Sessions

We argue incessantly about the definition of information architecture, the extent to which Agile is compatible with comprehensive user experience design, what (if any) is the role of the product manager, and just who does and does not count as a designer.

I submit that this is because our professional process, no matter what it is in the fine grain, always reduces to gathering, concentrating, and operating over information in successive transformations, increasing in detail every time. Our tools for making sense of the process are *still* extremely crude.

Surprisingly, there is a technique that dates back to the cybernetics era, called structured argumentation, that may be able to help. In particular, a flavour called Issue-Based Information Systems, originally intended to solve so-called “wicked problems”. I would like to show it to you.

Key takeaways from the session:

• Acquaint the audience with the notion of structured argumentation in general and IBIS in particular
• Relate the technique to real problems experienced by UX/IA/software practitioners
• Direct the audience to tools and techniques they can use right away