We used our August 27 session to Define RUX (note the capital D in define) using the Design Studio approach. We walked through and agreed upon who RUX serves, how RUXers want to be served, and what those programs might be. All notes below.
Please let us know if we have missed anything.
The next steps will be to revisit these thoughts and formulate a plan. Passionate about the direction of RUX and want to be part of the planning process? Let us know!
RUX Design Studio NOTES:
Who we Serve
People who…
• Make digital sh!t
• Create
• Want to learn
• Seek a Job
• Want to meet similar people
Also,
• Teachers
• Students
• Geeks
• Collaborators
And to a lesser degree …
Designers, beer drinkers, people who want speed, brainstormers, anthropologists, people who want to know what’s going on, people who want to be challenged, people who want to overcome obstacles, people who want to share insights, stay current; futurists, job offerers, product owners, business owners.
These people might most often have the following roles:
• Interaction designers
• UX researchers
• UX
• Usability specialists
• Web teams of One
• Product Management
• Information Architects
Though sometimes they might also be:
• Digital Strategists
• UX coaches
• Coders
• Analysts
• Librarians
• Information Geeks
• Content People
• Marketers
• Recruiters
• Business Owners
• Business Development
• Communications Specialists
• Social Media people
• Technical Writers
These people would most like to get from RUX:
Enablement, collaboration, problem solving, exploration, shared passion, new ways of thinking…
Learning, education, mentoring, immersion…
Trends, pushes, challenge to norms…
Entertainment…
Commiseration, leadership, inspiration, affirmation…
Means for social impact…
Community, network, friends, peers, access…
Promotion of my trade, means to make RVA great, regional recognition, strengthening of the profession…
And after exploring who RUX serves, and what RUXers want, we came up with two areas of programming. Its just a start, but there are some fantastic ideas here!
PRINCIPLE AREA : “Live & Learn”
Top programs/activities that we brainstormed include –
• UX workshops to solve UX problems together
• Forum to share UX challenges and insights
• Demos of great user experiences
• UX Job Announcements
• UX People Hub
• Computer program training seminars
• Feedback on designs
• Getting a look at various RVA digital businesses
• Internships and finders
• Beginner to expert workshops
• Demos of great (and terrible) user experiences
• Feedback in designs in which everyone comments!
• TLDR book clubs (that is, too long didn’t read)
(Other Live & Learn ideas included conference takeovers, conferences, scholarships to conferences, official mentor programs, connecting newbies to pros, feedback circles, learning to transfer learning, image sharing network, speakers, expert panel discussions)
SECONDARY AREA : “Push & Give”
Top programs/activities that we brainstormed include –
• Tool or process demos
• Training on UX
• Case studies
• Failure stories
• What’s cool email
• Case studies
• Design Jams on real ideas
• Projects that give back
(Other ideas on Push & Give included video game competitions, games, code or game design jams, charity events, create a product events, finding help for UX (find me a UX person!), startup weekends for concepts, coordinated UX research, transferrable skills into the field, “know your users” (bring projects here to get feedback together), UX Q&A, Live usability sessions with audience participants, design appreciation training or games, teaching and promoting research methods)