Did you see this 3D-printed ultrasound last week? Many of the people around me had the same gut reaction upon seeing it for the first time: creepy. But the second they saw it, their judgement was clouded by their bias. They have sight! “#sightedbias!” I cried. The 3D-printed ultrasound was never meant for them. It was created for a blind mother, and it was an incredibly important and appropriate use of technology to help her bond with her child. Their feelings on the matter were irrelevant.

When the products and services we build are not for ourselves, which is often the case, we can’t lean on our own understanding of the world. We have to do our best to understand the needs and perspectives of the users we serve. While we can always employ tactics like user research and interviews to begin to understand their needs, we must first recognize our own biases. When we filter out what makes us tick, we can truly hear the needs of the user — the audience for which a product or service is meant. 

Often, our biases are more subtle than whether or not someone has a disability — they can be as simple as something quirky about the way we were raised. Not bad, just different. 

This week we’re seeking to understand ourselves and others better, and working to identify the various biases we each hold that steer us away from the right conversations and the path to empathy. And, if needed, calling each other out on those inherent biases that can be so hard to see in ourselves.

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There are so many different ways to have a career in UX. You essentially get to choose your own adventure by incorporating the skills and knowledge you care about. You may eventually decide that you really care about a specific area in UX, like research or interaction or IA. When I worked in a large company with over 20 UX folks, there were people dedicated to specific sections of a site on a specific platform, like mobile web. There were people who specialized in research and usability testing. There were product owners, business analysts, and more.

But everywhere you go will be set up a little differently. From small UX teams of one to large teams of 20+, from in-house to agency-side, from highly regulated industries to innovative tech startups — each environment will have wildly different needs. In many cases, you’ll find yourself wrapping a variety of distinct skills into a UX position we like to call “The Generalist.”

Being a generalist is how many get started. You pick up skills from across the spectrum, and feel a little like a kid in a candy store when it comes to trying out new tools, roles, or ways to contribute to a product. Embrace it! This graphic from Nathaniel Davis shows all of the different skills and areas of practice under the umbrella of User Experience Design.

Regardless of your specific area of interest, there are tons of ways to expand your UX skills and grow your career. Here are a few things I do to improve my practice:

Pattern cataloging. I keep track of what I find along the way: awesome things, annoying things, things I’ve never seen before. If it sticks out to me somehow, I try to catalog it. I’ve tried a number of different methods for this (Pinterest is a great option), but I always come back to taking a screenshot and saving it in a folder with a master spreadsheet including file name, website or app, and notes or tags about why it was worth saving. LICEcap is a great free tool for cataloging this stuff as gifs, so you can hang on to any animated interactions you encounter.

Writing and speaking. Despite being a bit of an introvert, writing and speaking about UX and process are things that I like to do. I’ve found that preparing a brief for a Call for Proposals is a great way to start thinking critically about what you do and why you do it. It’s a great way to practice talking about your work and your process with the added bonus of sometimes getting asked (or even paid) to speak about it. I highly recommend Russ Unger and Samantha Starmer’s webinar on conference proposals if this is something you’re interested in doing. (Looks like they have a book out now, too!)

Dabbling in HTML/CSS/JS. I don’t think UXers have to code. But knowing how websites and databases and logic work, in a general sense, is super important. Javascript and logic are still things that are a bit tougher for me, but all it takes to begin prototyping an experience are some basic HTML and CSS chops. A good way to think about HTML and CSS is as writing and defining, with some extra syntax. If you have the luxury of working directly with a front-end developer, ask them to get you set up with some basic tools for prototyping: a version control tool like Github, a framework with good documentation like Bootstrap.

Getting integrated into your company’s version control tool is the key to communicating with developers and collaborating with them on prototypes. Having a framework like Bootstrap will help you learn quickly and cobble together prototypes quickly. I’m pretty sure I have a separate blog post on this topic just waiting to be written, so for now I’ll simply leave you with some great tools to get you started:

http://www.codecademy.com/
http://learn.shayhowe.com/html-css/
http://teamtreehouse.com/

I think the best way to conclude this series is to remind you to enjoy life while you’re becoming a UXer. Work hard AND play hard. If you don’t take time to recharge, you won’t have that “shower moment” the next time you’re wrestling with a big idea. If you take time to recharge, you’ll find the things you do outside of work start informing the things you do at work, even something as simple as the experience of going to a really great store. Our Web Application Mechanic Andy Kvamme has some great thoughts on this in the SfG blog archive. Go forth and be awesome, folks!

Experienced pros: Share your tips for expanding your skills with me on Twitter, or follow along to see RTs of the best ones!

The post Getting Into UX: Expand Your Skills appeared first on Software for Good.

You’ve just got to start doing UX to get into UX. You’re not going to be awesome at first, but you’re going to get things done.

Do you currently work somewhere where UX doesn’t exist? Make it happen! Start wearing that hat. Even if you’re not building websites, find a way to start affecting the user experience of what you are doing. The important part here is that you really do the work, and that you record your work really well.

By “doing the work” I mean don’t just skip to the fun part. Do more research (or a bigger variety of research) than you think you need to. Come up with more than one concept. Compare those concepts. Try different methods of validating your work. When you have more exposure to a variety of ways to get the job done, you’ll know which one is the RIGHT one to use later on. You may have good instincts, but if you’re a beginner, you’ve got to go through the hard work of building up your experience and your toolbox.

And absolutely don’t forget to record what you do and how you do it.

Prepare an infographic of your research findings. Don’t just open Omnigraffle or Sketch and start wireframing — start by sketching and whiteboarding first. Document usability test results and then show your work again, like how you pivoted or made changes. Find ways to hang on to artifacts of your work, even if it’s just taking a photo of a whiteboard before you erase it.

When you can show your work, you become incredibly valuable. Showing your work convinces hiring managers that you have a process, that you know what you’re doing. It convinces clients that your recommendation is the right way to go.  It doesn’t have to be overwrought, but always consider how you will prove to someone that you did this work. For me, sometimes this means organizing folders on my iPad so I can move through them swiftly in a meeting. For example, I’ll find artifacts from every stage of a project: a test script, a photo of me and my team doing cafeteria-style usability testing, a sketch on a napkin, a doodle in the Paper app, a pdf of a wireframe, a slide from usability test results, etc. I put all of these things in one folder so I can talk about my process with a stakeholder or a hiring manager.

Do you currently work somewhere where UX exists, but you’re not really connected to it? Start making those connections. In my experience, in-house UX teams love it when other areas of the company reach out. Many people I know got into UX by working alongside UXers to begin with, from business analysts to graphic designers, from technical writers to developers. If you love the UX side of things, don’t be afraid to let it show and ask questions!

You don’t have to give up your current work, either. There are so many ways to be a UXer. Some product managers also lead experience work on their products. Or you could be like our Senior Experience Developer, Evan, who incorporates his UX skillset into his work as a front-end developer.

Are you in a place where you see school as your next step? You have so many options! As an undergrad, know that you can fit a future UX career into a variety of fields of study. It’s really common to see folks with fine art or psychology degrees blossom into UXers. If you’re looking at a Masters program, Human-Computer Interaction and Information Science degrees have long been a standard. UX Mastery has a great database of programs to consider.

Interested in non-traditional education, bootcamps or apprenticeships? Lucky you — this is finally becoming an awesome reality for future UXers, most notably through Center Centre, a school seeking its first class of students right now. Apprenticeships are also becoming a more popular way to train a new class of UX professionals, though there still aren’t enough. Providing valuable apprenticeship opportunities is definitely something I strive to work towards. So if you’re reading this blog as a seasoned pro, join me in trying to create more opportunities for future UXers!

The post Getting Into UX: Just Start Doing It. appeared first on Software for Good.

It’s not an easy task to get hired for your first job in UX. It’s an especially difficult task when you don’t know anyone in the industry. Meeting other people will get your name out in the community, and there’ll be a better chance you’ll hear about awesome job postings.

Being a part of an active community is also a really great way to learn more. And there’s always someone out there who will be excited to help you learn and get connected.

There are a couple great ways to do this:

Join a professional organization, or at least start attending their events.  If you’re in the Minneapolis area, I’d suggest checking out these great professional organizations: IxDA Twin Cities, UXPA MN, AIGA MN, and MIMA. Events are often free or inexpensive ($10-20), and you almost never have to be a member to attend. If you’re in a large city, you may find a local chapter of one of the above organizations is equally awesome. These organizations will expose you to great local (and sometimes national) speakers, and you’ll often get the chance to check out company digs.

Attend a meetup! Meetups (specifically organized on meetup.com) are usually similar to events put on by professional organizations, but sometimes they are as simple as a few folks grabbing coffee or happy hour and talking about UX. There are a bunch in the Twin Cities, with more popping up every month. A few great ones to check out are Minnesota Web Designers, TC UX, UX Design Discussion, Lean UX MN, Content Strategy Minneapolis/St. Paul, Behavior MN, Girls in Tech Minneapolis, and Skyway Software Symposium.

Work socially, if you can. If you have the type of flexibility that allows you to work away from your office, try working at a co-working space occasionally. You’ll get a chance to meet a lot of other folks, and most have good distinctions between “socializing” space and “getting stuff done” space. There are many coworking spaces in the Twin Cities area, and most offer low-commitment levels of membership, like one day a month. There are a few that will also let you drop-in or come as the guest of a member. Interested? Look into CoCo, MN Social Impact Center, Joule, Restore Collaborative, Startup Venture Loft, Workaround, and Intermedia ArtsHub.

Contact people in the industry you admire, and offer to buy them coffee in exchange for their thoughts. Okay, so the actual term for this is “informational interview,” but I think that term is both really clinical and really misleading. If you think someone’s job is rad, talk to them about it! If you have no idea what a career in information architecture might look like, find someone local and invite them for coffee. Twitter is frequently the place to start making this happen. I’ve had people come to me through a simple DM, and I’ve asked people to meet for coffee through both Twitter and LinkedIn. This is something I still try to do often as it’s been a great way to learn more about new areas, and connect with people who might be good speakers at my meetup group.

When I first started in UX, I wanted to go to things like An Event Apart, Confab, and UIE. While those are all incredible conferences, you don’t need to look far or have a lot saved up to start getting integrated in your local community, right now.

Disclaimer: I am a co-organizer for the meetup group Lean UX MN.

The post Getting Into UX: Talk to People! appeared first on Software for Good.

The first thing I say to anyone interested in UX is go borrow a bunch of books from your friendly local library. Or, pull your e-reader out of retirement and put it to good use with some inexpensive digital copies.

I always start with books because there are so many different areas of focus within UX, and even many fields of expertise on the fringe of it. It’s important to explore what interests you.

There are a few books at the top of my list. These four fantastic introductions to UX will give you a well-rounded understanding of the many skills involved in UX design:

Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug
You’ll learn about what usability is, and why it matters. Krug also gives you insight into all his methods for testing usability, including great test scripts to get you started.

The User Experience Team of One: A Research and Design Survival Guide by Leah Buley
This book is a bit newer than the other classics I mention, but I’ve found it’s a great toolbox reference for anyone embarking on new UX or strategy work with a client. Buley offers a variety of tools and appropriate usage so you will be well equipped to solve your client’s problem.

100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People by Susan Weinschenk
A pillar of good user experience is behavioral science and psychology. Weinschenk encapsulates key human behaviors into this stellar book, all backed by research and case studies. You’ll want to keep this book handy so you can reference the case studies at a moment’s notice.

Information Architecture for the World Wide Web: Designing Large Scale Websites by Louis Rosenfeld and Peter Morville
In the industry, we simply call this the Polar Bear Book. This is the seminal text on information architecture, a key skill set under the UX umbrella.

There are also a whole bunch of UX books that I’ve learned a lot from. To name a few:

Microinteractions by Dan Saffer
I continually see great wireframes get translated into experiences, but the final product still fails on many counts. Microinteractions are the things you can’t always wireframe, the little pieces of the interface that make all the difference, even when they seem incredibly insignificant. Saffer’s primer on microinteractions will open your eyes to a whole world of experience waiting to be improved — one simple, tiny interaction at a time.

Lean UX by Jeff Gothelf
In my early days of UX, we did this thing where us designers would go off to our computers, build some wireframes, annotate the crap out of them, and then hand them off to developers, hoping they would get it “right.” It was awful. Lean UX is the response to that. Lean UX, based on Lean manufacturing, is the idea that teams should work more collaboratively to minimize waste (anything that doesn’t go to the end user). When we started embracing Lean UX principles, we got faster, better, and happier.

Web Form Design by Luke Wroblewski
So much of designing for the web is designing forms for the web. Designing a donation page, a checkout process, a profile creation flow… these are all forms. Wroblewski is an incredible resource on a variety of sources (more on that later) but his book and Lynda.com webcast on designing forms have greatly impacted me throughout my career. Wroblewski always backs up his recommendations with research and usability tests results to help you make the most beautiful, usable forms possible.

Designing for Emotion by Aarron Walter
What is now often referred to as designing “delightful experiences” was originally presented to me in Walter’s book. User experience goes beyond simply designing an interface that gets the user from A to B. How do they feel while going from A to B? Do they want to smash their keyboard at the end of it, or do they cheerfully close their tab with a chuckle? Walter presents case studies and methods to imbue designs with emotion, the quality that really takes design to the next level.

These books are great resources for both beginners and seasoned pros. Beyond that, I highly recommend looking into blogs and articles: Smashing Magazine, UX Magazine, The Pastry Box Project, UXmas, Luke W’s blog, and Brad Frost’s blog. I’m only naming a few of the many that are out there.

Additionally, start following thought leaders on Twitter — this is a great way to stay up to date on what the industry is talking about, writing about, or wrestling with. Some of my favorite industry folks to follow on twitter are:

@cwodtke
@brad_frost
@beep
@wilto
@sara_ann_marie
@amandaesque
@lukew

They’re all active and non-robotic in their posting, but you may find others you like too!

The post Getting Into UX: Read. A Lot. appeared first on Software for Good.

UX blends a variety of disciplines. From visual design to psychology to research and analysis, it’s a dream for anyone who cherishes their liberal arts education or would brand themselves a “life-long learner.”

UX pays well. According to Glassdoor, the average UXer in the Twin Cites is compensated on par with a software engineer.

You don’t need a master’s degree. Sometimes you don’t even need a bachelor’s degree. Because this field is still not available for study in many traditional programs, hiring managers focus more on demonstrable skill than certificates and degrees.

UX makes a difference. You have the ability to radically improve products. Because of your influence, a retailer will make more money, a non-profit will generate more awareness, and a product’s user base will grow. People will enjoy their interaction with software more because of what you craft for them.

But how do you break in? Truth: it’s not easy. That said, the demand for skilled UXers in the Twin Cities is ridiculously high. Ten years ago, UX was still a somewhat niche field, especially in smaller markets like Minneapolis. Now, companies large and small know that an effective UX team is essential to business success.

Because I’m frequently asked about getting into UX, I’ve come up with some pretty solid advice that I give over and over. For the rest of this week, I’m going to share one post each day with my advice for getting into the field. Stay tuned!

The post Getting Into UX: An Introduction appeared first on Software for Good.

If you follow me on twitter, you know I complain a lot about Mail, the email client that comes standard with any Apple computer. Ever since I left corporate life, and consequently Outlook, behind, I’ve been struggling to find an email client that I’m happy with. Then, like a magical answer to my tweet plea, Mailbox dropped their beta for Mac. Thanks to co-worker Joe, who is even further ahead of the game, I was able to get my hands on a beta coin to test it out. I don’t really get why beta coins exist, but those cute little things are way more fun than a traditional beta invite.

Mailbox for Mac has a super clean design. It worked well for them at the height of flat design mania, and it’s still working now. My only gripe here is that you can’t style emails. Normally I’m happy about that, but every once in a while I need styled or colorful text in an email. I’m only human.

I’ve always loved how Mailbox has popularized the idea of using the email archive, something I was unfamiliar with for a long time. All of your mail will still be there when you want it, but it doesn’t need to be in front of you all day long. It’s very empowering for someone interested in “getting things done”. For those who are strict followers of Getting Things Done, Mailbox also lets you turn off annoyances like badging.

The app is completely uncluttered, but still has access to what you need. It’s all color-coded the same way as its iOS and Android counterparts. This continuity between iOS, Android and Mac (beta) is great for returning users, but there are some places where it doesn’t translate perfectly yet. The innovative thing about Mailbox for iOS was that it used simple gestures to access a variety of features. It made sense on the iPhone: perfectly tuned to the form factor and the way we interact with the phone. Swipe to the right for archive or delete, swipe to the left for reminders or special archives. The best part about these gestures was the feedback you receive, mid-swipe. You knew exactly what was going to happen to that piece of email before you lifted your thumb from the screen, thanks to the green check or red x popping up from underneath.

That’s where Mailbox for Mac falls down. It’s more of a copy of iOS than a thoughtful rendition based on how people interact with their desktop or laptop. You can still swipe all of the same directions, but swiping is a lot more awkward with a mouse or trackpad. They have included some keyboard shortcuts, like using the arrow keys in the corresponding direction (with SHIFT as the modifier for secondary actions) but you don’t get that feedback, mid-action, like you do with the swipe. And while they’ve taken advantage of desktop notifications, I do miss the ability to take action (usually “delete”) on a new piece of mail directly from the notification.

But I think it’s going to get a lot better. This is beta, after all, and they’ve already released an update. That gives me confidence that they are iterating quickly and thoughtfully, based on user feedback. It’s already good enough to replace what I was previously doing to manage mail, and I’m excited to see where it goes.

Want to try it out for yourself? I have a few beta coins left. Get in touch with me at beth@softwareforgood.com or on twitter.

The post Some thoughts on Mailbox for Mac (beta) appeared first on Software for Good.