http://refreshthetriangle.org en abe.crystal@gmail.com Copyright 2009 2009-01-06T00:40:00-05:00 http://refreshthetriangle.org/posts/triupas_2009_professional_training_workshop_series/ http://refreshthetriangle.org/posts/triupas_2009_professional_training_workshop_series/#When:00:40:00Z What’s TriUPA? TriUPA is a local chapter of the Usability Professionals’ Association based in the Research Triangle, NC. We’re offering an extensive workshop program in 2009, which we hope will be of interest to folks throughout the Southeast. About TriUPA’s Professional Training TriUPA is excited to announce our 2009 Professional Training workshop series.  The goal of our workshop series is to bring to our community the best thinking and latest practices in the user experience field. TriUPA focuses on four areas of practice… 1. usability evaluation and testing 2. user research 3. interaction design 4. information architecture ... and our workshop series is designed to address each of these areas. Please save the dates for the following full-day workshops.  Detailed information and a link to register will be sent in advance of each workshop.  Fees will vary for each event, but will typically be in the range of $150 - $250 for TriUPA members, with discounts for corporate sponsors and students. You can become a TriUPA member today, by registering on our website.  It’s $15/year for professionals; free for students. Feel free to contact me with any questions about our workshop series. Cheers, --Abe VP, Professional Development Programs // TriUPA 2009 Professional Training workshop series schedule 1. Matt Cornell — personal productivity for UX professionals — Monday, January 12th, 2009 [register now!] 2. Todd Wilkens (Adaptive Path) — design research— Friday, February 20th, 2009 3. Scott Berkun — UX and project management — Friday, April 3rd, 2009 4. David Malouf — sketching and interaction design — Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 5. Dan Brown & Nathan Curtis — UX documentation/deliverables — Tuesday, September 8th, 2009 6. Bolt|Peters — remote usability testing — TBD in October 2009 Thanks to TriUPA’s sponsors for making this workshop series possible: * Lulu * GSK * BlueCross BlueShield * Insight * Lenovo * Hesketh.com * Capstrat * User-View * SAS * MoreBetterLabs Local Groups 2009-01-06T00:40:00-05:00 http://refreshthetriangle.org/posts/refresh_014_a_barometer_for_the_web_based/ http://refreshthetriangle.org/posts/refresh_014_a_barometer_for_the_web_based/#When:18:28:00Z Thursday, Jan 22, 2009 6:30 - 8:00pm Join us as Abe Crystal (Ruzuku), Stephen Fraser (Spoonflower), and Nicholas Napp (DisruptorMonkey) briefly share their adventures in web-based business through reflections on past experiences and outlooks for 2009. This will be a casual, conversational, panel-like group discussion, and will be an ideal opportunity to ask questions and discuss how we all might better leverage the potential of the web in 2009. Location: TBD Refresh Events 2008-12-30T18:28:00-05:00 http://refreshthetriangle.org/posts/triupa_workshop_reboot_your_work_modern_methods_for_productivity_sanity_and/ http://refreshthetriangle.org/posts/triupa_workshop_reboot_your_work_modern_methods_for_productivity_sanity_and/#When:13:46:00Z When: 9am - 4:30pm, Monday 1/12/09 or Tuesday 1/13/09 Where: Council for Entrepreneurial Development How: Register online (Cost is $50 - $195) Start the year by freeing up your brain so you can think clearly, do more, and work creatively! In this fast-paced full-day workshop, you will learn modern techniques to juggle and prioritize all the information constantly coming at you: dozens of projects, round-the-clock demands for your attention, and the perpetual overload of email and IM. You’ll apply the concepts using hands-on exercises at the individual, small group, and large group levels. You’ll leave with a solid system for doing your job more productively, with less effort, and a greater sense of control. Find out more. Industry Events 2008-12-30T13:46:00-05:00 http://refreshthetriangle.org/posts/new_javascript_group_forming/ http://refreshthetriangle.org/posts/new_javascript_group_forming/#When:18:14:00Z I’m putting out a call for anyone interested in a Triangle Area Javascript Group to visit http://jsusers.com/groups/triangle-area-javascript-user-group and register your interest.  Thank you. Local Groups 2008-12-17T18:14:00-05:00 http://refreshthetriangle.org/posts/013_recap/ http://refreshthetriangle.org/posts/013_recap/#When:17:00:00Z Steve and Matt presented to about 30 people last night on Progressive Enhancement. Steve kicked things off by providing some history on why he coined the term "progressive enhancement" and the landscape of web design at that time.  Matt brought us up to speed on how current best practices reflect progressive enhancement. Hesketh was a terrific host (with very cool office space) - thanks again to them for the support. We had a great time at The Raleigh Times afterward. Check out the photos on Flickr. Refresh Events 2008-12-05T17:00:00-05:00 http://refreshthetriangle.org/posts/refresh_013_the_enhancement_of_progressive_enhancement/ http://refreshthetriangle.org/posts/refresh_013_the_enhancement_of_progressive_enhancement/#When:19:20:01Z Thursday, Dec 4, 2008 6:30 - 8:00pm Steve Champeon and Matt Henry of Hesketh.com will give a brief overview of Progressive Enhancement and then will bring us up to date on how it’s being affected/transformed by Web 2.0 and interactive Web applications. Location: Pilot Mill Building 1101 Haynes Street Suite 109 Raleigh, NC 27604 Refresh Events 2008-11-18T19:20:01-05:00 http://refreshthetriangle.org/posts/world_usability_day_celebration_2008/ http://refreshthetriangle.org/posts/world_usability_day_celebration_2008/#When:17:41:00Z When: 6pm - 9pm — Thursday, November 13th 2008 Where: Ruvane Auditorium at GSK Cost: Free to all!  Food and drink will be served!  Please sign up so we have an idea of how big the crowd will be. How: Register at http://triupa.org/2008WorldUsability (if you’re a TriUPA member, be sure to click “Login to Register” once you get to the RSVP page) About the event: TriUPA will celebrate World Usability Day this year on Thursday, November 13th, at GSK. We have created a program that centers around UPA’s theme of transportation. We are fortunate to have three speakers who have worked in the transportation field and can enlighten us about the usablity challenges in products and services in that area. We have organized a Design Challenge, in which three teams are applying user-centered design to transportation problems. The teams will be presenting their results at WUD. You cannot afford to miss this year’s WUD, so please sign up now! 6 pm - 6:45 pm: Dinner and socializing Make sure to check out our UX trading card game. Everyone who builds a complete set of cards will be eligible for a raffle! 6:45 pm - 7:45 pm: Transportation and Usability * Talk by Graham James, Professional Transportation Planner * Talk by Beth Mcgough, Human Factors Engineer, JCI, Michigan * Talk by Alex Hussain, Design Engineer, HumanCentric 7:45 pm - 8 pm: Break and dessert 8 pm - 9 pm: Presentations by teams competing in the Design Challenge * Modular design system for bus stops * Wayfinding and information displays for bus travel * And one more… (topic TBD) Presentation of prizes for UX Card game winner and Design Challenge winners. Thanks to TriUPA’s sponsors for making our World Usability Day celebration possible: * Lulu * GSK * BlueCross BlueShield * Insight * Lenovo * Hesketh.com * Capstrat * User-View * SAS Industry Events 2008-10-31T17:41:00-05:00 http://refreshthetriangle.org/posts/012_recap/ http://refreshthetriangle.org/posts/012_recap/#When:16:56:00Z Clinton gave an awesome presentation last night on all kinds of tips and tools for improving your productivity online. Full of humor and personal anecdotes, Clinton’s talk was very memorable and lots of fun. The main points seemed to be - reduce distractions! reduce repetitiveness! and be accountable! He showed us lots of tricks for using your computer more efficiently and pointed out several online tools for keeping track of your activity (to promote accountablity).  He was kind enough to make his links available to everyone - enjoy. Thanks again to Brian Russell at Carrboro Coworking for hosting the meeting and providing delicious food and beverages. Refresh Events 2008-10-24T16:56:00-05:00 http://refreshthetriangle.org/posts/lightweight_programmer_web_designer/ http://refreshthetriangle.org/posts/lightweight_programmer_web_designer/#When:17:37:00Z FA is looking for an intern or part-time programmer to join our web team. You’ll need to be a strong communicator with skills in Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP and AJAX, as well as producing standards compliant XHTML and CSS. Working Knowledge of OOP (object oriented programming) and Agile development principles and experience with e-commerce and content management solutions is important. Background knowledge of Information Architecture, Flash/Actionscript and other development platforms (Java, Ruby on Rails, .NET) would be a bonus. You’ll need to be passionate about problem solving, user centered design and usability, and capable of leading complex development projects from spec to launch. Customize existing templates displaying community based content. Interface with senior developer to ensure proper customization of the established tools. Work with in house designers to establish website deployment. Demonstrate the ability to assess the functional project requirements and translate that information into the technical development of the website. Perform maintenance and updates to existing websites. Proactively initiate, develop, and maintain effective working relationships with team members. JOB REQUIREMENTS: Knowledge of Flash, Actionscript 2&3. Strong knowledge of XHTML, CSS, PHP, and MySQL is required. Working Knowledge of AJAX, Joomla and XML is preferred. Bachelor’s degree in computer science or related field preferred. Must be a self-motivated, quick learner with enthusiasm for web development and new technologies. Along with your resume, please include a link to projects you have worked on, with details describing your involvement. Compensation is commensurate with experience. Contact Fabrik Agency at: resumes@fabrikagency.com Jobs 2008-10-17T17:37:00-05:00 http://refreshthetriangle.org/posts/refresh_012_unearthed_arcana_for_web_people/ http://refreshthetriangle.org/posts/refresh_012_unearthed_arcana_for_web_people/#When:13:19:00Z Thursday, Oct 23, 2008 6:30 - 8:00pm Clinton Nixon, senior developer at Viget Labs, will present and facilitate this talk about how to avoid trivial, repetitive tasks and increase your productivity with your computer. We’ll cover both software you already have, and free/cheap software you might not. If you’ve got a tip of your own, bring it! We’ll have some free time to share at the end. Location: Carrboro Creative Coworking 205 Lloyd Street, Suite 101 Carrboro, NC 27510 Refresh Events 2008-10-01T13:19:00-05:00