PhillyCHI July Event - “8 Guiding Principles for Prototyping” with Todd Zaki Warfel
Please join us for an expert and seasoned look at prototyping and its application in Design.

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Date: Thursday, July 24, 2008
Time: 6 - 8PM (social and networking time from 6 - 6:30)
Location: Messagefirst, 230 N 2nd Street, Suite 2C, Philadelphia, PA 19106 (practically under the Ben Franklin Bridge)
Phone: 215-825-7423
Parking Locator: http://www.philapark.org/parkinglocator/parking_locator.aspx

RSVP: phillychi@gmail.com
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About this Presentation
Have you ever wanted to introduce prototyping into your organization’s design process but weren’t sure of where to start? Or do you currently practice prototyping and need some fresh ideas?

At this month’s PhillyCHI event, Todd Zaki Warfel will present eight guiding principles for prototyping and will perform a hands-on demonstration of several techniques. In addition to an overview of how and when to use prototyping in the IA/UX process Todd will also provide some techniques for the more seasoned veteran.

About the Speaker
Todd Zaki Warfel is a Principal and Founder of Messagefirst, a Philadelphia-based design research consultancy, where he blends research and design to evolve products in innovative and beautiful ways. Todd is a dynamic speaker and storyteller by nature. He is an active speaker and member of a number of industry communities and organizations, including the Information Architecture Institute, Interaction Design Association and Usability Professionals’ Association.

Todd’s clients have included Albertsons, AT&T Wireless, Bankrate, Bank of America, Citi, Comcast, Cornell University, IntraLinks, The Hartford, LA Times, Motorola, Palm and SBC.

Todd currently lives in Philadelphia and blogs at toddwarfel.com. His upcoming book, Practical Prototyping: A Practitioner’s Guide to Prototyping from Rosenfeld Media, will take a hands-on approach, enabling you to develop prototypes with minimal muss and fuss. The book will discuss how prototypes are more than just a design tool by demonstrating how they can help you market a product, gain internal buy-in and test feasibility with your development team. It is anticipated to be available later this year.

Those interested in obtaining a copy of Todd’s upcoming book can learn more at
http://www.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/prototyping

For more information about Messagefirst, visit http://www.messagefirst.com

Join us for some family fun at the first Greater Philadelphia User Experience Summer Picnic bringing together:

* UPA Delaware Valley
* PhillyCHI
* PANMA
* STC Philadelphia
* IDSA
* and more

Date and Time: Sunday, June 29, 12:00pm - 3:00pm
Location: Ridley Creek State Park - Pavilion #3
Google Map/Directions: http://tinyurl.com/4bvc2k
Ridley Creek State Park Map: http://tinyurl.com/58hg46 (PDF)

Bring the whole family. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more details in upcoming announcements.

RSVP: http://upadelawarevalley.org/events/event_register.php?id=10

Please join PhillyCHI for an enlightening discussion about the facts of web accessibility and Section 508 compliance, as well as practical advice on creating accessible websites without sacrificing design.

Date: Thursday, June 12, 2008
Time: 6 - 8PM * Social time & networking 6 - 6:30PM *
Location: Hunt Room, Hamilton Hall, University of the Arts
320 South Broad Street (Broad and Pine Streets)
Philadelphia, PA 19102
Directions: http://www.uarts.edu/admission/directions.html
Parking Locator: http://www.philapark.org/parkinglocator/parking_locator.aspx
RSVP: phillychi@gmail.com

About the Presentation
A California federal judge’s recent decision not to dismiss a discrimination case against retailer Target Corp has possibly opened to the door to future Internet-related Americans with Disabilities Act claims. The ruling, believed to be the first indicating that the ADA can apply to the Internet, brings to light issues surrounding web accessibility and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

In this presentation, Kel Smith will speak about the concept of barrier-free user experience, describe the practical benefits of compliance, explore the legal and technical history of accessibility, and offer advice to those who want to design attractive websites that meet the needs of all users.

About the Speaker
Kel Smith is a conceptual technologist specializing in the design and usability of digital experiences, with stints at such companies as GlaxoSmithKline and Yellowbook. His strong interest in web accessibility has resulted in published articles, lectures and seminars; his piece titled “The Missing Link” appeared in The Practical Lawyer and Experience Magazine, and he was recently interviewed by Bill Cullifer for the WOW Technology Minute series.

In February 2008, Kel launched Anikto LLC to promote accessibility tactics across multiple disciplines and markets. He is currently the Director of Design and Development for Tandem Learning, a company specializing in highly-interactive, multimedia training experiences. Kel lives just outside of Philadelphia with his very, very patient wife.

See PhillyCHI for more information.

Date: Thursday, May 22, 2008
Time: 6 - 8PM (social time & networking from 6 - 6:30PM)
Location: Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall, University of Pennsylvania
3417 Spruce St, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Map: http://www.perelmanquad.com/about/directions/index.php
Parking: Available at garages on 38th & Walnut and 34th & Chestnut
RSVP: http://upadelawarevalley.org/events/event_register.php?id=9

* Please join PhillyCHI and UPA Delaware Valley for a sneak peak of the new release of Morae coming in Summer 2008. And don’t forget to RSVP to help us plan. *

When you think of TechSmith Morae, you probably think of testing things on a computer screen-like a software application or Web site. But what about testing the iPhone user’s experience? Could Morae speed up and simplify a whole range of testing methods, from paper prototyping to in-depth interviews to focus groups? Could it enable unmoderated testing? The Morae development team is hard at work to support all these methods and approaches! In this session, we’ll pull back the curtain to give you a peek at what’s coming…and demonstrate specific use scenarios. Remote user testing with UserVue will also be shown. We hope you can join us!

About the Presenter
Shane Lovellette is the product manager for Morae and UserVue. Shane came to TechSmith with over eight years of management and production experience in video and television. In 2004, Shane helped TechSmith introduce Morae, the first all-digital solution that records and synchronizes user and system data for the analysis of human-computer interaction. In that time, Morae has become the gold standard for usability testing and user experience research. Shane holds a bachelor’s degree in television, radio, and film production from Syracuse University and an MBA from Michigan State University. Shane resides in DeWitt, Michigan, with his wife and two children.

About TechSmith
Founded in 1987, TechSmith is the world’s leading provider of screen capture and recording software for individual and professional use. People everywhere use our products to capture content from their screens in ways that help them communicate more clearly, create engaging presentations for diverse audiences, and analyze product usability and customer experience.

To learn more about TechSmith, visit: http://techsmith.com

Please join us PhillyCHI and UPA Delaware Valley for a sneak peak of the new release of Morae coming in Summer 2008.

Date: Thursday, May 22, 2008
Time: 6 - 8PM (social time & networking from 6 - 6:30PM)
Location: Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall, University of Pennsylvania, 3417 Spruce St, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Map: http://www.perelmanquad.com/about/directions/index.php
Parking: Available at garages on 38th & Walnut and 34th & Chestnut
RSVP: http://upadelawarevalley.org/events/event_register.php?id=9

Event Description
When you think of TechSmith Morae, you probably think of testing things on a computer screen-like a software application or Web site. But what about testing the iPhone user’s experience? Could Morae speed up and simplify a whole range of testing methods, from paper prototyping to in-depth interviews to focus groups? Could it enable unmoderated testing? The Morae development team is hard at work to support all these methods and approaches! In this session, we’ll pull back the curtain to give you a peek at what’s coming…and demonstrate specific use scenarios. Remote user testing with UserVue will also be shown. We hope you can join us!

About the Presenter
Shane Lovellette is the product manager for Morae and UserVue. Shane came to TechSmith with over eight years of management and production experience in video and television. In 2004, Shane helped TechSmith introduce Morae, the first all-digital solution that records and synchronizes user and system data for the analysis of human-computer interaction. In that time, Morae has become the gold standard for usability testing and user experience research. Shane holds a bachelor’s degree in television, radio, and film production from Syracuse University and an MBA from Michigan State University. Shane resides in DeWitt, Michigan, with his wife and two children.

About TechSmith
Founded in 1987, TechSmith is the world’s leading provider of screen capture and recording software for individual and professional use. People everywhere use our products to capture content from their screens in ways that help them communicate more clearly, create engaging presentations for diverse audiences, and analyze product usability and customer experience.

To learn more about TechSmith, visit http://www.techsmith.com.

Come out and join PhillyCHI and PANMA for a beer, or two!

Thursday, May 15, 2008
5:30 - 7:30
National Mechanics, 22 S 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19106
http://www.nationalmechanics.com
RSVP: phillychi@gmail.com (nice, but not necessary)

About PhillyCHI

PhillyCHI is a Philadelphia-area professional group for those interested in Human-Computer Interaction, User Experience, Usability and other related disciplines. We meet twice a month to network and discuss current topics in UX and HCI. For more information, visit http://phillychi.acm.org

About PANMA

The Philadelphia Area New Media Association serves individuals and companies involved in digital development. By offering a professionally and socially friendly environment, PANMA enhances the interconnections in our community, encourages locally trained and educated professionals to make their homes in the Philadelphia region, and increases employment and business opportunities for our industry.

The Philadelphia Area New Media Association supports the regional digital development community.

We are web designers, graphic artists, database developers, programmers, information architects, marketers and other professionals.

The Higher Education Web Symposium is a conference focused on the unique challenges of web design and development in academia.

The first and only web design conference for IT Professionals working in Higher Education. Meet world renowned experts in the fields of usability, user centered design, CSS, AJAX and many others. Designers, Developers, and Project Managers will all be able to benefit from the content presented over the course of two days.

The PhillyCHI February Meeting is Taxonomy is User Experience by Dave Cooksey. This presentation will approach taxonomies from the user’s perspective. It will begin by introducing a simple conceptual framework that communicates the centrality of taxonomies to user experience. Then, the presentation will cover:

• the virtues of thinking of taxonomy in terms of the user experience and not simply as data or classification
• ways of talking about taxonomy that clearly communicate its value to the business and help promote taxonomy as a practice
• how to craft a user-centric taxonomy by examining several e-commerce redesign case studies

By discussing taxonomy and metadata in terms of user experience, we will learn to communicate better with the business, inform our co-workers how to create more engaging user experiences, and bring the user into the taxonomy creation process.

The annual PhillyCHI holiday party will celebrate this past year and toast the new. It will be in a private room at 707, a bright new restaurant and lounge in Center City. There will be passed hors d’oeuvre, open bar, and door prizes. The newly elected officers for 2008 will be announced.

Technical Communication Summit, STC’s 55th Annual Conference and EXPO, Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 1-4, 2008.