The web by building block

Designing websites with Lego® pieces? That’s possible, thanks to a method developed at Università della Svizzera italiana. It’s called URL, as in internet address, and stands for User Requirements with Lego®. URL helps define requirements for online communications and reinforces the alignment between team members working on the project. URL is based on Lego® Serious Play®, a methodology for businesses, and connects the real – those famous plastic building blocks – with the virtual: online communication. 

URL: User Requirements with Lego®is a methodology that aids in defining requirements for online communication applications and allows for reinforcing alignment within the project team. URL is based on Lego® Serious Play®, a professional methodology that stimulates creative thinking and allows for consolidating corporate identity. Developed in the mid-90’s at the IMD business school in Lausanne, Switzerland, Lego® Serious Play® has since then become diffused worldwide thanks to a network of certified consultants. And once again from Switzerland, URL arrives today. URL: User Requirements with Lego® is a new module that expands upon the Lego® Serious Play® offering.

The URL methodology was developed by two laboratories within the Faculty of Communication Sciences at Università della Svizzera italiana. The first is webatelier.net, a research and development laboratory dedicated to online communication, particularly in tourism, placing emphasis on personal growth and research on meaning in the touristic experience (eTourism). The second is the New Media in Education Laboratory (NewMinE Lab), a research and development laboratory that explores digital media innovations in all educational fields, including eLearning, and in international development (ICT4D). The URL: User Requirements with Lego® methodology was developed by researchers at Università della Svizzera italiana in collaboration with trivioquadrivio - a Milan-based business consulting firm - and Kharta, an informatics company in Carpi (Modena).

A guide is available for communications consultants, web agencies and communications departments for learning about URL: what it is, and how and why to use it. The guide is available here, in English, at no cost: www.webatelier.net/url 

Photo Gallery: http://www.flickr.com/photos/webatelier/sets/72157627176796080/

Contact: Marco Faré, Tel. +41 (0)58 666 47 60, email: [email protected]