The design thinking process — summary of February’s UX meetup
Colleagues from across the University learned about the design thinking process as part of our latest monthly user focused lunchtime meetup.
Presentation: Beginner’s guide to design thinking
UX consultant Chris Nodder introduces his Design Thinking course on Lynda.com
A group of colleagues all interested in improving user experiences got together today and watched Chris Nodder’s beginner’s guide to design thinking on Lynda.com. This online learning resource is already available to staff and students of the University. But it was great to be able to set time aside with a group of like-minded people to take advantage of it.
If you were unable to come along to this month’s meetup, you can still view Chris Nodder’s introduction to design thinking, along with other relevant videos from Lynda.com, as part of the UX research and design thinking playlist, which has been pulled together by Neil Allison.
- UX research and design thinking techniques — playlist on Lynda.com (EASE login required)
- Design thinking and user experience training through Lynda.com — read the blog post
Group discussion
The video sparked off some interesting talking points as part of the group discussion section in the second half of the meetup. As always, we followed the Lean Coffee format, where conversation topics are collaboratively agreed by the group.
Meet up attendees vote on the agenda items they came up with, to prioritise what we discuss.
The most popular topics were discussed in order. At five minute intervals we had an opportunity to vote for whether to continue discussing that topic, or move on to the next one. This kept the conversation vibrant and well-paced, as we explored the hot topics occupying our minds.
This month we discussed the 3 highest prioritised topics:
- How can we develop successful products that have a wide range of target audiences?
- How can we integrate design thinking techniques into projects that are already in process?
- Barriers to success with user-centred techniques and how to overcome them
The agenda for the Lean Coffee discussion is generated like this every month in about 5 minutes
Learn more about the Lean Coffee discussion format
What did you think?
I always find these monthly UX meetups very valuable. The presentation section is an excellent opportunity to learn from an expert speaker. The discussion section is a fantastic forum to explore topics of interest with the community of colleagues with an interest in taking a user-centred approach to their work, and to consider how we can apply user-centred approaches in the University.
If you came to think month’s meetup, let us know what you thought by leaving a comment below. Your feedback will help us shape future sessions.
Lynda materials are great but putting aside time to watch with colleagues can be really valuable and also ensures you do it!
Ross Ward, Educational Design and Engagement
Come to a future user focused meetup
To be kept up to date on future meetups, sign up to the UX mailing list, where you will be notified about future UX-related events, and can take part in other UX discussions.
Join the University of Edinburgh UX mailing list (EASE login required)
UX Service showcase
Session attendees discussed the displays, including this student journey map
Don’t forget the UX Service showcase, coming up on 4 April. This will be an informal event featuring lightning talks covering a range of UX projects, followed by an opportunity to talk to the speakers and explore some of the work for yourself.
The meetup helped direct my thought process about issues that need addressed and I really enjoyed the Lean Coffee format which I hadn’t encountered before.
Thanks for joining us and for the feedback Helen. Hope to see you at future meet ups.