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Our first ever all-virtual UXPA Boston Conference took place on October 23, 2020. Thank you to all who attended!
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Friday, October 23 • 11:15am - 12:00pm
The Great UX Debates

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In the UX community, we all know that the answer to complicated questions is usually “It depends.” This doesn’t mean that constructive debate is useless - in fact, it can help us refine our thinking (or perhaps even change our mind) about the methods and processes we often take for granted. In this fast-moving and exciting session, we will take on 3 eternal debates within the UX community. Three bold debaters will argue the affirmative cases below, while 3 contrarians will boldly challenge them. Are you as passionate about one of these topics as our great debaters? Bring your arguments to the session - each round will allow for spirited audience participation.

The 3 affirmative cases:
  1. Personas have outlived their usefulness as a UX method. (Eva v. Colleen)
  2. High fidelity prototyping reduces design time and makes testing more accurate. (Jen v. Chris)
  3. We have lost the core principles of UCD to be Agile. (Mike v. Jeremy)
Speakers
avatar for Eva Kaniasty

Eva Kaniasty

UX Consultant / UCD Program Chair, Slipper Studios / Brandeis University
Eva Kaniasty is the founder of a user experience consultancy providing UX strategy, research and interaction design. Her areas of interest include startups, education, healthcare, and design for sustainability. She received her Master in Human Factors from Bentley University, served... Read More →
avatar for Chris LaRoche

Chris LaRoche

Principal User Researcher & Sr. Lecturer, Liberty Mutual & Northeastern University
Chris is a Principal User Researcher at Liberty Mutual Insurance.Chris previously worked at MIT, where he spent a decade building and running an internal UX consultancy focusing on user research. Over his career, Chris has worked as a technical writer, information designer, consultant... Read More →
avatar for Jeremy Kriegel

Jeremy Kriegel

UX Director, Audible
Jeremy Kriegel has been designing great user experiences (UX) for 20+ years. Just as we need to understand the needs and context of users to craft a design solution, Jeremy believes that success also requires us to look at the business context to craft an appropriate design process... Read More →
avatar for Colleen McCretton

Colleen McCretton

Director, User Experience Design, Fidelity Investments
I have a background in the arts and product management and a passion for helping people. I love gaining deeper understanding of users and creating delightful user experiences out of complex and overwhelming processes.
avatar for Michael Hawley

Michael Hawley

VP Experience Research & Strategy, ZeroDegrees
I’ve worked for 20+ years researching and designing digital experiences. From my first jobs working with hospital staff to understand new software, to serving as Chief Design Officer at Mad*Pow, to my most recent position as VP Experience Research & Strategy at ZeroDegrees, I’ve... Read More →
avatar for Jen McGinn

Jen McGinn

Director of Cloud Management Product Design, VMware
Jen McGinn just started a new role leading a 45-person product design organization for the Cloud Management business unit of VMware. She is on two panels at this year's conference - one on the state of Agile UX and another debating the benefits of high-fidelity design (on the side... Read More →

Friday October 23, 2020 11:15am - 12:00pm EDT
4 - Republic (Research & Panels)
  Panel

Attendees (243)