Author: jgjwolf

Michigan UXPA was part of a great event on April 18th! We partnered with Ford Labs & Ford IT Design Enablement to discuss rhetorical flexibility and organizational change with folks from Michigan State University.

MSU’s Dawn Opel kicked things off with a talk about how to deal with “Engineers are from Mars, Designers are from Venus” situations. Being able to shift the way you talk about user experience based on different contexts is the key. Understanding why to make those language shifts and being able to recognize when to make them can be difficult, but exercises that span disciplines (such as art and science) are good practice.

Jeff Grabill described how MSU is using design to reinvent itself as a learning institution. He challenged us all to think about how people experience transitions as a part of the experience design process.

In the panel discussion that followed, Judy Foster from Ford Labs and Fred Estabrook from Pillar Technology added commentary about language gaps, building trust, agile software development, change management best practices, speaking the language of “business”, and more.

We had about 50 attendees, most of which were Ford employees. The non-Ford attendees were treated to a tour of Ford Labs afterwards.

Thanks to our colleagues at Ford IT Design Enablement for starting the conversation about this event, at Ford Labs for hosting, and at MSU for sparking the discussion!

Michigan UXPA is always looking to parter with other groups to run successful events like this, so if you’re interested please reach out to us at michiganuxpa@gmail.com.

Join Michigan UXPA for “Design via Dialogue & Innovation” a panel and discussion on how to talk to engineers about usability. This event is hosted by Ford IT Design Enablement and Ford Labs and features guest speakers from Michigan State University.

Register for the event at Eventbrite!

Date & Time: April 18, 2019 12:30pm-3pm

Location: Ford Labs – 201 S. Division St. #210, Ann Arbor, MI 48104

Speakers:

• Dawn Opel, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor of Digital Media and User Experience in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures at Michigan State University.
• Jeff Grabill, Ph.D. – Associate Provost for Teaching, Learning, and Technology and Director of the Hub for Innovation in Learning and Technology at Michigan State University (MSU).
• Judy Foster – Product Designer at FordLabs.
• Fred Estabrook – Regional Software Artisan at Pillar.

Summary: Designing artifacts for humans inherently means encountering communication challenges. As we play a central role in how technology impacts people’s lives — designers serve on the front lines, frequently finding ourselves in the role of end-user advocate. Dr. Dawn Opel & Dr. Jeff Grabill, from Michigan State University, along with Judy Foster & Fred Estabrook will help us explore ways that designers can talk to engineers about usability & lessons learned in their experience incorporating design into engineering.

Schedule:

• 12:30pm Doors open
• 1pm Talks Begin
• 1:45 Group Q&A