Hey folks,
As you know, my background isn’t in UX. I’m in college right now and I’m going to do an oral report on UX. I’ve got a general idea of what I’d like to do but I figured I’d come to you to ask for some input.
What would you tell people who are completely unfamiliar with UX?
Thanks!
PS - Plus, this will help me deepen my understanding. I’m full of impostor syndrome because I’m learning UX as I go.
Great question.
As far as definitions go, I’d say that UX is everything that affects a user’s interaction with a product.
I think the biggest myth to dispel these days is that UX isn’t just about digital products – it applies to everything.
I will tell you what I told my mum when she asked me the same question.
The UX is a kind of umbrella. Under this umbrella, there are several activities, acting to fit the business goals to the user behaviours.
Still, she prefers to say to the people asking her about my job “he does stuff with his computer”
Thank you both!
I think I’m not alone in that every time I tell someone that I’m a UX Engineer, I’m usually met with a blank stare followed up by the question, “okay, what does that mean?”
I usually tell people that UX professionals seek to define and solve problems. For me, that means that I work to make my company’s stock trading and client management website as simple and user-friendly as possible.
I’m a big believer that the best UX professionals can come from any walk of life, so long as they are passionate about problem solving and have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge of the profession. I’m sure y’all are bored of hearing me beat that drum time and again, but it’s so true.
In the end, we are all apprentices in a craft where no one has ever become a master. No one knows everything about UX-- even some of the best minds in our industry often disagree over some of the fundamental building blocks of our practice.
The more we study, the more we learn-- and the less, it seems, that we actually know. I’ve often thought that the Dunning-Kruger Effect (the notion that those with low ability often see themselves as experts on a topic) needed a corollary that those with high metacognition of their own weaknesses often underestimate their own ability. Knowledge is a gift, but it comes with a price. It’s only in glimpsing the depth of Fountain of Knowledge that we can truly appreciate the shallowness of our own cup.
Keep working hard, stay passionate, and learn something new every day. You are more knowledgeable thank you give yourself credit for being, and you will become more than you think you can.
This is fun.
When I joined my current company, I had a strong discussion with the HR department about this naming convention.
The engineer is a girl/guy that has a background (and I hope a degree too) in fields as math, physics and etc.
UX people cannot have such backgrounds (of course there’s the case of engineers engaged with UX topics) and this is the reason why we should be called designers.
Because that’s what we do. We are part of the design process to build a product/service.
At the end, I convinced the HR to remove the title of UX engineer from our naming convention!
For my company, at least, a UX Engineer is expected to have coding chops and back end systems knowledge in addition to UX expertise. I have experience as a software engineer, front end developer, and in system admin, so for me at least it’s an accurate reflection of my skill set.
What’s funny is that even though I have these pieces of knowledge, I’m not allowed in the code base or to poke around the back end.
However, I’ll agree that for most UX positions the word “Engineer” is a misnomer.
@HAWK - Thank you for asking. I’m sorry I haven’t checked back in. According to my professors, the topic is good but I don’t have a decent direction for it. I’m going to use this topic in two classes and I’m having trouble narrowing things down to “what’s the point” if that makes sense.
I know that I at least want to include some history. After that, there are too many possibilities and I can’t choose.
Hmmm. Perhaps you could take some direction from Don’s book – design is all around us / everything is designed. UX can (and should) be applied to all of the things.
Hey there,
I’m so sorry that I’ve been so out of the loop. I just wanted to let you know that I’ve finished both presentations about UX. I was able to take everyone’s input into account and got an A on both projects.
Bless. you!!!
Legend! Good work Piper. That’s awesome.