Event Notices From July 5
BBC Offers SBIR/STTR 101: Ann Arbor-based Biotechnology Business Consultants will offer an SBIR/STTR 101 class, an introduction and overview of the federal government's Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs, from 9 a.m. to noon Friday, July 15. The program will be held at BBC's office, 803 N. Main St., Ann Arbor. The event costs $50 for Michigan-based companies and $100 for those based elsewhere. During this introductory seminar, we will outline the basics of the SBIR/STTR program, eligibility issues, and detail some of the differences between the programs offered by the 11 participating agencies, including the Department of Defense, National Science Foundation, and Department of Health. We will also discuss how to look for specific funding opportunities. Register online at www.bbcetc.com or call Kris Bergman at (734) 930-9741.
Usability pros set July meeting: The Michigan Usability Professionals Association will meet July 18 on the topic "Do Better Design Reviews." Critiquing each other's designs is an important part of user experience work, but unfortunately we often run into problems of ego, politeness, and less-then-helpful feedback. This workshop will show you a simple model for facilitating design review sessions that addresses those problems. We'll start with going over the rules, run a quick demonstration of the process, and then break attendees into groups to do their own design reviews. So please come prepared with real projects that you'd like to get reviewed, and a lucky few of you will have your projects critiqued with a small group of peers using this model. Your projects can be anywhere from sketched ideas to interactive prototypes, or even already delivered products. This is going to be a fun evening and you'll leave with a great technique that you can start using in your projects right away. The speaker is Davin Granfoth, who got his start in the field in the mid-90s by helping students and faculty learn how to write better for the Web. These days, Davin is the User Experience Manager at Covenant Eyes, where he spends his days managing and developing the newly added User Experience team, coordinating UX research and design work across the company, and advising the executive, management, and product development teams. The event begins with networknig at 6 p.m., announcements at 6:45 p.m and the program at 7 p.m. The venue is Second Gear Coworking, 1134 N. Washington, Lansing. The cost is $5 for students, $10 for UPA members and $20 for others. Register at http://www.michiganupa.org/.
