Practice Lab - Testing with Mike Amante and Karen Hold

Testing is an essential step in the design process but most of us don't spend enough time designing or optimizing our test plans. Either we are too excited to get our idea out into the world or we are too tired at the end of a project to take a disciplined approach. Join us for a hands-on session with Mike Amante, design strategist and Karen Hold, Director DT:DC, to practice testing ways to improve the Metro experience.

If you attended our Unpacking Empathy Interviews and Prototyping workshops with Mike last year, you will remember that we developed insights about Melanie and Caleb's experiences riding the Metro, and then turned those insights into ideas and prototypes to improve their experience. At this session, we will build on the prior two sessions and learn about the principles for designing a test plan focusing on test preparation, conducting tests, documenting tests and inferring learnings.

Throughout the evening, you will also have an opportunity to compare and contrast your choices with the choices Mike and Karen would have made as seasoned designers with years of experience on design teams. They will test the same prototypes so that you can learn directly from their best practices. You will practice testing prototypes AND you will learn how seasoned designers test the same prototypes. Don't worry if you did not attend either of the other two sessions, we will catch you up and make sure that you can dive in without prior exposure to the case.

This workshop will be very interactive, so get ready to roll up your sleeves and work! The best way to learn about testing is by actually doing it. This workshop is great for individuals who already have a baseline understanding of design thinking fundamentals.

Agenda

6:30 - 6:45pm Networking
6:45 - 6:55pm Intros and Warmup
6:55 - 7:10pm Case Study - METRO
7:10 - 8:25pm Test Scenario Activity (Test Prep, Conducting Tests, Documenting Tests, Inferring Learnings)
8:25 - 8:45pm Share-out and Discussion

Sign up quickly as we only have space for 40 people.