Presented by Ellen Grove,
Agile coaching & training,
Organizational transformation,
www.profluence.ca,
masteringtheobvious.wordpress.com (blog)

Date: Tuesday January 17, 2012
Time: doors open at 6:00 pm; talk begins at 6:30 pm
Place: TheCodeFactory, 246 Queen St., Ottawa, ON, Canada

Abstract:
Let your hands be the search engine for your brain! LEGO® Serious Play® is a powerful thinking, communicating and problem solving technique that can help you and your team do serious work through structured play activities using a popular and playful 3D modeling toy. Through a facilitated process of building models that, storytelling and reflection, every person at the table is engaged and actively participating in the discussion, whether the topic is individual aspirations, team relationships, developing a new product or solving a wicked organizational problem. Everyone builds and everyone tells their story – all participants have equal opportunity to put their own points of view on the table, unlocking new perspectives and exposing the answers that are already in the room.  LEGO Serious Play has been used successfully for team-building and problem solving in a variety of organizations, from NASA to RBC to academic settings and public utilities.

This presentation will provide a hands-on introduction to LEGO Serious Play, so that you can experience firsthand how using LEGO to do real work unleashes creativity and enables meaningful conversations in a very short time. We will explore how to use this playful technique to collaboratively elicit information about user requirements and strategic design issues using the open source User Requirements with Lego methodology developed by a team at the University of Lugano, Switzerland.

About the Facilitator:

Ellen Grove is an Agile coach who helps teams do better work through coaching them to create the circumstances in which they can work most productively and effectively. Her Agile coaching practice is founded in over 10 years experience leading software testing, development and implementation teams in global enterprises, a passion for exploratory software testing and user-centered design, and a background in community organization. She uses team-building and facilitation approaches to support the transition to collaborative Agile work practices at the team, managerial and corporate levels, and has conquered the challenges of extending Scrum roll-outs to off-shore development partners and multi-site project teams.   Ellen is a StrategicPlay certified facilitator in Lego Serious Play methods.

When and Where:

This event will take place on Tuesday, January 17th, 6:00 pm at TheCodeFactory, located at 246 Queen Street, between Bank and Kent, (on the second floor) above the Green Papaya Restaurant. The doors open at 6:00 pm for networking and the talk begins at 6:30 pm.

Note: There is no cost for attending this event and prior registration is not required. Light snacks and refreshments will be served. An informal social gathering will follow at a nearby pub.

CapCHI (www.capchi.org) is a social and professional society of people who work as user interface designers, researchers, educators, software developers, web designers, graphic designers and human factors engineers in and around Canada’s National Capital Region. Founded in 1991, CapCHI’s goal is to bring together local professionals interested in how humans and computers interact, in a relaxed and informal atmosphere.

At Follow the UX Leader we believe in learning by doing.  That’s why we’ve created a series of training workshops on advanced web practices that throw out the PowerPoint paradigm and shift the learning back to the way it was when we were kids: Hands on… Interactive… and Fun!

User Experience Design

• Learn paper prototyping for web and mobile
• Recognize the influence of culture when designing for a global audience
• Discover the advantages of remote and moderated user testing
• Debunk UX myths and experience exercises that align people with technology

Information Architecture

• Learn how to transform data into information people can easily find
• Learn why your organizational structure should not mirror your site structure
• Discover methods for designing sustainable site structures for the web and mobile
• Experience how personas can improve labeling and messaging

Writing for the Web

• Learn the principles of User Experience that help in creating engaging content for social media, mobile, and web
• Find out why plain language is more important than marketing speak
• Discover how personas are fundamental to desktop and mobile publishing
• Write “searchable” content using best practices in content marketing

Content Strategy

• Learn how to plan, deliver, and govern web content across mobile, social media, and web channels
• Find out how content analysis can lead to better engagement
• Discover how to manage site-wide content more effectively
• Learn how to avoid and manage content rot

Vancouver October 24^th, 25^th, 27^th, and 28, 2011

Ottawa November 7^th, 8^th, 9^th, and 10^, 2011

Jamaica January 30^th, 31^st, February 2^nd and 3, 2012

Visit www.followtheuxleader.com for more information.

The ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems is the premier international conference on human-computer interaction.  CHI 2012 focus on the centrality of experience—from the models, theories and practical insights we need to understand and design for user experience to the irreplaceable value of experiencing innovation in our field through hands-on interactivity.

The experience of CHI 2012 is centered in vibrant Austin, Texas, the Live Music Capital of the World®. Home to the University of Texas and the annual SXSW music, film, and interactive festival and conference, Austin offers CHI attendees state-of-the-art conference facilities together with outstanding food and vibrant nightlife.  We look forward to joining you in Austin for the CHI 2012 Experience!

For more information, visit http://chi2012.acm.org/