UX Camp 2024
Recently I was invited to join a panel at UX Camp Edmonton. With me was Mark Yiu, Bob Evans, conference founder Ammneh Azeim, and moderator Linnea Lapp - a truly amazing group of humans.
Our theme was quite reflective. We talked about the shifting UX landscape, competencies needed for success, reflection on the transition of becoming a leader, and advice for up and coming practitioners. I'd like to share my responses here (from what I remember saying at the time) and perhaps add some additional thoughts too.
Here goes …
What UX trends are you seeing these days?
Time. Not really a trend, but something I think is increasingly important for a designer to consider more seriously.
In 2021 the White House released an Executive Order on “Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government”. In it, President Joe Biden writes about a “time tax” - the citizen's burden of time wasted from poorly designed interactions with government services.
You see this “time tax” in several places:
- Time to figure out which government service you need
- Time to digest how the service works
- Time to interact at a time of their choosing
- Time to complete the necessary forms for submission
- Time to process the submission
- Time to get a response back
- Time to get support if you're stuck
- Time to correct submission errors
- Time for a result
- Time to receive value from the service for the first time
This is a big deal. Users expect from the government quality digital experiences on par with other types of interactions they do online. The average food delivery service can often feel more considered than a typical government service. Managing time responsibly is mandatory.
What competencies do you see as essential for UX practitioners?
Curiosity. The trait I look for most when hiring, and the trait I notice most in successful practitioners. Curiosity makes you really dig into that business problem, get to know the person sitting across from you in a user interview, and most importantly, help you understand what's not working. It will keep you sharp and keep you going.
At what moment did you feel the shift occur from practitioner to leader?
I felt this transition most when I was hired to lead the first UX team for Alberta.ca.
We inherited several folks from around the organization (none of which would have self-identified as a UX practitioner) and the organization wanted to see an improved user experience. I felt pressure from both my new team and the organization. I knew that although it was a management role, it was leadership that would make it successful.
I'm extremely proud of the work we did (over 100 hours of usability testing and an evidence based redesign) and the people who did it (they all now hold senior UX positions).
Good leadership means taking care of the people around you, but also making sure the organization reaches its goals. Navigating that balance can be a challenge, but it's those types of problems I seem to enjoy most these days.
What skills did you wish you had developed earlier in your career?
Facilitation. To design is to bring change. The better the design, the more transformative the change. Change is hard.
Change often means:
- people need to trust you're doing the right thing
- people need to agree on a way forward
- people need to understand what change means for them
- people need to be part of the change
Facilitation is the skill that makes this much more manageable. Soft skills like presenting, asking good questions, being assertive, and facilitating decision making are all things I continue to work on today and wish I started on earlier. When you move up in your career this becomes the majority of the job but truly it starts year one day one.
What advice would you give aspiring UX practitioners?
Show your work. Remain calm. Design portfolios today are really impressive. Landing that first job or promotion might be tough if you rely on visual design and “pixel perfect” Figma prototypes alone. Companies nowadays (especially in a world full of design systems) really need good thinkers.
It's getting increasingly important to show your work, tell the story, and explain your process of getting there. Include research photos, early sketches, usability findings - whatever you think you can provide someone how you solved a problem. Show the mess.
Finally, remain calm. Often, this work can be hugely demanding. Quick timelines, strong personalities, pressure to deliver, not to mention the pressure you put on yourself - this can really take you down if you let it. Finding ways to decompress or find calm in the tiny moments that come up during the day, the week, the project, are necessary survival skills for a long and happy career in design. Again, design is change, change is hard.
That's a wrap
UX Camp has always been my favorite event of the year. It's always such a delight to reunite with old friends, and see the community come together to share their work and perspective.
Can't wait for next year.