This workshop, which will take place on May 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Rutgers-Camden, will cover the fundamentals of UX, why it matters, and ways to convince others in your organization to invest in this process. We’ll detail a typical UX journey and common methodologies that are useful for museum professionals, from user research and analysis to rapid prototyping and testing—including lean UX techniques you can use with limited time and money. In addition to practicing hands-on skills as a group through a series of practical activities, workshop participants will receive recommendations for books, articles, and other resources to explore further.
At its core, User Experience (UX) is how your audience feels about using a product, system, or service, whether you’re designing a website, an exhibit, or a toaster. How can you make something useful, easy to use, and enjoyable? How do you know if your target audience is having a good or bad experience?
You don’t have to be a developer or a designer to integrate UX research and design into your practice. After this session, participants will be able to answer the following questions: What is user experience? Why does it matter? How do I convince others to adopt this process? What is user research? How do I conduct in-person interviews with my museum patrons to learn about their goals and objectives? How do I use this information effectively? What are some common techniques for evaluating digital content? How can I use activities like card sorting and content inventories to understand our content? How can we produce quick prototypes (analog and digital) to use in user testing? What services and tools exist? What is user testing, and how can we conduct low-cost evaluations with our patrons? How can we use our existing analytics to inform what we test?
Workshop Leader
Michael Tedeschi, Owner and Creative Director, Interactive Mechanics
Mike has nearly a decade of industry experience in design, development, and user experience, having worked on over 125 digital projects throughout his career. He previously led the UX teams at Azavea and Night Kitchen Interactive before beginning Interactive Mechanics, and he has spoken at dozens of local and national events, including THATCamp Prime, John Hopkins University, UX Burlington, and Girl Develop It.
Workshop TA
Stacey Mann, Content and Interpretive Strategist, Interactive Mechanics
Stacey has worked as an exhibit and education experience designer for over fifteen years and holds her Masters in Learning Sciences from Northwestern University. She consults with clients on how to develop and best engage audiences in online learning environments. Early work with the Exploratorium in San Francisco provided the foundation for an inquiry-based and user-centered design approach that she applies to her work in award-winning digital media interaction design, exhibit development, and interpretive planning.
Rutgers-Camden is a short walk from the City Hall stop of the PATCO high speed line and from the Cooper Street stop of the NJ Transit River Line. Parking passes can be purchased for $2.
Registration is $30 and includes lunch. Please register by May 9, 2016.