#uxpa

I think we’re pretty much there now with our high-fidelity mockup! I’m really pleased with how it’s turned out. We still need to test it in order to gain feedback for future iterations but I fell like we’ve done a pretty good job so far :D

Nik has been working hard on the presentation and it’s looking great. We only have 15 - 20 minutes to present our work next Wednesday which is not long considering we have to do the demo of the app too. We’ve written the script for the presentation but we’ve not run through it yet and I have a feeling it’s too long. However, I’d rather it be too long at this point and us have to cut things out and make it more concise. We have a few days now to practice and refine the presentation so we should have plenty of time to perfect it. I’m hoping we can do our first run through this afternoon. 

Last night I went to an excellent meetup hosted by the UXPA at the Aviva Design Garage. It was all about smart technology and future trends in UX. The speakers told us that we generally see big changes in technology every 6 - 8 years (the last one was when the iPhone came out) so we’re due another major change now. 

Yesterday and today I attended my second annual UXDC event! Last year I was just starting my career in UX, the only real experience I had was in a Usability class I was taking that semester, so attending the event was great in many ways--I was able to absorb a lot of material in a sort amount of time, I networked with a bunch of local UX folks, and I was introduced to usability techniques. It was also a little intimidating because I had to be one of the least experienced people there and I felt shy about conversing with professionals. This year was a whole new ballgame for me; I have a year’s worth of MA courses under my belt, 5 months worth of internship experience, and a job offer on the table (comScore has extended my internship into a full time position to start in July--woo!!) ! Although I was more prepared this second time around, I observed that (not to my surprise) I have SO MUCH more to learn. 

Hello readers!

Sorry for the slow posting rhythm lately... multiple areas of my daily life decided to gang up together and mug me, and I wasn’t carrying my mental mace... 

Given the constraints on time, I’ll use this opportunity to plug for Thursday night’s UXPA event. It’s titled “Competitive Analysis: Strategic UX Spy Games” and it features Lyle Kantrovich’s take on the landscape of competitive intelligence from a UX-centered lens and framework. 

Last night’s mentorship wrap-up event was a really great opportunity to reflect on what was given (by mentors), what was gained (by mentees), and really a time to marvel on how each mentor/mentee pair managed to set up a rhythm and system of partnership that worked for them. 

After a brief introduction—as well as some eating and mingling—we split into small groups and discussed our experiences. Everyone at the table where I sat had a profoundly positive experience; even some of the mentors got something out of it. 

The most interesting conversations came out of the next phase of the event, where mentors sat together at one table and the mentees at their own tables. We had candid discussions—without concern about offending the mentors—about what went well and what didn’t. 

On one hand, it turned out that the mentor-free environment didn’t change much. We mentees truly did have remarkable experiences that we each were grateful for. What stood out to me was how DIFFERENT each partnership was. One mentee was in job interviews, getting assigned design challenges as part of the process, and his mentor was giving advice on how to troubleshoot problems. Another mentee was doing contract work one day a week, and his mentor helped him overcome obstacles and barriers. Despite these differences, each partnership was a success. The mentor and mentee quickly aligned on the mentee’s needs and the mentor’s potential offerings, and really complex and creative relationships emerged. 

A real quick post here, before I head off to the event itself....

Tonight is the wrap-up celebration / recap to the UXPA MN’s new mentorship program, created and coordinated by Kristen Sewell and Meghan Hatalla. 

Through this program, I have been able to speak with, learn from, exchange ideas with, and tour the workplace of Rob Stenzinger, and for that I’m grateful to all three of these people. 

It has been a great experience, and I have the opportunity to talk briefly about that experience tonight. After the event—likely tomorrow—I will post in more detail how the experience went for me.