Summary
Our research study was part of a Directed Research Group through the Human-Centered Design & Engineering department at UW.
As User Experience (UX) continues to grow as a field, our task was to delve deeper into the UX community and explore the pathways to leadership within it. Initially, I defined "leadership" as encompassing public speaking, influence, and the ability to inspire others.
However, through the course of our study, I realized that leadership cannot be reduced to a simple set of traits. True leadership is about the people around you—good leaders empower and inspire others, sharing their vision in a way that brings everyone along on the journey.
SECONDARY RESEARCH (10 WEEKS)
To gain a deeper understanding of UX leadership, our research group began by reading and discussing existing studies on leadership and the UX community. This groundwork helped us shift our focus toward planning interviews, during which we developed an interview script and screener.
Our efforts paid off, as we received responses from over 70 individuals with diverse UX backgrounds through our study screener.
INTERVIEWS (4 WEEKS)
Overall, we held 18 semi-structured interviews through Zoom with participants who we felt exemplified UX leadership.
During these interviews, one person moderated the interview and at least one other person was taking notes.
We used Google Sheets to keep track of who we were interviewing, when the interview was (date and time), and who would be moderating the interview.
THEMATIC ANALYSIS (4 WEEKS)
Using Miro, we analyzed each interview transcript and notes from our conversations with UX leaders, highlighting key themes and ideas.
We then organized these insights using a "pizza analogy" to illustrate the essential ingredients that make up a UX leader.
After going through over a hundred sticky notes, we identified 4 main topline findings.
TOPLINE FINDINGS
Communicate with empathy
A common theme that emerged across all our interviews was the importance of strong communication skills. This includes not only speaking—effectively conveying information—but also listening—actively understanding others' perspectives.
Be curious & get involved
Get involved with things that speak to your own strengths.
Ask questions because there is ALWAYS something to learn.
Mentor. guest speak, and advocate.
Participate and get involved In events.
No one direct pathway
There were a variety of educational background and no 2 intervewees has the same pathways into UX/Leadership. In the end, it doesn't matter which background you come from, as long as you have the passion.
No one definition of leadership
Leadership can be seen in different forms, whether it be organizing, speaking, event planning, etc.
PLAYBOOK CREATION (4 WEEKS)
We constructed a 31-page UX Leadership Playbook using a pizza analogy.
To briefly introduce the analogy, just like a pizza has those common ingredients, there are common skills and abilities that UX leaders possess.
Concept to Final Illustrations by Me
