans. We are monitoring the situation, making plans and will announce any changes on March 15.

If anyone has concerns please feel free to reach out to @theiaconf chairs directly or via info@theiaconference.com.

In the meantime, practicing common sense, washing your hands frequently, using a tissue, staying home if you feel sick, and avoiding contact with people who have recently traveled to affected areas, etc., goes a long way toward curtailing the spread of any viruses.

Stay healthy and see you in New Orleans!.

Sincerely,

Sandra Lloyd
Dan Ramsden
Noreen Whysel
IAC20 Co-Chairs

Adam is a long time UXer based in Dallas. He’s been involved with the conference since it began as the IA Summit. He coordinates the speaker support program matching speakers with coaches and running the speaker’s studio where speakers can prepare before they take the stage. Here are a few more facts about Adam:

What’s been your favourite moment as an IA (so far)?

Too many to count-every time I get to help create understanding. I love when someone comes to me all excited and says “I FOUND MY PEOPLE!!”

What made you decide to volunteer for IAC?

I was at the first IA Summit. I’ve been speaking, running workshops and volunteering the entire time.

What does the theme mean to you – what are you hoping to see, hear, sense or share at IAC20?

Making sense is at the core of what we do and the need is always there. I hope to see more people who are new to this space find the community and support they lacked before.

Where can people find you?

LinkedIn. @AdamtheIA