Patrick Neeman, Director of Product
Design, Apptio @usabilitycounts | www.usabilitycounts.com Hunting Unicorns What makes an effective UX Professional{

@usabilitycounts Who’s Patrick Neeman? Almost
20 years of UX and Web Experience Runs UsabilityCounts.com and UXDrinkingGame.com Built several UX teams Drinks Whiskey

@usabilitycounts What makes an effective
UX Professional?

@usabilitycounts Be A Unicorn Thank
You!

@usabilitycounts Why am I even
thinking about this?

@usabilitycounts I have to build
teams

@usabilitycounts Patron Saint of Lost
Designers

@usabilitycounts Some Articles I Found…
! Nine Essential Characteristics of Good UX Designers http://userexperience.evantageconsulting.com/2009/07/ characteristics-good-ux-designers/ ! And about nine other articles linking to Fred Beecher’s article… ! Essential and Desirable Skills for a UX Designer http://uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2010/12/essential-and- desirable-skills-for-a-ux-designer.php ! Which a laundry list of skills that is unachievable… ! And a bunch of short articles. Fred Beecher

@usabilitycounts Why is it hard
to define what an effective UX Professional is?

@usabilitycounts There is no front
door to UX… That’s part of the problem

@usabilitycounts …and there is no
blueprint That makes it worse

@usabilitycounts For example… Dave Hogue
Ph.D. Psychology Background Good looking Great public speaker Drinks gin (Boo) Patrick Neeman Three Time Dropout Print Design Background Has a great goatee Presentation has funny photos Sophisticated Whiskey Drinker

@usabilitycounts “When I grow up,
I want to be a UX Designer.” Lion Tamer, Print Designer, Web Designer, Creative Director, Program Manager, Product Manager, and Director of Development

@usabilitycounts T-Shaped Skill Set They
have a principal skill that describes the vertical leg of the T — they’re mechanical engineers or industrial designers. But they are so empathetic that they can branch out into other skills, such as anthropology, and do them as well.” Tim Brown, IDEO CEO “

@usabilitycounts A compartmentalist isolates themselves
from the other disciplines around them, not really learning what they do or how they do it.” Jared Spool Ideal UX Team http://www.uie.com/articles/Ideal_UX_team/ “

@usabilitycounts They want us to
be unicorns… …dammit.

@usabilitycounts What are the hard
skills?

@usabilitycounts The Competencies of User
Experience User Research and Analytics Understanding the users through observations and data Content Strategy Planning for the creation, delivery and governance of usable content Information Architecture Organizing information in a product or website in a usable way Interaction Design Designing interactive behaviors with a specific focus on their use Visual Design Designing the visual qualities in an aesthetically pleasing way Front End Development Building the interactive behaviors to be used by the end user http://www.nickfinck.com/blog/entry/ux_career_progression_finding_a_niche_building_a_personal_brand/

@usabilitycounts Interaction Designer User Research
and Analytics Content Strategy Information Architecture Interaction Design Visual Design Front End Development

@usabilitycounts Visual Designer User Research
and Analytics Content Strategy Information Architecture Interaction Design Visual Design Front End Development

@usabilitycounts Content Strategist User Research
and Analytics Content Strategy Information Architecture Interaction Design Visual Design Front End Development

@usabilitycounts Design Technologist User Research
and Analytics Content Strategy Information Architecture Interaction Design Visual Design Front End Development

@usabilitycounts The Core Apptio Team
of Five User Research and Analytics Content Strategy Information Architecture Interaction Design Visual Design Front End Development

@usabilitycounts Every Project Is Like
A Different Lego Set Teams need multifaceted players — their skills fit each other and fit project needs

@usabilitycounts But… Is it really
about the hard skills?

@usabilitycounts What are the soft
skills?

@usabilitycounts So what are those
soft skills? Empathy Curiosity Methodical Fearlessness Self Aware Articulate Pragmatic Passionate

@usabilitycounts Empathy Curiosity Systematic Pragmatic
Fearless Self-Aware Articulate Passionate

@usabilitycounts Empathy Curiosity Systematic Pragmatic
Fearless Self-Aware Articulate Passionate

@usabilitycounts Empathy Curiosity Systematic Pragmatic
Fearless Self-Aware Articulate Passionate

@usabilitycounts Empathy Curiosity Systematic Pragmatic
Fearless Self-Aware Articulate Passionate

@usabilitycounts Empathy Curiosity Systematic Pragmatic
Fearless Self-Aware Articulate Passionate

@usabilitycounts Empathy Curiosity Systematic Pragmatic
Fearless Self-Aware Articulate Passionate

@usabilitycounts Empathy Curiosity Systematic Pragmatic
Fearless Self-Aware Articulate Passionate

@usabilitycounts Empathy Curiosity Systematic Pragmatic
Fearless Self-Aware Articulate Passionate

@usabilitycounts I have to convince
my developer to build a feature… Empathy Curiosity Methodical Fearless Self Aware Articulate Pragmatic Passionate

@usabilitycounts I want to understand
user needs… Empathy Curiosity Methodical Fearless Self Aware Articulate Pragmatic Passionate

@usabilitycounts I want to analyze
user data… Empathy Curiosity Methodical Fearless Self Aware Articulate Pragmatic Passionate

@usabilitycounts I want to sell
design thinking within an organization… Empathy Curiosity Methodical Fearless Self Aware Articulate Pragmatic Passionate

@usabilitycounts Context Matters Every situation
demands different soft skills

@usabilitycounts What’s the point of
this presentation?

@usabilitycounts We need to better
define who we are

@usabilitycounts Hard skills are table
stakes http://www.uxisnotui.com/

@usabilitycounts Soft skills turn us
into superheroes

@usabilitycounts Further Reading ! The
Unicorn Designer Dilemma, and How to Avoid It http://www.usabilitycounts.com/2013/07/24/the-unicorn-designer-dilemma-and-how- to-avoid-it/ ! Eight Organizational Challenges for UX Professionals http://www.usabilitycounts.com/2012/05/02/eight-organizational-challenges-for-ux- professionals/ ! Six Things Misunderstood About User Experience Designers http://www.usabilitycounts.com/2011/03/14/six-things-misunderstood-about-user- experience-designers/ ! How to Get Started in User Experience for People I Want to Hire http://www.usabilitycounts.com/2011/10/18/how-to-get-started-in-user-experience- seven-tips/

Patrick Neeman, Director of Product
Design, Apptio @usabilitycounts | www.usabilitycounts.com Thank you!