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

"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 Big-Picture Challenges

“ 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 Big-Picture Challenges

“ 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 Big-Picture Challenges

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

“ 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 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. “ Feeling there's a community behind you is a big support – even if it's invisible, even if it's present only in the imagination." Jason Hobbs Support for the Community of Practice

Thank you, Ironworks, for supporting RUX Support for the Community of Practice

Etienne Wenger http://www.ewenger.com BJ Fogg http://www.bjfogg.com/ Andrew Boyd, Running a Successful IA Cocktail Hour Program http://iacanberra.org/2008/04/03/running-a-successful-ia-cocktail-hour-program/ Stacy Merrill Surla, Building IA Means Building Local Groups http://www.asis.org/Bulletin/Dec-06/surla.html Create Network Checklist http://iainstitute.org/documents/localgroups/LG_Check_CreateNetwork.doc Organize Conference Redux Tipsheet http://iainstitute.org/documents/localgroups/LG_Tip_Redux.doc Leading Successful Volunteer Projects http://www.slideshare.net/stacysurla/leading-successful-volunteer-projects/ Links

IA Institute http://iainstitute.org/en/network/ Local Groups Coordinator Survey, 2007 http://iainstitute.org/en/learn/research/local_groups_coordinator_survey_2007.php IxDA http://www.ixda.org/ UXNet http://www.uxnet.org/ UPA http://www.upassoc.org/chapters/ Links

Stacy Merrill Surla [email_address] Contact

Ux Local Groups

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