What You Really Need to Know to be a UX Professional

A list of skills that will make you a UX superhero. (Coding isn’t one of them.)

There are plenty of resources on UX methods, processes and what deliverables you can create. What I don’t see a lot of is what happens when you land that job and life gets real..fast. Here are some pointers and resources to help you keep that shiny new UX Designer title you just put on your LinkedIn and Twitter pages.

Know how to hit the ground running.

Gone are the days of getting a whole two weeks to receive proper training and “find your way around.” Business move at lightening speed and when you come aboard it may feel like you are jumping on to a moving train. Becoming frustrated with not receiving training or time will not help the situation. Instead, speak up, ask questions, be transparent. LISTEN. While no one might be taking you by the hand, they are not expecting you to automatically know what you are doing. They also are people, just like you, with a lot on their plates so don’t be afraid to ask them for help. Luckily, there are also very clever people creating software to help you get organized, remember things you need to remember, and get some guidance along the way. Here are some of my favs:

Trello — I use this for so000 many things, including managing my days. Here is my personal Trello board that I use every day. Copy it, modify it, use it as you like.

Slack — One of the thing I love about UX profession is it is filled with people who aren’t just willing but genuinely enjoy giving advice, experience and help to those in need. Belonging to several Slack channels has led me to job interviews, mentors, and friends.

Become backwards compatible.

While knowing the latest and greatest plugins for Sketch is rewarding, it may not be what gets you ahead. Ironically, it may be the software most used in the past that does. Large corporations spent a lot of money on licensing software for their employees and they are not about to abandon their investment for today’s latest and greatest. And even if they are, their clients sometimes aren’t, so you still need to know how to wireframe in Photoshop, make presentations in PowerPoint and at least be able to read Excel spreadsheets. And while these are not the coolest or most fun things to learn, they are valuable to know. They will make you more valuable and that means more money and money is both cool and fun.

It’s not all touchy-feely.

You can’t get the whole UX picture if you are only asking Why in your UX research. It takes the What to get the whole picture. When you get your first UX job (or 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc..), make sure you are coming to the table with the full skillset of both Quantitative data and Qualitative data. You do not ever want that day where you are in a business meeting and are asked to write up a report of UX recommendations based on the analytics and you can only respond with the deer in headlights look. Here are some links to get you started:

Complete Beginner’s Guide to Analytics

Behavioral UX Data Analysis for Website Optimization

Top User Experience (UX) Measurements, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) & Usability Metrics

6 Steps for Measuring Success on UX Projects

How to Choose the Right UX Metrics for Your Product

Mind Their Business

Sure, you know how to create data-informed design solutions and use them to measure well-thought out and insightful KPIs. But do you know what OOO, EOD, OTP and POC means? Do you know what the Capacity Planning Director does? How about the Managing Director? How about the Group Account Director and how that role is different from the Senior Account Supervisor? Every company has its own language, business structure and hierarchy. Study it because knowing it will get you to the people you need to know which will lead to the things you need.

Mind Your Business

Many times UXers are placed into an environment where UX is misunderstood, not known about at all, or known about but not embraced. It may not have been part of your job description but you may suddenly find yourself navigating through hostile waters as you come face to face with corporate politics. This is where being a User Experience Professional comes in handy. Here are some suggestions:

1. Begin by immersing yourself in your company’s environment. Take the initiative to meet people and learn about them. You will soon discover people who will become your allies.
2. Remember empathy! The process your company is using may be archaic or there may be no process at all. You may be in a business meeting, mention the word “sprint”, get strange looks and then be ignored. Remember that most people are not good at change. Realize that how they are doing things now is their job that supports their families. Suggesting something new causes fear that they won’t be able to do their job and thus support their families. Don’t speak badly of the current process, instead suggest improving the process by using words that are less scary than the word “change” such as “shift” or “combine”.
3. Present and persuade to get what you need. You may need new software or supplies to do UX properly. Straight out asking for it gives the opportunity to say no. “No, it’s not in the budget.” “No, we have always used this and it works fine.” “No, but let’s revisit this in six months.” Companies like to make money and don’t want to spend it unless it’s absolutely necessary so make sure they understand that what you need is necessary to do your job by making a proper business case for it. Lay it out in a document or even a slide deck what it is you want, why the company would benefit from it, what the company lacks without it and how much it costs along with its ROI. (If you don’t know what ROI is, then re-read above section Mind Their Business.)

Strive to be a UX Leader

A UX professional is a constant student and teacher. You can only benefit from being a master in the three areas of our craft: Strategy, Research and Design. You become different people at different times, depending on what is needed: Facilitator, Mentor, Manager, Delegator, Host. You touch all parts of the business, communicate with all types of people and knowingly walk into all different types of situations and environments. Keep your emotional IQ high. You will discover that it’s like UX for your own well being and personal growth. Keep expanding your vocabulary, and continue to educate yourself on psychology and behavioral science theories.

Finally, only you know what you need to know as a UX professional in your job. Each of us are a little different in what we do and how we do it but we all are making the digital world a better place.