Category: MiUXPA Events

Have some beer cheer,

Network with a peer,

Learn why site maps remain dear,

Engage with products that are queer,

Hear each chapter talk about the past and new year,

…and win some stuff!

Thursday, December 13, 2012, 6–9pm

Corner Brewery, 720 Norris Street, Ypsilanti

Schedule

6:00pm Networking, check-in, and product usability challenges (appetizers provided, cash bar)
7:00pm Tiny talks and raffles (Michigan CHI, Michigan UPA, and STC-SM)
7:30pm Presentation: Helping Site Maps Get Their Groove Back, Caitlin Potts
8:15pm The Usability Game Show
8:30pm More networking and appetizers

Helping Site Maps Get Their Groove Back

Who remembers site maps? Anyone? Even if your answer is “Me! Me! I remember them!”, you probably still wonder why anyone used them. Well, no more! Site maps are much more than the antiquated deliverable that offered little to no value that most people remember. We’re bringing site maps back and let me tell you, your product owner and developers will thank you!

I truly believe that site maps are an undervalued deliverable of UX and IA, and I have done work over the last several months that shows how valuable a site map can be, regardless of the state of a project.

This presentation will include a brief introduction of what site maps are today, followed by a case study of how I’ve improved sitemaps at my organization and the benefits that we’ve seen as a result. And if that’s not enough, this presentation will offer takeaway (an Omnigraffle template!) that is immediately actionable for almost any UX or IA professional.

About Caitlin Potts

Caitlin Potts is a user experience practitioner (designer and researcher) at Covenant Eyes, Inc., in Owosso. Working as part of an agile team, she spends her time collaborating with the developers to design web, mobile, and client application interfaces. She is also leading the development of a brand standards guide for Covenant Eyes.

She is passionate about building interfaces that delight users and make their lives just a little bit easier. She also loves ampersands, great coffee, and her Sharpie collection (63 and counting!).

Cost

$5 CHI, UPA, and STC members (if you’re not a member, join one or more!)
$8 All others

Register

Register online at Guestlist so we know who’s coming and how to plan for refreshments. We’ll also take payment (cash or check) at the door. Questions? E-mail events {at} michiganupa dot org.

Michigan State University’s Usability/Accessibility Research and Consulting (UARC) will host Michigan’s 8th annual World Usability Day event on November 8, 2012, at the Michigan State University Union in East Lansing. The international theme is Usability of Financial Systems, but at the Michigan conference we will also cover other usability and accessibility topics relevant for IT and UX professionals.

• Date: Thursday, November 8, 2012
• Time: 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM
• Where: Michigan State University Union Building, Parlors A/B/C, East Lansing, Michigan
• Cost: $20.00

Learn More and Register

ProQuest, 789 E. Eisenhower Parkway, Ann Arbor, MI 48108

Thursday, November 1, 6pm

Missed the event? See the slides.

With the extremely fast rise in the use of mobile devices in recent years, companies are starting to realize that ignoring mobile web users is no longer an option. Many have chosen to provide a stripped-down version of their desktop site to mobile users, on the assumption that mobile users only want or need to use a small subset of the features available to desktop users.

But as more and more people are turning to mobile as their primary or only means of accessing the web, it’s becoming apparent that mobile users’ needs aren’t so straightforward. At the same time, attempts to create a simplified mobile version of a website often make it clear that the full desktop site is too complicated, cluttered, and difficult to navigate.

However, there is a solution. By designing from a mobile-first perspective, and using responsive web design to create a site that responds to the device on which it’s being viewed, you can provide all users with a quality experience across screen sizes and devices, without having to create and maintain separate websites.

About Our Speaker

Clarissa Peterson is a freelance web designer and user experience consultant, specializing in mobile strategy and responsive design.

Before setting out on her own, she spent 10 years working for various nonprofit organizations and government agencies, doing everything from front-end development and user experience design to content strategy, online marketing, and project management. With this diverse set of skills, she is able to blend an innate ability to see how things could work better with the solid technical background needed to turn ideas into reality.

When

Thursday, November 1
6:00 PM — Networking
6:45 PM — Announcements
7:00 PM — Speaker
8:30 PM — Wrap up and more networking

Location

ProQuest, Ann Arbor

Google Map

Cost

Current students $5
Usability Professionals’ Association members $10
All others $20

Register

Register online at Guestlist so we know who’s coming and how to plan for refreshments. We’ll also take payment (cash or check) at the door. Questions? E-mail events {at} michiganupa dot org.

Cengage Learning, 27500 Drake Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48331

Tuesday, September 18, 6pm

How can we engage more people in the user experience process? How can we get team members excited and engaged? How can we push the diversity of ideas created?

Using games, with a diverse group of individuals, will help to open people’s minds, facilitate fun, and most importantly encourage creativity. Agreements, discussions, and debates are encouraged and fostered in an open and inviting environment. This type of environment speeds up the idea generation and evaluation process. Focusing on great activities for the idea generation process digs up opportunities and ideas that exist within the people you work with. This set-up allows for divergent thinking to occur, which eventually builds into convergent thinking, which leads to rapid iterative prototyping and testing.

We will look at ways to plan, run, and execute brainstorming sessions in a manner that is set up for fun and function. We will review ways to use games to help cultivate an atmosphere that generates ideas and prototypes. Through images, samples, and stories, we will see how games can be put to use to produce tangible results. I have taken my experience in game design, teaching, and user experience and applied it to the people, which is at the core of creating great ideas and products!

The purpose of this talk is to show how cultivating a highly diverse group of people, with fun and games, can create productive meetings and innovative brainstorming. Design, Development, and Management members will benefit from learning new opportunities to add to their creative process.

About Our Speaker

Kimberly Callery is a User Experience Designer at United Healthcare and teaches online for the Art Institute. She also worked at Cengage Learning as a User Experience Specialist. Past experience also included Game Production Chair at the International Academy of Design & Technology, Web Designer at Mosaicmedia, and Event Planner for the Interfaces Conference in Michigan.

Kim has a BFA in Animation & Digital Media from College for Creative Studies. Also, an MA and MFA in Interactive Design & Game Development, both from Savannah College of Art & Design.
Her passion lies in designing, teaching, and trying to find creative and innovative ways to help people have fun while learning!

When

Tuesday, September 18
6:00 PM — Networking
6:45 PM — Announcements
7:00 PM — Speaker
8:30 PM — Wrap up and more networking

Location

Cengage Learning, Farmington Hills

Google Map

Cost

Current students $5
Usability Professionals’ Association members $10
All others $20

Register

Register online at Guestlist so we know who’s coming and how to plan for refreshments. We’ll also take payment (cash or check) at the door. Questions? Email events {at} michiganupa dot org.

WorkForce Software, 38705 Seven Mile Road, Suite 300, Livonia, MI 48152

Tuesday, June 19, 6pm

As the profession of User Experience Design has evolved it has become more specialized, more effective, and more complicated. This complexity has made it more difficult for designers to communicate with those outside of their discipline. Using examples pulled straight from the business world, Patrick talks about how to bridge that gap and effectively communicate the value of design in a language that project stakeholders and business owners can understand. By repurposing a ‘revolutionary’ strategic business tool, Porter’s Five Forces, he also provides designers with a framework for better understanding the business landscape and making an impact on the bottom line.

About Our Speaker

Patrick Purdy is a User Experience Designer at United Healthcare in Southfield, Michigan. As a UX professional, Patrick has performed research, crafted strategy, and designed web and mobile experiences for clients including Microsoft, Johnson Controls, University of Michigan, Carhartt, Sports Authority, Scotts Miracle Grow, Bosch, and Learning Care Group.

Prior to his work in User Experience, Patrick worked as an Art Director in the advertising industry creating television, online, and print campaigns for national and international brands such as Ford Motor Company, Mercedes-Benz, Avis Europe, Leinenkugel’s, Miller, BOSS, Culvers, Sargento, Mercury Marine, and The Chicago Bulls.

Patrick got his BFA at the College for Creative Studies and an MS at Carnegie Mellon University. In his free time, Patrick likes to play soccer, drink beer, and tell stories that will make you laugh ‘till you cry.

When

Tuesday, June 19
6:00 PM — Networking
6:45 PM — Announcements
7:00 PM — Speaker
8:30 PM — Wrap up and more networking

Location

WorkForce Software, Livonia

Google Map

Cost

Current students $5
Usability Professionals’ Association members $10
All others $20

Register

Register online at Guestlist so we know who’s coming and how to plan for refreshments. We’ll also take payment (cash or check) at the door. Questions? Email events {at} michiganupa dot org.