Let’s be real. Trying to live our lives as if things are “business as usual” isn’t realistic amidst a global pandemic and battle against racism. In speaking with those around us — from colleagues through family members — it becomes apparent that feelings of uncertainty, stress, and monotony often characterize our days. As Harrison Wheeler, UX Designer Manager at LinkedIn, described in his article The design community must not stay silent:

“We are tired. After every news cycle, we continue to show up on Zoom meetings, acting like it’s just another normal day. It isn’t.”

Empathy is core to our work as UX practitioners. Yet, how often do we apply empathy towards ourselves and those we care about? Vivianne Castillo has led the discussion on the emotional toll of UX work and ethical imperative for UX professionals to practice self-care. Today, empathy and self-care feel more important than ever. To better understand how we can support both ourselves and our teams at work, I connected with two former therapists turned UX professionals: A’verria Martin, Ph.D., Senior Manager, Research Operations at ServiceNow, and Michael Vargas, Founder of Lead by Impact.

Defining self-care and elevating its importance

“The more we take care of ourselves, the more we can be of service to others.” Michael Vargas, former substance abuse therapist and mental health counselor

The term self-care is frequently brought up in articles and conversations, but what does it mean and why is it so important? There’s a multitude of definitions, but in essence, self-care refers to nurturing your mind, body, and soul. And while this practice might sound self-centered, engaging in self-care is crucial in enabling us to take care of those around us. Think about the safety instructions we receive every time we fly: if the plane encounters turbulence and the oxygen masks come down, place a mask on yourself before helping others. Attempting to help others before ensuring your safety would likely result in you passing out — helping no one.

Taking time to figure out what you need

You might now be thinking: “how exactly do I go about practicing self-care?” The truth is that self-care looks different for each of us. It involves taking time to identify your needs, then finding activities to make you feel better. Here are some ideas for restorative activities to get you started. Experiment and determine what you enjoy versus what doesn’t work well.

• Physical: yoga, swimming, walking, tennis, eating nutritious foods, getting adequate sleep, going outside and spending time in nature
• Mental and emotional: meditating, journaling, reading, drawing, listening to or performing music, and connecting with a loved one
• More resources from Vivianne Castillo: self-assessments, stress worksheets, and a list of further reading.

Maintaining mental health in your UX team

A calendar full of meetings in conjunction with ever-present deadlines can make balancing your professional commitments with supporting your colleagues challenging. However, there are behaviors we can manage to create a positive impact.

Communicating with authenticity and transparency

Brian Kim, Design Program Manager at Intuit, emphasized the importance of transparent and authentic communication with teammates to maintain engagement. This culture of communication not only improves outcomes in terms of productivity but bolsters a key trait: trust. A sense of freedom emerges when colleagues realize their working environment is a safe space where they can be genuine with each other. For more literature on developing these qualities, look into author Brene Brown’s fantastic books on vulnerability in our personal lives and at work.

Listen to genuinely understand others’ experiences

“We might all be in the same storm…but we are likely experiencing it from different boats.” A’verria Martin, former hospice, marriage, and family therapist

As we know from the importance of design thinking, humans can believe they understand their audience and jump to conclusions based on assumptions without taking the time to conduct research. The same can hold true in our relationships with others. Since we all lead different lives, the above quote is a reminder that even in the face of seemingly similar circumstances, we often live through dramatically different experiences.

To support those around you, ask about their experiences, and genuinely listen. Just as we recommend in User Research, be present and take in what they are sharing rather than attempting to interject your thoughts. The practice of mindfulness can help us develop the practices of deep listening, presence to the moment, and coming from a place of non-judgment.

Drawing boundaries and saying no

One key to freeing up more time for what matters is the ability to say “no.” Especially in the case of meetings, keep in mind that the “decline” option exists for a reason. The Harvard Business Review has written an article detailing a framework for evaluating which meetings to attend and how to politely decline invites you choose not to accept. They recommend asking yourself the following questions before accepting a meeting:

• Is this meeting important, timely, and worthwhile?
• Is there a clear agenda?
• Are the right people (including you) invited to attend?

If the answer to the above questions is no, you can gracefully decline with these alternatives, which highlight being deliberate about the use of meeting time, share your rationale for not participating, and attempt to meet the organizer’s needs.

• Recommending an alternative individual to attend
• Find ways to contribute in advance, such as sharing written thoughts
• Attend for only part of the meeting

Jeremy Geltman, Principal Product Designer at Intuit who has extensive experience working remotely before the pandemic, also recommends physical boundaries to separate our work and personal lives (if possible). This entails having a dedicated space for work, recreation, and sleeping.

Embracing a new paradigm

Our daily lives have changed. This new way of living characterized by spending the majority of our days on computer screens can leave us feeling exhausted and uncertain. However, perhaps a paradigm to alleviate these undesirable feelings lies in ceasing to yearn for replicating the lives we once led and accepting a new way of living. Just remember, it’s okay to decline a calendar invite or say no to a tiring Zoom happy hour to free up more time for what truly matters: the wellbeing of yourself and those around you.

Revisiting mental health and self-care in UX was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

As the vital role of user research becomes more apparent in companies of all sizes, the demand for user researchers has increased. With many early-career professionals and transitioners looking for their first opportunity, alongside existing professionals impacted by COVID-19 related layoffs seeking work, it appears that the supply of user researchers looking for work has increased too. A common question has become what are hiring committees looking for and what skills should I work on developing? Let’s explore the answers to those questions and more below.

Note: Thank you to Tejas Peesapati, Susan Petrick, and the 100+ mentors at UX Coffee Hours for providing aspiring UX professionals with career advice. This article was inspired by an interview between Tejas and Susan, who are both UX Research Managers at Google.

When interviewing candidates for UX Researcher roles, what skills are important from an interviewer’s perspective?

1. Strong research core knowledge

This begins with fluency in experiment design, which involves clearly defining the objectives of a research study, then reaching into your UX Research methods toolkit to identify which method(s) would be most appropriate to accomplish the goals of the study. This core knowledge also encompasses the capacity to synthesize qualitative and quantitative data gathered from research into actionable insights. During the interview process, UX Research hiring committees seek to verify that new hires are both knowledgeable and able to execute specific tactical and high-level strategic research using generative and evaluative techniques. Candidates can also receive bonus points for knowing about methods outside of industry-standards such as conjoint or MaxDiff.

2. Ability to work well with a cross-functional team

Whether the open role is a company’s first UX researcher hire or an addition to a large established team, “design is a team sport where we win when we work together.” Hiring committees champion UX researchers who are team players that communicate well and relentlessly pursue making an impact as a member of a team. They’re looking for individuals who represent the research discipline well, from tactfully handling stakeholder interviews through compellingly communicating research findings and recommendations.

3. Empathy and passion for improving user experiences

Lastly, hiring committees love connecting with individuals who are deeply empathetic and can genuinely understand experiences through their customer’s perspectives rather than their own. Empathy serves as the bedrock to designing great experiences since it reduces bias, uncovers core user needs, and helps generate innovative solutions. We can strengthen our levels of empathy through activities like deep listening, observation, and mindfulness. Combining empathy with a sincere passion for improving user experiences can serve as the fuel for a successful, fulfilling career in UX research.

How can students demonstrate research impact?

“No one expects that people who are right out of school will have had opportunities to show large impact on actual products.” — Susan Petrick

As Google UX Research Manager Susan describes above, hiring committees understand that new grads may lack experience working on large scale products. Instead, they will be evaluating an individual’s potential to become a strong researcher. They will critique case studies of group projects to gain a sense of how well the candidate will perform in an industrial setting as part of a team. While crafting your next case study, in addition to highlighting your research process in a narrative structure, remember to address the following questions that showcase a reflective demeanor:

• What went well?
• What were some opportunities for improvement?
• What did you learn and will do differently next time?

Then as you’re interviewing, prepare to answer industry-relevant questions such as:

• What would you do if faced with [EXAMPLE] as a research question?
• What methods would you use and why?
• What would your research plan be like?

What distinguishes a great researcher from a good one?

• Balancing rigor with scrappiness: making a positive impact on your team even in the face of time and/or resource constraints
• Possessing genuine curiosity about the world and people as a whole that drives you to truly want to know the answers that will come from your research.
• Developing patience and enjoyment in learning complex subject matters
• Building outstanding listening skills
• Self-awareness: knowing your strengths and weaknesses, then enthusiastically filling any gaps through self-development
• Compelling communication: create high impact on product teams and products through persuasive, confident communication

Piecing it all together

While there might not be a magic formula to getting hired as a UX researcher, bolstering your core research knowledge and skills, elevating your ability to collaborate cross-functionally and communicate persuasively, and growing your sense of empathy and passion for user experience will dramatically increase your likelihood of success. Best of luck! 👏

References and further reading

Career tips

• Breaking into UX Research
• Optimizing a UX Researcher resume
• UX Research portfolio tips

Increasing impact as a UX Researcher

• Using storytelling to make reporting findings more compelling
• Conduct stakeholder interviews to increase buy-in for UX Research studies
• Signs your user research has made an impact

Improving UX research hard and soft skills

• Comparing the meaning of strategic versus tactical in UX
• Analyzing qualitative research data using thematic analysis

What UX Research hiring committees look for in candidates was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

With the majority of UX professionals currently working remotely as a result of COVID-19, and large companies like Twitter, Square, and Shopify announcing the option for employees to work from home permanently, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that the term “new normal” might be more appropriate than ever in regards to describing remote work environments. To better understand how to thrive in these conditions, I recently connected with professionals in the UX Design, Design Program Management, and Human Resources disciplines for their insights.

Setting up new hires for success during onboarding

The first few days at a new job can be critical. The process of onboarding is a comprehensive approach to bringing on new hires and familiarizing them with company goals while providing them with the support they need to achieve success. It encompasses significant items like configuring their security badge and IT needs, through sharing small but important information such as the online storage folder hierarchy. To learn more about the successful translation of this previously in-person process to a remote format, I connected with Kristina Knaus, Human Resources Director at Blink UX, a research and design firm with offices throughout the United States.

Applying empathy and human-centric design to onboarding

Kristina opened by saying that as a UX company, Blink has always applied the lens of human-centric design and empathy to all aspects of their work. In the case of onboarding, the team places themselves in new hires’ shoes and asks “what would I like to have when starting, and what would make me successful?” The truth is, while we can leverage general templated processes to some aspects of onboarding, one size does not fit all. When possible, tailor onboarding programs to a new employee’s role and experience level to provide them with what they need to thrive.

From conference rooms to Zoom; being thoughtful in new mediums

Before COVID, a new Blink employee’s first day would involve a tour of the studio office space and an opportunity to connect with their co-workers over a team lunch. It was a very human, face-to-face experience that embodied warmth. What happens now? Activities normally conducted in conference rooms, such as a presentation of the company’s history and its leadership naturally transition to a digital zoom meeting format. However, translating other interactions required some creativity…

Building trust and fostering serendipitous interactions

Without team lunches, hallway conversations, or time to chat before meetings begin, getting to know your team and building trust with them can prove challenging. Enter the Blink Buddy Network, a program that supports new hires by matching them with four buddies from around the company: one within the same discipline, one who is also a new hire, and two more individuals from other departments. These buddies help with a variety of needs from answering questions on company norms through serving as a friendly face when meeting for coffee via Zoom. Since employees are now on calls all day long, it’s encouraged to spend time in meetings checking in with each other. Both of these initiatives have a positive impact, low barrier to entry, and are worthy of consideration for implementation at your organization.

Using events sparingly

Speaking of Zoom, while it’s an incredible tool that has enabled us to connect and collaborate, the video program’s energy-draining effects are well documented. Since many of us are social distancing, it is tempting to schedule a flurry of team events like bingo, game nights, and meals via Zoom to bolster team bonding. In reality, even social events can feel exhausting. Thus, schedule events sparingly and/or make attendance optional.

Planning shadowing opportunities in advance

Lastly, a key component of onboarding is shadowing seasoned employees to learn about the company’s best practices and gain knowledge from peers. With UX Research, shadowing was formerly as simple as hopping into an observation room when a live session occurred. Today, this is still possible but requires planning from managers and HR to make arrangements to set up a link granting access to observe a remote session. Consider structuring and scheduling shadowing activities to a greater degree than in the past.

Collaboration and productivity as a UX designer

UX Designers are traditionally known as some of the most collaborative and impactful individuals within organizations. Yet with collaboration and productivity feeling challenging enough when working in an office — how do you tackle them from your home while working remotely?

Be proactive with communication

John Alexander, Senior UX Designer at ServiceNow had worked remotely for the last year with his previous employer but began his current role right as the pandemic hit. His number one tip was don’t be afraid to “reach-out, reach-out, reach-out” and take on the role of a hyper-agile, proactive communicator. Especially if you’re new to an organization or team, schedule calls with your teammates, or initiate group dialogue via email and Slack. These frequent communications will result in feedback, supporting those who might’ve had the same questions as you, and ultimately, improved outcomes.

Find your productivity sweet spot

Jayasri Nagrale, Staff UX Designer at ServiceNow has also worked remotely before the pandemic and described the concept of how each individual has unique peak hours where they’re at their best and create their best work. These peaks stand in contrast to our ebbs where we work for hours without accomplishing anything productive. To foster more peaks, Jayasri recommends maintaining a time-log and identifying patterns of when we do our best work, then blocking out this time on your calendar and leveraging a Pomodoro timer to make the best out of this timeframe.

Identify the right tools

In terms of work, Jeremy Geltman, Principal Product Designer at Intuit accentuated the importance of curating the best tools for yourself and for your team. In his case, Figma has emerged as a boon to both productivity and quality due to its real-time collaboration, built-in component library feature, and web-based platform. What tool or combination of tools might elevate your team’s work?

Efficiency and empathy in Design Operations

The field of Design Operations aka DesignOps has flourished as UX continues to gain prominence within organizations. This function focuses on planning, processes, and tooling to make designers’ lives easier so they can focus on their craft rather than operations. I connected with Austin Pettus, Senior Design Program Manager at Intuit for core offerings like TurboTax and Mint to understand COVID’s impact on his team’s work.

Be mindful of meeting rhythm and cadence

With so many meetings on our calendars, one important discussion to have with your team is which meetings are essential and which should be optional or retired. Building on this concept, Casey Bombacie, Sr. Designer at ServiceNow, warned of the pitfalls of long meetings exceeding 60 minutes containing too many attendees. Making an impact is hard when meetings are fatiguing and aim to pack too much content into one session; instead, one can consider scheduling multiple smaller, more focused meetings.

Awareness: embodying best intent and prioritizing pressing work

Austin also discussed Intuit’s culture of assuming best intent: this value encourages teammates to feel cognizant of each individual’s unique situation and encourages checking-in with each other to make sure everyone’s getting what they need. This applies to collaborative work, but also to days off for any mental health needs while balancing work and home as they’re now co-located. In terms of prioritization, Austin reinforces the importance of making sure you are working on your organization’s most important work while also balancing the needs of long-term initiatives.

Our values and goals have not changed…but the path to accomplishing them has

Upon reflecting on remote working through the lenses of UX design, design operations, and HR, the goals and values haven’t changed drastically: we’re still seeking to deliver amazing experiences for our customers in an efficient manner while maintaining strong team cultures. What has changed is the tools and medium for accomplishing these goals — now more than ever we need communication, empathy, and trust.

Note: Thank you to everyone who participated in interviews to inspire the content for this article. Much appreciation to Tara Jensen, Sypraseuth Vandy, Brent Summers, and Sara Keats for facilitating the introductions to these individuals.

Thriving in the new norm of distributed, remote collaboration was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Six NBA championships, six Finals MVP trophies, five MVP awards, fourteen All-Star Game selections, ten-time scoring champion, nine-time Defensive First Team, two Olympic gold medals, two inductions into the Basketball Hall of Fame…The list of Michael Jordan’s accolades feels endless. Many consider him to be the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) in all of modern athletics. Thus it’s no surprise that the sports world erupted in joy upon the announcement of The Last Dance: a 10-part documentary series that delves deep into the dynasty Jordan built leading the Chicago Bulls. It became an immediate hit, overtaking Tiger King as the most-watched documentary in the world after the release of just four episodes.

The Last Dance might feature Michael Jordan and basketball, but from the vignettes shared throughout the series, we experience tales of teamwork, innovation, empathy, and a relentless hunger for greatness. Many of these principles apply to UX too; let’s explore how they can supercharge our results.

Design is still a team sport (even with a superstar)

Despite the Chicago Bulls having arguably the greatest basketball player of all time in Michael Jordan, the series frequently highlights the prowess of teammates Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, as well as the impact of coach Phil Jackson as key factors to the team’s success. When the team relied too heavily on their superstar, they lost. This was most evident when the Chicago Bulls played the Detroit Pistons in the 1988, 1989, and 1990 playoffs and lost every year. Why? A defensive strategy the Pistons coined the “Jordan Rules” focused at shutting down the star.

As the State of UX in 2020 report proclaimed, “the old stereotype of the ‘rockstar designer’ is (thankfully going away).” Replacing this paradigm is the framework that “design is a team sport [where] we win when we work together.” The story of the Chicago Bulls’ dynasty reinforces this notion; just as relying too heavily on one player can lead to losses, over-reliance on a specific design team member can lead to failure when they become sick, are transferred to a different team, or leave the company. Instead, let’s draw inspiration from when the Chicago Bulls played without Michael Jordan but still experienced success because they were “beating teams by committee, learning to play together, share the ball, and win together.”

Fuel a relentlessness competitive fire in yourself and for your team

“To be able to play against the best competition, that was the best driving force for me without a doubt.” Michael Jordan

Jordan’s “win at any cost” mentality is a frequent subject of discussion among his former teammates and coaches. He stated that “[I] never asked [them] to do anything [I] wouldn’t do…If you can’t handle pressure from me, you won’t be able to handle the pressure of the NBA Playoffs…I wanted to win but I wanted [my team] to win…as well.” As reflected in their accolades, this paradigm had a positive impact on the team’s performance. Former teammate Bill Wennington said that “[Michael] pushed us all to be better..and it worked.” At the same time, ex-teammate Scott Burnell said “we all know he’s tenacious on the court… you can relax around him off the court.”

While we might not want to exude the same intensity that Jordan displayed on the court, research has documented competition’s positive effects on our brain, motivation, and productivity — frequently leading to innovation and accelerated results. The key is to keep the competitions healthy and to maintain a collaborative culture. First off, we know that great designers lead by example. Think about how your behavior might serve as a model for your teammates. For example, what are things you can say and do to embody commitment, determination, and inspiration? With regards to structuring friendly, impactful competition, remember to…

• Offer individual rewards to those who succeed rather than using the traditional winners and losers model, which can lead to feelings of resentment, fear, or shame.
• Pair up competitors who are similar in skill level to activate the rival effect which motivates us to improve our performances.
• Provide resources that setup participants to succeed: workshops, classes, tutorials, and mentorship.
• Keep it simple: remember that too much competition can be toxic and build in just enough of it to foster original and innovative ideas, as well as increase motivation.

Innovate remarkable outcomes by observing other fields

Off the court, Jordan became synonymous with pop culture and grew very wealthy through his Air Jordan apparel brand, which is owned by Nike. When the brand first launched, Nike set a sales goal of $3 million over the first three years. It made $126 million in the first year alone. David Falk, Jordan’s agent, deserves much credit for this success; at the time Falk also managed tennis clients, and applied the sponsorship model where an individual sport athlete has an apparel line to Jordan — even though he played a team sport.

This anecdote illustrates the Harvard Business Review’s concept that “sometimes the best ideas come from outside your industry.” In their studies of innovation, they’ve found that involving thinkers and ideas from analogous fields can result in breakthrough innovations. The solutions tend to be unique because those thinking of them are not constrained by existing solutions and bring a unique perspective to the problem-solving process. As UX professionals, what analogous fields might we find inspiration in? Perhaps it’s through watching Netflix programs such as Abstract: the Art of Design and learning from fields like costume design. We can also draw inspiration from the user experience of vintage food/beverage packaging and print manuals.

Embracing failure to build your dynasty

As the above commercial illustrates, Michael Jordan missed over 9,000 shots, lost 300 games, and failed to make 26 game-winning shots. But he “failed over and over and over again in [his] life. And that’s why [he] succeeds.” We can cultivate top-performing, innovative design teams through nurturing a culture of teamwork, a relentless commitment to high standards, and seeking inspiration — even in the face of failure.

The last dance: What design teams can learn from Michael Jordan was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

How these seemingly disparate fields share more in common than we might think.

As many UX professionals have experienced firsthand, explaining what we do to people can be quite a challenge. Sometimes the person you’re speaking with is familiar with UX concepts; other times you’re left convincing them it’s different from software development. In true UX fashion, we’ve even created human-centric approaches to explaining the concept of UX Design.

We’re not the only ones that face this challenge when trying to explain what we do. When you think of costume design, what comes to mind? Perhaps images from the most recent play you attended. Or maybe you think of a memorable film or television series. According to master costume designer Ruth Carter, professionals in her industry also experience mistaken job identity.

“Nobody really knows what it is we do. Is it fashion? Do you sew? That’s not what I do. I tell stories…It’s the process of taking an idea and making it come to life…It’s storytelling.” Ruth Carter

Does this resonate? If yes, it’s because there are more parallels between UX and clothing design than we might think: individuals have transitioned careers from fashion design to UX and applied principles from fashion to building great experiences. However, perhaps an even deeper link exists between Costume Design and UX. Here’s why…

Note: The content of this article was inspired by the Netflix series Abstract: The Art of Design (Season 2 Episode 3 featuring Ruth Carter). Unless otherwise noted, the pictures are from the television show too.

Introducing costume design legend, Ruth Carter

“You mean to tell me that you graduated with a four-year degree to do somebody’s laundry?” — Mabel Carter, mother of Ruth Carter

Allow me to introduce the aforementioned Ruth Carter. She was born in Springfield, Massachusetts as the youngest of eight siblings in 1960. After demonstrating a passion for drama and acting throughout high school, she originally enrolled at Hampton University in Virginia as a special education major to learn sign language and work for the theater of the deaf. However, after not receiving a role in a school theater production, the director of the play asked Carter to try her hand at costume design. Though she had no prior experience, she went to the local fabric store and applied her knowledge of interpreting scripts to create costumes.

The rest is history.

After graduating, Carter moved to Los Angeles and began working with world-class directors like Spike Lee and Steven Spielberg. She now has over 40 films to her credit including Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, and Black Panther. In addition to widespread acclaim among peers and other artists, she became the first African American to win an Academy Award in Best Costume Design for her extraordinary work in Black Panther. How did she master her craft? Partly by leveraging principles that will sound familiar to UX practitioners…

Root empathy in context

By now, the inseparable bond between empathy and UX is well documented in numerous articles — it’s indeed the foundation for designing compelling experiences. Similarly, Carter champions empathy when designing costumes for actors and actresses: “you have to understand…what makes a person, who they are, where they live, and what they believe in.”

Carter also brings up a notable point regarding designing for costumes in theater versus in film: audience members will experience costumes differently depending on their seating position. This concept that experiences differ depending on perspective holds for user experiences too; the best designs are rooted in context. Context transcends designing for different screen sizes — it encompasses factors like your users’ broader values, as well as finer details like the time of day when they’ll use your product. When thinking of product design, consider how we might “sit in different sections of the theater” to empathize with the different contexts in which users will experience our products.

User research lives beyond the office and usability labs

“One of the ways I get ideas is to go out into the street and observe people — I love to go people-watching. I look at their clothes, how they carry themselves, and craft stories of their lives based on what I see. These are the people that bring ideas to my work.” Ruth Carter

As with empathy, the importance of leveraging user research to build relevant and delightful experiences that improve business outcomes has been discussed extensively. It’s refreshing to hear Carter’s approach to user inspiration, which is reminiscent of infield observation but without any constraining objectives that might cause us to ignore insightful scenes. This also aligns with the practice of observing people, architecture, and nature in unique ways to spark creativity.

Great design is invisible and empowering

Merely good designs enable users to accomplish their goals, matching Nielsen’s basic definition of utility as satisfying the features users need. Great designs focus on creating magical experiences rather than just accomplishing utility. And these experiences feel invisible — they’re intuitive, anticipate our needs, and empower us to do our best work. This is the case with Carter’s work, as actor Samuel L. Jackson has stated “when I put my costume on and look at myself, then I come to completion.”

Commit to continual improvement

Just as the UX process is about continued iteration and often never truly ends until we encounter a deadline, Carter views costume design with the mindset that “I’m looking at how things can be better and how things can change…like an artist’s painting, it’s never finished…sometimes you have to see what you don’t want to know what you want.” This concept isn’t meant to be daunting as the User Experience wheel of enlightenment displays how acknowledging this facet of design can bring us inner-peace and empowerment.

To envision the future, look to the past

When first tasked with the monumental role of designing the costumes for the Marvel superhero film Black Panther, Carter looked to the past for inspiration. Pictured above is a photograph from a South African tribe; the gold necklaces became the basis for the elite female warrior’s uniform. She also followed this process for films like Amistad and Dolemite is My Name. In Design, trends are often cyclical and what goes out of style eventually becomes cool again. Consider looking at unorthodox artifacts like outdated printed manuals or food and beverage packing for unique sources of creativity.

Design can feel like a monumental endeavor, but leave time to relax

Lastly, the vast design process can leave us exhausted. Despite this, Carter reminds us to always allocate time to “zone out” of something you’re working on. These pauses leave us feeling more creative, imaginative, and restorative.

How UX and costume design are more similar than we might think and what we can learn from it was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I want you to think back to your most recent UX research project. How’d things go? Regardless of industry, size of company, or methods used, it’s highly likely that your relationships with stakeholders and their subsequent levels of engagement had a major impact on the study’s outcome — good or bad. Whether your education primed you or not, the ability to generate stakeholder buy-in is essential to being an effective UX researcher. Here’s a guide to elevating your results through early stakeholder interviews.

Note: The principles described in this article are inspired by Tomer Sharon’s book “It’s Our Research” and Ron Bronson’s talk on Priming for Stakeholder Success.

Who are your stakeholders?

Let’s begin by identifying the different types of stakeholders you will encounter at work and describe how strong relationships with them will benefit your research study.

The Business

Upper Management: CEO, VPs, or any person in senior management who is (or should be) affected by UX research.

• Provide a vision of company strategy and business goals
• Allocate a budget for UX research team and operations
• Help promote the value of UX research

Product Management: Responsible for shipping a product. They’re involved in high-level strategy such as identifying target audiences, gathering requirements, and developing roadmaps; as well as daily duties including prioritizing features, implementing changes, and refining development timelines. They usually work closely with cross-functional partners.

• Crystallize the connection between business goals and UX research
• Collaborate on the objectives of your study, identifying desired participant characteristics, and surfacing insights from the research study data
• Partner with engineering to ensure recommendations from the study are implemented

Marketing: Lead communicating and delivering how product offerings have value for your customers; they are deeply knowledgable about target customer segments, preferences, and requirements.

• Use knowledge of customer segments to inform your research study plan and recommendations

Sales: Manage the relationship between company and clients. They understand client needs and tailor solutions that will help close the sale. They have frequent contact with stakeholders in management, marketing, and product management.

• Help identify current user pain points and delights
• Support your understanding of different user-profiles and segments
• Refer participants for your UX research studies

Engineering

Software Engineers: Bring the product to life with their expertise in code, sharp thought process, and hard work. Keep in mind these allies often…

• Want to do a great job in the most efficient way
• Will not wait for you if deadlines are at stake
• May have never observed a live user trying to use their product

That said, their logical way of thinking can uncover unique ways of solving problems that are more balanced than what you might create independently.

Quality Assurance: Ensures software meets quality standards through drafting and executing rigorous acceptance tests.

• Provide a sense of what works well and what doesn’t in a product

Technical Support: Takes care of customers’ needs and challenges. They generally have the most regular interaction with users.

• Identify the most frequent issues users call about

Note: For this article, I’m intentionally omitting our (generally) friendly stakeholders within the User Experience team.

The art of the stakeholder interview

As UX Researchers, the user interview is a fundamental tool in our arsenal of methods. However, have you applied your expertise with this technique to generate a greater sense of understanding of your stakeholders? The truth is, if the kickoff meeting is the first time your stakeholders hear of your UX study, it might be too late. Let’s delve into leveraging the art of stakeholder interviewers to early and sustained buy-in for your research.

Timing and initial outreach

A friendly reminder: if you’re new to a company or team, don’t let your first contact with a stakeholder be an interview. Instead try lunch, coffee, or a walk around the block to build rapport first. After this has taken place, the classic adage of “the earlier the better” holds true. Unless there’s a major dependency worth waiting for, such as an organizational restructuring or strategy change from upper management, aim to reserve time on the calendar as soon as your research study is requested. This maximizes time for you to prepare a compelling research plan and presentation for the inevitable kickoff meeting.

The agenda: bring focus to key questions

Who to invite: Immediate stakeholders for your project from the previously described departments. These are typically one-on-one interviews.

Meeting title: UX research study prep

Length: 30 minutes each

Meeting description: Here is a brief list of questions that relate to our upcoming UX study. Please take a few minutes to think about them before the meeting. Thank you!

What is the product? Omit if you already have knowledge of the product. Also consider asking a clarifying question if you have not connected with this stakeholder recently.

“We are talking about Product X, right? Is there anything new I should know?

If you are not familiar with the product, request a short pitch.

“What is it for and what does it do? Is it launched? Why was it developed and which user needs does it meet?”

Who are the users of the product? (Are there different user groups and why or why not?)

Focus on defining characteristics of your users. You can also evaluate if recruiting these users might prove challenging; if this is the case then ask your stakeholder to identify alternative characteristics. Your interviewee might respond to this question with “that’s what I’d like to find out,” in which case you can add user group identification to the objective of your study plan.

What do you want to learn in this study? Why do we need this study?

This helps you identify strategic goals. Alternatively you can ask directly: “What are the broad and specific business goals for this product?”

When do you need the results?

Ask for a specific deadline to ensure your findings are relevant and impactful.

What will you do with the research results?

This question uncovers your stakeholder’s expectations and will help you understand the best type of deliverable to craft. If the answer is vague or unclear, proceed with caution. In this case, ask clarifying questions or work with your manager to determine whether to accept this UX study request.

What do you know now?

Remember to document the answer to this question. If a stakeholder ever claims they learned nothing from your study or already knew the findings, you can gently remind them of any contradictory answers from this question.

Principles for effective discussions

Delay talk about methodologies

Give yourself time to think over the best method for the research study: it’s also your responsibility as a UX researcher to match the study’s goals with best methods — not the stakeholders’.

Apply the principles of great interviewer facilitation:

• Listen before you speak
• Resist the urge to interject responses with your own thoughts
• Encourage a natural conversation rather than sticking to the script
• Ask open-ended questions
• Don’t ask leading questions

Take notes

In addition to serving as an artifact for later reference and improving your retention of the information, taking notes shows you care about what your stakeholder thinks and wants.

Look for body language signals

Calibrate the content and delivery of your communication based on your stakeholder’s body language during the. For more information on body language, please reference the 10 body language heuristics.

Putting it all together

We’ve covered who your stakeholders are, what to discuss with them in an initial interview, and tips for making sure things go smoothly. All that’s left is to get out there and do it! Remember, to truly influence anything — people, teams, organizations, and products with your research — start by listening and understanding.

Stakeholder Interviews: the catalyst to increasing buy-in for UX research was originally published in UX Planet on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

“You’ll love it! The case studies were gold, the attendees were great, and the conference was super well organized. Plus, Salt Lake City is awesome!”

This is how a friend who previously attended Front described it to me. I was immediately sold. My Front Conference 2019 journey began in late 2018 when I reached out to Andrew Branch, one of Front’s Cofounders and Director of Design at Rev, about volunteer opportunities. Fast forward to June 2019 and I was standing backstage in the beautiful Eccles Theater. That was an amazing experience on its own, but let’s save that story for a different article. Here I‘ll focus on key takeaways from some of the presented case studies.

Please note that videos of all 16 presentations are available on YouTube. If you like what you see, check out the Front website for more info on attending the conference: https://www.frontutah.com/

Letting go of process and accepting controlled chaos by Wade Shearer

Wade Shearer, VP of User Experience at Workfront and a Cofounder of the Front Conference, kicked off the presentations with an enthralling tale of the D-Day invasion of Normandy.

Incredible to note: D-Day took place 75 years ago on the day of this presentation and featured Utah Beach among the landing locations.

Though many of us know the heroic and massive seaborne operation that turned the tide of World War II, it’s also important to recognize the daring airborne operation involving over 13,000 paratroopers securing strategic inland locations, which paved the way for the soldiers landing on the beaches. The airborne forces planned and rehearsed these operations for months, yet when it came time for the real deal, they faced a multitude of challenges:

• Visibility issues: the darkness of night and fog
• Communication issues: no radios for fear of intercepted transmissions
• Navigation issues: a shortage of specialists to guide the pilots

As a result, the majority of paratroopers missed their target drop zones. The German defensive forces were fierce and the situation appeared dire. These brave soldiers still managed to accomplish their objectives. How?

Commander’s Intent for dynamic environments

Among many reasons for their victory, General Eisenhower’s framework for Commander’s Intent had a major impact. This strategy defines what a successful mission looks like along with the 5W’s: who, what, where, when, and why.

A key reason Commander’s Intent sets up forces to win is its acknowledgment of innately unknown variables like chaos and incomplete intelligence. These factors can make an overly fleshed-out plan antiquated upon execution, however, defining successful outcomes at a high level empowers soldiers on the ground to improvise and make their own decisions when needed — a crucial element to victory in chaotic environments.

Consider the parallels between these dynamic military operations and the work of your product design teams. For more information on workplace applications of Commander’s Intent, I highly recommend reading the Harvard Business Review’s articles on Managing Uncertainty and Letting Go Without Losing Control.

Successful product teams are easy to build…right?

Wade continued his presentation by describing how nearly all teams know what it takes to succeed in product development these days:

• Establishing autonomous, collocated, and cross-functional teams who are guided by clear, ambitious product vision and strategic themes
• Talking to and testing with customers regularly, then using customer stories to articulate their situations, motivations, and outcomes
• Inspiring, aligning, and measuring with OKRs
• Building, measuring, learning then repeating the process

In reality, building successful product teams isn’t always so simple:

• Overly autonomous teams can become siloed
• Siloed teams tend not to communicate and collaborate

To remedy these challenges at workfront, leadership reorganized teams into portfolios based on strategic initiatives, each with representatives from Product Management, User Experience, Engineering, and Marketing.

How to truly drive results

We all want results, but how do we actually achieve them? Introducing Partners in Leadership’s Results Pyramid:

• Results require Action such as planning and execution
• Action stems from the Beliefs that inspire people to work
• Experiences instill and reinforce Beliefs

This model challenges us to think beyond just our desired results and to consider the beliefs needed to galvanize action. From there, we can craft memorable experiences that instill these core beliefs. For example, to instill the belief that Collaboration is crucial, you might orchestrate a memorable collaborative experience like an escape room.

People don’t like being told what to do; provide intent and direction

“It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.” Steve Jobs

Another great truth is people don’t like being prescribed what to do; this can kill creativity and build resentment. At the same time, lack of direction can lead to indecision or even more disastrous results. Per Barry O’Reilly, an effective leadership paradigm involves providing intent in the form of context for goals and why they matter, then letting employees solve the problems.

To experience Wade’s full presentation and keen examples of these principles in motion, watch the recording here: https://youtu.be/uOM8cf0RqNA

Radical collaboration and trust by Kim Williams

Kim Williams, Sr. Director of Product Design at Minted and Group Manager of UX at Indeed at the time of this presentation, asserted that effective collaboration is the linchpin to organizational success.

1. Know yourself

Effective collaboration begins with understanding ourselves. Powerful questions to help guide the process of self-understanding include…

• Why is it you do what you do?
• What makes you get out of bed in the morning?
• What type of work aligns with your being and what you love in life?

Know how you work: This involves acknowledging that we are all unique then setting aside time to define…

• Your preferred medium of communication
• The conditions and hours under which you do you do your best work
• Your professional super powers (consider using tools like Strengthsfinder)
• Your Achilles’ Heel and weaknesses

Know how your team works: through the lens that we all bring different value and traits to the table, identify where you best fit into your team. An insightful and fun tool is https://www.16personalities.com/ which will provide a description of who you are and why you do things the way you do.

2. Know your partners

Once you know yourself, you can begin the process of knowing your partners.

Communicating at different altitudes: this concept refers to calibrating the content and delivery of our communication depending on whom we’re speaking with. Key factors to consider include and understand well include:

• What are their goals
• How do they measure success
• What are their incentives and inspirations
• How might you map their incentives and inspirations back to their goals

Promoting clarity: is crucial to alignment and shared success

• Define roles and responsibilities for each team member
• Draft crisp expectations
• Create a RACI Chart to ensure your project has owners for Responsibility, Accountability, who to Consult, and who needs to stay Informed.

Make sure everyone speaks the same “language”

• Create a glossary for terms specific to your organization
• Provide the right type of supporting data for whomever you’re communicating with (qualitative, quantitative, etc.)

Foster effective collaboration

• Provide meeting agendas, resources to read prior to presentations, and co-creation documents to maximize collaboration opportunities

Embrace differences

• Since everyone works, learns, and communicates differently, define meeting and workshop activities that are inclusive to all participants
• Honor the diversity of your teams and partners; welcome the multitude of perspectives and personalities to enrich how you approach challenges

3. Come together

Once you know yourself and your partners, it’s time to reach higher together.

• Create a shared vision along with values, principles, objectives, and roadmaps
• Understand the costs (monetary, time, etc.) required to realize that vision
• Define the metrics and measures of success
• Determine frameworks for prioritizing and making decisions

Maintaining momentum

• Find ways to consistently demonstrate value within your team and organization
• Celebrate every win and learning
• Communicate CONSTANTLY

To view Kim’s energizing presentation in its entirety check out: https://youtu.be/go-QozWjc9M

Gen 2 by Frank Yoo

Lastly, I’d like to highlight Frank Yoo’s, Director of Design at Google, talk on growing up as a second generation American. His talk was imaginative for a design conference and extra memorable because there were no product screens. It was all stories from his personal and professional journey.

1. Costs of comfort — sacrificing for others

Frank’s parents owned a liquor store in Long Beach, CA for over 40 years. He recalled a specific altercation that stood out in his childhood memory: a customer got into a heated exchange with his mom, with the back and forth exchange culminating in a harsh question:

“Why don’t you go back to your country?”

It was the first time he had experienced strong feelings of anger, confusion, and shame from someone trying to attack his family’s sense of dignity. A cheap shot and sense of marginalization over what? A bag of chips. Sadly this wasn’t the last episode as verbal attacks, theft, armed robbery, and fights were a regular occurrence at the family business.

So why go through these risks and troubles?

To put food on the table. When the English language and a degree from a domestic university create barriers that make it challenging to find white-collar work, gas stations, laundromats, and liquor stores become a common way for immigrants to provide for their families.

The costs can be unthinkable. Pictured above are Frank’s uncle and family friend who lost their lives as a result of violence from operating liquor stores. It’s the ultimate sacrifice of setting aside personal aspirations to create softer landing for the next generation, to allow their children to forge legacy.

Frank’s parents’ sacrifice enabled him to explore different career paths and wander the country — ultimately following his calling to become a designer.

Establishing softer landings at work

During his time as Interim VP of Design at Lyft, Frank inherited a beautiful custom studio, an open charter to pursue blue sky initiatives, and buy-in from leadership to integrate a design led product development process.

It sounded like a dream come true.

But then things broke down: other departments began resenting the design team, conflicts ensued, and productivity diminished.

Design became a Pariah.

Taking a page out of his parents’ book, Frank traded discomfort for overall organizational health : he acknowledged his team’s past wrongdoings, dropped the studio model, and changed his attitude towards partnership.

Where might you make sacrifices at work for the greater good?

“Are you willing to do what your team needs you to do? even if that thing isn’t particularly exciting to you?” — Julie Zhuo

2. Mom to the people — the power of relationships

Owning a liquor store involves constant contact with people. Frank recalls the harmonious relationships his family and community members — especially between his mom and their landlord Mrs. P. Their relationship was built on a bedrock of mutual understanding and trust: his mom always honored her end of an agreement and never missed a rent payment.

Why relationships matter

After 40 years and 480 paid rent checks, Frank’s parents decided it was time to sell the business, retire, and pass the torch on to another first generation Korean immigrant to help him realize his American dream. As the deal was getting finalized, the landlord Mrs. P’s health declined. Mrs. P’s daughter took over negotiations and demanded all involved parties stop the sales process immediately so she could liquidate all the assets and cash out.

For a moment, it looked as if a lifetime of hard work would be squandered.

But even in her ailing health, Mrs P. stood up for the Yoo family and battled her own children to make sure the original deal was finalized. She saved the day — not only for Frank’s parents but for the next owner and his family.

First principles for work:

The story above illustrates powerful first principles that we can apply both at work and in our personal lives.

• Invest into genuine, lasting partnerships
• Place an unwavering emphasis on mutual trust
• Honor terms of agreement to forge win-win situations

3. Finding strength in differences

Lastly, Frank described the stigma and self consciousness that stemmed from being culturally different from the kids around him. He recalls the ridicule when friends came over to his family’s house and unknowingly opened the family refrigerator containing kimchi.

Though social pressure initially led him to seek assimilation to the prevalent culture, he evolved his thinking to focus on how we’re alike rather than different. From there he shedded fear, dissolved insecurities, and learned to recognize strength in differences.

It ultimately resulted in a sense of Mental Freedom and a new life perspective focused on Family, Connection, and Adding Value in the World. Now as the Director of Design at Google overseeing Gmail and G Suite, even in the face of daunting work, he shows up as the truest version of himself.

“Belonging doesn’t require us to change who we are; it requires us to be who we are.” Brene Brown

This evokes the question: how might we resolve any internal conflict to foster greater mental freedom?

Call to action for meaningful change and inclusion

Frank closes this talk by reminding us that we all have unique stories of difference. By speaking up and expressing our truths, we can create meaningful change towards greater inclusion across all roles and levels. I wholeheartedly echo this sentiment and fully laud his courage to share so many deeply personal (and at times painful) stories.

To catch this amazing talk for yourself, click: https://youtu.be/o4YseYT95qM

16 talks. 2 days. 1 unforgettable experience

I hope you enjoyed these recaps and highly recommend checking out all 16 talks on YouTube when you have time. Rewatching them reminded me of how amazing Front was! The diversity of case studies, insightful takeaways, and meaningful connections formed exceeded all my expectations. I truly cannot wait to return.

Hats off to Front’s Cofounders Andrew, Ben, and Wade for creating a truly unforgettable experience. For more information on attending an upcoming conference, please check out https://www.frontutah.com/

Reflecting on Front Conference 2019: embracing controlled chaos, radical collaboration, and… was originally published in Front Utah on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Learning from the Black Mamba’s writing career.

Boasting continual demand for UX professionals, competitive salaries, and high levels of job satisfaction, it might come as no surprise that interest in switching to UX careers from other fields continues to be strong — even during a pandemic. Since there are already outstanding guides on transitioning into UX from other fields and inspirational case studies of folks who have made the jump to UX from a wide range of industries, spanning biotech through recruitment, perhaps we can seek wisdom from a different source: basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his famous Mamba Mentality philosophy.

After retiring from a hall of fame caliber basketball career highlighted by five NBA championships, two Olympic gold medals, and eighteen all-star game selections, Kobe Bryant surprised many by releasing a short film called Dear Basketball in 2017 under his production company Granity Studios. Bryant wrote and narrated this poignant five minute 22-second animated film depicting his lifelong love for basketball, including what he’s given to the sport and what the sport has given to him. It went on to receive an Academy, Annie, and Emmy Award for Best Short Film. Heavily inspired by his daughters, Bryant launched Granity Studios to produce stories to empower young people. In addition to Dear Basketball, he also produced five children’s books and a podcast championing themes of building empathy and compassion, as well as overcoming insecurity and failure.

Sadly, Bryant and his daughter Gianna’s tragic deaths as a result of a helicopter crash on January 26th, 2020 cut this “promising second act” of his life short. Among the many things we can learn from his legacy, here’s how the Mamba Mentality applies to transitioning careers with grace and building a framework for success in that new field.

Note: many references in this article stem from a September 2019 interview with Kobe Bryant.

Don’t just talk about it, “be about it” and seek constant inspiration

Transitioning into UX from an unrelated field can evoke feelings of fear. Bryant was no different when he began writing; he never thought he would be writing stories at a professional level and initially felt shy going into it. Then his daughter reminded him of his frequent advice that you need to “be about it not just talk about it.” When changing career paths to UX, it’s completely natural to feel scared. That said, don’t let the fear paralyze you. Instead take action to “be about it” by immersing yourself in the field. Furthermore, Bryant emphasized the importance of seeking constant inspiration to fuel the fire of your desire to make an impact. The Granity Studios office has a dedicated “muse hall,” containing photographs of inspiring people and their stories. As someone transitioning into UX, you can build your own virtual muse hall by:

• Reading articles on UX Collective for insights and inspiration about UX
• Listening to Design podcasts for expert advice and engaging stories
• Reaching out to UX professionals in search of help from those who have experienced challenges similar to what you are going through

Define a compelling long term vision and always work towards it

Bryant grew up in Italy, mostly playing soccer. When he moved to the United States, he remembers encountering larger and stronger competitors on the basketball court. This set in motion a long term plan to improve and “patiently catch up” to other players through focusing on improving one basketball skill at a time, even if it takes “2,3,4…10 years to master!” In regards to writing and activities that require more creativity, Bryant also recommends following structured plans versus aimlessly doing random activities. When planning out your transition into UX, consider creating a Career Roadmap. This defined process of asking yourself questions like

Where am I now? Where do I want to go? How will I get there?

will help identify a fulfilling career path that aligns with your values. Moreover, the roadmap will serve as a blueprint to advance your career, elevate your skills, and keep you accountable to your deadlines. You can go a step further by carving out time each day for specific activities such as job hunting, working on your case studies, and adopting the habits of great designers. For more inspiration on how to plan out your day, check out an average day in the life of a UX Designer

Embrace failure and all the emotions that come with it

Fear of failure can lead to crippling paralysis — especially when it comes to a significant life decision like a career transition. However, even Bryant in his own words stated that it is okay to fail. When a failure occurs, you will still be loved by those who care about you. In other words, exude confidence in your career transition journey knowing that you will have always have a “security blanket of love” — even in the face of the harshest failures.

Moreover, when you encounter failure, try a technique Bryant coined “unpacking.” It’s a process reminiscent to what’s described in Dale Carnegie’s 1948 classic How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. It involves extrapolating situations to understand the worst possible consequences. For example in basketball: if you miss a shot, then you could feel embarrassed that people saw your failure and that you let your teammates down…As a result people might start writing bad things about you. Is it that bad or important? Often, failure is the result of our imagination running amok. As an example in UX: say you get rejected after a UX job interview. Is that the end of the world? By focusing on what you learned from the experience, you can prime yourself for success in the long run. Sharing the insights that stem from failure could help others learn from your experience and lead to a successful article.

When the inevitable negative outcomes and emotions emerge during your career transition journey, Bryant recommends “being still and understanding them.” Remember that life is often cyclical and that emotions — both positive and negative — come and go. We can embrace them all and accept them all. By doing this, we can act on our autonomy versus being controlled by emotions fueled by questions like “what if this doesn’t work out?” or “ what if I’ve never done UX before?”

Create from your truth — the power of perspective and humility

When Bryant began the new phase of his career as a writer, he adopted a sense of “humility…He was curious and willing to listen and learn from others.” Similarly in UX, there is tremendous strength in approaching challenges with a beginner’s mindset: it fosters the values of openness, inquisitiveness, and empathy that are key to crafting amazing experiences.

Lastly, never forget that your unique perspective coming from a different field becomes a massive strength in UX. Diversity of background experience is critical in design since it can catalyze unique solutions. For Bryant, his past experiences as an athlete enabled him to craft imaginative children’s stories championing dear values like empathy and compassion through the lens of sports rather than the same old fairy tales. When asked about his legacy, he has replied that even more significant than his accolades in professional basketball would be to “leave a legacy as a person that was able to create stories that inspired children and families to bond together, and for their children to dream.”

Now it’s your turn to leverage these principles in your career journey — what story do you want to leave as a transitioning UX professional?

Mamba Mentality: applying insights from Kobe Bryant’s career when transitioning into UX was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Activating the craft of preparation and art of leadership

The concept of Design as a Team Sport has become widely accepted as a common truth. Collaboration is key and long gone are the days of Rockstar/10x/Superhero Designers.

Workshops, both within design teams and involving cross-functional stakeholders, play a critical role in organizational success. The ability to facilitate effective design workshops has even been called “the secret sauce of great designers.” Thinking through your past design workshop experiences: isn’t it always an incredible feeling to walk away from a workshop with increased clarity on how to move forward with a project? Conversely, how many of you have experienced the opposite result in which a workshop leaves participants feeling more confused and divided?

Empowering designers to facilitate better workshops has become a mission for two San Diego design leaders: Nick Casares and Michael Vargas. Their Facilitation for Designers initiative centers around helping UX professionals generate stronger buy-in from stakeholders to run design workshops, bolster confidence while facilitating, and minimize imposter syndrome.

Inspired by their teachings, here are key takeaways on how to facilitate a successful workshop.

1. Preparation is paramount

“The fight is won or lost far away from the witness, behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road; long before I dance under those lights.” Muhammad Ali

It may sound rudimentary, but the importance of preparation permeates across a multitude of professions and has a major impact on successful (or unsuccessful) outcomes. Workshop facilitation is no exception. According to Dr. Irvin D Valom’s seminal book The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy, “effective preparation for the group will reduce extrinsic anxiety that stems from uncertainty.” So how do we kick off the process of planning?

Designing the vision

It all starts with a singular question:

What is the main purpose of this workshop?

The answer to this question becomes the foundation of the entire workshop. Next, consider:

• What are any secondary purposes of this workshop?
• What challenge(s) will this workshop address for your company and team?

Then think of your participants:

• Who should you invite and NOT invite?
• What will they learn from participating?
• What action will they take as a result of attending?

Building the experience

With the above factors in mind, you’re well equipped to tackle the core of the workshop. Now it’s on to structuring the activities that comprise the agenda.

• Curate the types of activities based on how they align with the previously defined purpose(s) and goal(s)
• Define the steps involved in each activity to help anticipate any questions or objections that might arise

2. Lead by example and behavior

Establish a culture through behavior

The Harvard Business Review has stated that “like it or not, you are always leading by example” and described how behavior shapes culture. With this in mind, it can be valuable to dedicate time for introspection on what culture and behaviors you’d like to foster. Some techniques to consider include:

• Sharing personal stories to set a shared precedent that it is safe to speak honestly and authentically
• Allowing others to speak first and encouraging quieter attendees to speak to establish the value of listening

Provide live demonstrations

John Maxwell has discussed the concept of leaders who aren’t afraid to go first and Inc has highlighted how leaders aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. Combining these two concepts, a fantastic way to ensure people are comfortable completing an exercise is to go through a live demo.

During the Facilitation for Designers workshop, we leveraged the visual collaboration tool MURAL for an ice breaker activity in which we found images representative of what activity we plan to enjoy once quarantine is lifted. Before this, a facilitator completed a live Screen Share demo on Zoom explaining how to search for images in Mural and paste them onto a board.

3. Apply the fundamentals of UX to your workshop

Whether you are a new practitioner or a seasoned veteran, it can be easy to forget that the fundamentals of UX can apply to nearly all experiences — not just your typical desk work. Especially when workshop participants might not have used certain tools or design thinking methods before, it can be helpful to draw on the core tenants of usability to structure better workshop experiences. For these we can draw inspiration from Jakob Nielsen’s classic Usability 101 article through the lens of planning workshop activities:

• Learnability: How easy is it for users to understand the workshop content or activities the first time they encounter them?
• Efficiency: Once users have learned the concepts of the workshop, how quickly can they apply the insights?
• Memorability: When users return to the workshop content after a period of not using it, how easily can they renew competency?
• Errors: How many mistakes are users likely to make, how severe are they, and how might we pre-empt them?
• Satisfaction: How pleasant is it to participate in the workshop?

Bonus: select the right tools

Utility refers to when an experience provides the features you need. An analogy to workshop facilitation is making sure your digital tools contain the right features. Zoom’s breakout room feature has proven an incredibly useful tool for remote collaborate design workshops. That’s right, everyone’s favorite video meeting platform allows you to split your meeting into up to 50 rooms.

This works wonders for workshops that call for small group activities like brainstorming. It also enables multiple concurrent sessions of moderated activities like empathy mapping or journey mapping. For more instructions on breakout rooms, please reference Zoom’s documentation.

Coming full circle

During the end of the Facilitation for Designers training, I had an “A-HA!” moment that the workshop facilitators had followed their own principles to build this workshop. It works!

Thus, the next time you’re tasked with orchestrating a design workshop, keep in mind the principles of Planning, Leading by Example, Applying UX Fundamentals, and Selecting the Right Tools!

3 Principles to Supercharge Your Design Workshop Facilitation Skills was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

By far one of my favorite Pre-COVID19 activities was attending in-person User Experience Conferences. A break from the typical day-to-day routine, these events provided an opportunity to expand our professional skillsets and foster meaningful professional relationships — all while having fun in a new city.

Sadly, hosting hundreds of people in one venue is no longer possible for now. However, Designers are a resilient and resourceful bunch. Many conferences and Meetups have transitioned to digital formats.

On 4/21/2020, the awesome team at CMP hosted a complimentary three hour long remote event entitled “The Design Thinking Digital Summit” featuring an all star cast of speakers headlined by John Maeda.

The summit addressed the massive disruption we’re all facing in our work and lives, then emphasized with how we can activate the power of design thinking to drive positive transformation now. It was an excellent event.

No need to feel FOMO if you missed it, the recordings are available for On-Demand Viewing here: https://www.designinnovationglobal.com/events-design-thinking-digital-summit/agenda-mc

Don’t have time to view it all now? Here are some of my key takeaways and favorite moments from the event:

The John Maeda Interview

To kick things off, Marisa White, Lead Analyst-Design & Innovation at CMP interviewed the one and only John Maeda on the role of Design Thinking in our current world. The conversation resulted in numerous nuggets

The importance of Sharing, Prioritizing, and building Empowerment within our teams

Drawing parallels to Toyota’s renowned auto manufacturing process in which ANY worker on the production line could stop the entire factory operation upon discovering a defect, it’s fruitful to call on the creativity and unique perspectives of our cross-functional teammates (not just the design team) from all levels of the org chart to create incredible experiences.

Thinking Differently in Times of Pain

Maeda also recalled how the experience of breaking his arm after falling unlocked a new paradigm of thinking centered around Inclusive Design. Similarly, in these times of constraint, we can pause for introspection and activate new approaches to solving challenges.

The Digital Native Advantage

Now that all entertainment is produced from home, John and Marisa also discussed how Digital Natives on YouTube are outshining their Late Show counterparts in terms of humor and creativity. It’s an inspiring case study in how larger resources do not necessarily guarantee a superior outcome.

Remembering Mental Health

Maeda also called on us all the keep in mind the importance of mental health.

Mental Health may be invisible, but it affects us at a profound scale and impact.

To pass time during the quarantine, he’s set up an in-home studio to create video content, has been using VR, and recommended watching Fleabag.

Oh, and for the record, he has NOT seen Tiger King.

Dan Kraemer on Converging Design and Business Thinking

Next, Dan Kramer, Founder and Chief Design Officer at IA Collaborative spoke on the Combining Design Thinking with Business Strategy to thrive in these times. The foundation of the talk built off the thesis that…

The world needs our creativity, entrepreneurial spirit, and optimism now more than ever.

He expands on this concept by describing how Design and Business concepts can be very complimentary, leading to success in crisis.

New Behaviors leading to Growth Markets Opportunities

How might research on new behaviors during quarantine help identify new growth areas, such as contact-free services, e-commerce, and telemedicine?

Unique Insights can help Align Executives

How might reframing new pain points and foreseeing long term shifts in attitude inform decisions to build a new offering or choose a partner?

Differentiation results in new Business Models

How might envisioning uniquely differentiated experiences help accelerate digital transformation, strengthen supply chains, and streamline operations?

Nancy Douyon on being Prepared for Disruption

Design Ethicist and Product Philosopher Nancy Douyon capped off the keynote talks with an engaging presentation on how Design Thinking can help businesses grow and thrive during uncertainty.

Douyon focused on how the core values of User Centric Design and Empathy can result in positive outcomes for struggling businesses during this time:

• Gaining culture context and obtaining market fit
• Discovering emerging patterns and trends
• Delivering value at scale

She illustrated this concept with two case studies

1. A hair stylist who has began conducting Virtual Consultations, which include a review of one’s hair products and tools, a Q&A session, and a customized “hair game plan” all through Instagram!
2. A photographer who has created an online video curriculum to empower those who want to take better pictures.

Virtual Coffee Break

Finally, what conference is complete without networking over a coffee break? Yes even this was included as part of the conference as attendees joined breakout rooms in Zoom to connect with one another.

Kudos to the Summit Organizers for an informative and delightful experience!

Once again, you can sign up for the recording of this event here: https://www.designinnovationglobal.com/events-design-thinking-digital-summit/agenda-mc

I’m looking forward to attending the in-person Design Thinking 2020 Conference that inspired this Summit. It’ll take place this September in Austin: https://www.designinnovationglobal.com/events-design-thinking/