Happy June!

• I’m in town this week for the first time in a while. I’ll be working on planning another set of workshops for our Boston folks next week. Yep, I thought I was rolling off that project, but they very graciously invited me to continue so I’ll be back next week.
• I’ll look for some more info this week on the other projects that are gently and slowly incubating, so that I can make some resource scheduling/planning/etc. for the next few months. It’s an uncertain feeling, teetering on the edge between structure and plans, just trying to roll with it.
• Meanwhile, I’m networking, including lunch with some Hungarian visitors, and doing some writing, rewriting, and plotting to write!
• I’ll be doing a webinar about Interviewing Users this week; hope to “see” you there!
• Ten years gone: From June 2005 – Wet Pain, Pete’s Tofu2Go desserts, R.I.P. Scott Young.
• What we’re consuming: Let’s Start a Riot, Udupi Palace, Children’s Letters to Frankenstein, Kids in the Hall.

It’s a holiday Monday!

• For most in the US, anyway. Me, I’m back on a plane again. Today I’m flying to Boston, returning to the client from a few weeks back. Over the next couple of days we’ll be sharing our initial themes about their different users, and running a workshop with different parts of their organization.
• On Wednesday, I’ll be part of a session on listening as part of the People Skills for UX virtual event. You can still sign up!
• I’m playing the waiting game with a number of projects; with one we’ve been trying to schedule a kickoff for maybe 10 weeks. With another, we’re working slowly through the corporate procurement process. With yet another, we’ve submitted a proposal and will hope to get some feedback this week.
• I was pleased to see this review of Interviewing Users on UX Book Reviews.
• Ten years gone: From May 2005 – The Original Whizzinator – Pass Your Drug Test!, You pick the best Earthlink employee.
• What we’re consuming: Mad Max: Fury Road, Schmidt’s, The Terrible Uncertainty of the Thing Described.

Hello, Monday!

• I’m flying back today from a long weekend in Austin, taking a little break after the Enterprise UX conference.
• Tomorrow I’ll be leading an improv session at RE:DESIGN/UXD.
• Following up on the work I did in Boston a few weeks back, next Monday I’m headed back there to share initial themes and run several workshops with clients. I’ll be focused the last half of the week getting that finalized.
• Also, while I’m in Boston, I’ll be in a session on listening as part of the People Skills for UX virtual event.
• Coming up in June, I’ll be doing a webinar about Interviewing Users for the Association of Registered Graphic Designers.
• Ten years gone: From May 2005 – Press release time travel, Apple blogger embargo, May I Have An Egg Cream Please.
• What we’re consuming: Cathedral of Junk, The Salt Lick, Skyspace by James Turrell.

Greetings to all.

• Tomorrow I head back to Texas for the Enterprise UX conference. On Wednesday I will be leading the Insight at Scale session and on Friday I’ll be teaching Soft Skills Are Hard. There are still a few more spaces in the workshop; use PORTIGAL15 for a discount.
• Next week I’ll be leading an improv session at RE:DESIGN/UXD in San Francisco.
• I’ve got a really exciting proposal out; now we’re working our way through corporate procurement processes to get official approval, schedule, and so on.
• Ten years gone: From May 2005 – A simple DIY ring, Spam that looks like Amazon, Skype status overload.
• What we’re consuming: The One I Love, Tank Hill, Fable, Mt. Olympus.

Happy May!

• I’m on a plane to Texas today where I’ll spend the next two days onsite with a client, leading an intensive user research training.
• Next week I go back to Texas to teach my Soft Skills workshop (and lead the Insight at Scale discussion at Enterprise UX). There are still a few more spaces in the workshop, so if you can join us, use PORTIGAL15 for a discount.
• Bonus soft skills – a lesson from Cookie Monster about focus!
• Does your organization want to sponsor the next series of Dollars to Donuts?
• Check out the transcript from my discussion about insights last week on Ask the UXpert.
• Interviewing Users turned two years old last week. I posted a summary of links and other resources here.
• Ten years gone: From May 2005 – The Evolution of the American Front Porch, 7-hour photo?, auditory experiences.
• What we’re consuming: Bloodline, otters at play, Seven Days in May.

Wow. It’s been two years since my first book Interviewing Users was released. Here’s a roundup of links to various bits connected with the book. If you haven’t already, you should buy a copy here! It would be fantastic if you wrote a quick review on Amazon here.

The Book

• Buy from Rosenfeld Media
• Buy from Amazon
• Foreword by Grant McCracken
• Excerpt from chapter 2
• The cover
• Acknowledgements
• FAQ
• Testimonials
• Images and diagrams

Reviews

• Web Designers’ Review of Books
• How To Interview Your Users And Get Useful Feedback by Garrett Moon, Founder of TodayMade
• Reviews on Goodreads
• QRCA (Qualitative Research Consultants Association) Views Magazine (PDF)
• NEW: Reviews on Amazon
• Why You Should Read ‘Interviewing Users’ by Steve Portigal

Interviews

• NEW: transcript for Ask the UXperts: Using Insights to Inform Design & Innovation
• NEW: transcript for Ask Me Anything
• Tuesday #TechHour
• UX Discovery Session
• Wise Talk
• The eLearning Coach
• UX Magazine
• UX Matters
• UIE Book Corner (audio)
• 33 voices (audio) [summary slidedeck]
• UX Booth part 1, part 2
• Business 901 (audio)
• Huffington Post
• Ethnography Matters (and in Spanish)
• Interview with Denise Lee Yohn (audio)
• The User Experience podcast with Gerry Gaffney
• Steve speaks with Jared Spool about field research
• SpoolCast: Steve Portigal’s Interviewing Tips

Presentations

• NEW: Designing for Unmet Needs talk at Warm Gun (slides, audio, sketchnotes)
• NEW: Designing the Problem keynote at Interaction South America (video, slides, audio, sketchnotes)
• NEW: Denver UX Book Club (video).
• NEW: Interviewing Users at HOW Interactive Design (slides, Vimeo, YouTube).
• IXDA Los Angeles/LA UX Meetup – slides, video, alternate video, tweetstream
• recording of O’Reilly webinar #1
• recording of O’Reilly webinar #2
• A 5-minute talk about The Power of Silence

Other

• NEW: Tweets from 32 Awesomely Practical UX Tips
• NEW: Summary by Bree Straayer-Gannon of key takeaways from Interviewing Users (and other books).
• NEW: Epic FAIL – Takeaways from the War Stories Project (slides, audio, sketchnotes)
• All our 2013 writing about Interviewing Users.
• New York book launch party
• San Francisco book launch party
• Answers to questions from readers of the Usabilla blog
• War Stories
• Susan Dray’s reflections on the impact of the War Stories

And a welcome back to the work week to all.

• I’m onsite with a client all day today, running a workshop with ten leaders from around the world to dig into how they can better leverage their UX capability in product development. I’ve been interviewing these folks over the past few weeks and I’ll be starting this workshop with what I’ve heard from them, but then structuring the day so they are prioritizing the issues and creating possible solutions together. I’m expecting an intense and rewarding day.
• Soft Skills is coming up in San Antonio in mid-May, as part of Enterprise UX. I’m pretty excited about this expanded version of the workshop. Read more here and sign up, using PORTIGAL15 for a discount.
• Next week I’m in Houston to lead a two-day training workshop on user research. I can confirm that I’ve found donut, taco and BBQ options near where I’m staying, too!
• I am in pre-pre-production on another series of Dollars to Donuts. Right now I’m working on lining up a couple of additional sponsors.
• This Wednesday I will be answering questions about insights and innovation in Ask the UXpert.
• Ten years gone: From April 2005 – Bumblebee Entree-Style Tuna, SF cabs get touch-screens for some reason, Design without Reach.
• What we’re consuming: Top Five, Le Samouraï, Buttermilk Southern Kitchen, House of Lies

It sure is starting to feel like spring!

• I’m back from an exhausting and exhilarating week of interviews in Boston. 21 people in 4 days is a more intense schedule than I’d normally plan for but it’s just how things worked out. Back a few days and already the transcripts are pouring in!
• This week I’m wrapping up conversations with stakeholders and digging into the final details for next week’s workshop (with another organization).
• The soft skills workshop sold out at Interaction 15 and I’m getting inquiries about running the workshop again in a few different locations. Meanwhile, it’s coming up soon as part of Enterprise UX. Use discount PORTIGAL15 to save when you register for my workshop about Soft Skills coming up in San Antonio in mid-May.
• I’m finalizing logistics and starting to dig into the detailed content for a two-day training workshop I’m leading for a big corporation in Houston in early May.
• I’m also planning a program to a really exciting research and strategy project and trying to outline a new article!
• I will be answering questions about insights and innovation in Ask the UXpert on April 29.
• Ten years gone: From April 2005 – Budweiser patriotism, Snapple-a-day, portion control packaging.
• What we’re consuming: We Put a Chip In It!, The Dutch Goose, Silicon Valley, Veep.

Well, happy Monday to all!

• Use discount PORTIGAL15 to save when you register for my workshop about Soft Skills coming up in San Antonio in mid-May.
• This week is mostly fieldwork in Boston, learning about how people search for information.
• I’ve got one more stakeholder conversation for an internal workshop, then a bunch on next Monday and then I’ll start planning the details of the workshop coming very quickly after that.
• I wrapped up 100 Doodles in 100 Days last week.
• Ten years gone: From April 2005 – Which salt is best?, AD:Tech conference report, cramming attributes into ice cream.
• What we’re consuming: Rusty’s Southern, Interstellar, House of Cards, True Detective.

Howdy Monday!

• I’m off for most of today, coming home from a long weekend in wine country in time to get on a conference call with the Enterprise UX Insight at Scale speakers to go over the draft presentations.
• Speaking of the Enterprise UX conference, you can use the discount code PORTIGAL15 to save some bucks off your registration!
• Still speaking of the Enterprise UX conference (really?), I’ll be reprising my Soft Skills are Hard workshop (sold out at Interaction 15). Don’t forget: PORTIGAL15!
• Speaking of soft skills (really????), I’ll be part of the People Skills for UX virtual conference on May 27. I’ll be doing a session on listening, alongside Julian Treasure, author of Sound Business.
• Wednesday’s event, Moments of Influence is wait-list only at this point.
• I’ll be leading an interactive session about improv and creativity at RE:DESIGN/UXD in San Francisco on May 19.
• We’re getting ready for interviews in Boston in a couple of weeks, helping our client set up the interviews and finalizing our approach for those sessions.
• Ten years gone: From March 2005 – Writing, briefly, Star Wars candy, Ron Jeremy’s mobile service, Photoshop firings.
• What we’re consuming: Johnny Doughnuts, wine, TIE Fighter.