Cost
$650 USDTime(s)
Description
Have an information problem that seems too overwhelming to organize? Are the taxonomies and controlled vocabularies not providing the richness of meaning and understanding you need to wrangle your information environment? Adopting an ontological mindset might help you push through and solve your hardest IA problems. In this fun, informal, practitioner-focused workshop, Washington DC ontologist Ren Pope and Chicago area strategist / IA Jessica DuVerneay will present and facilitate a 3-part seminar:
- Ontology Dojo: Ontology 101
- This is a series of short talks designed to provide an understanding of ontology frameworks geared towards IA practitioners. We will cover: definitions, the philosophical grounding of ontology as an information practice, business cases, the purpose and structure of ontologies, typical deliverables, and pro tips on when and why to work with an ontological mindset.
- Guided Ontology Development Activity
- This session will be devoted to hands-on activity working with a practical framework. Small groups of participants will roll up their sleeves and try their hand at creating and discussing a user-centric, real life ontology.
- Application of Ontology
- In this final session, groups will learn how to apply their ontologies in real life, and next steps to continue learning the practice of taking ontological mindset.
About the speakers
Jessica DuVerneay likes to help people and organizations find answers to their questions while fostering a sense of empowerment. Turning strategy into logical, useful, human-centered structure is her favorite thing to do. Currently, Jessica is Director, UX / UI at Resilient Solutions 21, and previously held positions at The Understanding Group (TUG) and NFL.com. She has over 10 years’ experience in the IA/UX field, typically managing teams of 3-10 people.
She led the first ever World IA Day (WIAD) as executive director in 2012 and co-chaired the 2015 IA Summit. She frequently speaks and provides workshops at UX/IA conferences and meetups. In her past professional lives, Jessica has been a teacher, artist, library manager, and a small business owner. This allows her to understand, connect with, and provide top-notch solutions for clients and users with a wide variety of needs and backgrounds. She prides herself on being humorous, smart, organized, dependable, and down-to-earth.
Ren is an ontologist and data modeler for Etsy. He has had a lifelong passion for information presentation, organization, and navigation.
When he isn’t tinkering with ontologies or databases, Ren loves producing electronic music and cooking.
Ren recently moved back to his hometown of Sacramento.
