UX-PM level 2 training

At the end of March, our PMs were among the first people in Poland who took part in the 2-day training organized by UXalliance. It included the first level of UX-PM course (Adopting UX) - here you can check the coverage. Since at Merixstudio we want to constantly broaden our's knowledge, we enrolled for the second level (Executing UX) without hesitation. The training was held on 24-25 October in Warsaw and was led by Wojtek Chojnacki and Tomasz Kaczmarek from Symetria, one of the most experienced UX agencies in Poland and the only one representative of the UXalliance here.

Day no 1

We had a stressful start, because we got a call from hotel that we booked and were told there's a problem with our reservations and there's no room for us. And all that happened only half an hour before our departure. Fortunately, after a nervous moment when we asked ourselves "WHAT NOW?!", the situation was cleared up and we could continue our journey.

When we arrived to Warsaw, it turned up that apart from us, 7 more people who came there from all over the country enrolled for that course. They were not only representatives of interactive agencies, but also from other companies that emphasize User Experience (like banks).

The first day had a very tight schedule because we had a lot to do and to learn. We started with a quick revision of what we had learned before.

Topics on the first day:

• UX strategy aspects
• types of UX tests, their characteristic, the choice depending on type of a project and results form researches

What we really liked in that course was that it wasn't based solely on theory, just like during the first training. The lectures were punctuated by workshops in groups. It allowed us to consolidate fresh knowledge and get to know what challenges UX Designers meet every day. The results of these workshops were kept up to date. In addition, groups' ranking based on leaders' opinion was created and that motivated us to do our best - because nothing motivates better than a hint of competition ;)

After almost 9 hours (with a few short breaks and one longer for dinner) everyone - a little tired, but very happy - went back to their hotels.

Day no 2

The second day covered the next stages of implementation. Like the previous day, lectures and workshops were intertwined.

We focused on:

• UX design
• UX testing
• the role of UX in implementation

Every exercise was related to the main project that we worked on in groups. This is why the final presentation was very interesting - it included the whole schedule of the project, divided into the different stages of implementation.

Thankfully (for our bodies, but not necessarily for the thirst of knowledge ;) ), the second day was shorter and the course lasted only 5 hours this time.

The final round - exam

After a short break we had to verify what we had learned. This meant having the exam, which included the written part (24 single and multiple-choice test questions) and the oral part. It was particularly difficult, because we sat that exam off the bat, right after lectures. A moment of uncertainty and we became the first group in Poland with an international UX-PM lvl 2 certificates!

In the end, it's worth to note that whole training was conducted in a friendly atmosphere and with a high professional level. Due to the vast experience of speakers, we got a unique opportunity to get to know how they work every day. They shared with us their personal opinions on planning and UX project management. We also had the opportunity to share our experiences with other participants. We can honestly recommend it to all of those, who have a basic knowledge of UX and are interested in broadening their knowledge in this subject.