Collaborative Improv: Building Better Products Through Improvisation

The need to adapt and be flexible within product research has never been greater.

Research is planned and then reality sets in with real-world variables, participant needs, and unforeseen hurdles. Flexibility is a requirement. This flexibility starts with an ability to read your audience’s body language and to pivot as needs shift. Yield to the highest offer. Always say YES. Always raise the bar. These are three of the core components to improvisation in theater. They are also three pillars to a good design.

While improvisation is a muscle best learned and practiced over time, this primer introduces the fundamentals and starts a conversation around how might we be more engaged and flexible in our process.

Part discussion, part activity, attendees will gain:
• An introduction to the principles and guidelines of improvisation
• Exposure to warm-up activities to broaden and expand our thinking
• An awareness of how improvisation can be adapted throughout a project lifecycle
• An awareness of how body language affects team collaboration.

This isn’t a session to learn to be funny, or even how to perform. It’s a conversation around expanding our toolkit. Attendees will have the opportunity to explore improvisation through group conversation.

No technology or tools are required and all participation is strictly optional and occurs right from our own seats.

Speaker Bio:
David is a UX Designer living in Philadelphia, PA and has a passion for uncovering process and story through iterative client engagement. His experience includes work across a number of financial organizations, e-commerce platforms and a variety of business systems.

As a co-author of UX Research, with O’Reilly, David explores research techniques and approaches to collaboratively exploring product and business needs. Currently with EPAM, David embraces process and research as a tool to engage clients across all levels of a project. David is passionate about research and collaboration throughout project phases.

David has practiced improv theater for over a decade and most recently practices with the Indy Improv Team The Flood. He has led a number of improvisation workshops including formal sessions and more BarCamp style workshops and wrote Collaborative Improv: Building Better Products Through Improvisation.

Schedule:
• 6:30-7:00pm Networking & Pizza, Refreshments
• 7:00 - 7:10pm Announcements & Speaker Introduction
• 7:10 - 8:00pm Presentation
• 8:00 - 8:30 Q&A, Networking

Interested in David's book? We're reading it!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46206971-collaborative-improv

Special thanks to our sponsors, LavaCon and Think Company for their support.