@usabilitycounts #LavaCon
Hunting Unicorns What makes an effective UX Professional
Patrick Neeman, Director of Product Design, Apptio @usabilitycounts
www.usabilitycounts.com
@usabilitycounts
Who’s Patrick Neeman? Almost 20 years of UX and Web Experience
Runs UsabilityCounts.com and UXDrinkingGame.com Built several UX teams
Drinks Whiskey
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What makes an effective UX Professional?
@usabilitycounts
Be A Unicorn
Thank You!
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Why am I even thinking about this?
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I have to build teams
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Patron Saint of Lost Designers
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Some Articles I Found… !Nine Essential Characteristics of Good UX Designers http://userexperience.evantageconsulting.com/2009/07/characteristics-good-ux-designers/ !And about nine other articles linking to Fred Beecher’s article… !Essential and Desirable Skills for a UX Designer http://uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2010/12/essential-and-desirable-skills-for-a-ux-designer.php !Which a laundry list of skills that is unachievable… !And a bunch of short articles.
Fred Beecher
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Why is it hard to define what an effective UX Professional is?
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There is no front door to UX… That’s part of the problem
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For example…
Troy Parke MSCE
Civil Engineering Good looking
Great public speaker Drinks Diet Coke (Boo)
Patrick Neeman Three Time Dropout
Print Design Background Has a great goatee and hair
Presentation has funny photos Sophisticated Whiskey Drinker
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“When I grow up, I want to be a UX Designer.”Lion Tamer,
Print Designer, Web Designer, Creative Director, Program Manager, Product Manager, and
Director of Development
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T-Shaped Skill Set
They have a principal skill that describes the vertical leg of the T — they’re mechanical engineers or industrial designers. But they are so empathetic that they can branch out into other skills, such as anthropology, and do them as well.”
Tim Brown, IDEO CEO
“
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A compartmentalist isolates themselves from the other disciplines around them, not really learning what they do or how they do it.” Jared Spool Ideal UX Teamhttp://www.uie.com/articles/Ideal_UX_team/
“
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They want us to be unicorns…
…dammit.
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What are the hard skills?
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The Competencies of User Experience
User Researchand Analytics Understanding the
users through observations and
data
Content Strategy
Planning for the creation, delivery
and governance of usable content
Information Architecture
Organizing information in a
product or website in a usable way
InteractionDesign
Designing interactive behaviors with a specific focus on
their use
VisualDesign
Designing the visual qualities in an aesthetically pleasing way
Front End Development
Building the interactive behaviors
to be used by the end user
http://www.nickfinck.com/blog/entry/ux_career_progression_finding_a_niche_building_a_personal_brand/
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Interaction Designer
User Researchand Analytics
Content Strategy
Information Architecture
InteractionDesign
VisualDesign
Front End Development
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Visual Designer
User Research and Analytics
Content Strategy
Information Architecture
InteractionDesign
VisualDesign
Front End Development
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Content Strategist
User Research and Analytics
Content Strategy
Information Architecture
InteractionDesign
VisualDesign
Front End Development
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Design Technologist
User Research and Analytics
Content Strategy
Information Architecture
InteractionDesign
VisualDesign
Front End Development
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The Core Apptio Team of Five
User Researchand Analytics
Content Strategy
Information Architecture
InteractionDesign
VisualDesign
Front End Development
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Every Project Is Like A Different Lego Set Teams need multifaceted players — their skills fit each other and fit project needs
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But… Is it really about the hard skills?
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What are the soft skills?
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So what are those soft skills?
Empathy Curiosity Methodical
Fearless Self Aware Articulate
Pragmatic
Passionate
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Empathy Curiosity
Systematic Pragmatic
Fearless Self-Aware
Articulate Passionate
@usabilitycounts
Empathy Curiosity
Systematic Pragmatic
Fearless Self-Aware
Articulate Passionate
@usabilitycounts
Empathy Curiosity
Systematic Pragmatic
Fearless Self-Aware
Articulate Passionate
@usabilitycounts
Empathy Curiosity
Systematic Pragmatic
Fearless Self-Aware
Articulate Passionate
@usabilitycounts
Empathy Curiosity
Systematic Pragmatic
Fearless Self-Aware
Articulate Passionate
@usabilitycounts
Empathy Curiosity
Systematic Pragmatic
Fearless Self-Aware
Articulate Passionate
@usabilitycounts
Empathy Curiosity
Systematic Pragmatic
Fearless Self-Aware
Articulate Passionate
@usabilitycounts
Empathy Curiosity
Systematic Pragmatic
Fearless Self-Aware
Articulate Passionate
@usabilitycounts
I have to convince my developer to build a feature…
Empathy Curiosity Systematic
Fearless Self Aware Articulate
Pragmatic
Passionate
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I want to understand user needs…
Empathy Curiosity Systematic
Fearless Self Aware Articulate
Pragmatic
Passionate
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I want to analyze user data…
Empathy Curiosity Systematic
Fearless Self Aware Articulate
Pragmatic
Passionate
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I want to sell design thinking within an organization…
Empathy Curiosity Systematic
Fearless Self Aware Articulate
Pragmatic
Passionate
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Context Matters Every situation demands different soft skills
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What’s the point of this presentation?
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UX needs to better define who we are
so others get us
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Soft skills turn us into superheroes
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Further Reading !The Unicorn Designer Dilemma, and How to Avoid It http://www.usabilitycounts.com/2013/07/24/the-unicorn-designer-dilemma-and-how-to-avoid-it/ !Eight Organizational Challenges for UX Professionals http://www.usabilitycounts.com/2012/05/02/eight-organizational-challenges-for-ux-professionals/ !Six Things Misunderstood About User Experience Designers http://www.usabilitycounts.com/2011/03/14/six-things-misunderstood-about-user-experience-designers/ !How to Get Started in User Experience for People I Want to Hire http://www.usabilitycounts.com/2011/10/18/how-to-get-started-in-user-experience-seven-tips/
Patrick Neeman, Director of Product Design, Apptio @usabilitycounts | www.usabilitycounts.com
Thank you!
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