Earlier this week, seven designers and information architects from Maryland, Washington DC, and Virginia met at Apt Media in Silver Spring for the first UX Show and Tell workshop.
UX Show and Tell is an informal workshop that’s all about the work, where designers can share feedback and ideas on strategies, outcomes, and deliverables, and meet other practitioners in a focused but relaxed environment.
Show and Tell participants brought a number of unique deliverables, such as concept maps and task models of complex web sites, a process chart detailing how, where and when to integrate UX in an Agile software development lifecycle, and interface design mockups of a scheduling application.
I started the workshop sharing a deck of documents I used to provide visual conclusions from a number of user interviews and observations I conducted for the Library of Congress. As user research continues to grow in recognition and importance, I thought there could be some value to *showing* how users behave rather than simply describing behavior in a Word or Powerpoint report.
…participants should be able to share specific solutions if they’re aware of the problems in advance…
I was hoping that the group would bear with me since it was the first workshop. And not surprisingly, there were bumps in the road, from logistical issues such as starting on time to ordering food, to procedural hiccups such as how and when questions should be asked so as not to derail or sidetrack a presentation.
Fortunately, I’ve already begun incorporating participant feedback into future Show and Tell workshops.
For instance, I’ll ask participants to identify what they’d like to share or problems they need to address during the RSVP process so other participants may be able to help. While I don’t want to see the workshop be so targeted that one session will only be dedicated to wireframes or another exclusively committed to persona documentation, participants should be able to share specific solutions if they’re aware of the problems in advance.
By identifying an issue first, the group can provide more direct, concise feedback.
Moving forward, the workshop will also run more smoothly if each participant quickly says what they’re sharing and what issue they’re having or where they’re looking for feedback. During the first session, a few conversations began to wander off course when feedback that was meant to be helpful wasn’t entirely appropriate to the project or the project’s audience. By identifying an issue first, the group can provide more direct, concise feedback.
I also see the benefit to posting what was presented on a wall or whiteboard so the group can take a closer look at the documents. The photograph above shows how a number of deliverables were spread out on a conference table which certainly worked, but won’t scale well or support electronic presentations without a projector.
If your organization would like to host a UX Show and Tell, it’s really easy.
At the suggestion of one of the participants, I created a Google spreadsheet to list who attended with contact information to help expand each other’s network of practitioners in the area, many of whom had never met before.
I’m already discussing new locations to host workshops, both in the immediate DC area and beyond. If your organization would like to host a UX Show and Tell, it’s really easy. Just have space for about 8 to 10 people, a table and chairs, and now a whiteboard, and we’ll set up a date.
