Ux Local Groups

Local Groups How-To (and Why) Stacy Merrill Surla [email_address] RUX (Richmond UX Group) April 30, 2008

Why are local groups important?

Hard to do it alone

The profession is growing, but...

A large proportion of UX professionals still work in relative isolation

Many projects rely on contractors – UXs who have to work on their own

Even companies with UX teams can lack managers who understand and care about user experience

“ Communities of Practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.”

Etienne Wenger, Cultivating Communities of Practice

Creates a Community of Practice

Local groups give UXs regular social and intellectual contact with peers

Validation and connectedness

Crucibles for new ideas

Volunteer projects help people network and get established in the profession or in new locations

Creates a Community of Practice

Local groups are more than just a nice thing to have. They're the key to the future. Building IA as a profession requires building IAs as professionals.

Builds the Field

“ Whether we like it or not, we are all in the business of influencing people's thoughts and behaviors; we are agents of change.

“ The stakes are higher now than ever before. How can one design for impact with awareness, efficiency, and responsibility?”

BJ Fogg, Persuasive Technology

Improves the World

Challenges

"Why were people so excited about doing things when we talked in person, but when I followed up later via email, nothing happened?”

Javier Velasco, Santiago, Chile

Big-Picture Challenges

“ When the dot com crash happened, the IA role disappeared. People hunkered down into roles that could be justified, like visual design and programming.”

Jason Hobbs, Johannesburg, South Africa

“ There are lots of professional groups, but no social groups. There's no place to go to talk about issues at work. We need a place to have human contact and talk about professional IA.”

Mary MacDonald, Boston, MA

“ In Germany we have five or six big cities where IAs could work, but these cities are far apart. The Netherlands has one main city. They have a local group and are meeting regularly. I'm very jealous of places like Amsterdam where people can get together and drink beer and talk about IA.”

Wolf Nöding, Nürnberg, Germany

Where do we start?

How do we gather interest?

Are we overdoing? Underdoing?

How do we keep up momentum?

IAI Local Groups Coordinator Survey

On the Ground Challenges

How Do You Do It?

“ A little perspiration, a lot of love, and a few glasses of wine”

Andrew Boyd, Canberra, Australia

Successful local groups work in three domains:

Volunteer leadership, project management, and party planning

Think “Spa” when organizing your group and when planning activities.

Everything should be refreshing, fun, meaningful, and good for you.

Keep things as simple as possible, but no simpler

Declare victory and celebrate often

Party Planning

Involve everybody who wants in

Give it away

Volunteer Leadership

Makes some simple plans

Up the ante when you get good at it

Replicate your successes

Work with related associations

Project Management

Tips

From the “ Create a Network ” checklist on iainstitute.org

Speak up on listservs about your group

Find people and and invite them (eg IAI Member Directory, LinkedIn, Facebook...)

Attend events of related associations and cross-promote the group

Have an action item for people to respond to, like a low-key face-to-face meetup

Reach out to like-minded individuals

Decide what "success" means to you.

An event with 3 people or 20? One good conversation? Enthusiasm and the next event scheduled?

Organize an event

Face to Face Meetups

Little or no agenda (dinner, cocktail/coffee hour)

Easy agenda (book group)

Planning meetings (future events, activities, infrastructure)

Meet during a conference (breakfast, cocktails, dinner)

Organize an event

More Ambitious Events

Event redux

Deliverables fair

Guest speakers (invite IA presenters, writers, workshop leaders when they’re in town)

Organize an event

Virtual Meetings

Teleconference (e.g. via Skype)

Local or regional listserv

Online virtual environment (e.g. Second Life)

Organize an event

Enough room

Right ambiance for the activity

Centrally located; good parking or public transport

Coffee shops

Restaurants

Bookstores

Public libraries / Community centers

Colleges / Universities with related programs

Your company

Your home

Find good locations and reuse them

Setting up the local group itself is a project

Organizing each event is a project

Offer a site redesign plan to a local nonprofit

Envision a service you'd like to see through an affinity association, and offer to bring it into being

Organize a project

Start a discussion list

Consider: Announcements only, or discussion?

Start a website

Consider: How will it be maintained? How about a blog?

Stay in communication

Keep things as simple as possible

Repeat whatever works best

Quality matters more than numbers

Declare victory and celebrate often

Keep a good attitude

Read a book about organizing volunteers

Read a book about event planning

Make a project plan, a timeline, a network diagram, or other management prop

Involve everybody who wants to participate

Grow as a leader

“ We’ll support flamenco dancing if an IA wants to organize it”

Dan Brown, DCIA

Grow as a leader

What’s Next

What’s happened so far?

What’s your next event?

Which challenges or tips are relevant now?

Next Steps for RUX

Beyond checklists, local leaders need infrastructure, recognition, and the weight of established organizations behind them

Support for the Community of Practice

“ The average IA is not a rock star in persona. She's thoughtful, slightly quiet, considerate – an unlikely candidate for evangelist in many respects.