High Tech Anthropology: Learning by Observing
PDMA Minnesota | November 16, 2022
Description
What does joy look like to Menlo’s clients and their users? For us, joy comes from the delight people experience in using the solutions we create:
- Software that can be used without endless manuals or tedious training classes.
- Culture and process changes that help teams be more productive and more satisfied with their work.
- Visual management that empowers employees to understand what top priorities should be and that allows leaders to know who is doing what and when, all at a glance.
All great outcomes, but can they be planned for and designed? Is it possible to systematically produce these results?
Yes, there is a path to organizing observation, discovery, and iterative design, so that problems are discovered early and designed out of a system, product, or service. You need to involve users throughout the life of a project: studying them in their native environments to learn what will bring them utility and joy, gathering their feedback on potential design solutions and using the power of storytelling to advocate for necessary features with them in mind. Anthropology, the direct study of human behavior and culture, is the cornerstone of this path.
Learning Objectives
- Find out what ‘High-Tech Anthropology®’ really is!
- Gain a new perspective on how to approach design projects
- Learn the importance of including users in your solutions and why observation is the richest form of data gathering
Agenda
- 5:30 - Virtual Networking - Discuss your current challenges with colleague
- 6:00 - Introductions, Presentation and Q&A
- 7:00 - Adjourn
About the Speakers
Lisa Ho, Project Manager, Menlo Innovations
Lisa Ho has been a project manager at Menlo Innovations, a software design and development firm in Ann Arbor, Michigan since 2007. She has obtained both her PMP and Scrum Master certifications. In her role at Menlo, she has worked on projects across a variety of domains including healthcare, automotive, logistics, and finance. With a background in engineering, Lisa loves that she is constantly learning about different industries and people in the quest to design and build solutions that meet both user and business needs. Lisa has also taught workshops and spoken at conferences about Menlo’s visual management and High-Tech Anthropology® practices.
Lindsey Krumrei, High Tech Anthropologist®, Menlo Innovations
Lindsey Krumrei is a High-Tech Anthropologist® at Menlo Innovations. In this role she works in the areas of user research, UI/UX design, and process consulting to solve business problems for clients across a wide range of industries. Lindsey is also a part of the Marketing team at Menlo – leading tours and teaching workshops to share Menlo’s culture and processes with the world. She has been with Menlo for 4 years.