Duane Degler, Principal of Design for Context, Washington, DC / Baltimore

Duane Degler, Principal

Duane has designed numerous web and semantic web-based applications and sites, backed by 25 years consulting experience in knowledge management and business performance. He is a business strategist who has led interactive application design and content management projects for commercial and government clients in the US and internationally.

His focus areas include designing large-scale search facilities and interactive applications for clients such as the National Archives electronic records program, the Social Security Administration’s policy content management group, and Verisign, among others. He is particularly fond of complex problems that defy “traditional” solutions! Past clients include Philips Electronics, Shell, United Distillers, Reuters, Schlumberger, UNUM Insurance, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, as well as small technology ventures.

Along with his client consulting work, Duane speaks regularly at professional conferences, curates the Design for Semantic Web resource site, is the strategy and technology advisor to the UXPA Usability Body of Knowledge project, and has co-organized the Semantic Web User Interaction (SWUI) workshop series for the W3C’s Semantic Web Interest Group. He holds a B.Sc. in Media Communications and an M.Sc. in Organizational Communications, with a focus on the human change impacts arising from technology adoption.

Presentations and Publications

Design for Context’s publications section
Duane’s archival IPGems site

Conference

Supporting Relevance for Users – a Design Challenge

June 3, 2013

Presenting “related” content can unfortunately be perceived by users as not relevant to their current needs, particularly in complex knowledge work and interactive applications. At the 2013 Semantic Technology & Business Conference, Duane Degler presents a series of examples and illustrations to explore the user experience of relevance, highlighting risks and pitfalls and providing guidance on how to balance algorithmic and user-centered approaches. Design for Context is also an exhibitor at this conference.

Upcoming Conference

There's more than one way to skin a cat: Integrating UX into an Agile environment

July 10, 2013

Many organizations struggle with how to best integrate traditional UX methods into an Agile development environment. At the 2013 UXPA Conference, Design for Context's Janice James will present on a panel discussing real-life case studies regarding UX within the Agile environment, bringing practical perspectives on the benefits and challenges associated with applying UX methods within the Agile framework.

Recent Conference

Using Social Lenses to See Social Dimensions

April 3, 2013

Many organizations and internet sites are adding social elements but find they are not getting much interaction with them. Design for Context’s Thomas Vander Wal presented a pre-conference workshop for the 2013 IA Summit, helping attendees get a solid understanding of social interaction design, better enabling them to build great foundations and work through various social design needs as they arise.

Recent Conference

Design Guidelines: Real-Life Stories

April 5, 2013

An organization’s design guidelines can document and disseminate the organization’s UX principles and patterns, helping to maintain consistency across a portfolio while allowing room for flexibility and growth. At the 2013 IA Summit, Design for Context’s Rachel Sengers, Rob Fay, and Lesley Humphreys presented on practical approaches to UX design guidelines, offering resources and insights from both practitioners and professionals outside the field who have used guideline repositories to great effect.

Recent Conference

UXCamp DC

January 5, 2013

UXCamp DC 2013 is an annual Washington, DC-area ad-hoc “unconference” that focuses on user experience. Design for Context was a sponsor and participant in the camp. Thomas Vander Wal conducted a session on Understanding Complicated, Complex & Chaos to Improve Design.