Design Thinking for Software Development Teams
Developers don’t want to be designers, but I think most of them do want to be better developers. Incorporating design thinking into software development yields higher value apps, more satisfied users, and better personal reputation.
In this workshop, developers and other non-design team members can learn essentials, and walk out with some tangible techniques and skills to immediately start addressing routine app design. The session is interactive, with hands-on exercises as well as presentation of design techniques, principles, and a lightweight process for incorporating design into development.
The focus is on interaction design and user-centric design, not aesthetics and layout. We’ll discuss how to facilitate design meetings, reach group decisions, probe user work and task flows, fit design tasks to those flows, and evaluate designs to enter production coding with fewer blind alleys, backtrack, and rework. Some exercises will be in groups – bring others on your team if you would like to experience this workshop together.
Billy is internationally known for his work on user experience design, design thinking, and native software development. His team, based in Nashville, Tennessee, has created modern apps hailed around the world for innovation and effective use of advanced user interface technologies. Billy has been a Microsoft Regional Director for 25 years, was a Microsoft MVP for 15 years, and was named a Software Legend in 2002. You can see Billy at major conferences all over the world, usually doing sessions to help developers to become more focused on designing and developing software that users love.