June 23rd & 24th, 2016 ⋅ Pittsburgh, PA

Our Speakersfor Pittsburgh Web Design Day 2016

Aaron Irizarry

Aaron Irizarry

Director of User Experience for Nasdaq Product Design

thisisaaronslife.com

Hold Fast: Managing design teams when projects go sideways.

Often times the projects we work on hit rough spots, snags, and even end up in crisis mode. Challenges can come in the form of clients who are tough to deal with, organizational politics, or strife within our own teams. As managers (or leads) of design and product teams we are often looked to for clarity, support and resolution when things go sideways.

How do we work through these scenarios as leaders, while managing the expectations of our teams and business partners, while keeping things moving forward despite the various challenges that we face?

In this talk you will learn tips and techniques for managing through the ups and downs of the design process, including...

Managing stakeholders

  • Managing expectations of stakeholders, customers, support/sales/account teams, and even designers.
  • The value of building team consensus before things go into fire drill mode.

Managing your team

  • The design manager’s role/deliverable in today’s design process (shipping is just the beginning).
  • Managing vs leading and the implications on teams and the challenges we face.

Managing the process

  • Finding the sweet spot between sticking to process and remaining flexible.
  • The the balance between execution and maintaining principles.
  • Foresight and avoiding blind spots.
  • Learning what went sideways and how to address it for next time.

About Aaron Irizarry

Aaron Irizarry, known in luchadore circles as El Cubano Magnifico, is Director of User Experience for Nasdaq Product Design and has been building online products for startups and large corporations for over 10 years. Aaron is also a public speaker and consults with companies providing design studio and collaborative critique workshops to help their product teams and stakeholders/managers improve the discussion around product design.

Sponsors

  • Barkley REI
  • MailChimp
  • Think Trough Math
  • Shopify
  • Alloy 26
  • Think Brownstone
  • skyword
  • Seven Heads Design
  • Refresh Pittsburgh

Friends of Web Design Day

  • Shift Collarorative
  • A Book Apart
  • Smith Brothers Agency
  • Bearded Studio
  • Franktuary
  • Dribbble
  • Tek Systems
  • Plus Consulting
  • Commonwealth Press

Do you or your company want to sponsor this year’s Web Design Day? Download our Sponsorship Guide and get in touch with us. Help us bring the best of web design & development to Pittsburgh!