August 2006
August 29, 2006
UPA Auckland - Interviewing 101 with Shane Hastie from Software Education
Shane Hastie from Software Education will be talking about using interviewing effectively for user centred design - whether you're interviewing current or prospective site users or other stakeholders - these are important skills.
Shane's talk will cover the basics of planning and conducting a structured interview – identifying who to talk to, planning the time and sequence of interviews and then actually conducting an interview.
The talk will concentrate primarily on the people factors which are crucial to successfully gathering requirements for a new or changed product or service, irrespective of the problem domain or business context.
Bio
Shane is Chief Knowledge Engineer at Software Education Associates Ltd (www.softed.com), Shane has over 25 years experience in software development and implementation around the world, using a variety of development methodologies. Shane is an advocate of Agile methods based on his experience building real systems, including a back office & revenue accounting software for small to medium size Airlines which has been implemented in 12 airlines around Africa and is still in use today, reservations & despatch management for shuttle services, pharmaceutical and facilities management systems. Shane has lived and worked in New Zealand, South Africa, USA, UK, Australia and Hong Kong.
Shane's areas of expertise cover Software Testing, Requirements Analysis, Agile Methodologies, Business Analysis and Project Management.
* RSVP: Please RSVP to auckland at upa dot org dot nz by 5pm Monday 28th August
* Time: 6pm onwards for drinks and nibbles. Talks start at 6.30pm.
Finishes at approximately 8pm
* Cost: $10 cash at the door. Please bring correct change.
* Location: Bank of New Zealand, 3rd floor, 125 Queen Street (Map showing location of building - but we are on the 3rd floor).
* Late entry: Call Mark McLay on 029 222 00 16 if you have difficulty getting in or arrive after 6.30pm
August 31, 2006
Information Architecture Workshop
Optimal Usability has invited Donna Maurer over from Australia to present a full-day workshop on Information Architecture.
"This full day workshop will provide you with a thorough overview and understanding of information architecture theory & practice. It will cover a wide range of information architecture issues, including an understanding of how it fits into a project, fundamental skills & knowledge required for information architecture work and current information architecture issues. It will be theoretical and practical and allow you to immediately apply ideas to your projects.
This workshop will cover:
* What information architecture is and how it relates to other user experience disciplines
* Core IA techniques - analysing content, conducting user research, card sorting and more
* Core IA theories - classification, categorisation, metadata & labelling
* IA structures - hierarchies, database and other structures
* Designing navigation & page layouts
* Putting it together in an IA project
* Current issues in IA
The workshop will be at the level of an ‘advanced intro’, covering the basics and also allowing exploration of key challenges and issues. The format will be a combination of short lectures, group discussion and hands-on activities. Resources will also be provided for further personal exploration."
Visit site: Information Architecture - Theory and Practice : Optimal Usability