you want to be a …

Inspired by one of the article from IXDA article I start my small research about hiring new UX specialist. In this research I found many similarities between different offers. Key responsibility and deliverable over and over again. What you don’t see how they are involved and where start and where finish they responsibilities and how you can learn this.

Requirements

This is a great opportunity for talented and analytical Lead Interaction Designer to create the best user experience for our core experience. We are looking for someone who is passionate about the user and can leverage a user-centered process to conceptualize innovative designs, create user specifications, workflows and mock-ups. As a Lead Interaction Designer you will collaborate closely with Product Managers, Designers, and Engineers to drive the overall strategy and execution. The Lead Interaction Designer is a highly visible and exciting role within the organization where you will have opportunities to present to executive management the overall vision and execution.

I saw many of these adds in last couple of years repeating same messages about analytical approach with strong visual skills. Basically what they looking for is more less another Michelangelo. You are analytical – because if you are not you are not UX person -  right! You are passionate about UX – well if you are not passionate about things you doing you are probably not a senior / lead. Your passion drive you to learn, expose, explore and share with others and this for me is a main core of UX lead personality. You walk through your career and you learn from the all mistakes you or someone made.

“Without disappointment

there is no victory”

I don’t know who said that but it can fit to anything you trying to do right. Your knowledge will expose. Learning different principles and techniques for different type of the market will allow you to make a better judgment in exact field.  You obviously find the situation that it’s impossible implement everything from live circle. Try as much as possible to talk to your developers. Great UX person understand all interaction and data transferring which happens behind the scene. You’ll be able to describe the functionality and ergonomic of whole process not just from UCD perspective but also from development and marketing perspective. This will definitely give you a chance better understanding where is your position and what you trying to achieve.

Job Specification

Job Specifics:

• Drive user-centered designs; translate user and business needs and technical capabilities into innovative products that provide a positive user experience.
• Develop work flows, user task analysis, personas, interaction flows/information architecture, low fidelity mock-ups, navigational flows, and high fidelity prototypes.
• Create wireframes, mock-ups, and UI specifications for our consumer focused product.
• Participate in user research and usability testing to help improve the product through every stage of the product lifecycle. • Review and analyze user research and usability reports, for use in determining best UI design solutions.
• Present designs to cross-functional teams and negotiate trade-offs.
• Manage all aspect of projects, including scheduling, ensuring milestones are met, tracking UI/Usability issues, and making design recommendations.
• Contribute to the design standards and promoting user-centered design throughout the organization.
• Develop guidelines, standards, user-centered design processes and ensure that they are fully integrated into the user-centered product development life cycle.

This is one of the best description I have ever seen. This include almost everything for you to be focused to become future UX IxD Guru. Of course you might also choose different type of IxD career and be more like Ix project manager or associate. Decide carefully where exactly you put all your efforts and knowledge.

Qualifications:

• At least BA/BS in Human Computer Interaction, Usability, Human Factors, Industrial Design, Psychology, Computer Science or related field. MA/MS preferred.
• 7+ years of experience working in interaction design, UI design, and/or information architecture.
• Articulate design concepts and prototypes, with the ability to define your “vision” for the project in a variety of ways – written, visually and verbally.
• Experience applying a user-centered design process for e-commerce and/or retail websites
• A mastery of web standards, user-centered design principles, knowledge of the Agile development process.
• Strong communication skills.
• Mentoring and guiding more junior designers.
• Identifying and leading process improvements that make the UI Design group more efficient and effective.
• Contributing to a culture of innovation and teamwork with measurable positive results.
• Representing our client in the broader design community through conferences talks, papers, networking, etc.

Focus to education

To be a HCI educated is for most over 40 years old professionals quite hard in mid of 90′s there wasn’t established such a HCI education as we see today. Even so these professionals making double effort to finish MA or even Ph.D. at HCI focused at process and UX pracitces.

Where to get involved

Finally on the end of this short article let me present a couple educational resources around the world and mainly in the UK. Any questions or even suggestion are more than welcome.

1. http://www.humanfactors.com
2. http://www-hcid.soi.city.ac.uk/
3. http://uxexchange.com/
4. http://www.stcsig.org/
5. http://www.deyalexander.com.au/
6. http://www.ixda.org/discuss.php?post=47438
7. http://www.lgu.ac.uk/
8. http://www.cea.mdx.ac.uk/
9. http://www.kingston.ac.uk/
10. http://www.mdx.ac.uk/
11. http://ciid.dk/education

VALUABLE

1. http://www.uclic.ucl.ac.uk/
2. http://hcibib.org/education/
3. http://www.deyalexander.com.au/