This Thursday I head to Las Vegas for the ASIS&T Information Architecture Summit 2007, hoorah! My poster presentation proposal was accepted so I am now packing my bags for my first trip to Vegas!

IA Summit 2007: Poster Presentation by Anna M. Simmons (pdf)

Handout (pdf)

My poster focuses on “the race for swift customer testing” in the context of how the iLab does its magic with getting customer feedback. My main purpose is to show how IAs and designers can use a simpler method of customer interaction compared to the heavy duty traditional processes we all know about.

Here is a summary of my poster presentation:

In today’s competitive corporate markets, companies need to produce innovative customer products fast and consistently in order to stay ahead of the curve. In order to do that successfully, you need to incorporate customer viewpoints and perspectives. My poster will illustrate how the Intuit Innovation Lab includes customers all along our rapid development process.

Usability testing does not have to take place in labs with 2-way mirrors and video recordings with special eyeball tracking. In my world, we are the designated group to get things out swiftly and get customer feedback along the way in order to improve and grow the product, (whether it is a web site, desktop application, or widget.
Clickable excel wire frames, $20 DunkinDonut gift certificates, healthy doses of team brainstorming, and a lot of quality time spent at the customer’s home and/or office will give you more than enough data to make those product enhancements to have a successful end-result.
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So, enough WORK talk, lets cut to the fun stuff!

I am staying at the Flamingo Hotel (btw, this is my FIRST trip to Vegas, so I am technically a Vegas virgin!). Scott is meeting me there Thurs, and will probably have a lot of fun without me on the weekend since I actually HATE GAMBLING and want to attend the great sessions at the conference, they will be great for designer nerds like me!

We are planning a fun night out on Sunday, since my poster presentation will be DONE and I will be able to relax again. We are heading to the Bellagio to see the “O” show by Cirque De Soleil, how cool!! We have been to La Nouba in Disneyworld and “Drallion” in Boston, so we looove all the Cirque shows.

If anyone has ideas for where to go to dinner before the show, let me know! I am considering Michael Mina at the Bellagio since its convenient and sounds yummy, but we’ll see.