UX Portfolios Matter

BUILDING the PORTFOLIO TO WIN the JOB

PORTFOLIOS MATTER

LYNN TEO Chief Experience Officer

McCann Erickson | @Lynn_Teo

ABOUT ME 15+ years in Experience Design

•  User centered design (UCD) •  Technology •  Communications design •  Information design

•  Emotion + Function •  UX in Ideation •  Experiences: Ecommerce

+ Content + Communities

Hybrid Thinking

•  Technology-enabled innovation •  Global/large scale solutions •  Collaborative & process-driven •  Transformation of company from

consulting to agency

Transform Business

•  Engineering-led •  Cross-disciplinary team •  Rapid Prototyping &

Usability

Product & Process

Creative Excellence

•  Legacy of storytelling •  Creating consumer value in

brand relationships •  Integrated marketing

Brand Stewardship Design Education

•  College of Creative Studies (Detroit)

•  MFA Thesis Advisor •  Research-based product

development

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1000+ Number of Resumes and Portfolios Reviewed

Portfolios Why do they matter?

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Demonstrate THINKING

Showcase SKILLS

Convey benchmark QUALITY OF WORK

Reveal your WORK STYLE

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Tells me what makes you, YOU

Credits: uxstorytellers.blogspot.com/2009/01/ux-storytellers-connecting-dots.html

10 THINGS to remember when building your portfolio

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Audience

Order of Work

Frame the Problem

Process/Steps

Value of Artifact/Activity

Behind-The-Scenes

What You Did

Quality not Quantity

Design System vs. Instance

Walkthrough Showmanship

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Audience 1 Audience

“I never design a building before I’ve seen the site and met the people who will

be using it.”

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− Frank Lloyd Wright

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A Audience

What are they looking for?

What type of company is it?

Assess their UX footprint & project types

Who are you presenting t?

Who are you presenting to?

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A Audience




UX Lead Project Manager

Front-end Developer

Creative Director

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A Audience



What are they looking for?

•  UX Methods •  Independence •  Team player •  Work quality

•  Process •  On-time? •  On-budget? •  Communication

skills

•  Prototyping skills •  Iterative design •  Agile

•  Conceptual Thought •  Problem statement •  Effectiveness of

solution

UX Lead Project Manager

Front-end Developer

Creative Director

A Audience



What type of company is it?

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A Audience


Assess their UX Footprint

CS Content Strategy

UR User Research

UX User Experience

IxD Interaction

Design

VD Visual Design

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A Audience



CS Content Strategy

UR User Research

UX User Experience

IxD Interaction

Design

VD Visual Design

THE REALITY: Sub-disciplines aren’t always defined the same way in different organizations/agencies. How does the interviewer view your role? What is considered “the norm” in their organization?

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A Audience



CS Content Strategy

UR User Research

UX User Experience

IxD Interaction

Design

VD Visual Design

THE REALITY: Roles are rarely so clearly segmented. Hybrid roles are the norm. What hybrid combination exists in the organization?

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A Audience



CS Content Strategy

UR User Research

UX User Experience

IxD Interaction

Design

VD Visual Design

MY RECOMMENDATION: Best way to understand what your reviewer is looking for is to clarify skills/activities for the discipline expertise you bring to the table

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A Audience


Sub-disciplines by skillsets & activities

CS Content Strategy

UR User Research

UX User Experience

IxD Interaction

Design

VD Visual Design

•  Taxonomy •  CMS Systems •  IA •  Content

Governance

•  Ethnography •  Findings Analysis •  Personas •  Trends •  Opportunity

Landscape •  Usability Testing

•  Customer Journey

Mapping •  Task Flows &

Needs Analysis •  Feature and

functionality •  Interface Design

•  Prototyping •  Mobile and Web

Specializations •  Emerging

technologies •  Touchscreen/

kiosks/augmented reality/NUI

•  Digital design •  Storyboards &

narratives •  Visual concepting

A Audience


Assess Types of Projects

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A Audience


Assess Types of Projects

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Order of Work 2 Order of Work

“The proper order of things is often a mystery to me. You, too?”

− Cheshire Cat

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A Audience

Engage and sell, sell, sell

Vary the pace and complexity

Leave a lasting parting impression


Impress then win over

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A Audience



Impress then win over

•  Start with your strongest work •  Pick 2-3 anchor visuals •  Walk through “lifecycle” of the

project w/ supporting artifacts •  Spend ¼ of your time on first piece

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A Audience




W | B | W | W | W | P | W | R

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A Audience




W | B | W | W | W | P | W | R

Work (Best)

Background (Lifecycle)

Process (Artifacts)

Work + Result (Success Metrics,

Recent Work)

Work (Variety, Breadth,

Challenges)

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A Audience




W | B | W | W | W | P | W | R

Sandwich Effect

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A Audience




W | B | W | W | W | P | W | R

Flexible Middle

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A Audience



Vary the pace and complexity

•  In the “flexible middle”, aim for

breadth to convey your versatility •  Use this section to encourage

dialogue with the reviewer •  Deep dive selectively

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A Audience



Leave a lasting parting impression

•  Seal the deal with your most recent

work that best aligns with your role at the organization

•  Underscore why the project was a success (stats, business metrics, client / industry reviews)

•  Reinforce your role in achieving it

http://www.repeattimerapp.com/how/



Frame the Problem

3 Frame Problem

“He who asks a question may be a fool for five minutes, but he who never asks a

question remains a fool forever.”

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− Tim Connelly

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A Audience



Demonstrate your “special powers”

Analytical Skills

Business Savvy

User Advocate

Results Oriented

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http://www.nathanbilbao.com/

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Who are you presenting t? http://dicksonfong.com/portfolio.html

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Who are you presenting t? User Modes as Basis of Feature Sets

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Who are you presenting t? Demonstrate understanding of user needs & behaviors

Process/Steps 4 Process/Steps

“A good plan is like a road map: it shows the final destination and usually the best

way to get there.”

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− H. Stanley Judd

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A Audience

Highlight partners and deliverables

Identify activities, artifacts, teams

Show points of collaboration


Create your version of a process map

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Research

UX

Content

Visual Des

Site Dev/Tech

Content Recommendation

Process Flows Checkpoint use cases with development Team

Page and Module Template Definition

Design Exploration Design Page Comps for key screens

Discovery High Level Design Detailed Design Development

Interaction Design

Content Assessment

Scenarios & Tasks

QA/ Testing Tech Assessment Checkpoint use cases and technologies (Ajax, Flash, etc.) with creative team

Interactive Prototype

Paper prototype testing

Style Guide Prototype Checkpoint

Wireframes

Personas

Screen Sketches

Documentation

Value of Artifact/Activity

5 Artifact

“Everyone hears only what he understands.”

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− Johann Wolfgang van Goethe

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A Audience


Show how UX artifacts & activities led to informed design decisions

UX Artifacts that influence design •  Content audit •  Ethnography or in-context studies •  Personas •  Journey Maps •  Wireframes •  Testing/Iterative Design

http://www.affectivedesign.org/archives/948

Round 1 Testing -- “How To” page Round 2 Testing -- “How To” page

Materials and Tools became a tab in the final design

Users preferred to see substeps in list format at the top of the page

“I need” became a Materials and Tools section in the final version

Right rail used predominantly to surface related projects

Credit: Elaine Shultz

http://adaptivepath.com/ideas/the-anatomy-of-an-experience-map



Behind the Scenes

6 Behind Scenes

“The doing is often more important than the outcome.”

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− Arthur Ashe

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A Audience

Include sketches, photos, prior versions

Capture the environment



1-2 page collage max

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Ethnography

Credit: Luci Laffitte

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Ethnography

http://simondoggett.com/#a38/custom_plain

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Finding points to INNOVATE & DELIGHT Help people lead better LIVES

http://simondoggett.com/#a38/custom_plain

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Finding points to INNOVATE & DELIGHT Help people lead better LIVES

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Help people lead better LIVES

What You Did 7 What You Did

“If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other

people.”

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− Virginia Woolf

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A Audience

What were your deliverables?

What decisions did you drive?



Be specific about your role

What (new) role would be appealing?

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A Audience



Be specific about your role

•  What were you responsible for? •  Who were your partners and how did

you collaborate with them? •  Which documents were joint efforts?

UX Team

Full Team

You You + (?)

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A Audience




•  Are there different levels of effort

for each deliverable? •  What tools did you use? •  How were your deliverables shared

with the client?

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A Audience



What decisions did you drive?

•  How were you an advocate for the

user? Did you participate in any user research activities “first-hand”?

•  How did you help solve a design impasse?

•  Did you demonstrate your role championing iterative design?

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A Audience


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A Audience


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A Audience



What new role would be appealing?

•  Emphasize competency and

demonstrate readiness for step-up •  The last piece of work you share

should build a case for expanded responsibilities

Quality not Quantity

8 Quality

“Not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be

counted counts.”

− Einstein

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A Audience

Nix mediocre work

Eliminate “similar” work samples



Refrain from trying to show too much

Pay attention to details

Design System vs. Instance

9 Design System

“It is impossible, in principle, to explain any pattern by invoking a single

quantity”

− Gregory Bateson

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A Audience

Use real text whenever possible

Show templates & reusable components



Show the design system


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presenting t?


http://unify.eightshapes.com/uploads/documents/EightShapesUnifySample.DesignSpecification.pdf

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presenting t?


http://unify.eightshapes.com/uploads/documents/EightShapesUnifySample.DesignSpecification.pdf

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http://developer.yahoo.com/ypatterns/

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http://coding.smashingmagazine.com/2007/01/12/free-css-layouts-and-templates/

Walkthrough Showmanship

10 Design System

“When someone walks on stage for a performance and has charisma,

everyone is convinced that he has personality.”

− Lukas Foss

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A Audience

Rehearse your pitch

Aim for polish & aesthetic appeal



Portfolio is a narrative of your skills

Pay attention to details Include at least one prototype

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A Audience

Rehearse your pitch



Portfolio is a narrative of your skills


•  Determine which projects showcase

specific UX skills •  Write brief summaries to describe

each project so the artifact communicates without voiceover

•  For online portfolios, make sure your site is easy to navigate (!)

Who are you presenting t? http://www.helloerik.com/ux-portfolio-user-experience-examples

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A Audience

Rehearse your pitch



Rehearse your pitch


•  You can never be too prepared •  Role-play with a friend •  Strike a balance between a

conversation and an interview •  The portfolio review is perfect for

selling your personality and communication skills

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Adopt a collaborative stance during portfolio review. Ask if you can sit next to him/her during the walkthrough to go over the work together

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A Audience

Rehearse your pitch



Aim for polish & aesthetic appeal


•  No careless typos •  Adopt the posture of an expert •  A beautifully-designed portfolio will

never hurt

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http://www.nettamarshall.com/#portfolio

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A Audience

Rehearse your pitch



Include at least one prototype


•  Can’t replicate interactions on paper •  Brings your work to life •  If you have a client presentation

video, credit the team for the effort and use it to demonstrate your contribution

Go get that dream job :-)

LYNN TEO Chief Experience Officer

McCann New York [email protected]

@Lynn_Teo