Column: Enterprise UX

You’ve probably never heard someone say, “You know, [insert person’s name] should really start being more introverted if she wants to grow in her career.” But people who naturally show introverted behaviors constantly get pushed to exhibit more extroverted behaviors. Why is this so? What makes society and our professional environments prize extroverted behaviors to the degree that we often overlook the role that introversion can play in helping people to advance their professional career?

As someone who skews toward introversion, I’ve often felt tacit pressures to become more extroverted—especially as I’ve progressed further into my leadership career. I’ve also noticed that many UX professionals are naturally introverted, which likely contributes to their not achieving the same career growth as other more extroverted professionals within an extrovert-biased corporate environment. In this column, which is Part 1 of a two-part series, I’ll delve into the following:

• understanding introversion versus extroversion
• breaking down common perceptions
• leveraging your inherent strengths as an introverted UX designer Read More

Human beings are drawn to stories, which help us make sense of our world by letting us share others’ experiences as though they were our own. We feel characters’ struggles as they navigate difficult challenges and rejoice with them when they finally achieve their goals or share their sorrows if they do not. Stories help us learn to feel empathy—a critical trait for any UX professional.

Most importantly, stories are memorable. According to Jennifer Aaker, Professor of Marketing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, using a story to convey information is up to “22 times more memorable than facts alone.”

Telling a story can help influence the opinions of others in ways that few other modes of communication can. The value of storytelling extends to how we present ourselves and our abilities professionally. Having participated in dozens of on-site portfolio reviews over the years—sitting on both sides of the review table—I’ve found that the most effective UX-portfolio presentations have one thing in common: the candidate told a story. Read More

If it were physically possible to throw a ball at the Internet, your throw wouldn’t have to be very accurate to strike some article, blog post, or social-media blurb about artificial intelligence (AI). It seems that AI is on every leader’s mind at every technology company—taking the business world by storm—and the general public has been all too happy to follow suit. There’s a new gold rush at hand, with the spoils going to the companies, startups, and enterprising individuals who find ways to best leverage the capabilities of this new technology.

But is AI all that advantageous—or ready to become so? As a UX professional working in the industrial-automation domain, I want to share some perspectives in this column that might be surprising to you. Most importantly, we must endeavor now, more than ever, to balance human authority and empowerment with the automated and artificial solutions that we’ll create and likely champion going forward. In this article, I’ll delve into the following:

• embracing narrower applications of AI
• exercising patience and prudence regarding bigger AI applications
• understanding what UX professionals can do to contribute to the future of AI  Read More