Answering your UX questions
Plus a 2023 recap, holiday cheer, & resolutions
Answering your UX questions
Many UXRs have similar questions about navigating their roles, career paths, and day-to-day responsibilities effectively. This article provides answers to some of these common questions.
Career & The UX Job Market
Q: How do I transition to/get started in UX research?
Whether you enroll in a degree program, a bootcamp, or pursue independent study, you should take a two-pronged approach of learning the theoretical foundations of UX and practicing applying the concepts you learn. Like any field, UX has theoretical foundations that you must learn to have a strong understanding of your work. As you learn these concepts, you’ll want to practice applying them to develop a strong practical base.
Q: How can I learn UX fundamentals?
If you’ve opted for a self-guided study, I have a few recommendations and suggested readings.
Books: The Design of Everyday Things and Human-Computer Interaction will introduce you to UX concepts and shape how you view human-technology interactions. Usability Testing Essentials provides a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to running usability tests. Quantifying the User Experience will teach you what you need to learn about statistics in UX.
Blogs: The Nielsen Norman Group publishes regular articles and study guides on all things UX. MeasuringU’s blog specifically focuses on UX research and measurement.
Other Substacks: The 1/4” Hole by Lawton Pybus provides punchy and practical articles on the discipline of UX research. UX Psychology by Maria Panagiotidi explores the applications of cognitive psychology in user experience.
YouTube: If video is more your speed, there is an emerging UX scene on YouTube. In particular, I’m fond of UX in The Head.
Q: How can I practice applying what I’ve learned?
As you learn about UX concepts and research methods, you will want to find ways to practice what you’ve learned. The easiest way to do this is personal projects. For example, if you are learning about heuristics, you may choose a website or app and practice an evaluation. If you’re looking for a more ‘real’ way of gaining hands-on practice nonprofits, charitable organizations, and early-stage startups are also a good option.
Q: Any advice for someone looking for a full-time UX research role?
Three pieces of advice:
Prioritize your time investment when putting together application materials. The stats show that your LinkedIn profile, resume, and portfolio are most important, while cover letters rarely pay off.
Networking pays dividends. Referrals are up to 4x more likely to be hired. But remember, networking isn’t a job hunt or means-ends exchange but a platform for building connections and sharing knowledge.
Don’t be discouraged by rejection. It is normal to submit 20 or more applications before receiving one job offer. Learn from any feedback you receive and keep at it.
Q: How many case studies should I have in my portfolio?
Three seems to be just enough to demonstrate a range of skills while still being a reasonable length. With these three case studies, you could choose one evaluative research project (like a usability test), one generative project (like user interviews), and one dealer’s choice (pick something that you feel showcases a unique skill or experience you have).
Q: I’m interested in networking more. How should I get started?
For in-person events check if you have a local UXPA chapter, search “UX” on Meetup, and consider attending an upcoming conference. For online methods (beyond LinkedIn), give Slack groups like Mixed Methods or ReOps a shot.
Q: I’m interviewing for/about to start a contract position. What should I expect? How will this be different from a full-time employee (FTE) role?
There will be differences in the interview processes, on-the-job expectations, and compensation & benefits. Interview processes for contract positions are often shorter than FTE roles for several reasons. Once hired, contractors may be expected to contribute immediately and receive less professional development & mentorship than FTEs. Finally, while pay may be similar, contract employees rarely receive benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, bonuses, and paid vacation.
On-the-job questions
Q: I find I use the same few methods over and over. How do you continue to develop and broaden your skillset in research methods?
Most of your projects will use the same small handful of methods, notably interviews and usability tests. Over time, it can feel like you’ve reached a skill plateau with these methods. If you find yourself in this camp, try variable priority training by concentrating on a specific aspect of the project. For example, you may focus on becoming a more concise and informative report writer for a month. By intently focusing on parts of the process you can further develop your skills. To broaden your methodological toolbox, try your hand at learning less common methods, speak with your manager about varying the types of projects you’re assigned, and search for case studies online for inspiration.
Q: How can I best collaborate with <insert non-UXR role here>?
There are countless articles about collaboration, but I’ll add one observation that seems overlooked: the best collaborators are also the best teachers. Why? They excel at making novel concepts accessible to others. This ability is especially important when working with colleagues from different disciplines, who likely don’t have the foundational understanding of UX research you do. By explaining your thinking and decisions through foundational rationale and providing examples, you can bridge this gap. When your collaborators understand why you propose doing something a particular way, they’re more likely to buy into your thinking.
Q: How do you evaluate a team’s UX research strategy?
Evaluating strategy is context-dependent, so there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. When evaluating the effectiveness of a team’s strategy you will generally start by reviewing their vision, goals, and execution plans (assuming they have this documented). Next, you would establish standards, milestones, or metrics that reflect their stated goals and measure them over time. Periodically, you will analyze results, adjust execution plans, and update progress on goals.
Q: Aside from setting the strategy and goals, what are your biggest priorities in ensuring the success of a UX research team?
Seek optimization and balance in three areas; People, process, and technology. People are the heart of a team. Leaders should ensure their hiring processes, onboarding, resources & enablement are on point so they can find, develop, and inspire a talented team. Processes should be in place so that the people on your team know how to go about their work. Finally, the right technology should help your people execute their processes efficiently and effectively.
Q: How do you demonstrate UX research impact?
UX Research can have different levels of impact; your findings can help the org better understand users, optimize user experiences, set product priorities, or even impact strategic direction. You can track the various forms of impact your research has by documenting your work and outcomes in a repository. From this repository, you can draw trends on the volume and variety of decisions informed by research, perform retrospective ROI analyses, and build success stories.
Q: CX vs. UX, what’s the difference?
In concept, I think it is a case of UX vocabulary inflation. The distinction between the terms comes down to an arbitrary decision for where to draw the line of where UX ends and CX begins (i.e., is it at the task, journey, or lifetime experience level?). This isn’t a meaningful distinction that justifies a new name or constitutes a new field of study.
“Whether you use the term “UX” or “CX” is not important, because they basically mean the same thing if you have the “correct” interpretation of the terms.
What’s important is that:
You understand the different scopes of experience and strive to optimize the experience at all levels; and
You and your team use these terms consistently so that you minimize friction and misunderstanding”
What you (may have) missed in ‘23
I’m conscious that many of you subscribed this year, and might have missed earlier articles. Here’s a recap of what we covered in 2023:
Artificial intelligence has been a hot topic. If you’ve been unsure about the best way to use AI in your work, take a look at the PAIRED framework; it will give you an adaptable and repeatable way of assessing the effective use of AI. If you’ve noticed that users perceive AI as more humanlike than other technologies, ”Artificial Intelligence is a social actor” explains why.
Writing effective reports is a key skill researchers need to communicate findings and recommendations with stakeholders. Learn how to make better UX research reports through proven frameworks. While you’re at it, give your findings a catchy name to help them stick.
With a slowing tech industry, the UX job market has been another hot topic this year. If you’re actively looking for a UX research position, read up on these answers to common questions from job-seekers. If you’re involved in hiring and interviews, check out how to improve your hiring process's outcomes and candidate experiences.
If you want to learn more about the foundations and fundamentals of UX, you might be interested in how usability labs have evolved with our field, key lessons from the field of Human-computer interaction, or mixed-methods designs that will improve how you answer complex research questions.
If you’re a student navigating the start of your UX research career, here is what I wish I knew in grad school
New Year’s resolutions
For many of us, the start of a new year initiates a period of reflection and resolution. This guided series of questions can help you reflect on your past year and envision the upcoming one.
Drill Deeper
Depth is produced by Drill Bit Labs, a consulting firm on a mission to advance the field of user research.
We partner with leaders in UX and digital product development to improve their team’s processes, user experiences, and business outcomes. How we help:
Research projects to inform confident design decisions and optimize digital experiences.
Training courses that teach team members advanced user research skills.
Advisory services to improve UX team processes & strategy; particularly around UX maturity, research process efficiency, structuring your people, hiring & interviewing, measuring UX, and demonstrating the business outcomes & ROI of UX initiatives.
We’d be happy to open a conversation to discuss your specific needs & goals for this year. These paid services help support our free articles and industry reports.
Thank you Thomas Stokes, this recap is fantastic!