Session type: Half Day Workshop (Morning)

ImprovUX is a series of fun and INTERACTIVE talks and workshops that apply the skills of Improvisation (listening, acceptance, support, collaboration, letting go of judgment, etc.) to the world of User Experience. User Experience relies on gathering qualitative data from our potential users through interviews, surveys, and other methods. In order to connect with users, we need to build trust and empathy as quickly and strongly as possible. During the interview process we need to be hyper-aware of all the information being provided to us by the users. For us, this means putting our own preconceptions and biases in the backseat and focusing on being in the present moment in order to collect all of the tiny bits of information, both verbal and nonverbal, which lead to a deeper understanding of the users and what they’re communicating.

In today's world, we’re dealing with ever expanding multi-device multi-screen multi-service ecosystems across multiple channels. Most of these ecosystem profiles have their own user behaviours, user needs, interaction models and design patterns. Amongst all that, we need to move away from our traditional methods, and learn new ones that enable us to better understand the big picture. In this half day workshop you’ll learn about the importance of initially focusing your design practice on the overall service ecosystem rather than the small design details that are a byproduct of the constant switching of products and channels. Understanding an ecosystem is not (just) about visualizing and diagramming it. Being able to identify and apply the right lenses to the visual representation can become a key sensemaking tool in identifying the overall business and customer experience strategy. You'll also learn that alongside solid research, facilitation and collaboration are the other key ingredients to the success of an ecosystems mapping exercise.

What topics will be covered?

• Core concepts of systems thinking and how it differs from our traditional ways of representing and understanding complexity.
• Framing, boundary setting, and its importance in identifying the scope of an ecosystem.
• The most common types of ecosystems and a methodology for ecosystems mapping.

IA experience is wonderful preparation for product management, but the role of a product manager involves mastering additional skills related to software development, engineering, technical architecture, finding product-market fit, going to market, funnel optimization, revenue modeling, experimenting with hypotheses, managing products through lifecycles, sunsetting features, saying no to stakeholders, getting teams into alignment, and more. In this workshop, Christian will explain how IA skills provide a great foundation for product management work, and then provide the basics and pointers for how to develop the complementary skills (such as those mentioned above) to qualify for product leadership roles.

Taxonomy is one of those words we hear all the time in our work as experience designers. But what exactly is it? If you have little or no knowledge of taxonomy, this workshop is for you. This introductory workshop will explain what taxonomy is (and isn’t) and what role it plays in creating interactive experiences.

We will start by reviewing taxonomy from the perspective of information science and then translate a few core concepts for our needs in the practice of user experience (UX). At the end of this workshop, participants will know how to design a taxonomy and improve their “game” as an experience designer.

This workshop will cover:

• The steps to create a taxonomy
• Common vocabulary of information science concepts adapted for use in UX
• How taxonomy relates to navigation and search (but is neither of these)
• Taxonomy’s role in content modeling and dynamic publishing (such as content management systems)