Creating Career Paths for UX Professionals

Slide 2: A Little Bit About Me • Manage UX team for Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems • UX Designers, Researchers, Tech Writers • Built and managed UX teams for about 5 years • Started out as a UI designer/usability specialist • A short first time manager story… © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 2

Slide 4: Six Important Questions 1. Do I know what is expected of me at work? 2. Do I have the materials I need to do my work right? 3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day? 4. In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work? 5. Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person? 6. Is there someone at work who encourages my development? Source: First Break All the Rules, Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman, 1999 © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 4

Slide 5: Job Descriptions & Career Ladder 1. Do I know what is expected of me at work? 2. Do I have the materials I need to do my work right? 3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day? Source: First Break All the Rules, Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman, 1999 © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 5

Slide 6: Goal Setting, Coaching and Feedback 1. In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work? 2. Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person? 3. Is there someone at work who encourages my development? Source: First Break All the Rules, Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman, 1999 © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 6

Slide 7: Get The Basics Down • Career Ladder & Job Descriptions • Goal Setting & Tracking • Reviews, Coaching & Feedback © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 7

Slide 9: Defining Job Families • Who do we have? (Allocation, Skills, Roles, Specialists vs. Generalists) • What do we need? (Identifying Gaps) • What do they have in common? (Grouping) © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 9

Slide 12: The Five Parts of a Job Description • Title • Duties (Responsibilities, Tasks, Deliverables) • Requirements (Experience, Knowledge, Skills) • Competencies (Behaviors) • Scope of Influence (Supervision, Leadership, Interactions, Decision-making) © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 12

Slide 14: Scope of Influence • Level of supervision/approval needed • Supervision/direction of others • Interactions with other roles or groups • Discretion: Responsibility for decisions (and effect of mistakes!) © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 14

Slide 15: Job Titles → Scope of Influence* • Principal, Creative Director, Chief, VP, President, CXO, Managing Partner • Manager, Director, Strategist, Architect, Partner • Staff, Senior, Lead, Art Director • Mid-level, Analyst • Associate, Assistant, Junior, Coordinator, Production *Consider the perceived value of the title and role! © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 15

Slide 16: Duties & Requirements • Be as exhaustive as possible! • Brainstorm; involve the entire team • Crib from job postings (but be realistic!) • Look at top performers – what are they doing? • Then differentiate requirements for each level and role © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 16

Slide 17: Duties & Requirements • Duties don’t necessarily change – add scope & complexity • Differentiate clearly across levels Participation in requirements gathering and review sessions. How might this change based on level? © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 17

Slide 18: Competencies • Translate generalities and traits into specifics and behaviors. For example: • “Plays well with others” → Teamwork • Works in concert with others toward shared goals • Exhibits cooperativeness • Participates in and supports positive conflict resolution • Collaborates cross-functionally • Puts needs of team over personal needs How might this competency change based on level? © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 18

Slide 19: Salary Benchmarking • Compensation surveys (Mellon, Radford) • Industry salary surveys (IA Institute, UPA)* • Public job postings (SimplyHired) • Then define low, mid and high range for each level *Take with a massive grain of salt when you can’t compare descriptions! © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 19

Slide 20: Broadbanding • Broad, overlapping pay scales • Discourages people taking the wrong path for the money – “rewarding in place” • An IA performing excellently is worth more than a manager performing poorly! © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 20

Slide 21: Job Descriptions vs. Job Ads • Explaining the job vs. Selling the job • Use the exhaustive description to better understand who you’re looking for • Then: Edit, edit, edit! • Once they start, use the job description, not the ad, to set expectations © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 21

Slide 27: Managing Expectations (on both sides) • What do you do when expectations for title/salary are out of alignment? • Provide a clear path to advancement • Be fair, be consistent. • Don’t be tempted to inflate titles! © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 27

Slide 28: Regular Goal Setting • Give them the first shot at it! • Use descriptions/career path as a foundation • Offer objectives, not goals • Define success but let them find their own way • Have regular check-ins © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 28

Slide 29: Goal Tracking Document Q1 Goals (1/1/08-3/31/08) Objectives: Goal Description Due Date Performance Rating/Comments Project/Group Goals Personal Goals © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 29

Slide 30: Coaching & Goals – Moving Up • Be open to questions, keep open dialogue • Encourage partnerships with senior team members • Find special assignments & research projects • Offer ways of operating cross-functionally • Find opportunities to let them delegate • Provide opportunities to mentor others • Help them understand and work on strategic issues © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 30

Slide 31: Coaching & Goals – Barriers • Not asking questions, repeated technical mistakes • Slow skills development, stuck in old methods • Working too much alone • Lack of accountability for problems • Not prioritizing: scattered or always putting out fires • Not delegating enough; overloaded • Overly focused on micro area of interest/expertise © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 31

Slide 33: Case Study – Moving Over • “Peter” – Usability Intern • HF grad student, usability program intern • Interested in IxD • Used job description to identify experience opportunities • Hired F/T as designer after he graduated © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 33

Slide 34: Case Study – Moving Up • “Rosie” – Mid-Level IA • Was in the position when I joined • Seemed to be doing a lot more than mid-level work • Annotated job description for the next level up – “checking off” met requirements • Got her into the right position quickly © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 34

Slide 35: Case Study – Moving Out • “Nathan” - Junior-level UI designer • Missed meetings, follow-through problems • Sidetracked on random ideas • Set up 30-day Performance Improvement Plan • Quickly showed he wasn’t meeting minimum requirements © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 35

Slide 36: Giving Objective Reviews • Use the job description as a benchmark • Point to specific behaviors • Be a mirror, not a judge • Focus on the future • Be supportive • Do it early and often, and do it in writing! © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 36

Slide 37: Exercise: Gina • Mid-level User Experience Designer • Very strong performer when working on her own • Has had problems with clients – doesn’t do well negotiating and presenting her ideas • Really really really wants more responsibility and interaction with clients, like running requirements workshops © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 37

Slide 38: What’s wrong with this feedback? “Gina, you’re a very talented designer but you’re just not good with clients. You can be really stubborn and difficult with design decisions and you need to get over that. I just don’t feel like you’re ready to move up to a client-facing position yet.” How can we make this actually helpful for her? • Specific examples, mirror behavior, use objective language, focus on the future, be supportive! © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 38

Slide 39: Exercise – SMART Goals Gina’s goals: • Get better at dealing with clients • Learn more about running requirements workshops How would you help Gina to make her goals: • Specific (Do we both clearly understand what it is?) • Measurable (How will we know if she was successful?) • Actionable (How will she do it?) • Realistic (Will she realistically be able to do it?) • Time-bound (When will she do it?) © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 39

Slide 41: Try it Out! • Use the handouts to get started • Use career pathing framework for your own development as well • Join the UX-Management list at iainstitute.org! • Some good books: • First Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently - Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman • 12: The Elements of Great Managing – Rodd Wagner and James Harter © 1997-2008 Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved 41

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