We would particularly like to explore issues and ideas around our conference theme and welcome submissions that focus on this.
2011 Conference Theme
Designing for Social Change
This year we focus outwardly, on our effects in our organizations, our cultures, our world. As we convene in a place that saw and drove significant social change in the last century, we reflect on UPA's 20-year history and the impacts of our work and the special passion of our profession in the developed and refined by its practitioners. In expression of the organization's strategic directions, we chose the theme of Designing for Social Change:
- Design and with an intentional outcome of sparking change in how people behave, communicate, and do things in the world
- Leveraging the special expertise of usability professionals
- Exploring the concept of cultures and how these impact on our work
- Acknowledging the increasingly international nature of our work and the issues that we face in light of this
Areas of interest:
We hope to cover a wide range of topic areas related to this theme, which are listed below. This is by no means and exhaustive list, and you are welcome to send us your suggestions of what you would be interested in.
- What strategic initiative can proliferate usable design innovations? How can we move from 'projects' to the world?
- Cultural models relevant to usability
- What are the known cultural differences?
- What is consistent and stable across cultures?
- Experiences with different cultures and sub-cultures
- When is culture a consideration for UX?
- How is culture measured or defined?
- Useful tips for UX professionals
- Design tools & techniques
- Design case studies for specific cultures and subcultures
- Overcoming cultural barriers and differences through good design solutions
- Localisation: when and how to do it?
- Internationalisation: How to make this successful?
- Research deliverables that support good design
- Practical tools and techniques related to conducting research
- How to plan, manage and deliver international research
- How to adapt research for specific user groups or subcultures
- Tips on adapting different methodologies across cultures
- Analysis techniques and tools for multi-cultural research
- Communicating research and cultural differences
Product designers and market researchers have also been tackling this issue for a long time. What can we learn from them and which skills should become part of the UX repertoire?
It would be very beneficial to the usability community to welcome relevant speakers and practitioners from other disciplines to explore these issues.