becoming a ux practitioner
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
Becoming a UX PractitionerRachel HollowgrassUX Architect at UC BerkeleyInfoCamp Berkeley • March 6, 2011
1
å
Who’s in the room?
Please tell us your name and your professional title or category.
At any point please add your story on iEtherPad about how you became, or how you want to become a UX practitioner:http://bit.ly/becoming-a-ux-practitioner
2
What is UX and what is not?
User Experience
Business Analysis
Infor
matio
n Arc
hitec
ture
Visual Design
Who does UX?BusinessProcessAnalysis
BusinessData
AnalysisUser
Interface
Interaction
Design
Content Development
Designers
Analysts
Architects
Developers
Practitioners
Researchers
Strategic
Com
munications
use Cases
Stakeholders
3
Designers
Analysts
Architects
Developers
Practitioners
Researchers
Stakeholders
What is UX and what is not?
User Experience
Business Analysis
Infor
matio
n Arc
hitec
ture
Visual Design
Who does UX?BusinessProcessAnalysis
BusinessData
AnalysisUser
Interface
Interaction
Design
Content Development
Strategic
Com
munications
use CasesI can’t define UX, but I know it when
I see it...
Who does UX?
4
å
A working definition of the UX process
To develop a useful and usable product, a UX practitioner:
Performs user and related research
Analyzes that research
Articulates the analysis as deliverables from which developers can develop the product
5
å
A working definition of the UX process
To develop a useful and usable product, a UX practitioner:
Performs user and related research Empathy
Analyzes that research Synthesis
Articulates the analysis as deliverables from which developers can develop the product
Articulation
Image source: Wikipedia
6
å
What’s in a name?
Design vs. engineer
Both choose from a set of options to achieve a desired result within constraints.
Neither fully describes UX.
Working hybrid term: Practitioner
7
å
Without shared language we’d need telepathy.
We need a shared definition of UX to be able to:
Give clearer direction to prospective UX people
Give titles to degree programs
Define team composition
Write job descriptions
Post job openings
8
å
Some UX-related competencies
Product DefinitionRequirements DocumentationComparative AnalysisUser modelingUse casesUser ResearchSME & Stakeholder ResearchProcess analysis: user-focusedProcess analysis: large-scaleBusiness case definitionInformation designContent writing
Copywriting, editingUI & Interaction DesignVisual designUsability analysis & testingAcceptance testingData AnalysisData modeling and schemasInformation architectureClient-side codingStrategy & ideationMarketing
9
å
Let’s try a matrix with these UX-related competencies.
UX UI Design BA Bus. Process Bus. Data Writer MarCom
Product Definition
Requirements Documentation
Comparative Analysis
User modeling
Use cases
User Research
SME & Stakeholder Research
Process analysis: user-focused
Process analysis: large-scale
Business case definition
Information design
Content writing
Copywriting, editing
UI & Interaction Design
Visual design
Usability analysis & testing
Acceptance testing
Data Analysis
Data modeling and schemas
Information architecture
Client-side coding
Strategy & ideation
Marketing
✔ ✔
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✔ ✔
✔
✔ ✔ ✔
✔
✔ ✔ ✔
✔
✔ ✔
✔
✔ ✔ ✔
✔
✔ ✔
✔ ✔
✔ ✔
✔
✔ ✔
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✔
✔ ✔
✔
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✔
Co
re U
XFu
ncti
ona
lTe
chni
cal
Stra
tegy
Source: Allison Bloodworth and Rachel Hollowgrass
10
å
Are there other relevant competencies?
Do you have any to add to the list?
???
11
å
How can I achieve these competencies?
Jakob Nielsen has been attributed* to say that a person becomes a usability expert after about ten years of watching usability tests and designing for a variety of environments.
Here are some other options:
Formal Education: Degree programs
Exposure via workshops or internships with world-class UX practitioners
Experience: Years of progressively relevant experience
A combination of education, exposure and experience
* Roger Belveal on http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestionAndAnswers=&discussionID=20573490&gid=72842&trk=EML_anet_ac_pst_ttle
12
å
Other approaches
Getting Started in UX Design
1. Cultivate a UX world view
2. Learn what UX designers do and how we do it
3. Explore what others have said about how to get started
4. Get on Twitter
5. Attend Conferences
6. Go local
7. Get a mentor
—Fred Beecher at Evantage Consulting
11 UX BlogsUX Magazine
Signal vs. Noise (37 signals)UX Booth
Adaptive PathUsabilityPost
InspireUX456 Berea Street
Functioning FormA List Apart
Boxes and ArrowsEverydayUX
And www.useit.com (Jakob Nielsen )
Source: http://userexperience.evantageconsulting.com/2009/11/ getting-started-user-experience-design/
Source: http://webdesignledger.com/resources/ 11-blogs-to-help-you-become-a-user-experience-expert
13
å
Tell your story
Add your story on iEtherPad about how you became, or how you want to become a UX practitioner:
http://bit.ly/becoming-a-ux-practitioner
Thank you!
14