Brian Zimmer

Co-Creation: The Key to Creativity, Engagement, and Impact

Jul 18, 2024 | Nebraska.Code() 2024

In this presentation, Brian Zimmer emphasizes the importance of involving customers and team members in the product design process to foster creativity and engagement. It highlights the benefits of co-creation, such as improved decision-making, enhanced commitment, and the ability to tackle complex problems. The presentation also discusses various techniques for integrating co-creation into workflows, including divergent and convergent thinking, and the use of models and prototypes. Ultimately, it advocates for a customer-centric mindset and open collaboration to drive innovation and achieve impactful results.

Nov 26, 2024 | Lincoln.Code() - November 2024

Teams have evolved from documenting requirements to creating product definitions with techniques like journey mapping and user stories. Our effectiveness has increased and we’ve become user-centric. But what if the way we’re currently using these techniques is actually holding us back? In this session, we explore how co-creation combined with these techniques and other critical thought models is what unlocks empathy, creativity, shared understanding, engagement, and more impactful solutions.

Jul 15, 2022 | Nebraska.Code() 2022

Innovation is a wicked problem; the actual solution is often unknown until you have found product-market fit. This makes it difficult for developers, designers, scrum masters, and product owners to achieve a shared understanding and determine how best to reduce risk, generate learnings, and increase the chances of an innovation becoming sustainable. Drawing on my 11 years at Nebraska Global and Don’t Panic Labs, I will focus on techniques that help teams decompose tough problems, engage in critical thought, move faster, and increase the chances that their vision will successfully become a reality.

Jun 28, 2024 | Kansas City Developer's Conference 2024

Innovation is a wicked problem; the actual solution is often unknown until you have found product-market fit. This makes it difficult for developers, designers, scrum masters, and product owners to achieve a shared understanding and determine how best to reduce risk, generate learnings, and increase the chances of an innovation becoming sustainable. I will focus on techniques that help teams decompose tough problems, engage in critical thought, move faster, and increase the chances that their vision will successfully become a reality.

Roadmapping with Critical Thought

Jul 25, 2025 | Nebraska.Code() 2025

"We’re discovering and taking on increasingly complex problems. Businesses want to deliver more value and faster. Roadmaps have become the fundamental tool to aligning teams in these efforts.

We’ve all learned how to structure a roadmap, but how do we figure out what to actually put on the roadmap? This session will dive into customer discovery and critical thought tools to evolve from a product owner publishing a roadmap to a team co-creating one together.

Learning Objectives

Discover benefits gained with collaborative roadmaping
Overview customer discovery & co-creation
Identify the nature of problems, predictable or research and development
Apply activities to facilitate team critical thought"

Jul 23, 2025 | Nebraska.Code() 2025

"We’re taking on increasingly complex problems while moving faster than ever.

In this interactive workshop, we will explore the product lifecycle and demonstrate how to co-create solutions at various stages through collaborative activities with customers and your team. Build your problem-solving toolbox with techniques that we have successfully used over the past 15 years at Don’t Panic Labs.

Problem solving works best when everyone has a seat at the table and this session is ideal for developers, architects, product managers, scrum masters, project managers, tech leads, and most importantly you! Get ready to think creatively, collaborate with others, and unlock solutions to the unknown.

Learning Objectives / Activities:

Mash-Up: Combine ideas to create innovative solutions.
User Mapping for Empathy: Put yourself in the user’s shoes to understand their needs.
Fix-It Framework: Learn a structured approach to problem-solving and effective communication strategies.
Additional Design Thinking Activities"

Roadmapping with Critical Thought

Aug 14, 2025 | Kansas City Developer's Conference 2025

We’re discovering and taking on increasingly complex problems. Businesses want to deliver more value and faster. Roadmaps have become the fundamental tool to aligning teams in these efforts.

We’ve all learned how to structure a roadmap, but how do we figure out what to actually put on the roadmap? This session will dive into customer discovery and critical thought tools to evolve from a product owner publishing a roadmap to a team co-creating one together.

Learning Objectives
Discover benefits gained with collaborative roadmaping
Overview customer discovery & co-creation
Identify the nature of problems, predictable or research and development
Apply activities to facilitate team critical thought

Aug 13, 2025 | Kansas City Developer's Conference 2025

Every innovation starts with a person and an idea—but most early ideas won't ultimately succeed. How do you quickly assess, refine, and validate an idea so it either gains traction or fails fast so you can move on to the next one?

In this interactive, fast-paced workshop, you’ll bring your own idea for a startup, product, or feature and work through a series of activities to:

Expand your perspective and add structure to your idea.
Explore new possibilities by generating ideas you hadn’t considered.
Assess desirability, feasibility, and viability to refine your concept.
Identify concrete steps to bring your idea closer to reality.
Tap into the collective intelligence of the room to accelerate your progress and maximize your experience at KCDC.

Whether you’re tech lead shaping a new feature, a senior developer with a side project, or a manager fostering innovation in your team, this workshop will equip you with the tools and insights to move from idea to action and help others do the same.

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Talks & Presentations by Brian Zimmer