Pictures of my hand-written notes from conference sessions at UPA 2010 in Munich. These notes are from the first day, May 26, 2010. These notes are intended to capture my experience and to share information with anyone who wishes they could have attended the conference but couldn't.

1. UPA 2010 CONFERENCE
DAY 1: MAY 26
CHRISTINA YORK’S NOTES, THOUGHTS, AND TAKEAWAYS
DISCLAIMER:
THESE WERE NOTES TAKEN QUICKLY DURING CONFERENCE SESSIONS.
I DID NOT ALWAYS DISTINGUISH WHO SAID WHAT.
I AM NOT TRYING TO STEAL SOMEONE’S THUNDER OR CONTENT.
I AM TRYING TO SHARE THE IDEAS PRESENTED, THE IDEAS I HAD, AND THE
EXPERIENCE OF THE CONFERENCE WITH THOSE WHO COULDN’T ATTEND.
MUNICH, GERMANY

2. KEYNOTE: TECHNOLOGY IS A
CULTURAL PRACTICE
RACHEL HINMAN (90 MIN)
RACHEL IS SENIOR DESIGN AND USER EXPERIENCE
RESEARCHER AT THE NOKIA RESEARCH LAB IN SANTA
MONICA, CALIFORNIA.
“IN THIS KEYNOTE, RACHEL WILL SHARE HER THOUGHTS
ON THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES THE
CURRENT CULTURAL WATERSHED WILL PRESENT TO
OUR INDUSTRY AS WELL AS THE METAMORPHOSIS OUR
FIELD MUST UNDERGO IN ORDER TO CREATE GREAT
EXPERIENCES ACROSS DIFFERENT CULTURES.”

3. THE ROOM WAS PACKED AND THE QUESTIONS
PLENTIFUL.
I SAT IN THE BACK, BUT COULD EASILY SEE THE
SLIDES CONTAINING BEAUTIFUL IMAGES OF HER
TRIP TO AFRICA AND OTHER STUNNING IMAGES
FROM CULTURES AROUND THE WORLD.
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4. 2 OF 2

5. STORYTELLING YOUR WAY TO A
BETTER USER EXPERIENCE
WHITNEY QUESENBERY AND KEVIN BROOKS (90 MIN)
DESCRIPTION: “STORIES ARE AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO
COLLECT, ANALYZE AND SHARE QUALITATIVE DATA
INFORMATION FROM USER RESEARCH, SPARK DESIGN
IMAGINATION, AND HELP US CREATE USABLE
PRODUCTS.”

6. I HAVEN’T READ THE BOOK YET, BUT KNEW THE
PRESENTATION WOULD BE GOOD.
I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED.
EVEN THOUGH I REGULARLY USE STORY TELLING
IN MY WORK, I WAS STILL INSPIRED.
INTERACTIVE PRESENTATION, WITH MULTIPLE
ACTIVITIES FOR US TO TRY AS A GROUP.
ONE OF THE BEST PACED PRESENTATIONS I HAVE
EVER SEEN - NOT RUSHING AND NOT “FILLING”
TIME.
BOTH PRESENTERS ENERGETIC AND PASSIONATE
AND FILLED ME WITH THE LOVE FOR WHAT I DO.
THE PRESENTATION ITSELF WAS A STORY, AND I
LIKED THE MESSAGE “JUST SHUT UP” NO MATTER
HOW DIFFICULT. LEARN THROUGH LISTENING.
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7. 2 OF 4

8. 3 OF 4

9. SOME COMMENTS AND LESSONS FROM THE
AUDIENCE. GOOD PARTICIPATION ALL
AROUND, WHICH IS IMPRESSIVE GIVEN THE
LARGE NUMBER OF ATTENDEES FOR THIS
SESSION.
4 OF 4

10. NOTABLE NOTES: COLLECTING GREAT
NOTES AT USABILITY TEST SESSIONS
KAREN BACHMANN (30 MIN.)
DESCRIPTION: “NOTE TAKERS ARE ACTIVE
CONTRIBUTORS IN CONDUCTING A USABILITY TEST.
TAKING QUALITY, MEANINGFUL NOTES IS DIFFICULT AND
REQUIRES SKILL AND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE PRODUCT
AND ITS INTENDED USERS. KEEN OBSERVATION AND
ANALYTICAL THINKING ARE CRITICAL.”

11. UNFORTUNATELY, I WAS LATE COMING BACK FROM
A WONDERFUL LUNCH AND GROUP DISCUSSION ON
PERSONAS. I MISSED THE FIRST FEW MINUTES.
THIS WAS PRACTICAL, COMPREHENSIVE, AND
DEFINITELY A GREAT SESSION FOR FUNDAMENTAL
SEEKERS.
1 OF 1

12. AGILE UX
THYRA RAUCH (30 MIN.)
DESCRIPTION: “AGILE DEVELOPMENT AND UCD/UX
PROCESSES CAN EXIST IN HARMONY, EVEN AFTER A
ROCKY START. THIS CASE STUDY DESCRIBES WHAT I DID
AS PART OF AN AGILE TEAM. I WILL DISCUSS METHODS,
SHARE OUR SUCCESS FACTORS, THINGS THAT WERE
ORIGINALLY ROADBLOCKS, AND CONCERNS ABOUT
FUTURE ISSUES.”

13. SOME GOOD BASICS. SPEAKER WAS OBVIOUSLY
PASSIONATE ABOUT WHAT SHE DOES AND EXUDED
ENERGY.
THIS ROOM WAS PACKED. IT IS CLEAR THAT
PEOPLE REALLY WANT TO TALK ABOUT AGILE.
1 OF 1

14. HOW TO BASE DESIGN DECISIONS
ON EMPIRICAL DATA
MARTIN SCHREPP, THEO HELD, PATRICK FISCHER (30 MIN.)
DESCRIPTION: “SCALING TECHNIQUES ARE AN EFFICIENT
METHOD TO COMPARE USER INTERFACE DESIGNS
CONCERNING GIVEN QUALITY CRITERIA, LIKE PERCEIVED
USABILITY OR AESTHETIC IMPRESSION. WE SHOW HOW
SCALING CAN BE EFFICIENTLY USED IN THE DESIGN
PROCESS BY AUTOMATING TASKS LIKE THE CREATION OF
AN ONLINE EXPERIMENT AND DATA ANALYSIS AS MUCH
AS POSSIBLE.”

15. THE ROOM WAS PACKED WITH MANY PEOPLE
SITTING ON THE FLOOR.
I LIKED THAT THIS WAS A REFRESHING OF A
LONG-FORGOTTEN TECHNIQUE FOR ME. WHILE
APPLICATION OF THIS TECHNIQUE SHOULD BE
USED RATHER JUDICIOUSLY, I ALWAYS ENJOY A
GOOD ANALYSIS METHOD THAT REMOVES
BIASES INTRODUCED BY TEST DESIGN.
1 OF 1

16. SELLING UX BY ALIGNING USER EXPERIENCE
WITH YOUR ORGANIZATION’S GOALS
DANIEL SZUC (90 MIN.)
DESCRIPTION: “WHEN IT COMES TO ‘SELLING’ USER
EXPERIENCE (UX) PROCESSES, METHODS AND
TECHNIQUES IN OUR ORGANIZATIONS, EVEN
EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONERS OFTEN DON’T ALWAYS
KNOW HOW TO SELL EFFECTIVELY. BUT SELLING UX
ISN’T JUST ABOUT ‘CONVINCING’ YOUR BUSINESS OF THE
VALUE OF USER EXPERIENCE...IT’S ABOUT ALIGNING
YOUR GOALS WITH THE GOALS OF THE BUSINESS.”

17. DANIEL IS A DYNAMIC SPEAKER: HE EXUDES
ENERGY AND CLEARLY LOVES ENGAGING PEOPLE. I
FELT ENERGIZED BY HIS WORDS.
HIS PRESENTATION WAS INTERACTIVE AND
INSPIRING. ONE AUDIENCE MEMBER CALLED IT
“MASTERFUL”.
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18. 2 OF 3

19. 3 OF 3

20. DAY 1 COMPLETE.
LEFT WITH A SAD FEELING WHEN IT WAS OVER...