Eric Reiss will make your hours ‘super’ usable

Eager to learn? Want to be inspired by thought leaders? Luckily for us, they travel throughout the world to spread their message and once in a while they come to sunny Barcelona.  This September, Eric Reiss will be in town.

Jeff Robinson is trying hard to bring world class speakers to the Meetup Group Barcelona Internet Startups so the Barcelona community can really grow. He was able to arrange two master classes from the business guru from Denmark Eric Reiss on September 19th and 21st. All in line with the adagio of the meetup: entrepreneurial experience! BIS was founded January 2011 and is now one of the fastest growing startup communities in Spain, visited by entrepreneurs and startups from all sectors.

But who is Eric Reiss? Eric Reiss used to be the stage director of the Royal Danish Theater, was professor of Usability and Design at IE Business School, is author of multiple business books as Usable Usability and nowadays works as the CEO of FatDUX, specialized in increasing user experience. According to  testimonials on Linkedin, you don’t want to miss his talk “Eric L. Reiss is like a one man army and is a talented, creative and structured marketing professional” or “Many write, but few inspire. A true thought-leader in information architecture, business communications, and user experience.”

Innovation vs. Best Practice — conflict or opportunity?
Abstract:

“Best practice” implies doing things in the best possible manner, based on past experience. But we like to think of ourselves as innovators in a dynamic industry — we want to go where no one has gone before. Thus, “best practice” and “innovation” are like oil and water — they don’t easily mix.

How can we, as user-experience professionals, balance the need for consistency that “best practice” provides, with our on-going mission to improve the quality of our products? How can we create genuine improvements — and when have we been seduced by the evil twins, Fad and Fashion?

“Innovation vs. Best Practice” is a highly interactive exploration of the elements that make up these two ends of the user-experience spectrum. It’s a combination of demonstration and common-sense review, in a single, high-powered session.

Eric explains the special focus during the evening in Barcelona: “we’ll take a closer look at the popular definitions of both innovation and best practice – and discover why these are frequently inadequate, misleading, or both. Why is a “standard” not always a “best practice”? And if “invention” can be spontaneous, why is “innovation” always planned? We’ll also take a closer look at some of the worst reasons to innovate, which are also some of the most common, plus the Japanese concept of “chindogu” – “useless innovation.” Perhaps most important of all, we’ll see how User Driven Design helps us avoid harmful innovation in comparison to the more common User Centered Design methodology.”

Eric challenges you to come and participate on Thursday, September 19 to learn his four Laws of Innovation.

Usable Usability Workshop
Abstract:

A young project manager recently asked the Director of Digital Operations at a big company for a “quick fact sheet about the importance of usability testing and ROI.” For those of us involved in the user-experience community, this is one of those frustrating “head-bangs-wall” moments. Yet the question is completely fair. Why? Because the answer has not been effectively communicated outside small, select groups of professionals.
What is the answer? Three new questions, “What is the ROI of a defective product? What is the ROI of a service that actually annoys customers? What is the ROI of making something nobody actually wants?”

Good usability isn’t just a “nice to have,” it is a business imperative. As markets become more competitive, usability is going to become a key differentiating factor between similar products and services – online and offline. “Usable Usability” has been created to help anybody, regardless of their job title, understand the simple, common-sense guidelines that can help them avoid business disasters. The workshop will get the audience to focus on important issues; it will help senior executives understand why usability needs their support and how they can make proactive contributions to the discussion.

Best of all, by the end of the day, everyone will go home with a simple, actionable plan for improving usability in their own company or organization – and one that often costs virtually nothing to carry out. So, come to Diagonal 654 on Saturday, September 21st and find out for yourself how the Usable Usability concept can make a difference for your business.

Come and Learn (or refresh your memory)
With all Eric’s experience, we can expect a spectacle to remember. Curious to hear his story? Sign up through the BIS meetup group. Though, be prepared: his style is Q&A.  Be eager to cooperate, activate your brains and get the most out of it.  It is a great opportunity that Meetup groups facilitate this kind of knowledge exchange. Make us of this platform and enrich yourself and the Barcelona entrepreneurial ecosystem.