Business: Remote Work

Although we can’t always spend as much time and money as we’d like to conduct user research and there are times when we need to take shortcuts, there’s a fine line between discount user research and half-assed user research. UX professionals have always had to fight to get user research included on projects. Because of time and money pressures, we may have felt justified in cutting corners to fit in whatever user research we could. After all, even a little user research is better than none at all. Isn’t it?

Yes, taking clever shortcuts can reduce the time and cost of doing user research—and, sometimes, conducting at least some user research is better than doing none at all. However, if you sacrifice in the wrong areas, you can end up gathering incorrect or incomplete information that can lead to poor design decisions and, ultimately, waste far more time and money than the time and money you originally saved by conducting discount user research. Read More

“I like the idea of working remotely, but I’m worried that I won’t produce great work if I’m cut off from the team.” Does this statement ring true for you? It did for me six months ago, as I struggled through a remote contract. I hadn’t worked remotely before. As I feared, I did not produce great work, and I felt lost as to how to improve the situation.

People had often asked me why I couldn’t work from anywhere like developers do. But, usually, I just shook my head. I couldn’t explain exactly why not. Was it because I couldn’t talk with users? Not really. I’ve worked on many projects on which I couldn’t speak with users. I realized that it was something to do with communication. But why should doing UX design remotely be any different from remote visual design? Read More

This month in Ask UXmatters, our expert panel discusses how to create UX designs remotely, working with your product team and other stakeholders. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many teams have found themselves working remotely for the first time. So learning how to collaborate effectively while working remotely is essential to your success at this time.

Although the goals of your projects remain unchanged, you’ve lost your normal ways of working. Plus, many UX professionals are simultaneously supporting their children’s remote learning and taking care of pets during the work day. Fortunately, there are many tools and methods that can help us to adapt. Most of all, our indomitable human spirit makes us willing to do whatever is necessary to continue our work. Read More