What does it take to be successful in the field of user experience? There isn't a single, clear-cut answer, but there are a number of different skills, traits, and perspectives that foster better workplace relationships and strengthen creative problem-solving. Anna Kaley and other fellow NN/g UX Specialists offer their insights on the commonalities that highly effective UX professionals seem to share, and how they can enable more human-centered outcomes. In this episode... Anna Kaley proposes "6...
Apr 19, 2022•33 min•Season 2Ep. 20
Have you thought about your career lately? Chances are, you have - given the buzz around the record high voluntary resignation rates during this “Great Resignation.” In this episode, Sarah Doody, UX Researcher, Experience Designer, and Founder of the Career Strategy Lab, shares her thoughts on how UX professionals can design their ideal careers, whether they’re in the market for a new role or not. Read more about Sarah Doody: Website (sarahdoody.com) Twitter (@sarahdoody) LinkedIn (/in/sar...
Mar 18, 2022•47 min
UX professionals often find themselves saddled with the burden of convincing others to value UX work. David Glazier, Sr. Staff UX Lead of Digital Experience at Illumina tells his story about how effective communication helped him get buy-in with stakeholders and key decision-makers. Read more about David Glazier on LinkedIn Courses & Talks mentioned in this episode: Storytelling to Present UX Work (live, full-day UX Certification course) VR & User Research (1-hour recorded talk by David ...
Feb 04, 2022•33 min•Season 2Ep. 18
There is no question that user research has changed over the last two years, but how significant are those changes? The answer is complex, but User Interviews' Erin May (VP Growth & Marketing) and JH Forster (VP Product) demystify these trends and share their observations and hopes for the years to come. Check out the Awkward Silences podcast by User Interviews Erin May: Twitter (@erinhmay) , LinkedIn John-Henry (JH) Forster: Twitter (@jhforster) , LinkedIn User Interviews: Twitter , LinkedI...
Jan 07, 2022•34 min•Season 2Ep. 17
As design teams mature in size and scope, the importance of intentionally designing and systematizing processes, approaches, and tools becomes increasingly difficult to ignore. Kate Kaplan shares insights from her research studying design teams and offers tips for those seeking to initiate and lead DesignOps efforts as a way to make design more impactful at their organizations. Learn more about Kate Kaplan on LinkedIn and nngroup.com NN/g Resources Mentioned: DesignOps 101 (free article) D...
Dec 13, 2021•30 min•Season 2Ep. 16
A two-part podcast episode discussing the implications of decentralized computing and mixed reality on the future of UX work. Geoff's Website: geoffrobertson.me 1-Hour Talks discussed in the episode: Blockchain 101 Blockchain & UX Related courses: Emerging Patterns in Interface Design (UX Certification eligible course) Upcoming online events: Intranet and Employee Experience Symposium: Nov 9-10 Qualitative Research Series (5-Days): Nov 15-19...
Nov 08, 2021•59 min•Season 2Ep. 15
Product visions can align a team and inspire a better future state. When visions stem from real user needs, the ideas that follow have the greatest potential for success. NN/g UX Specialist Anna Kaley discusses keeping users at the center of product development, and shares insights from next weeks' UX Vision and Strategy Series, presented alongside Chief Designer, Sarah Gibbons. Read more about Anna Kaley (NN/g bio) Referenced courses and training series: UX Vision and Strategy Series (Oct 18-22...
Oct 14, 2021•31 min•Season 2Ep. 2
To kick off Season 2, we're releasing a special edition episode, inspired by a tweet posted by @AllisonGrayce in Feb 2021 , where she asks followers, "what's a #ux hill you regularly die on?" Host Therese Fessenden asks both NN/g team members and members of the UXC and UXMC community what issues, topics, and principles they fiercely stand by, and shares their answers. Guests and submissions featured in the episode (in order): Chris Callaghan (UXMC) - UX and Optimisation Director (Manchester, UK)...
Oct 08, 2021•17 min•Season 2Ep. 1
One might think user research gets easier when there are more people available to do it; but managing research initiatives at scale can be a difficult task in itself. In this episode, Kara Pernice, Senior VP at NN/g shares her experience and insights about managing UX research operations. Kara Pernice's Articles and Videos (NN/g bio) NN/g courses and articles referenced in this episode: ResearchOps (UX certification course) ResearchOps (article) Research Repositories for Tracki...
Jul 02, 2021•32 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Advocating for UX work is hard. It's even harder when you're the only UX professional on your team. That said, there is still hope for one-person UX teams, and Garrett Goldfield shares his recommendations on how to make the most out of limited time and resources, and how to lead the charge in shifting corporate culture toward a more human-centered future. Read more about Garrett Goldfield (NN/g bio) Resources & courses cited in this episode: Episode 1. What is UX, anyway? (feat. Dr. Jakob Ni...
Jun 04, 2021•30 min•Season 1Ep. 11
To celebrate our first podcast milestone, we flipped the script. NN/g UX Specialist Rachel Krause guest-hosts this episode, and interviews host Therese Fessenden about the concept of "delight" in user experience: what it is, why the pursuit of delight can often be a short-sighted and misunderstood endeavor, and how a more holistic approach to interpreting and anticipating user needs can more reliably lead to an experience that delights beyond a single interaction. Read more about the hosts:...
May 07, 2021•29 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Does having more experience in the UX industry enable you to make better design decisions by intuition? Does user research ever become a waste of time if some research already exists in academic papers? The answer, it seems, is not that simple. In this episode, UX Specialists Alita Joyce and Therese Fessenden discuss why, after all these years doing independent user research, you should still test your interfaces and research with your own customers. Read more: Alita Joyce's Articles & Video...
Apr 02, 2021•29 min•Season 1Ep. 9
What does it take to create a great customer experience? As it turns out: a lot more than just a series of great interactions. Kim Salazar, Sr. UX Specialist, shares her expertise on what omnichannel experiences are, why they matter for CX, and how having a mature CX means fundamentally changing how we view and handle UX work. Resources cited in this episode Ep. 1 - What is UX, anyway? (feat. Dr. Jakob Nielsen, the usability guru) (our inaugural podcast episode) Operationalizing CX: Organization...
Mar 05, 2021•30 min•Season 1Ep. 8
"Keep it simple," is one of many great UX mantras... but how exactly does someone "keep it simple" when working with complex applications? In this episode, Page Laubheimer, Senior UX Specialist with NN/g, shares his expertise in information architecture (IA) and complex app design, recommends a few ideas to "lessen digital misery" on business-to-business (B2B) and enterprise applications, and offers advice for when you have to redesign a legacy application that is part of a user's everyday life....
Feb 05, 2021•30 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Aren't all "user-centered" designs ethical by default if we're giving people what they want? Not exactly. Maria Rosala, UX Specialist at NN/g, shares her thoughts about how we can be better researchers and designers by asking critical questions about our research and design decisions, evaluating important tradeoffs, and ensuring we include the right people in our research and design process. Resources Cited in this Episode: User Interviews (UX Certification course) Design Tradeoffs and UX Decisi...
Jan 01, 2021•27 min•Season 1Ep. 6
How do you evaluate the impact of UX work? As the world faces another bout of pandemic lockdowns, UX teams are finding themselves in a tough position of justifying their work to business decision-makers. Kate Moran, Senior UX Specialist at NN/g, shares insights from her recently published report on UX Metrics and ROI (return on investment) and offers advice on how to prove your worth. In this episode, we cover: what ROI is and why it matters, avoiding common pitfalls when calculating ROI, and ho...
Dec 04, 2020•27 min•Season 1Ep. 5
"Diamonds are made under pressure," but what does that mean for creativity and productivity? Aurora Harley, Senior UX Specialist, shares some advice on staying creative and productive during times of stress, thoughts on reframing constraints as opportunities, and tips for nurturing an environment that fosters innovative thought regardless of distance. Resources Cited in this Episode Effective Ideation Techniques for UX Design (full-day course) Changing Role of the Designer (Don Norman) (5 min vi...
Nov 06, 2020•30 min•Season 1Ep. 4
What does a typical UX career path look like? Are there even typical career paths in UX? How can you become a UX leader? What should new and seasoned UX professionals keep in mind as they move through their careers? Rachel Krause, a UX Specialist at Nielsen Norman Group, shares her insights from her research on the UX profession, and perspectives from her own journey into the field of user experience. Resources Cited in this Episode: What a UX Career Looks Like Today (free article) User Experien...
Oct 09, 2020•25 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Sarah Gibbons & Therese Fessenden discuss empathy and adaptability as critical design skills (perhaps now more than ever) and share thoughts on how design plays a bigger role than meets the eye. Resources cited in this episode: NN/g Instagram: @nngux Service Blueprinting (full-day course) Design Thinking is Like Cooking (2 min video) UX Roadmaps (full-day course) UX Roadmaps: Definition and Components (free article) Sarah's NN/g Articles and Videos (bio page) Also related: ...
Sep 04, 2020•30 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Nielsen Norman Group is celebrating its 22nd anniversary by launching our very own NN/g UX Podcast. Join host Therese Fessenden as she interviews NN/g co-founder Dr. Jakob Nielsen on the most important questions about our industry: What really is "user experience," anyway? And what is the state of UX now, compared to when NN/g started 22 years ago? Resources Cited in this Episode: The Definition of User Experience (article) WAP Mobile Phones Field Study Findings (article) Describing UX to ...
Aug 10, 2020•17 min•Season 1Ep. 1
