Boiling the ocean of expected UX / Design capabilities

Yesterday I published a tweet and video of a list I had started on twitter.

The list was building on an old matrix I had developed for UX and Design skills. Several people had asked me about this matrix since I mentioned it in this older post. However, it is rather outdated and as part of my ongoing efforts, I wanted to give it a refresh.

A little snippet

I started with a list from top of my head, written on mobile evernote on commutes. I then integrated with the previous items I had captured and added some more. I then tweeted for more input and added some of those.

Several people suggested they wanted to help me, and that I should share this list on a google sheet or similar. I felt uncomfortable about that. It’s still very raw. It’s incomplete. It needs more explanation.

Despite all of this, I’m up for a challenge and being challenged. So I’m sharing the link here for people to contribute, once they have read through this post.

What this is

1. An early list
2. Early categories for some of the items
3. About relevant skills, techniques, tools, characteristics of modern day designers (UX, Product design, Service design etc.)
4. A tab of the old skills matrix I created at RMA Consulting

What this is not

1. A refined list (yet)
2. A categorised list (yet)
3. A framework to be used in practice (yet)
4. An opportunity for debate (yet)

Purpose

I want to…

1. Create as exhaustive a list as possible — by end of May 2018
2. Illustrate complexity of designer expectations in 2018 — by end of May 2018
3. Create meaningful structuring around these areas — by end of August 2018
4. Develop tools to help individuals and teams map themselves and model where they want to develop — by end of 2018
5. Support the work I have started (as illustrated here) — ongoing

Help I am seeking

I would appreciate help…

1. Gathering more items — I want to be as exhaustive as possible at every level of abstraction
2. Finding synonyms / reframinhgs for existing items
3. Structuring the items (later)
4. Feeding back on the relevance (later)

Rules of engagement

I am placing trust in you, the community. I would appreciate it if you follow these rules of engagement to help make it palatable and ideally, easier, for me

1. Don’t delete anything — add comment into relevant cell
2. Don’t relabel things — add alternative labels
3. Don’t challenge the process, but do offer any advice if you have it
4. Don’t touch the old tabs — they’re for reference only. Comment but don’t amend
5. Don’t steal all the work and claim it as your own — this will all end up in the community in a better state. I don’t intend to claim it as my own, but I do intend to be recognised for my efforts
6. Add your name and twitter handle or Linkedin page as a contributor and describe what you contributed

So, if after all that you are up for helping, you can find a link to the Google sheet here.

I look forward to seeing what happens.