Games Exchange - June 26 (San Francisco)

[Nancy Frishberg]

(Apologies for multiple postings in various groups you may be  
reading.  We want to get this notice out widely!)

On June 26, we're holding an unconference about Games - Innovation  
Games®, design games, and serious games: http://www.enthiosys.com/news-events/idsge

This one day event focuses on the use of playful techniques for  
gathering customer (and user) requirements, as part of the design  
research process, and for other serious purposes, such as citizen  
participation in democracy and social movements.  Games are also a  
terrific method in team building within an organization and for  
professional development within a particular occupational group.

I was introduced to Innovation Games a couple years ago   Of course,  
I'd been using techniques like these for many years - but mostly  
within a team rather than with customers and users.  Meeting Luke  
Hohmann (of Enthiosys, and author of a book about the set of a dozen  
games) opened my eyes to new possibilities for adapting methods to the  
user experience and user research tasks.  And the more I tell people  
about these methods, the more I realize how aligned they are with  
other participatory design activities.

You're probably familiar with the "unconference" format:  we prepare a  
schedule in advance (number of parallel meeting spaces and time  
assignments), but leave the setting of topics in slots to the start of  
the event, when people introduce themselves and declare their  
questions and expertise.  Everyone has the opportunity to lead a  
session whether by presenting or facilitating a discussion on a  
question they're interested in.  Often we find synergies in unexpected  
places, so that two people who didn't know each other before might  
combine their topics into a single session.  All very fun and  
energizing.  We're committed to good documentation of what goes on,  
and hope this will be the first of many such meetings, locally and in  
other places as well.

We're keeping costs low by splitting the expenses, roughly half from  
sponsors and half from participant fees.  Sponsorships start at a  
nominal $500.

Advance registration is required.  We won't be able to accommodate  
walk-ins.

Please share this announcement with others who may be interested.  
We're looking into hotels for folks from out of town.

  -- Nancy

Nancy Frishberg [phone] mobile
nancyf@...