Moon and Stars Converge

Just as DFW-UPA and the STC (Lone Star Chapter) came together to host the Design Thinking event, in May 2007 the Product Development and Mangement Association (PDMA) and the Institute for International Research (IIR, not a stranger to UPA) hosted a conference in Boston that focused on strategy and design thinking. They even secured “8 out of BusinessWeek’s Top 25 Champions of Innovation” to speak at the event. And they had Business Week’s Bruce Nussbaum live (we just mentioned him, sigh — he was elsewhere during our event: ”Connecting07 World Design Congress“).

But this was their 5th event. Back in 2002, in Chicago, a key message was (recognize this?): “How to Think Differently, The First Step Toward Innovation“

We definitely need to stay on top of all these conversations!

nice coverage in user experience-focused community blog

Tom Humbarger picked up the topic and nicely covered several points in this Design Thinking discussion in the Catalyze blog.

great event; successful start to a meaningful conversation

It’s been one of those incredibly beautiful and most perfect October days here in Dallas, where over 150 folks attended the first Design Thinking conference. IMC2 provided a fantastic venue. In fact, all the sponsors deserve a big round of applause: Microsoft, Usability Sciences, Cox & Hall and IMC2. Photos from the event are now available on the backpack page.

Plus a survey to tell us what you think. DFW-UPA + Lone Star STC

DT is now all set.

all the planning’s planned…

all the organizing’s organized…

Now to Elicit Conversation and Inspire Business Differentiation!

from innovation to trend in a heartbeat

<snip>
Build, launch, tweak, measure, repeat. Digital experiences seem to be ‘always in beta’–learning and evolving along the way.”
<snip>

To mull over the entire article, start mulling here

might it be that maybe designers don’t necessarily “get it” ?

An article which is critical to our conversation by Bruce Nussbaum from BusinessWeek. Nussbaum is assistant managing editor in charge of the magazine’s innovation and design coverage.

Titled “Design vs. Design Thinking” this is a conversation continuing on the topic raised by Christopher Fahey’s recent comments.

event calendar - new community for UX + BA

Design Thinking has been listed as a featured event on the Catalyze.org calendar. This community is targeted to business analysts and UX professionals and it’s free to join.

See event listing on the site

According to this “about us” - Catalyze is a place to share, learn, find resources, offer opinions, get involved and make connections.

What seems a smidge different is the peer-based content where members can create their own blog inside the Catalyze blogosphere.

Some resources with major snazziness worth a visit:

TED Talks - John Maeda: Simplicity Patterns
Peter Morville ( Google Tech Talk) - Ambient Findability and The Future of Search
“Why focus on the design of big things? - Corey Glickman

conference agenda available…subject to change ;-)

Just take a look at what’s planned for the conference agenda.

parsing the subject of design thinking

Chris has posted on his blog about the conference too. A great opportunity to hear this thought leader speak to the North Texas community.

registration is now open; sign up online

Open to the Public sign-up online
Hosts: DFW Usability Professionals Association (DFW UPA) and the Lone Star Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication (STC)
Sponsors: IMC2, Microsoft, Usability Sciences, Cox & Hall

Message
Classic business models are threatened—the economics of competition have changed. Quality, efficiency and price are quickly matched. Being different requires flexibility—it’s squishy. Squishy seems to imply risk.

Such is the conundrum of the balance between science and art—a balance readily facilitated by Design Thinking, fundamentals for strategic business differentiation.

This is THE event to gain a purview of the design landscape across major DFW businesses. Join important conversations in a Half-Day-Plus exchange of ideas.