UXPA Boston 2017 Conference

It’s a strange time for user experience. On the one hand, we have come a long way and are amongst the most ‘in-demand’ professions. Yet, many of us feel like second hand citizens in our own teams and organizations and we are still just trying to be heard. Many of us are feeling burnt out after fighting futile battles for user advocacy in our organizations. But can we avoid this burnout and be part of UX teams that find success in their organization cultures?
YES, we can. Just as a one-size-fits-all approach does not work for our design solutions, a single gold standard for the goals of UX in any organization and how we practice it is also not practical. So, we need to let go of our obsessive compulsions on how design should be practiced and instead employ an ‘organization-centered-design’ (OCD) approach for a more successful and fulfilling design practice.

Based on lessons learned from nearly 2 decades of working in various organization cultures, this talk will suggest some simple and practical UX team engagement strategies that can be put to immediate use in 3 types of organizations – Organizations where UX plays an optional/ advisory role; organizations with an established UX program and organizations that utilize design to influence business strategy.