Column: Enterprise UX

There are countless articles on the Web whose purpose is to help UX designers write stellar resumes or craft compelling portfolios. But through my decades-long career as a UX professional and leader, I’ve discovered other ways of helping candidates stand out. Although some of them get less fanfare, they are no less important. The observations that I’ll share in this column come from experience—not only from my own failures, successes, and learnings as a job applicant, but also as a manager who has reviewed hundreds of resumes and portfolios and interviewed dozens of candidates for UX design jobs.

Therefore, in this column, I’ll go beyond the usual advice about creating your resume and portfolio. Instead, I’ll touch upon some other ways in which UX design candidates can stand out from other job applicants. Think of the following tips as additional arrows in your quiver that, if you use them right, can better arm you for success. These tips include the following:

• Being selective
• Embracing the cover letter
• Showcasing your initiative Read More

Many of our colleagues still do not understand the function of UX design. This problem is systemic in many companies, cascading from a C-level where there is a gaping User Experience void—and no leader to fill it adequately—and fueling misconceptions at every level of the organization.

As a UXmatters reader, you probably don’t need me to educate you on the differences between User Experience and user-interface (UI) design. But many of the people with whom you work probably do need to better understand the differences—so they can more effectively engage your efforts and you can engage with theirs. Do you have time to sit each of them down and explain to them the fundamental differences between User Experience and UI design? Not likely. So, in this column, I’ll describe some ways in which you can progressively educate your colleagues on the differences between User Experience and UI design, as follows:

• tactfully responding to misinformed comments
• advocating for user-centered requirements
• producing deliverables that reveal the why behind your designs Read More

As the title of my column Enterprise UX suggests, I typically share insights for UX professionals working within large enterprise environments, which provides material for diverse topics. However, with COVID-19 shaking up everyone’s lives in 2020, I thought I’d shake up my final column of the year a bit by injecting some fun into it. (We could all use a little more of that, right?)

This fall, as I sought opportunities to facilitate constructive play with my two sons and reduce their screen time and mine, I discovered inspiration in a box of LEGO® toys—specifically, the building instructions that came with it. As I read through the booklet, I found myself comparing its simple, effective workflow to the experiences that UX designers endeavor to create. So, in this column, I’ll share some inspirational lessons that I learned and provide some ideas for how you can apply them in your own work. Read More