The State of UX: Industry Trends & Survey Results - IA Summit 2017

@LKANTROV #IAS17

The State of UX: Industry Trends & Survey Results

IA Summit – March 24, 2017

Hi.

Ancestry

Black Lab

Mountain Cur

Red BoneCoon Hound

70

108

Predicted

Actual

Weight (lbs)

(49 kg)

3

UX Has Gotten “Bigger” Over the Last 20 Years…(in my experience)

Before 2000:

• Ergonomics, Human Factors

• Human-Computer Interaction

• Usability & User-Centered Design

• Information Architecture (emerging)

• Graphic Design

• UI Developers

• & Other related groups/disciplines

Circa 2000:

• User Experience (UX or UE?)

• Defining what it is…

4

UX Has Gotten “Bigger” Over the Last 20 Years…(in my experience)

Since 2000:

• UX becomes “tribe” for many

pre-existing disciplines

• Lots of marketplace demand

• Technology changes

• More formal educational paths into UX

• New methods, practices & tools

• Contextual changes (Agile/Lean, etc.)

• Many still trying to define the damn

thing…

5

…And Now Some Want to Declare It Dead.

6

Foundations: Methods & Tools

• Project Planning

• Scope Management

• Microsoft Project

• Rally

• Etc.

PROJECT MGMT

Methods

Tools

Philosophy?

Practice?

Industry?

Discipline?

Job Category?

Many

Many More

7

Foundations: Methods & Tools

PROJECT MGMT

Methods

Tools

USABILITY

Methods

Tools

UX

Methods

Tools

• Usability Testing

• Field Studies

• Morae

• SurveyMonkey

• Etc.

• ?

• ?

• ?

• ?

8

Competitive Analysis – UX Method or Not?

• 2015 UX Competitive Analysis

Presentations

• Absent in published materials

– Mentioned in some UX books

(often in a list of methods)

– Little specific “how to” information

• Not talked about much overall

(e.g. at conferences)

9

Competitive Analysis – UX Method or Not?

• Is Competitive Analysis REALLY a UX method?

• Is Competitive Analysis really USED by UXers? – How many?

– How often?

– How useful do they find it?

Idea:

Find out what UXers actually do. Get data!

10

Survey Goals

• Understand better what “UXers” use in practice

– Methods / Techniques

– Tools

• Avoid labels as much as possible (IxD, UX, CX, SD, IA, etc.)

Possible Outcomes:

• Provide UXers with a broader perspective on their own practice &

the industry

• Help managers, job seekers, students & others make more

informed decisions

• Share insights from research, not opinions & anecdotes often

found online

11

Methodology

• Vivid Mojo conducted an online survey (Fall, 2016)

• UX practitioners invited via various online UX related communities

– Large UX LinkedIn Groups

– UTEST Email List

– Twitter (thank you to UX rock stars who shared)

– UX related Facebook pages

• 21 Questions

• About 12 minutes to complete on average

• 263 Responses from UX Practitioners

Respondent Type Total

UX Practitioner 94%

Non-UX Role & not a Student 2%

Student in a UX related program 2%

Student in Non-UX related program 1%

Other 2%

12

Internal vs. External UX (Type of Products) In your UX work, who owns the products/services you primarily work on?

Works on products or services their company sells or uses

Works on client owned products or services

n=263

13

Experience & Education

n=263

Years of UX Experience Education

14

Respondents

n=263

25 Countries

Gender

Range of Ages

15

Company Size

S: n=60 | M: n=43 | L: n=81 | NA: n=79

Company Size (# of Employees)

16

Creating My First “UX” Job Title…(2001)

Role Involved:

• Usability

• Information Architecture

• Design

• Strategy

“User Experience Architect”

Googled it and only found one other person with that title.

(That person was also on the SIG-IA email list.)

17

Job Titles – A Long (Tail) Story…

262 responses 149 unique job titles

(Only three User Experience Architects)

Top Titles #

UX Designer 33

Senior UX Designer 19

UX Consultant 8

UX Researcher 8

Senior UX Researcher 7

UX Lead 6

User Researcher 6

n=262

Job titles mean (almost) nothing. Word cloud of respondent job titles

18

Quiz Time…

Which of the following categories best describes your ROLE?

(PICK ONE)

– Designer

– Researcher

– Consultant

– Manager

– Executive (Founder, Owner, President, CEO)

– Project Manager

– Other

19

Roles

n=263

Roles Roles vs. Internal/External

74% identified as a

designer, researcher or

consultant

What category best describes your role?

20

Company Size Relates to UX Roles

Respondents at small

companies identified

more as “consultants”

less as “designers”.

S: n=57 | M: n=41 | L: n=82

Company Size vs. Roles

Even large companies

have consultants.

21

Methods (& Skills, Techniques, & Practices)

Hound Dog Skills

• Sleeping

• Eating

• Drooling

• Napping

• Cat Chasing

• People Smelling

• Barking

• Tail Wagging

• Hole Design & Dev.

• Snoozing

• Innovation in Chewables

• Food Testing

• Self-Eyelid Inspections

• Rolling in Stuff

• Squirrel Chasing

• Territory Marking

• Sunbathing

• Misc. Social & Interspecies Skills

Hound

Lips (4lbs)

Hound

Ears (1lb)

#HarleyTheHunnerPoundHound

Hound Dog Skills

• Sleeping

• Eating

• Drooling

• Napping

• Cat Chasing

• People Smelling

• Barking

• Tail Wagging

• Hole Design & Dev.

• Snoozing

• Innovation in Chewables

• Food Testing

• Self-Eyelid Inspections

• Rolling in Stuff

• Squirrel Chasing

• Territory Marking

• Sunbathing

• Misc. Social & Interspecies Skills

UX Skill Areas

• Interviewing

• Testing

• Designing

• Prototyping

• Sketching

• Facilitating

• Evaluating

• Mapping

• Storyboarding

• Wireframing

• Researching

• Analyzing

• Writing

Skill?

Ability?

Technique?

Proficiency?

Method?

Activity?

Behavior?

Expertise?

Yes.

24

Quiz Time…

What is your most valuable

UX method or technique?

25

6 Methods Related Survey Questions

Which methods…

• have you personally used in your UX work?

• have you used in the last 12 months?

• do you use most frequently? (Select 5)

• provide the most value? (Rank top 3)

• do you most want to learn more about? (Select 3)

26

• Accessibility Reviews

• Accessibility Testing

• Agile / Scrum / Lean

• Animation Design

• Card Sorting

• Coaching / Mentoring

• Competitive Analysis

• Competitive Studies /

Reviews / Benchmark

• Content Inventory / Audit

• Content Strategy

• Content Translation

• Copy Writing

• Creative Direction

• Diary Studies

• Ethno / Field Studies /

Contextual Inquiry

• Eye Tracking

• Focus Groups

• Formal Usability Testing

• Heuristic/Expert Review

• High Fidelity UI Mockups /

"Comps"

• Process / Workflow Design

• Product / App Roadmapping

• Product Management

• Product Strategy

• Project Management

• Prototyping - High Fi

• Prototyping - Low-Fi

• Prototyping - Paper

• Recruiting Research

Participants

• Remote Mod. Usability Testing

• Remote Unmod. Usability

Testing

• Requirement Gather

• Screen / Page Layout

• Screenflow Mapping

• Search Analytics

• Search Engine Optimization

• Service Design

• Site Mapping

• Sketching

• Sound Design

• Stakeholder Interviews

• Storyboarding

• Icon Design

• Illustration

• Informal Usability Test

• Information / Content Design

• Information Visualization

• Interface Design / IxD

• International / Globalization

• Journey Mapping

• Lean UX

• Logo Design

• Market Research

• Mobile Development

• Moodboarding

• Multivariate / A-B Testing

• Navigation Design

• Online Research

• Participatory Design

• Persona / User Profile

• Photo / Image Licensing

• Photo Editing

• Photo Studies

• Plain Lang. Evaluation

• Style Guide / UI Standards

• Surveys

• System Data Analysis

• Task Analysis

• Taxonomy Design

• Technical Writing

• UI Development

• UI Pattern Creation

• Use Cases

• User Interviews

• User Stories

• User Story Mapping

• Video Design

• Visual / Graphic Design

• Voice UI Design

• Web Analytics

• Web Development

• Web Strategy

• Wireframing

• Workflow Analysis

Methods Used by UX Practitioners

35 used in the past on average

21 used in last year on average

84 methods, techniques & skills to choose from

27

Methods/Techniques Used by UX Practitioners

Top Methods (1-10) Top Methods (11-20)

n=263 / 223

28

Most Valuable Methods Which methods / techniques provide the most value? (Pick 3)

n=220

Listening to users is our “secret sauce”

…and observing… UX really IS about users.

(Yay!)

29

Top 10 Methods UX Practitioners Want to Learn Which methods / techniques would you most like to learn more about? (Pick 3)

n=195

30

Tools (& Apps, Services, Etc.)

31

Quiz Time…

?

What is your

most valuable UX related tool

(software, site, app)?

32

3 Tools Related Survey Questions

Which UX Tools…

• have you personally used in your UX work in the last

12 months?

• do you use most frequently? (Select 5)

• provide the most value? (Rank top 3)

33

• Adobe Analytics /

Omniture

• Adobe Fireworks

• Adobe Illustrator

• Adobe InDesign

• Adobe PhotoShop

• Axure RP

• Balsamiq Mockups

• Camtasia

• Chalkmark

• Clicktale

• CrazyEgg

• dscout

• Ethnio

• Five Second Test

• Mockups.me

• Morae

• Omnigraffle

• Optimal Workshop

• OptimalSort

• Ovo Logger

• Paper Prototyping

• Patternry

• Pixate

• Powerpoint

• Programming Code

(.Net / HTML / CSS

/ Java / etc.)

• Proto.io

• Protoshare

• Reframer

• Fluid UI

• Foresee

• Gliffy

• Google Analytics

• Indigo Studio

• iRise

• Jing

• Justinmind

• Loop11

• Mechanical Turk

• Microsoft Blend

• Microsoft

SketchFlow

• Microsoft Visio

• Mockplus

• Silverback

• Sketch

• SnagIt

• SurveyGizmo

• SurveyMonkey

• Treejack

• UsabilityTools

• Usabilla

• Uservoice

• UserZoom

• UXPin

• Webtrends

• Xsort

Selected 7 tools used in the last year on average

167 respondents wrote in over 90 other tools

60 tools, apps & services to choose from

Tools Used by UX Practitioners

34

Top Tools Used by UX Practitioners in Last 12 Months

Top Tools (1-10) Top Tools (11-20)

n=197

20 Write-ins

35

Most Valuable UX Tools Which UX tools provide the most value? (Rank Top 3)

n=180

We get a lot of value from our design tools.

7 of Top 14 were design tools.

36

UX Role Differences

37

What is a “UX Practitioner”?

• Job Postings are a mess

• The people hiring UX often don’t understand UX.

Example:

– Information Architect

– Visual Designer

– Agile

– Enterprise applications

– PhotoShop & Illustrator

– Wireframes, Visio, Balsamiq

– User studies, focus groups, taxonomies, research

– HTML5, CSS3, Angular

Information Architect,

Graphic Designer,

UI Developer,

User Researcher

Generalist?

Unicorn?

38

The “Average” UXer

• A blend of roles/profiles

within the industry.

• Research #1 activity

even though designers

were largest segment

(33%) of respondents.

n=185

Average Activities: All Respondents

39

Development

• Only 44% of respondents did any development

• Max development % of job for any individual was 50%

• 70% of those who develop estimated it between 3-30% of their time.

n=185

Average Activities: All Respondents

Most UXers don’t develop.

For those that do, it’s a small part of their job.

40

Development

• Only 44% of respondents did any development

• Max development % of job for any individual was 50%

• 70% of those who develop estimated it between 3-30% of their time.

Most UXers don’t develop.

For those that do, it’s a small part of their job.

? Maybe.

It’s true for at least this sample.

41

Role Differences: Activities

D: n=54 | R: n=43 | C: n=39 |M: n=12 | E: n=35

Activities by Role

Managers & Execs do a lot of “other”

42

Role Differences: Job Titles

“Role” seemed

to predict job

titles better

than job titles

predict roles.

At least for

Designers &

Researchers.

Cloud of designer job titles

Cloud of researcher job titles Cloud of execs/other job titles

Cloud of consultant job titles

43

AL

L R

ES

PO

ND

EN

TS

Method Type %

User Interviews RES 79%

Wireframing DSN 72%

Persona / User Profiles RES 70%

Stakeholder Interviews RES 68%

Informal Usability Test EVAL 68%

Prototype - Low-Fi DSN 67%

Sketching DSN 65%

Heuristic / Expert Review EVAL 64%

Interface Design / IxD DSN 63%

Card Sorting RES + EVAL 63%

Online Research RES 61%

User Stories ETC 59%

Navigation Design DSN 59%

Requirements Gathering ETC 58%

Formal Usability Test (Lab) EVAL 56%

Agile / Scrum / Lean ETC 56%

Screen / Page Layout DSN 55%

Coaching / Mentoring ETC 55%

Prototype – Paper DSN 54%

Competitive / Comparative Analysis RES 53%

Role Differences: Methods Used

CO

NS

ULTA

NT

S Method Type %



Wireframing DSN 82%







Sketching DSN 74%





Competitive/Comparative Analysis RES 67%



Task Analysis RES 65%

Process / Workflow Design DSN 61%


RESEARCH DESIGN EVALUATION ETC = OTHER

44

Role Differences: Methods Used (2) D

ES

IGN

ER

S

RE

SE

AR

CH

ER

S Method Type %

Wireframing DSN 92%

Sketching DSN 90%







Prototype - High Fi DSN 74%






Style Guide / UI Standards DSN 63%

High Fidelity UI Mockups / "Comps" DSN 62%

UI Pattern Creation / Editing DSN 62%

Visual / Graphic Design DSN 62%



Method Type %









Remote Moderated Usability Test EVAL 74%

Surveys RES + EVAL 66%

Recruiting Research Participants RES 64%

Ethno./Field Studies/Context Inq. RES 64%


Wireframing DSN 58%


Competitive Studies/Reviews RES + EVAL 58%



Remote Unmod. Usability Test EVAL 54%



45

Role Differences: Methods Used (2) D

ES

IGN

ER

S

RE

SE

AR

CH

ER

S Method Type %

Wireframing DSN 92%

Sketching DSN 90%














High Fidelity UI Mockups / "Comps" DSN 62%

UI Pattern Creation / Editing DSN 62%

Visual / Graphic Design DSN 62%



Method Type %














Wireframing DSN 58%


Competitive Studies/Reviews RES + EVAL 58%





The methods you use define

the type of UXer you are.


46 C

ON

SU

LTA

NT

S

AL

L R

ES

PO

ND

EN

TS

n=222

Method Type %


Wireframing DSN 32%


Sketching DSN 19%







Role Differences: Frequently Used Methods

n=51

Which methods / techniques do you use most frequently? (Pick up to 5)

Method Type %


Wireframing DSN 32%


Sketching DSN 19%








47

Role Differences: Frequently Used Methods (2) D

ES

IGN

ER

S

RE

SE

AR

CH

ER

S

n=70 n=48

Which methods / techniques do you use most frequently? (Pick up to 5)

Method Type %











Method Type %

Wireframing DSN 50%

Sketching DSN 36%










48

AL

L R

ES

PO

ND

EN

TS

n=197

Tool Type %

PowerPoint ETC 53%

Adobe PhotoShop DSN 44%

Axure RP DSN 42%

Google Analytics RES 38%

Paper Prototyping DSN 34%

Adobe Illustrator DSN 28%

SurveyMonkey RES 27%

Sketch (App) DSN 26%

SnagIt ETC 24%

Balsamiq Mockups DSN 23%

Role Differences: Tools Used in Last 12 Months

CO

NS

ULTA

NT

S

n=43

Which tools have you personally used in your UX work in the last 12 months?

Tool Type %

PowerPoint ETC 51%

Axure RP DSN 49%



SnagIt ETC 33%


Treejack RES + EVAL 28%

OptimalSort RES + EVAL 26%


Optimal Workshop RES + EVAL 23%


49

Role Differences: Tools Used in Last 12 Months (2)

DE

SIG

NE

RS

RE

SE

AR

CH

ER

S

n=61 n=44

Which tools have you personally used in your UX work in the last 12 months?

Tool Type %

PowerPoint ETC 66%

Axure RP DSN 41%

Morae EVAL 41%




SnagIt ETC 34%

OptimalSort ETC 32%

Balsamiq Mockups DSN 27%

Camtasia ETC 25%

Tool Type %


PowerPoint ETC 48%

Axure RP DSN 48%

Adobe Illustrator DSN 46%




Programming Code DEV 39%


Omnigraffle DSN 21%


50

Additional Findings

51

Activities of Internal UX vs. External UX

Nearly identical responses from these segments.

Note: Doesn’t mean there aren’t significant differences between these roles/jobs.

I: n=101 | E: n=77

Activities: Internal vs. External

52

Activities of Men & Women in UX

• No significant

differences between

genders in terms of

time spent on

activities

• Also no major

differences between

age groups.

M: n=65 | F: n=52

Activities by Gender

53

Summary

54

Sleeping

Drooling

Snoozing

Hound

Dog

55

Researching

Designing

Testing

UXer

56

What we have learned…

• We get the most value from involving users…it’s what defines us.

• Most UXers have experience with over 20 different methods.

• We only use a few tools in our work…but there are lots of tools

emerging.

• Most UXers identify as:

– Designers

– Researchers

– Consultants

– Executives / Managers

• Titles don’t really mean much

What you do &

how you do it is

who you are.

57

What we have learned…

58

Questions & Feedback

• Feel free to send me any questions.

• Will be creating a PDF report – contact me if you’d like a copy.

LinkedIn: Lyle Kantrovich

Twitter: @LKANTROV

FaceBook: 100PoundHound

Twitter: @100PoundHound

Instagram: HarleyTheHunnerPoundHound