Colin MacArthur

Head of Design Research, Canadian Digital Service

Colin MacArthur is the head of design research at the Canadian Digital Service. CDS is a digital consultancy inside the Canadian government. There, he coaches government teams conducting research under tight timelines with no budget. He’s also conducted fast-paced research at the U.S. government’s 18F, the Center for Civic Design and start-ups. Colin’s a proud methodology geek, with bachelor and graduate degrees in research. But he loves working with teams to ship software the helps people.

For more, keep up with Colin at colinmacarthur.org or on Twitter as @colinpmacarthur.

Gail Swanson

Design Lead, Ascension Digital Studio

Gail Swanson helps people solve their problems without blowing themselves up. Throughout her career designing for glowing screens, she’s been dedicated to helping talented folks be more successful at their jobs. Gail built the strategy practice at 18F, and integrated agile design into product teams in several organizations. She now works as Design Lead in Ascension’s Digital Studio, revolutionizing the technology clinicians use with their patients every day. Gail speaks and writes about all manners of design, strategy, and digital innovation.

For more, keep up with Gail at practicallyux.com or on Twitter as @practicallyUX.

Alex W. Castellanos

UX Vice President, Ipsos

Alex is a veteran political strategist turned UX researcher who has a love for technology and design. He has deep experience in project management, qualitative research and loves the opportunity to empathize with User stories. He is passionate about exploring behaviors and needs through one-on-one and group discussions. Alex holds an M.B.A. from Notre Dame and a broad array of certifications including Riva Certified Moderator, University of Chicago Project Management, and a Second City Improv degree.

Elevating User Experience in the Organization

In the early 1900s the CMO position was created, and ever since it has been one of the most heavily resourced departments in almost every major organization. The Chief Marketing Officer “controls the brand.” But over the past decade the tectonic plates of business have shifted. Earthquake after earthquake has shaped a new world in which Users sit at the Brand control panels. And broad online conversations prevented companies from using flashy marketing to cover up product problems.

With all this User power, why do leading business schools still teach that “Marketing drives the business” when we all know it is the User? And why do so many organizations still struggle to “control” their brand without investing in the User up-front? In this talk, Alex digs into the “why“ AND what you can do to help shift the balance towards the User in your organization.

Clifton Simmons

Sr. UX Content Strategist, Allstate

Clifton is a senior content strategist for Allstate, focusing on claims and roadside service. He’s dedicated to inspiring a diverse generation of UX design professionals, working as a mentor and instructor in various programs. Prior to his work on UX design, Clifton has worked at large ad agencies as an experiential marketer for USAA, Chevy, Coke and McDonald’s.

For more, keep up with Clifton at professoradman.com or on Twitter as @ProfessorAdMan.

Taking the (Em)Path to Human-Centered Design

In UX design, empathy is a critical skill to creating user satisfaction. No one tells us how to develop empathy! Finding that connection starts with drawing from personal resources.

Many people in UX careers started in positions not even remotely connected to UX design—and that’s been their benefit. These non-traditional, if not all, experiences provide unique insight when it comes to improving our empathetic approach to human-centered design. Diversity is also key to collaborating with and understanding unique voices and problem solving to meet the needs of others not like us. Along with consumer data and journeys, empathy helps design teams deeply analyze user situations to create solutions.

Danyell Jones

User Experience Research Lead, ZS Associates

Danyell is the UX Research Lead at ZS Associates in Evanston, IL, where she oversees and conducts research across 5 different verticals in the Software Development group that helps teams develop software applications that support pharmaceutical clients. She works with teams to develop reusable and efficient processes for conducting and analyzing research while increasing the visibility of the research practice and user experience team. Previously, Danyell established and led the research practice at Relativity, a software firm in Chicago, where she conducted user research to support teams with data-driven product development. In addition to working in user research, she teaches graduate-level classes in the HCI program at DePaul University. Danyell is also a runner, an avid reader, a Whovian, and a video game lover.

For more, keep up with Danyell at danyelljones.com.

Rocio Werner

Senior User Experience Researcher, ZS Associates

Rocio is a Senior User Experience Researcher at ZS Associates, conducting studies and collaborating on strategic initiatives across 5 product verticals in the Software Development Group. What excites her about her role is implementing UX benchmarking to inform product prioritization decisions. Before ZS, Rocio was a UX generalist at an agency, responsible for UX research and design. Prior to that, she provided UX consulting services to tech and small business founders, leveraging over a decade of collaboration with cross-functional teams to build software products to mitigate financial risk and optimize operational efficiency. Her research career began in academic and nonprofit sectors, studying work hazards of immigrant Latino farmworkers and laborers. When Rocio is not conducting research, she also enjoys dance training, running, traveling, and a good cup of chai.

Danyell & Rocio present:

Implementing Usability & Satisfaction Metrics in Your Organization

Establishing a cohesive UX strategy is a challenge when your organization lacks a measurement framework. We’re constantly striving to make great products, but it’s difficult to get stakeholder buy-in and make product decisions when you can’t state the impact on the user experience.

We understand – this happens to us too! During this session, we’ll share how we addressed this gap by exploring the framework we used for measuring UX impact across different audiences. We’ll discuss how we approached gathering usability and customer satisfaction metrics, establishing benchmarks, and applying this data to improve products. Not only will you learn about tools to help you make informed decisions on your products, but you’ll also come away with the ability to demonstrate the value of UX to your stakeholders.

David Antognoli

Assistant Professor of Game Design, Columbia College Chicago

David Antognoli is a game developer and professor of game design at Columbia College Chicago. A game industry veteran with experience in both programming and game design roles, he has worked on projects with companies like Microsoft, Sega, 2K Games, and Nickelodeon. Now he finds creative refuge in independent game development and teaching others how to create amazing games.

For more, keep up with David at davidantognoli.com or on Twitter as @DavidAntognoli.

Bad Game Design: Learning to Create Clear Interactions by Studying Bad Games

Most mainstream games are so good at interaction design that the complexity of these interactions is almost invisible. But when you start stripping away the elements that make them sing, it becomes obvious that something is wrong. In this session we’ll investigate some “bad” games, and use their failures to glean takeaways on creating clear interactions in mediated experiences.

David Gerding

Associate Professor, Columbia College Chicago

Dave Gerding has been called a “gifted motivational speaker” and “energizer bunny” by his consulting clients. Dave is an Associate Professor in Interactive Arts and Media at Columbia College Chicago where he teaches both media theory and advanced software development courses. He’s lectured at the University of Vienna, been principal investigator on federally funded UX research, and is also a certified McCarthy Core Protocols Instructor, ScrumMaster and Xamarin Developer and is working on Unity-related certifications, too. ‘Cause we do need stinkin’ badges!

McCarthy Protocols: Social, Emotional & Virtue-Centered Ninja Skills for Individuals & Teams

The “Core Protocols” are an ever-evolving set of team and personal practices, in ongoing- development for 25 years, the Core Protocols predicted both Agile-style iterative development and the central role of social and emotional competencies for effective teams. Best of all: They’re open source and freely shared. This talk will give attendees 5 easy-to-use practices that can transform their effectiveness with team-members, managers and, most importantly, clients. The Core Protocols have been taught to and are in use by professional teams on 4 continents. Plus they are fun just might prevent cavities.

Gabby Hon

User Experience Lead

With 20+ years experience in UX, and having worked with Fortune 100 companies and top agencies, Gabby has seen things you people wouldn’t believe.

She’s chosen making enterprise software less of a nightmare as her professional focus.

In her free time, Gabby is an internet spaceship mogul, and enjoys talking to nerds about how what you learn in a game can translate to real life.

For more, keep up with Gabby at http://outsidecontextproblem.org/ or on Twitter as @gabbyhon.

The Map Is Not the Territory: Against UX Portfolios, & for Rational Hiring

Mired in deliverable purgatory, and possessed of strategic skills that are continually undervalued, UX professionals are further humiliated by hiring requirements that include portfolios. I will explain why portfolios are entirely wrong for evaluating the worth of a UX professional, why hiring managers can’t seem to stop demanding them, and propose a path out of this quagmire.

Gina DeConti

Senior Visual Designer, Allstate

Gina started her art training early in life when her mother taught her to draw before she could barely hold a pencil. Since then she’s continued to love all things related to art and design.

Her formal education includes photography and design studies at the University of Massachusetts, with multiple Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in Photography, Electronic Imaging, and Illustration. She also achieved magna cum laude in Photography and Electronic Imaging (which made her mother very proud).

Gina considers herself a life-long learner and recently completed a master’s degree in Human and Computer Interaction at Iowa State University’s School of Engineering.

In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, yoga, and spending time sitting on her patio drinking craft beer with friends and family.

For more, keep up with Gina at ginadeconti.design or on Twitter as @GinaDeConti.

UX: Curating a Career for the Chronically Curious

Have you ever felt like you didn’t have a true calling or that you had so many different creative pursuits in life that you couldn’t decide on one singular path? The blend of unlimited learning opportunities, creativity, problem-solving, and cross-functional collaboration makes User Experience the closest imaginable choice to having a dozen jobs at once.

Discover how continual learning can help further develop your curiosity leading you to become a multi-faceted designer and expanding your ability to adapt in this ever-growing field. The broader your knowledge, the more diverse your experience, helping you to join together unrelated ideas to create entirely new approaches to solving problems.

Megan Machamer

Research Director, Ipsos

UX research specialist and ethnographer with 10 years of social science research experience in both professional and academic contexts. A highly dedicated applied anthropologist who is enthusiastic about culture and technology, and specializes in: research design, discovery, ethnography, and international research.

Academically, she hold a Masters in Social Science from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociocultural Anthropology from the University of California San Diego, as well as an Associates of Arts in Math and Science with special emphasis in Psychology from MiraCosta College. She has also served as an Adjunct Professor of Anthropology since September of 2016.

For more, keep up with Megan on Twitter as @mmmeganmelissa.

Delivering a Stand-Out User Experience: UX Ethnography & a (not-so) Quick Trip to the Post Office

Join me on a package delivery gone wrong and get a better sense on why User Experience needs ethnography and why technology needs UX.

As humans we live in a world where daily actions and decisions are closely linked to technology. We are presented with an array of technological options for completing a simple task and the choices we make can either enhance or inhibit our experience completing those basic tasks. Opportunities for businesses to consider human-centered design are everywhere, and often the most relatable and frustrating experiences with technology are missed opportunities to consider context of use, social norms, and human culture. With technology becoming increasingly automated, ethnography provides a unique opportunity to understand how tech augments an experience rather than replaces the user’s role.

From the narrative perspective of a cultural anthropologist and UX researcher, this presentation will cover how UX approaches ethnography differently, and how its focus on interaction and design marks a departure from other qualitative ethnography. From startups to tech giants, every business can benefit from understanding their customers in their real use environment, as well as all the nuance that context brings in developing and designing a product or service.