Last weekend, I was honoured to be one of the speakers at the "Inside the Production Pipeline: Building Web Applications" workshop in Banff, Alberta, Canada. I was asked to offer a user-centered perspective on website and application development. Once again, I was impressed as the Banff Centre rolled out the red carpet, putting on a great workshop.
The other speakers formed an impressive lineup that included Doug Zeffer, VP of Production at Enlighten in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Vern Hume, who is involved in Strategy and Client Relations at Rare Method in Calgary, Richard Hurst, the Lead Developer from Cambrian House in Calgary, and Steve Bocska, Joint CEO at Hothead Games in Vancouver. The broad range of experience brought to the table by the mix of speakers made for an interesting workshop.
Doug Zeffer and Vern Hume's comments focused on the intricacies of managing people (both clients and employees) and the importance of forming relationships with clients. Richard Hurst and Steve Bocska both had interesting things to say about the new business models that development and gaming shops like Cambrian House and Hothead are employing to generate revenue.
Adam Jevne from Balance Media in Edmonton did a great job of moderating the discussions and keeping things flowing. I think that the workshop attendees picked up a lot of useful information from the discussions and the smaller size of the workshop made it especially intimate. If you have chance to attend a Banff Centre workshop in the future, it's worth the price of admission just for the fabulous food!
Posted in Opinions on March 9, 2007
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