Pre-Conference Workshops

1/2 Day Courses on September 22

9:00-13:00 Pervasive Information Architecture
Andrea Resmini, FatDUX, SE
9:00-13:00 Agile UX: Practical Design without Wireframes
Mark Plant, Lab49, UK; Matthew Solle, Bright & Matt, UK
14:00-18:00 Mobile Web Design
Luke Wroblewski, Bagcheck Inc., US
14:00-18:00 Alignment Diagrams
James Kalbach, LexisNexis, DE

Pervasive Information Architecture

Andrea Resmini 

The workshop will introduce the design methodology for pervasive information architectures detailed in the book "Pervasive Information Architecture" to the EuroIA audience.

It will acquaintance the attendees with concepts such as place-making, resilience, consistency, cross-channel experiences, the CHU Cube, and explain in detail how those are to be applied in real, day-to-day information architecture work, for better results in both ‘traditional’ projects and in new pervasive scenarios.

This will be a hands-on workshop which will:
  • introduce the methodology with a 45 mins session / presentation;
  • let people offer their comments and ideas;
  • invite them to try out the methodology on an actual case-study based on a well-known scenario, in groups and using pen and paper;
  • discuss the results and offer everyone a chance to suggest improvements, changes, and failures
Attendees will be actively involved and will have to think, draw, sketch, and discuss for at least 3 out of the 4 hours of the workshop.

The goal of the workshop is for attendees to have a better grasp of how you can practically design for cross-channel information spaces by deploying a holistic and heuristic approach which has strong roots in the traditional design practice, but offers enough (practical and conceptual) twists to make it entertaining and worth exploring.

Attendees will each receive printed materials and cheatsheets to be used during and after the workshop, and a copy of the book "Pervasive Information Architecture".
Agile UX: Practical Design without Wireframes

Matthew Solle, Mark Plant

This workshop will introduce you to the core concepts of "doing" Agile UX by working through a simulation of creating a UX solution in an agile environment. We'll begin the workshop by running through a short introduction to Agile UX accompanied by some pragmatic tips and things that we have found that work, and things we think don't. And then without further ado we'll get into the main part of the workshop.

For the purpose of the workshop we will create a brief for a specific problem that needs solving. To ensure interest - and to enable there to be takeaways for even seasoned Agile UX types - we will source our problem from an area most people have none or very little experience of (especially with an Agile UX approach), a design problem sourced from investment banking. This we hope will allow attendees to be working from the same knowledge base.

The workshop will be split into 3 x 1 hour sprints. In the first sprint, attendees will be asked to pair up to sketch ideas and, as the Product Owner, we (those of us running the workshop) will review, discuss and iterate through ideas during the sprint. For the last 15 minutes of each sprint attendees will convert their sketches into annotated diagrams with stories and acceptance tests.

For the next 2 sprints, we'll introduce change, new requirements and features so that attendees can build on their designs and learn to be flexible in their thinking and be prepared to sacrifice and rethink existing ideas.

The main takeaway of the workshop will be valuable practical experience of the intensity of Agile UX, coping with change and producing very lightweight documentation.


Mobile Web Design

Luke Wroblewski

Each day, device manufacturers ship more than a million touch-screen phones that enable new ways for people to interact with the Web. But when they get to your Web site or application –what kind of experience will people with these devices have? Will they be delighted by your mobile Web experience or frustrated?

In this workshop on Web design best practices for modern mobile devices, Luke Wroblewski will detail how to think about and design for Web organization, actions, inputs, and layout on mobile. Through presentations, collaborative sessions, and lots of examples, you’ll learn how to:

  • Use “content first/navigate second” organizational structures optimized for small screens and mobile use cases.
  • Design for increasingly prevalent touch interactions with appropriate targets and gestures.
  • Construct forms and input fields to make input on mobile easier and more frequent.
  • Manage layouts across multiple devices with ruthless editing, device classes, and responsive/flexible designs.
  • And more...

Armed with these design best practices and principles, you can make sure people have a great mobile Web experience whenever they visit your site.


Alignment Diagrams

James Kalbach

Identifying the touchpoints between customers and businesses is the first step in creating products and services that provide true value. The use of systematic, visual representations expose previously unseen opportunities for improvement and for growth. Called ‘alignment diagrams’, this new class of deliverable gives businesses focus and clarity in creating solutions that have impact.

This workshop will give you practical how-to guidance on turning customer insight into actionable design guidance through the alignment technique. After reviewing what alignment diagrams are, we’ll look at the end-to-end process for creating and for using them.  

Features

  • Background to alignment diagrams
  • An overall process for the alignment technique
  • Focus on two types of alignment diagrams
    • Customer Journey Maps
    • Mental Model Diagrams
  • Using alignment diagrams to find opportunities and to derive information architectures