#interaction 17

Having perused the schedule before the conference, I was aware that Marc Rettig and Hanna du Plessis were leading “Morning Reflection” in the Metropolitan Pavilion from 8:00 to 8:45 every morning of the conference. Monday, however, I had seen no sign of them. I learned later in the day that the activity was held upstairs in an area I hadn’t visited. Armed with this knowledge, I immediately found my way upstairs when I arrived Tuesday morning.

I count myself privileged to be an acquaintance of Marc and Hanna, as they live and work right here in Pittsburgh. I hold them both in highest regard, and I had some idea of what to expect from this time. As the title suggested, we spent quality time in small groups reflecting on what we had seen and heard—what we had learned—the previous day. We shared insights, revelations, and questions. I enjoyed a thoughtful conversation with Gillian Crampton Smith, and shared with her my fear that we aren’t valuing the senior members of our field. They’re still with us, like Gillian herself, and they have a wealth of knowledge and experience. We’re so enamored with the new and the next that we forget about the valuable work that paved the way for us, as Brenda Laurel pointed out in regards to VR. Such discussions were a lovely way to center myself for another brain-busting day of Interaction 17.

The opening Keynote by Juliana Rotich was my favorite of the conference. The work she has done as co-founder of Ushahidi and, more recently, BRCK, is truly inspiring. Asking the question, “Why do we use technology designed for London and Los Angeles when we live in Nairobi and New Delhi?”, Julianna showed us what happens when Africans design for African schools.

This was followed by another speaker I hold in high regard, a fellow CMU alumni, Jon Kolko. I can’t say I took away anything new from his talk, but he nailed it, and I appreciate the value it held for less experience attendees. He covered many aspects of design practice, but the one that resonated with me the most was how to drive a vision within your organization. He used his experience at Blackboard as an example. Netting it down to a few bullet points is hardly fair, but the rough outline is:

Give your team a reason to go to work.

Frame the strategy, not the solution.

Constantly tell the retrospective story.

In regards to that last bullet, he stressed that part of driving vision is shaping the story in a way that gets people excited about it. This has been key to my own successes.

Friday, I’ll be driving up to the big apple to attend Interaction 17, the 10th anniversary of the conference. I’ll be participating in the Local Leaders Workshop on Saturday. Sunday, you’ll find me touring the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and the MoMA PS1, Contemporary Art Museum. Then I’m giving a short version of my talk, I’ll Gladly Pay You Tuesday for a Hamburger Today: Managing UX Debt, on Tuesday afternoon as part of the Smart UX Process curated session. I drive home Thursday.

I’m excited to announce that I will be speaking at Interaction 17 in New York this February. While acceptance to a conference is always exciting, this year is extra-special. This will be the 10th anniversary of the conference, and I’ll be there to celebrate with my fellow “lifers”—those few that have attended every conference.

Many people are confused by the numbering. The number associated with the conference is the year in which the conference is held.

Interaction 08 – Savannah

Interaction 09 – Vancouver

Interaction 10 – Savannah

Interaction 11 – Boulder

Interaction 12 – Dublin

Interaction 13 – Toronto

Interaction 14 – Amsterdam

Interaction 15 – San Francisco

Interaction 16 – Helsinki

Interaction 17 – New York

It’s more than just a conference. Dubbed Interaction Week, there’s quite a lot going on.

Interaction Design Education Summit: February 4, 2017

IxDA local leader workshop: February 4, 2017

Interaction conference workshops and field trips: February 5, 2017

Student Design Challenge: February 5–8, 2017

Interaction conference sessions: February 6-8, 2017

Interaction Awards and closing party: February 8, 2017

I’ll be presenting my talk I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today: Managing UX Debt. You should consider joining me. Tickets are still available.