ux talent availability & its impact ux-india-2016

© YUJ Designs 2016. Confidential Document.

Prasadd BartakkeCo-founder, Chief of Design


Impact

a ‘UX’ talent makes it happen

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Quality Talent

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Quality Output

Impact


Technical

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Soft Skills&

Good Career Satisfying Work, Genuine Output, Happy Customers, Profits, Good Salary


Idealistic so far

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© YUJ Designs 2016. Confidential Document. 6

Supply&Demand

Talent reality


Reliability

• Quality

• Knowledge quantum

• UX brand

Instability

• Real talent is scares

• Cost

• Burn

That gap is not good for the UX community


Demand - supply gap is increasing• Not just about creating wireframes any more

• Nor jargons - IA, UR, UT..

• Good looking designs are already out there (Pinterest hai na)

• What businesses have started to look for are trail blazers:

• Business impact (Conversion)

• Drive a ‘Design’ Strategy (for long haul)

• Demonstrate ‘Design leadership’ (impact of UX methodology, principles of human cognition)

• Thought leaders (question, take decision and rationalise stand)

• System level thinking (end to end touch points)

• Excellent debater (SME v/s Research)

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User experience encompasses all aspects of the end-user’s interaction with the company, its services, and its products.

- Don Norman


Further, the gap may just widen..• Trend: Have the technology - but design is yet to do the thinking

• Personalized experience - Custom experiences

• Subtle interactions (Design for a quick glance) • Apps could be passé (and so is RWD?) • Multi-channel - multi device • BOTs, VR, AR

• Voice, touch free

• Impact at global level

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Why is supply stressed?

• Late entry - UX gained steam only in the last 4-5 yrs

• Dearth of UX talent in the industry - dearth of good educators (deadly vise-versa cycle)

• Further, weak industry - academy collaboration

• Less opportunity for ‘Get training on the job’

• Get someone to design ‘beautiful’ at any cost

• Salaries are up - quality is not

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Since 90s

IT boom later 90s

Almost no design / UX for 15 years


• Experts

• Mid-level

• Freshers

• Studios

• UX Depts

• Start Ups

Build Career with a good mentor

Right Candidate for the Right Price


Pain area

+ 300 resumes - 1 ‘talent’ hire - months

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• UI/UX

• Wireframing

• HTML

• CSS3

• JQuery, JS

• UI/UX

• Think users

• IA, Personas

• Research

• Wireframes

Which resume I should worry the most?


• Resume

• Initial Questionnaire

• Design Test

• Interview

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2

3

4

1 2 3 4

Gets tough

Quality of questions candidates need to field

• Reasons for high rejections (300 = 1)

• Claim to be UX experts but overpaid

• Indi contributors

• Not much to show

• Misfit to culture (Drive customer engagements, design leaders …)


Lets look deeper into the gap

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Industry is looking for…Design strength

• Someone who tells a success story of how s/he created value for the users and business

• Ability to define problem - create a solution

• Specific design change or enhancement they did (Before and after examples)

• Macro - micro picture at all times

• Anchor engagements and talk to my customer directly

• Design thinking - not wireframes

• How did the designer apply principles of Cognitive Psychology (thereby it’s impact on business)

• Not just meaning but application of terminologies (otherwise it’s jargons)

• Work quality counts - not # of years

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Candidates usually offer

• Wireframing (wear users shoes)

• Skill in gathering requirements

• Mostly single handed - no one to brainstorm design (debate)

• But they aspire to do ‘real’ UX (no guru to work with) :(


Industry is looking for…

Energy • Listen - think - ask questions (deeper probe) - listen - think

- respond • Open up their designs for reviews and debate (and win it) • Thinker first (Doer later)

• Design management - Time and quality are both important

• Not a individual contributor - Design business can’t be done in isolation

• Question - make business think (CEOs will love you)

• Interview the interviewer

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Candidates…

• Assume interviewer is not an UX expert - 50% game is lost with know it all attitude

• Not prepared - heavy reliance on visual portfolio (lack of thought process)

• Responsive - not participatory (doesn’t have any questions for the interviewer)

• Weakness - unable to take criticism (fall in love with own design, become defensive)

• Fearful of saying ‘I don’t know’ • Seeking a job (ready to be driven)

v/s career (read to drive)


Ideas to reduce the gap (UX crash)

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Ideas for designers• Head of design, UX practitioners to push UX process (Better if it is ground up - staff/employees)

• Not let sloppy practices creep in

• Read, talk - Prune vocabulary through practice (otherwise it’s jargon)

• Invite folks to critique your designs

• More important be ready with design rationale (Cognitive science)

• Present findings and thoughts within organisations (Review of your career trajectory)

• Teach at a design school nearby or help a start up (for a small fee)

• Submit works for international competition

• Overtake the product manager on ‘product design and strategy’

• Check if we are working hours out (sign of no methodology)

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‘Designer’

The one who demonstrates direct

impact of applying principles of human

cognition on design of business!


Ideas for UX as a system (How to avoid ‘UX’ crash?)

• Collective efforts for skill development

• It’s not 1 person but organizational challenge (National?)

• Teach at design school much more often (or students come over) • Knowledge sessions with customers - Outside projects, just before or after projects • Sharpen the sword - High-end skill building initiative within organizations

• Academics to strengthen initiative of giving practical experience to students

• It goes beyond designing wireframes etc

• Educate your hiring vendors (balance of technical skills, price and career building - its not a job)

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India

Shining by Design

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