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This full day workshop will take you on an in-depth, hands-on journey through basics of object-oriented UX, as introduced in Sophia’s acclaimed A List Apart article. OOUX, much like object-oriented programming, asserts that we should start with defining a system of objects (or content types) before jumping into task flows and interaction design. For many, this workshop turns the design process on it’s head. Don’t worry; Sophia will be there to ease the transition to a new way of thinking, collaborating, and designing.

As users rely on top navigation less and less (what’s the first thing we hide on mobile devices?), it becomes more important for us to provide relevant contextual navigation. As we are asked to design responsively more and more, we’ll need sharp tools to make us ultra-efficient and help us design systems with interchangeable parts. And as agile/lean processes become the new normal, we’ll want ways to sneak in holistic, big-picture system design.

Object-Oriented UX to the rescue.

Using a real-world design challenge, Sophia will lead teams through an object mapping exercise. Then we will prioritize our objects to build a project plan, identify interaction triggers, and sketch hierarchy diagrams. We’ll top off the day with a prototyping demo from Sophia. Lean back and watch an object-oriented, modular design come to life.

You’ll learn how to:

• Understand OOUX — what it is and why do it?
• The object mapping methodology— how to build an object model and how to get your cross-functional team to help you.
• How to bridge OOUX with interaction design
• Sketching “mobile-first” with hierarchy diagrams
• A peek into building a user-testable prototype in Axure 8

Who is this workshop for?

This intense workshop is perfect for seasoned UXers, UX directors, as well as eager mid-level UX designers who have had their coffee. If you geek out on information architecture and content strategy, you’ll feel right at home. If you work on websites or products that are powered by a content-management system and/or deal in user-generated content, this workshop will speak directly to you. If you are struggling with a complex responsive redesign, come hither. Finally, if your wheelhouse is enterprise-level, desktop-only software, this process will apply to your work as well.

It’s recommended to read this primer on OOUX before coming to the workshop, but definitely not required.

This workshop is 100% analog, but please bring your computer if you’d like to follow along with the Axure demo at the end.