UX Lone Wolf
For 8 months I worked as UX Designer for a small Tech firm. This was my first UX job after leaving the world of Human Resources. With a non-existing design team learning was in my own hands. Following is a set of learning and reflections over those months as a UX lone wolf.
HOW TO HUNT ALONE: Learning to plan and planning to learn
As a one-man team for the project, it was crucial for me to learn how plan and plan my learning spaces. By the end of second week this need occurred on me, as I kept getting lost as where should go in work flow. Chaos in work flow creeps in on you if you don’t pay attention. Between researching my project, establishing conceptual grammar, drawing paper and Axure prototyping I found myself in a weird feedback loop. In this feedback loop I was constantly re-examining my design decisions and bumbling between different ideas. I had to figure out a way to be clear about my design decisions. Then came in the book that practically saved the project for me. The User expereince Team of One by Leah Buley.
If you are stuck in “UX designer needed with 5 years of experience” loop, while no one would hire you out of college. I’d wager you’ll have to land an opportunity where you have to juggle different roles, with no one with UX design experience in the firm.
Assuming for soft skill already well-developed, I strongly recommend this book to fellow UX designers finding themselves in this position. And I would even say that this books would be instrumental even if you were already accomplished and were just looking to strengthen the culture of UXD thinking in the organization.
HOW TO HOWL LIKE A WOLF: On soft skills
This book is full of useful advice, but it does assume one would be able to remain empathetic while at the same time negotiate tough conversation. To make sure one’s (re)design instructions are adopted. This is based on one being able to communicate effectively and affectively.
PLAN THE HUNT: Getting a Gantt chart
This was for my own sanity more than anything else. When I was back-tracking and double guessing my decisions this reminded me that once one cycle is done and get some data on user, I will have to revisit the designs. This is different from the UX specific project plan which the book talks about.
OTHER PACKS: Webinars
I found webinars, at the time UXPin and InVision were holding design talks and master classes, they were instrumental in letting me know that I was on the right track. UXblog is another place I visited to keep my mind fresh with different perspective.
SPIRIT OF THE WOLF: Passionately dispassionate
It was natural to be attached to my designs, but the researcher in me knew that user data would break some of behavioral assumption I was making. I would eventually come to enjoy how my assumption were getting broken because I knew I was getting closer to improving the designs. I obviously don’t want to make the wrong assumptions for all my career, but seeing the correct design decisions play out smoothly was great motivator. It’s like filling the circle with small victories, where the coherence of your design comes across when enough of circle is full to do achieve 90% of the user’s task.
WOLF FANGS: HTML CSS and JavaScript
I had to convert my sketch designs to code. So an addendum had to be added in my learning process. This was truely useful and humbling when I realized what it took to convert the designs to code.
STOPPING THE HUNT: Getting Breathing Room
There are difficult times, complicated too, and often confusing due to lack of direction without a over arching UX strategy. I found myself, being hard on myself, in those moments I had to remind myself to take a few minutes for mindful meditation.
WOLF AT THE LAKE: Looking at other packs
While I was a Lone Wolf, I learnt alot. But I think I will learn much more, with others on a team, where I can bounce ideas, processes and ‘AHA!’ moments, back and forth. Would save time and sanity.
