Community: Thought Leaders

In this edition of Ask UXmatters, our expert panel considers whether UX designers should use the same methods a UX team would use when they’re the lone UX designer on a project. The panel also explores whether a designer can save time and money working alone.

In discussing this topic, panelists also examine the benefits of using the same techniques regardless of whether a UX designer is part of a team. The panel also considers how UX methods fit into company environments that applaud agile, Lean, or creative approaches. Our expert panel reminds UX designers always to keep the user at the center of the design process—despite the temptation of lone designers’ feeling they’re finally getting to design their own way without much interference. Plus, the panelists discuss how to obtain feedback from other designers outside their team or even their entire organization. Finally, the panel addresses the importance of understanding why you’re the only UX designer on a project. Read More

In this edition of Ask UXmatters, our expert panel talks about how to discover and apply UX best practices. They’ve shared some of their favorite Web resources and articles for design inspiration, but also encourage you to implement, then evaluate new designs before applying them broadly.

Our experts also remind everyone that simply having some knowledge about UX design is not enough to make you a good UX designer. As we discussed in the Ask UXmatters column “Inspiration for UX Design from the Arts and Sciences,” inspirations for user experiences come from many different domains, and creating extraordinary designs also requires a solid understanding of business. Plus, our experts challenge you to consider whether a search for best practices is even something UX designers should pursue. Could it result in a futile journey, searching for a nonexistent holy grail?

Each month in Ask UXmatters, our experts answer our readers’ questions about user experience matters. To read their answers to your question in an upcoming edition of Ask UXmatters, just send your question to: [email protected]. Read More

In this edition of Ask UXmatters, our panel of UX experts discusses several ways of involving stakeholders at different stages of a project.

What are the best ways to involve stakeholders in the research and design for a project—especially when you have a large number of them? Do you bring all of them into an initial design meeting? Or wait until you have a solid first design? Or should you wait to involve stakeholders until you have a very strong, well-iterated design? How should you best handle the different types of stakeholders—for example, those who will actually use the product versus those who would decide to buy the product? Read More