Baltimore Parlay, a network of Baltimore-based information architects and user experience professionals, hosted the third UX Show and Tell November 12, at marketing and design collective 4thought, Inc.
This workshop was unique from its predecessors in format, attendance, and dialogue. Specifically, as Show and Tell has previously consisted of about 10 people around one table, the Baltimore Parlay event attracted around 20 people in an open-air studio setting, with presenters showing their work at the front of the room. And due to time constraints, two people shared work as the accompanying dialogue expanded from exclusively discussing the work to also why the work was valuable, how it could be sold to skeptical or budget and time sensitive clients.
Ren Pope preceded the Show and Tell with his working draft of his proposal for the IA Summit in April. He shared strategies and processes for understanding information architecture’s role in an enterprise environment, and in the nature of Show and Tell, asked for and received feedback of the presentation’s flow, content, and his delivery.
Following Ren’s presentation, Jim Jarret presented a K-J diagram, an affinity diagram useful for identifying important data among ancillary information often discovered during brainstorming exercises. Jim discussed when to deploy the diagram and a step by step summary of the process. Attendees’ questions ranged from how to get senior management on board to support the effort to whether the diagram itself could be understood by business analysts, product managers or other audiences.
Elizabeth Randolph of Better Experience shared paper wireframes and prototypes she tested earlier in the day. While some folks were familiar with using low fidelity paper wireframes to generate early feedback, others were curious how to replicate online interactions that may not map well to paper, such as toggling the visibility of panels on the screen or excessive scrolling. Others were curious to hear how printing and testing computer-based wireframes compared to using the same wireframes in a clickable prototype on screen, whereas others were also curious how to get client sign-off on low fidelity wireframes when they’ve been conditioned to accept high fidelity mockups.
The responses following Show and Tell have been tremendously positive, ranging from people asking when the next event will be to telling me they’re already identifying what work they should bring next time.
The next two UX Show and Tell workshops are November 17 at Viget Labs in Falls Church, Virginia, and at P’unk Ave in Philadelphia on November 18.
If your organization would like to host a UX Show and Tell, contact Chris Avore at (202) 281-4573 or email him at avore@erova.com to learn more.
