You wanted a bigger and better venue, we decided to go State-of-the-Art!

Quite fittingly for a conference that places emphasis on the human aspect of things, our UXcamp Ottawa 2013 host, the Canadian Museum of Civilization (CMC) also happens to be Canada’s national museum of human history. Internationally recognized as one of the world’s modern architectural wonders, the complex was designed by architect Douglas Cardinal to reflect enduring features of the Canadian landscape. The world’s largest indoor collection of Totem Poles is housed in the facility’s dazzling Grand Hall, which has also been the site of numerous high-profile receptions for visiting heads of state. The CMC is also Canada’s most-visited museum, with an average 1.2 million on-site visitors a year, as well over 2 million virtual visitors to the Museum’s award-winning World Wide Web site. It is located in the Hull area of Gatineau, Quebec, directly across the Ottawa River from Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario.

The museum’s primary purpose is to collect, study, preserve, and present material objects that illuminate the human history of Canada and the cultural diversity of its people. The Museum of Civilization’s permanent galleries explore Canada’s 20,000 years of human history and a program of special exhibitions expands on Canadian themes and explore other cultures and civilizations, past and present.

The museum is also a major research institution. Its staff includes leading experts in Canadian history, archaeology, ethnology, folk culture, and more (did we mention we would love to work with some of those guys on UX projects?).

Museum of Civilization History
With roots stretching back to 1856, the Museum is one of North America’s oldest cultural institutions. It is also home to the Canadian Children’s Museum, the Canadian Postal Museum, the Canadian Museum of Civilization Theatre (where UXcamp Ottawa 2013 will take place) and an IMAX Theatre with 3D capabilities.

The museum complex consists of two wings, the public and curatorial wings, surrounded by a series of plazas connected by a grand staircase. Naturalized park areas connect the museum and its plazas to the Ottawa River and nearby Jacques Cartier Park. Situated in the public wing (the West wing) the Museum’s Theatre is traditionally a performing arts venue worthy of the world’s most acclaimed artists. Luckily for us, the theatre is also suitable for a wide range of conferences and productions.

CMC Theatre Ammenities
Apart from the inspiring environment, we have reserved the large hallway area in front of the theatre exclusively for use during our plenary breaks and post-event networking happy hour which should address the space constraints from last year. Also, the large hallway eliminates the unfortunate long lineups outside of the building that were a nuisance last year.
Also, For the first time at UXcamp Ottawa, our speakers will benefit from large screen HD quality projection for the talks and private green room to prepare and relax prior to their sessions.

This is a quick recap of the UXcamp community ‘pulse’ following our 2012 edition

About a week after UXcamp Ottawa 2012 we sent out an online feedback survey link (nicely crafted by our very own Mary-Beth Baker) hoping to evaluate how we’ve done (we are suckers for research, what can we say). 32.2% (121 of the 375) of participants responded, and this article is a distilled version of what we’ve learned. But before we proceed, we would like to once again thank each and every single one of you who took 2 minutes to answer our quick 10 question survey in October 2012.

Speakers / Program: YAY!
According to the numbers, it turns out that 97.5% (118 out of 121) of survey respondents were impressed by last year’s speaker lineup headlined by Jared Spool and Steve Portigal. These figures are line with UXcamp Ottawa 2011 which clocked in at 97.8%. This tells us that on the programming side, we are doing something right when choosing the right speakers for our audience. In terms of relevance of the topics covered, we were also in line with our historical trend as 87.6% (106 of the 121) of respondents were in agreement that the content was useful to our audience.

Venue: NAY
On the other hand, last year’s venue did not score nearly as well as our historical mark (89%), coming in at 66.1% (80 of 121 respondents). Your comments also revealed the causal themes: a number of logistical and environmental factors such as the small networking and lunch space, the room temperature inside the venue (too cold), the in-theatre food and drink mobility restrictions and the fact that chairs were not very comfortable to sit in for a long period of time. This feedback made improving the venue our #1 priority for 2013, and as a result, we’re happy to announce that this year’s Saturday plenary will take place at the state-of-the-art Canadian Museum of Civilization Theatre. Check out our blog post explaining why we chose this spectacular venue and how it will improve the UXcamp Ottawa 2013 experience.

Length of event: NAY
Another area that took a hit last year was the length of the sessions, with only 73.5% (89 of 121) of respondents in agreement that the duration of the plenary day was appropriate. This is down from our historical average of 86% in years past and we take full responsibility for this aspect. Our thinking was that the late addition of two world class speakers outweighed the general late-afternoon malaise of a full-day event, especially knowing that the networking event would commence shortly. We have underestimated this and as a result, we’re will be returning to an end time of 5pm in 2013 (but worry not, a networking event will still follow).

YOU: YAY!
Last but not least, 96.6% of you (114 of 121 respondents) mentioned that you would return in 2013 so we hope to see you again this year and we encourage you to bring friends. If not, don’t worry, you will recognize plenty of faces and make brand new friends at this year’s event.

See you all on November 9th.

For a third consecutive year, we are delighted to announce that Rob Woodbridge is back as UXcamp emcee.

Any event is only as good as its emcee and we’re delighted that Rob Woodbridge of Untether.tv hasn’t gotten sick of us just yet and will be back in 2013. Rob is a visionary veteran of the Ottawa technology sector, having previously been involved in various business roles with companies like Animatics, getHOW!, SystemScope, OCRI, Magmic Games and Rove Mobile. His current focus is as host of the successful web-based video podcast series Untether.tv. Dubbed ‘Casual Conversations with Mobile Rockstars’, Untether.tv episodes bring to light great mobile successes, failures and lessons learned, helping move the innovation needle forward in the wireless industry.

Host Bio: Rob Woodbridge

For 18 years Rob has been a student of business, immersed in roles ranging from founder, strategic advisor, board member and coach to VP Operations and President & CEO. In each of the companies that he’s been involved with, Rob has helped shape strategy, marketing initiatives and product development, built exceptional teams and spoken to thousands of people about a wide range of topics.

You can follow Rob on twitter @robwoodbridge.

If you couldn’t attend or just want to relive the day, take a scroll through.

Here are some last minute details to help you enjoy the weekend:

TIME: 8:45 – 6:00 (after-party at 6:00 at the Theater Bar)

• The opening will start at 8:45. We’d request that you give yourself enough time to find the building, check in at the registration desk and get yourself a seat.
• Stay green! We’ve got registration lists; no need to print your ticket.
• You won’t want to miss a minute of our packed schedule!
• Find out more about our speakers.

SNACKS, BEVERAGES & MEALS

• Bring a non-breakable water bottle (let’s be green!)
• Snacks & beverages will be provided in the morning and afternoon.
• Please note, only water can be brought into the theater.
• Lunch is provided including vegetarian and vegan options.

PARTICIPATION & NOTE-TAKING

• We’ve got wifi thanks to our sponsor, BoxFabric!
• Bring your laptop, smartphone, tablet for note-taking and live blogging (hashtag #uxott)
• Please turn off your ringers though!

DIRECTIONS
Saturday: Ottawa Little Theatre Inc., 400 King Edward Avenue

• Parking: The Theater website provides directions and a handy map to various parking options (Loblaws, Quality Inn, lot behind the theater)
• Bus: Routes 7, 12, 14, 16, 18 pass by the theater. Alternately, it is possible to take a bus to Rideau Center and walk to the theater by heading East on Rideau street (10 minute walk).
• Check the OC Transpo travel planner for more.

Sunday: Design Jam at University of Ottawa, Lamoureux Building, Room 122.

• Parking: There are several lots throughout the campus.
• We encourage you to use public transit if possible. There are numerous routes that go to campus via the TransitWay.

SPONSORS AND VOLUNTEERS

• We’ve been fortunate enough to have sponsors and volunteers who’ve been very generous with their support. Please take a moment to find out more about them on the site.

LAST MINUTE INSTRUCTIONS

• Watch Twitter (@UXCampOttawa) for up-to-the-minute info (hashtag #uxott).
• Questions? Drop us a line or send us a tweet.

Oh, and most importantly: Don’t forget to bring your enthusiasm for all things UX

See you on Saturday!

- The UXCamp III Organizing Committee

One of our fearless leaders is back in Ottawa this year to present.

Accessibility as a Design Tool
Oct 13, 11:45am / 45 MINUTES

Designing for extreme use cases—outliers—results in a design process that leads to greater success in developing products that are more easily used by everyone. By systematically factoring these extremes into our designs we spark creativity and behaviours that encourage divergent thinking and help to ensure that what we create can be used by everyone, including people with disabilities.

In this session, we’ll look at design considerations for the extremes, how they impact our work, and what we can do to make sure that our products—web sites, applications, native smartphone applications and more—are accessible to everyone, regardless of their abilities.

Speaker Bio: Derek Featherstone

Derek is an internationally known authority on accessibility and web development, a respected technical trainer, and author. Creator of in-depth courses on HTML, CSS, DOM Scripting, and Web 2.0 applications, his approach never fails to champion the cause of web standards and universal accessibility.

In Ottawa, he is one of the original UXcamp organizers and a current co-chair of the event who has been helping from the shadows since our first edition. As founder of Further Ahead and currently Simply Accessible, he has been an in-demand consultant to government agencies, educational institutions, and private sector companies since 1999. He is Group Lead of The Web Standards Project and has served on its Accessibility and DOM Scripting Task Forces.

You can follow Derek on Twitter at @feather.

To give you a little taste of what’s to come, we’ve compiled a list of recent blog posts and articles by some of our speakers. Browse through to see what they’re thinking of these days and maybe get a little preview of what they’ll be talking about at UX Camp.

We’ll be sending out come emails in the days leading up to the event with some last minute instructions on parking and logistics. Stay tuned and see you on the 13th!

One of the key figures responsible for bringing the UXcamp movement to Ottawa returns this year to present.

Citizen Experience Design: Policy and Service Innovation
Oct 13, 1:30pm / 45 MINUTES

Citizen experience isn’t simply the civic experience of elections and voting, or participatory democracy. It is the entire daily sum of interactions and benefits that a citizen experiences through both the direct and indirect actions of the public sector. That includes programs and services, policy and planning, funding, taxation, subsidies and economic development. It means dealing with specific needs, and with the broad attitudes and expectations that develop in a community. It spans all levels of government and extends into education, healthcare, and government funded non-profits. And it makes a profound difference in the kind of people, the kind of communities and the kind of nation that we are today and that we aspire to become tomorrow.

Citizen experience design is a deliberate practice devoted to improving that daily citizen experience. It draws on the best of what we know from customer experience, design thinking, and innovation. Citizen experience design doesn’t replace how we practice government. Instead it adds to the toolkit, giving public servants and citizens more tools to improve our communities and make better, more confident decisions.

This session will challenge you, inspire you, and encourage you to take action in the way that makes most sense for you. Jess will share examples of citizen experience and suggest some practices for citizen experience design, and conclude with a range of options for getting involved—including individuals in public service, consultants, and citizens who are engaging with their governments and communities to make things work better for people.

Speaker Bio: Jess McMullin

As founder of UXCamp Edmonton and organizer/sponsor/host of the inaugural UXcamp Ottawa in 2010, Jess McMullin is no stranger to our little conference. Jess is a thinker, researcher and designer who helps organizations innovate services, systems and policies to create a better world. Since leaving nForm, the user experience consultancy he founded in 2003, he’s led the Centre for Citizen Experience, a startup “do tank” that advances design in the North American public sector. The public sector (government, education, and healthcare) faces significant challenges. Design innovation can help.

The Centre’s fundamental belief is that design methods and mindset can dramatically improve problem solving for public sector organizations. Today it realizes its mission through consulting, training, research, advocacy and policy work.

Jess speaks widely and regularly writes about design thinking, innovation, and influencing organizations. He has spoken in Canada, Germany, Italy and the United States. He started Overlap, an annual invitation-only retreat that gathers many disciplines under the umbrella of design, with friend and co-conspirator Victor Lombardi; started Canux, the Canadian User Experience workshop held in Banff from 2005-2009; and has served as a program co-chair for the IA Summit’s Business Strategy & Management track with Mags Hanley for the past two years.

Jess also co-founded the Information Architecture Institute and has contributed feedback and ideas for several user experience and design books including Lou Rosenfeld and Peter Morville’s Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, Jesse James Garrett’s The Elements of User Experience, and Gene Smith’s Tagging: People-Powered Metadata for the Social Web.

You can follow Jess on Twitter at @jessmcmullin.

This year’s UXcamp will have a keynote for the ages. UIE’s Jared Spool will headline our October 13 event.

It’s a Great Time To Be a UX Designer
Oct 13, 9:00am / 65 MINUTES

There’s never been a better time to be a designer. After years of wishing we’d have the recognition and appreciation for the value we bring, we’re now highly sought after for our talents and skills. A growing number of organizations have seen success through great design, from Apple to Cirque de Soleil to the White House. Others now want to get the same results. The demand for great designers has never been better.

Yet, as the proverb says, “Be careful for what you wish for, lest it become true.” Now that everyone expects us to deliver great things, are we ready? While we’re presented with more opportunities than ever, we also have increased challenges.
Mobile design requires us to rethink what we previously knew about designing for screens and interaction. Integrating with Agile methods forces us to critically explore past ideas of best processes and techniques. There’s a lot of pressure to deliver excellent, world-changing designs while our own world is dramatically shifting under our feet.

Jared M. Spool, User Interface Engineering’s Founding Principal, will delight and entertain you as he explores the vast opportunities and interesting challenges UX professionals are now facing. If you’ve seen Jared present before, you know why this keynote is something not to be missed.

Speaker Bio: Jared Spool

Innovation is born out of the quest for usability. Usability makes our lives more productive, safer, and happier. This has been Jared Spool’s quest since 1978 when he began working in the field of design and usability.

Jared is the founder and CEO of User Interface Engineering (UIE), the largest usability research organization of its kind in the world. Jared spends his time working with the research teams at the company, helps clients understand how to solve their design problems, explains to reporters and industry analysts what the current state of design is all about, and is a top-rated speaker at more than 20 conferences every year. Jared also organizes the annual UI Conference (UI17 will take place only November 5-7, 2012 in Boston, MA) and UX Immersion conference.

Jared is a faculty member at the Tufts University’s Gordon Institute and is author of “Web Usability: A Designer’s Guide”, “Web Anatomy: Interaction Design Frameworks that Work” and “User-Centered Web Site Development: A Human-Computer Interaction Approach”. In 2011 Jared was awarded the Stevens award for his, “quiet evangelism of usability and the practical outcomes of methods and tools [that have] had a wide-ranging influence on how we think about making systems effective.”

You can follow Jared on Twitter at @jmspool.

Rounding up an already stellar lineup, Ottawa’s very own Jeff Parks will make his UXcamp Ottawa debut this year.

Creativity – The Missing Link Between Data and Common Sense
Oct 13, 3:45pm / 25 MINUTES

Data overwhelms almost every industry and sector today. Our collective inability to see through this “fog” of over analysis has created a kind of creative paralysis. The need has never been greater to ask ourselves are we disagreeing with the individual or the idea? Are we open to learning from other experiences and professions or are we resolute in our process and job title?

We huddle up in scrums through Agile, trim the fat in UX approaches in Lean UX, and some still believe in the hierarchical waterfall to get work done. But in an era of never ending wind-sprints focusing who can be first I will demonstrate through stories of other creatives – and my own experiences in the health care and IT communities – this essential human need to not just create but to engage in the creative process every day.

Drawing on the stories of children’s TV producer Bruktawit Tagabu in Ethiopia, authors Ayn Rand, Dave Gray, Thomas Vander Wal and Austin Kleon, IBM, Jon Cleese, and the Canadian rock band Rush I will illustrate this need to focus more on the creative process in our professional endeavours – imagining what is possible rather than justifying what is not.

Speaker Bio: Jeff Parks

Jeff is the co-founder of DIGIA UX Inc, a member of the Board of Directors for the Information Architecture Institute, and trusted mentor to over a hundred designers the world over. He presented at the 2011 Information Architecture Summit in Denver and was the Closing Keynote at the 2012 Polish IA Summit in Warsaw Poland, “Designing for a Global Culture”. He is an ambassador of the Ottawa UX community, and has founded the Ottawa UX Book Club. He has also been involved as a speaker with IxDA Ottawa and CapCHI.

Jeff continues to guest lecture at universities and colleges, and leads workshops on advanced web practices through Follow The UX Leader which he co-created with Canada’s leading Content Strategist Kris Mausser. He has trained designers and business leaders on Information Architecture and User Experience from Boeing, Fujitsu, iStock Photo, Tribal DDB Worldwide, Manulife Financial, Open Text, Western Union, Scotiabank, and many more.

Over the past five years Jeff has led countless conversations and produced two of the most popular podcasts in user experience interviewing practitioners, thought leaders and renowned authors from Google, eBay, ClickTale Web Analytics, Citrix, Adaptive Path, Rosenfeld Media, Morgan Kaufmann, and New Riders on industry leading webzines Johnny Holland and Boxes and Arrows.

You can follow Jeff on Twitter @jeffparks.