LTUX London’s 5th birthday celebration
The London chapter of Ladies that UX held its 5th birthday party this January. The main event was a panel discussion on the state of UX, how it has developed in the last five years, and where it might go in the next five.
The speakers for the evening were:
· Lizzie Kelly-Dyson, UX Designer at BookingGo as well as co-founder of Ladies that UX.
· Sandra Gonzalez, Product Design Director at Beamly, as well as the director and founder of UX for Change.
· Jason Mesut, Design Partner at Group of Humans and Local Leader of IxDA London.
· Julie Kennedy, UX Director at Saint-Gobain.
Couldn’t make it? Here’s a summary of the discussion.
What have you noticed as the biggest change in UX in the last 5 years?
Julie: There’s been a change in UX roles and I’m seeing more emphasis placed on the role of the user researcher. Which is a positive change as teams need to understand their audiences.
Jason: On one hand, there is a lot more UI homogenisation. Then there’s a decrease in demand for IA, despite a growing need. There’s also been a shift in the amount of work going to agencies and consultancies and the growth of in-house teams.
Sandra: UX has a seat at the table, but I’m not sure we’ve got it right. It’s about making sure every product is feasible, desirable and brings value to the business, but there can be misunderstandings around design leadership.
Lizzie: I’ve seen a lot more diversity in the industry. Five years ago, UX events were more male-dominated, but now more voices are heard. We’re also challenging each other more, not just sitting on our laurels and making assumptions.
What are the biggest misconceptions that people have around UX?
Julie: That UX design is just about websites and apps. We need to communicate that it’s about all the experiences and touchpoints.e.g. The person on the phone or online chat in customer services to the push notification received.
Sandra: There are misconceptions at all level. Out of all FTSE 100 companies, Only a few CEOs have some kind of digital background, which has a huge impact on how decisions are made for funding and strategy. At the same time, companies think they want good UX but don’t know what it is or what to do with it.
Lizzie: Now that focus has shifted towards the user rather than the business, people inside companies can struggle to see what value UX brings. They’re not seeing the long term effects, as they’re used to seeing numbers change, for example conversion rates. UX change takes years to take effect and it’s more of a long term gain.
Jason: Some people say if you don’t do research you’re not doing UX, but I don’t think that’s helpful. To say everyone has to do research to have a good UX is inaccurate.
To follow up on Jason’s point — are there any instances where people have done a good job without doing research?
Jason: One project I worked on for a mobility service involved an extensive and expensive research study about getting around London and using comparative services. In parallel we used some of those services ourselves and and picked up around 80% of the issues that the study did. The extra 20% from research was really valuable and helped build confidence, but I wouldn’t say it was critical. My issue is the elitism around things that aren’t set up as a formal research study.
Lizzie: Having a researcher is a luxury. Getting your head into a problem is enough sometimes for UX designers.
What are some of the ways people in UX and service design have made a difference in the world?
Lizzie: The .gov site — it’s so simple and clean. You can apply for a passport in 20 minutes, and people can easily apply to stay in the UK, which is great with Brexit coming.
Julie: Enriching people’s lives, especially with healthcare that is supportive to people’s lives. A young relative of mine has Type 1 diabetes, and we’re seeing things grow and improve all the time in this area.
Jason: I would say GDS and .gov as well. An issue I have is that there can be a narrow view on social good, that it’s the typically do-goody stuff, saving the world and so on. But every day we do things that help people’s lives and there are unsung heroes who don’t put themselves on a parapet. That could be investment banking or healthcare service design. But one is not necessarily better than the other.
Julie: The finance sector has had to adapt through FCA legislation to design for their vulnerable customers by helping them reduce the charges that people have to pay. They’re improving lives by making sure people aren’t paying off loans for 15 years. That comes from legislation as well as from within the industry.
Sandra: Our community is doing great things, for example with UX for Change where people are sharing their discipline and volunteering for causes. I’ve seen amazing people who are willing to work extra hours for a side project.
How important are UX groups and how important are they in shaping the community?
Jason: They can be really valuable for people who don’t have people at work to go to with questions. It helps us feel we’re not alone no matter where we are or what team we’re in. If you’re wondering how to get into UX, go to events.
Julie: They’re great for networking, whether you’re looking for a role or looking to hire people. It grows confidence and pushes you to do stuff.
Sandra: I can’t thank the London UX community enough as it’s accelerated my career. I would like to encourage everyone to try something new, we are a thriving community that is eager to learn and to listen. I also think we can experiment with many concepts, and I would like to encourage everyone to think of our community as a sandbox, where we learn about our capabilities in order to think about how to shape our own future.
Lizzie: UX designers are empathetic so getting everyone in a room and understanding what people are going through is great. As UX gets more popular and more people want to get into it, those who have done it can share their stories, become mentors and give advice on portfolios.
What will happen in UX in the next 5 years?
Sandra: I am really keen for us to understand the role that ethics plays in our day to day work. I would love to see new artefacts added to our design process, in the same way we use personas or user journeys as part of our day-to-day toolkit. It would be great to integrate a Social Impact Framework to the process so ignite conversations around how our designs impact the world beyond just the ecosystems we are designing for.
Julie: I think we’ll see voice recognition becoming commonplace. Older people are more reluctant to engage, but the younger generation are more open to it.
Sandra: Taking Julie’s example, when it comes to voice recognition, my 8-year old talks to Alexa more than me during dinner. In the future, I hope that the teams creating this experience consider what it is the impact of having a Conversational UI experience in a family setting such as dinner. I would be delighted if Alexa responded to this attempt to start conversation with “Is Mummy OK with you talking to me right now or does she want to talk to you first before you talk to me?”
Julie: Alexa should ask us to say please or thank you — it’s just good manners.
Jason: I think we’ll see a democratisation of our toolsets and the spread and scale of our techniques. I also hope for a day not to rely on a GUI, not just using voice but other types of sound and other senses.
Lizzie: I think there’s be less effort put into doing things. Will services just know what we want to achieve without us entering things into the system? If people start investing in that, our lives will be more efficient with less time spent on menial tasks.
Jason: We could also be having a more nuanced conversation about diversity than just gender and race. We should celebrate all types of diversity and recognise the value it brings to design.
Like dogs and cats UX? Maybe our next event will be on Pets that UX…
About the Author
Lesley Fosh is a Senior UX Consultant at System Concepts.
