How To Be Successful in User Experience

Success in UX design is driven by a particular personality. UX requires straddling so many elements, and includes a wide range of experience and expertise, rather than allowing one to become comfortable doing the same ol’ same ol’. Not only are user needs met first and foremost, there is an ongoing feeling of growth and development required to keep all these needs managed. In these days where it seems crucial to balance Ajax, JavaScript, CSS, Flex, and more, we are reminded that all these technologies must most importantly be leveraged by a particular personality.

I recently read and enjoyed the job description for a UX Specialist at Viget Labs. This listing summarizes many of the soft skills and personality elements that are crucial to UX.

Our UX Specialists:

• Never tire of researching what users really want (and conducting his or her own research to validate or disprove those findings).
• Have an innate sense of – and strong opinion about – good usability when it comes to web applications, and an ability to clearly articulate both.
• Conceptualize and articulate complex ideas, then document them (using substantive, informed wireframes, site maps, flowcharts, personas, and use-case scenarios) to drive decisions, facilitate understanding, and reach consensus.
• Expertly present recommendations – to team members and clients, alike – on elements such as functionality, content, and navigation that are considerate of project scope and phasing.
• Have a proven record of success in managing web projects from straightforward marketing sites to complex web-based products that require loads of custom development.
• Have a perfectionist nature, but won’t lose momentum because of it.
• Play well with others – and take pride in his/her communicative and collaborative abilities.
• Understand established interactive technologies and possess an undying thirst to learn about new ones.
• Are experts on the latest trends, methods, and tools in the web industry.

The UX designer has to manage clear, concise communication both verbally and written, with business analysts and developers as well as everyday users. They must bring the needs of the user forward and make sense of them, ideally through user research and usabilty testing, and marry it both with financial concerns and functionality, making software not only worth buying and usable but responsive to what users really need and want to do. In other words, if you don’t want to juggle, you don’t want to be in UX design.