Realign the UX Showcase with its purpose
Context
Follow-up to the retro feedback about the UX Showcase, specifically these points:
How can we make the showcases more entertaining and relevant to individual work? People look for overlaps with what they are working on, opportunities to collaborate. Sometimes the showcases are so polished but there’s no connection to one's work, no way to contribute.
If presentations are structured with the audience in mind, to elicit feedback and highlight potential overlaps, it will be easier for the audience to relate, find valuable in them, and engage. For example, intentionally pinpoint overlaps or add questions for the audience.
Proposal
We already improved on those points a bit with Emphasize aspects of successful UX Showcases (gitlab-com/content-sites/handbook!5177 - merged). However, there's still room for improvement, as mentioned in gitlab-com/content-sites/handbook!5177 (comment 1875077721):
[…] another possible change (in a separate MR) is to emphasize its two key purposes: share and discuss. Right now, the handbook leans heavily on “share,” with few mentions of “discuss.” My hypothesis is that putting “discuss” at the same level of “share” can increase the quality and engagement of these meetings. For example, presenters think about what they want to learn from and discuss with the audience as much as what they want to share. Shift the mindset from “presentation” to “exchange.”
As a reminder, the purpose of the UX Showcase is to:
- Increase awareness of the value delivered through UX by highlighting business and customer value.
- Increase visibility into findings, opportunities, solutions.
- Increase exposure of stage group UX activities to the broader organization.
- Increase synchronous discussion immediately following the topic shared or asynchronously after the UX Showcase.
Possible renaming
Related to the above, and as mentioned in one of the retro comments, the current name “UX Showcase” emphasizes “presentation.” We should explore other names aligned with the mindset shift — from “presentation” to “exchange.”
Some ideas: UX Exchange, UX Forum, UX Dialogue, UX Circle, …