Soundtrack: “Homesick” Kissy Sell Out Featuring Oh Snap!
“I was reminded over Twitter of a post I made to the Interaction Design Association list regarding the design of a UX portfolio for someone looking to move into their next great job. Here is the edited version of that post.
Question: I need to create portfolio to show my ability to design end-to-end user experiences with examples of design proposals, scenarios, use cases, interaction flows, wireframes, UX architecture, visual designs and specifications. I am looking for guidance and examples for how to create an interesting portfolio.”
You already have all the tools you need, you just don’t realize it yet.
The first step is to back away and re-imagine the problem space. For this particular one, you don’t need to necessarily go all the way back to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, but pretty close. Getting work to put a head over your roof and food on the table would seem to be the most basic way to set the problem and solution – needing a job. This doesn’t really require white-boarding and blue ocean strategy. The next step is always harder, and I think most of us approach it bass-ackwards, as if every UX method, process, activity and deliverable we ever did was wiped from our memory like some godforsaken episode of Lost, leaving us quivering, alone, and drooling over a half-eaten pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Instead of applying at least the semblance of UX to our own career development (and portfolio design), we jump right into the visual design and copywriting of our last 4 successful projects (leaving out our failures – just kidding – I’ll get to this), crank open Photoshop, or Omnigraffle, Visio (shudder), or InDesign and begin from the end – our portfolio. I think this sucks. It is an affront the very craft we say we love.
What is the first thing we usually do when we take on a new UX project of almost any size and scope? If you answered “Kickoff Meeting” – then you get the cookie. What I mean though is not the traditional kick-off meeting with a bunch of knuckleheads gathered around a conference table with fluorescent lights and stale baked goods from the local caterer. I mean engage in some of the following activities:
1. Project Definition, Goals and Objectives: Ultimately this should be finding and getting your next perfect (or near perfect, or at least your next least sucking job/contract/gig). You need to have a vision of who you want to be in 2 years, not just that you want to eat next week.
“Designers have a prescriptive job. We suggest how the world might be; we are futurists to some extent,” said Bridget Botja de Mozota.
Have a vision for where you want to be, and sketch out a strategic roadmap for how you think you can get there. Don’t worry — that roadmap can and may include picking up some freelance gigs just to keep the rain off your head and a scotch in your hand.
2. Competitive Analysis and Research: Identify and research the top 5 companies or agencies you would love to work for. I think most UX Designers have this list floating around in their head, even if they never admit it. It could be a top tier design agency like IDEO or frog; it could be reinventing the way social justice entrepreneurs fund their next innovation – anything – but write it out; research those opportunities; gather data about the way they phrase their job requirements.
Then identify at least 1 or two people at those companies and stalk them – virtually. Check them out on LinkedIn — try to find out what in their past: their writing, blogging, publishing, and tweeting – got them hired to this dream position. Ask yourself these questions:
- What do you need to learn, or skills you need to acquire to get where those people are now? This is often called the “Design Gap,” the difference between where you are today and where you want to be.
- What does your T shaped skill-set look like? What additional disciplines should you spend time on? Great at wireframing, but terrible at doing remote usability testing? Perhaps you should focus on that. But make sure you focus your learning on things you want to do in the future — remember, this is moving towards a future version of yourself. Align you skill enhancing activities with your goals.
- What soft skills should you focus on improving? Do you talk constantly? Too fast? Do you take forever to get to a point? Are you judgmental? If you need to become better at communication — either verbal or written, do you have a plan in place?
- What ingrained, annoying behaviors and personality defects have prevented you from succeeding in the past? Be honest about this – write it down and stick it on your monitor. One personality defect I have is that I rush to judgement to quickly, sending off scathing, sometimes biting comments without thinking, so I have been trying really hard to be more empathetic – to engage my mirror neurons and put myself in the shoes of the person I am responding to. It’s not easy, this behavior is ingrained and toxic – but I have acknowledged it, and trying to temper my communications accordingly.
3. Stakeholder Interviews: Use your network of friends, friends of friends, school connections, IxDA, IAI, SIGCHI, UPA, whatever – to engage with people that make hiring decisions at companies like the ones you want to work at. Have a simple list of 3 or 4 questions you would ask them about what they look for in a portfolio. Let them tell you what the portfolio should show, how it should be communicated, and at what level of details. While you’re at it, observe everything from their mannerisms, affect, language to how they answer the questions.
Then take this information combined with the information gleaned from activity #2 above – and craft at least 1 straw-man persona based on that information. You’re designing your portfolio (like a product or solutions) to meet a need of a target audience which means that you need a persona that identifies those decision makers (hiring managers), and their goals, needs, pain-points, desires, background, aspirations, work habits, etc. Be explicit in the detail, but remember – you will never show this persona to anyone – EVER.
4. User Scenarios: Write at least 1 if not 2 User Scenarios, or narratives, from the perspective of the hiring manager. Write into the narrative a day in the life: all the people they interact with, and their interactions with the team they manage. Make sure that if you can – identify other people on the team and bring them to life. Hiring decisions are rarely left to just one person. Write some dialog, if you feel inspired. The key is to humanize these decision makers, place yourself in their shoes, and understand that you are designing your portfolio as a means to solving a problem *they* have — ignore your problem of needing a job. That’s not their concern.
5. Narrative Writing: Find one solid story that you can tell from your previous or current position that tells a complete story of your skills, background, and thought processes. This is far better than showing wireframes across 10 different projects. Would you rather see 10 different decontextualized sex scenes or one epic movie with a love scene? Which do you think will get you the job?
Tell a story — make it compelling, and … wait for it… be honest about when you failed, how you dealt with it, and what you learned. Do not be some douchebag that frames failure as being everyone’s fault, or state something meaningless and vapid like “I was just too passionate about making sure it was the most elegant, mind blowing social buzzword, buzzword, buzzword, and the rest of the team just lacked the desire to be as focused as me.” Save it for someone stupid enough to believe that load of crap – real hiring managers are human beings that want authentic engagement – stop re-writing your past like some PR press release. In fact, move in the opposite direction and PWN that failure. Every project has some failures, and every project has to deal with the realities of resources, time, commitments, team dynamics and dickhead stakeholders, clients, or boss’ wife that wants some button green. Professionals take ownership and losers point fingers.
6. Craft a Portfolio: From the story you have crafted as a long form narrative — which will never be shared — craft a portfolio that tells your story, in context, to your audience. Make sure it addresses their needs, goals, and desires from their perspective. The portfolio should be concise, easily understandable, and provide a richer picture of you. It should represent the value you bring to an organization — things that can’t be found on your backward looking resume.
7. Plan for everything: Choose the best tools to tell the story. Never count on an Internet connection when you finally do get in front of the hiring manager. Make print and web versions. Make them downloadable. Send your entire story to these people when they ask for a resume. Then the interview becomes a conversation focused on the two most important things: Are you a good fit (personality/culture/demeanor)?; and How you will make their lives easier so they can go home early, play Legos with their kids, and enjoy a quiet evening with their spouse?
Good Luck. Everything above are just my random thoughts.
@semanticwill
