Project Description: Rock Hollow Business Development

I like to use Linkedin to maintain business relationships and and develop new ones. I also meet the people I work with by pursuing interests in emerging technologies, new internet applications, innovation research, creative arts and creative engineering. If you found Rock Hollow through Linkedin and have come this far, why not give a call? If I can help you I will; if I can't help you with exactly what you need I may be able to send you to someone who can. That is what networking is all about right? Cynthia, 503-740-1863

As mentioned on the About Rock Hollow page, we are in the business of identifying design and innovation opportunities. But once we identify strong concepts, we need sponsors to support them and partners to help build prototypes. If you have an interest in any of projects we have going or lingering in our concept lab, give a call! Cynthia: 503-740-1863.

1. thinkingProfessions: This service is in the early research phase of development and is part of a larger R & D project I am undertaking to explore the Future of Work from a design ethnography perspective. The concept is to provide easy access to information resources related to research and policy and features interviews, video, photos and observations of people thinking together while working.

We hear alot about how work is going to be different in the future but what do we really know? Not much. I'd like to change that and help ordinary people and policy makers make informed choices about the future of work. The future of work is a complex domain that needs to be considered and debated by citizens of the world and not handed down to people wholesale based solely on economic interests. Don't you think?

2. Learning in the Wild: This is an on-line service concept built on the principal that everyone has something to teach. The concept features internet tools including seminar management, video upload services, live meetings, a directory, calendar and social networking that makes it easy for teachers to find students and students to find teachers.

3. Central Casting Research Services: This is a design research service. Rock Hollow provides user profiles and scenarios for use in user centered design and creative writing activities. The concept features narrative profiles, video profiles and consulting services that will help you use people profiles to stimulate design thinking. The outcome will be concept designs that are infused with user values, needs and expectations.

When I worked at Interval Research in 1995 I did visual ethnographic work to support a qualitative market research project called Central Casting. The project lead was Bonnie Johnson and the team consisted of technologists, videographers, film makers, interaction designers and an ethnographer (moi). This was one of the earliest if not the earliest experiment in using "people knowledge" in the form of profiles to inform the design of interactive computer products and services. The "personae movement" came after (ask me about personae if you want an ear full.) Central Casting Resarch Services draws on that experiment and subsequent user profile work that I've done.

Project Description: Web Site Content Review, Coburn Co.

Coburn Co. specializes in helping executives and teams maximize business effectiveness and job search success. I highly recommend Kim Coburn to any of you who would like to work with a delightful team building, conflict resolution and career transition coach. Tell Kim I sent you!

Kim was working with a web design project manager to design and launch her first professional website. She asked me to review drafts of the web content for the site. I coached her to write as if addressing particular needs of the intended audience for the site. In a face-to-face interview about the goals for the website a mind mapping exercise made it easy for Kim to identify who her target audiences are. This in turn helped us think about how to address these different audiences and how to find them and direct them to her website. Her site turned out really nice; Check it out at www.coburncompany.com

More…

Project Description: On-line shopping user experience review, Crane & Co.

Crane & Co. make and sell fine papers, stationary and gifts.  A board member contacted Rock Hollow to discuss the current on-line shopping user experience.   We are polishing a FirstLook review of the site now.  More…

Project Description: User Experience Testing, Near-Time

Near-Time is a new on-line collaboration service that features wiki's and blogs in a "project space" context. We were looking at it when it was available to the on-line public for the first time. You can check it out at www.near-time.net. Great group of folks working on this; we were testing Near-Time for our own use and documented our user experience and shared it with the Near-Time team.

Project Description: Ethnography and Innovation Paper and Workshop Proposal

This was a paper and workshop proposal for EPIC 2007. EPIC is the Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Conference that is held yearly. Check out the conference website and call for papers here: http://www.epic2007.com/ My paper and workshop were not accepted but we hear they caused a stir which can't be bad right? These will be posted to the One World Thinking blog soon.

Project Description: Ethnography of emerging technologies, Rock Hollow Studios 

This is a field study designed to observe, document and understand user experience issues with emerging on-line applications and services. The Near Time work was part of this effort and we discovered the Center for Collective Intelligence at MIT as part of this effort. We're still trying to figure out how to work with them in some meaningful way.

Project Description: Production Coordination, Tahonto Community Music Theater Program

Music teachers, parents and kids in our town banded together to start a music theater program called BBRAVO. Rock Hollow took on a production coordination role for the first show Disney's Aladdin Jr. Cynthia also designed some of the costumes and the cave scene. This was a big success and we are looking forward to the second year of the program.