A competency map for user research, design and client management

We identified skills and actions showing someone has one competency or not.

Six levels to measure the level of knowledge: 0 – Completely unfamiliar: Doesn’t understand the competency. 1 – Novice: Understands the competency and its importance. 2 – Advanced Beginner: Demonstrates this competency under supervision or with encouragement. 3 – Competent: Demonstrates this competency independent of supervision or encouragement. 4 – Proficient: Encourages or supervises others in this competency. 5 – Expert: Develops new ways of applying this competence measured on the world stage.

General user research

• Explain the importance of user research, not just before designing the product but also during design and after deployment.
• Identify the needed research methods and create a research plan.
• Deliver research insights in a structured way to promote research and keep accessibility in the future (e.g. research system or any other method).
• Understand how to write a hypothesis and how to control and measure variables.
• Find the target group and recruit users from the target audience.

User needs evaluation

• Gain domain knowledge (competitor research, industry, cultural insights).
• Identify the best solution to summarize user needs and goals. Create personas or jobs-to-be-done sentences through interviewing potential users.
• Create a customer (and user) journey. Identify areas of improvement and communicate the journey to the rest of the company so they can understand where to add value.
• Plan and execute field research.
• Structure and conduct an effective interview that gets beyond the surface opinions (what users say) to reveal user goals (what users want).
• Report, analyze and present the discovery research results to the wider team.

Usability evaluation

• Use established usability principles and guidelines to predict likely problems in user interfaces before testing (heuristic evaluation).
• Plan and execute usability tests (e.g. moderated vs. unmoderated test, lab vs. remote test).
• Record, analyze and present the data from usability tests to the wider team.
• Prioritize usability problems based upon evidence.

Metrics and measurements

• Create a measurement plan according to the business and user goals (e.g. AARRR, HEART)
• Create surveys.
• Plan A/B tests.
• Understand how to implement effectively and the limitations of existing analytics. Cooperate with data analysts and developers during implementation.
• Analyze, interpret and report data from analytics, user surveys and customer support records.
• Pair metrics with qualitative data to understand users behavior behind the numbers.

Information architecture

• Carry out a card sorting and tree testing; analyze the results
• Analyze a journey map to identify and construct an information architecture.
• Breakdown large IA changes into small and comprehensible deliverables based upon resource constraints

Prototyping

• Organize, structure and label content, functions and features using appropriate design patterns and create a screen flow.
• Explore multiple approaches to a problem before deciding on a solution.
• Create interactive, shareable prototypes to demonstrate and test a design solution.

Interaction design

• Understand the benefits of different user interface models and use them appropriately (e.g. knowing when to force a user down a guided path with a wizard or modal, or when to let them go their own way).
• Use the correct component from the pattern library to provide affordances and shape the user experience, e.g. choosing the correct control for an interface such as segment controller instead of a radio button.
• Understand established and evolving standards as well as best practices for human-computer interactions, and express them in our design language.
• Simplify the user interface by using animations where appropriate.
• Understand the opportunities and limitations of the technology that will express the design solution, and work with developers to determine its implementation.
• Document requirements and explain the expectations around an interaction (specification for the developers).

Visual design

• Use fundamental principles of visual design (contrast, alignment, repetition and proximity) to de-clutter user interfaces.
• Understand and use typography, icon, grid and color systems to lay out pages.
• Create illustrations that fit within our guidelines to reinforce and extend our messaging.
• Understand, use and evolve the common brand and design language and explain its importance (look and feel, moodboards, design guidelines).
• Create motion design animation.
• Collect and organize all the reusable complements guided by clear standards that can assemble to build any number of applications (Design System).

Writing

• Create and edit macro and micro copy.
• Understand, use and evolve the common content and writing style (tone of voice), and explain its importance.
• Manage multiple languages to make it understandable for translators and content team and users.
• Establish harmony between written and visual communication.

Client management

• Plan and schedule work to prioritize and maximize delivery efficiency.
• Effectively explain and present the results of your team's work in a well structured way.
• Engage and maintain communication with stakeholders; manage their expectations.
• Promote the value of design thinking; grow the client’s user-experience competency.

Professional cooperation

• Learn to make modifications in work methods, processes in case unexpected issues.
• Cooperate with other team members; constructively critique their work and collaborate for a common path.
• Promote and support the team’s ongoing professional development.
• Cultivate a team with strong interpersonal relationships (know and manage people).
• Simplify collaboration with developers in an agile way; provide specifications.

Business and strategy

• Understand and support the client in business plan decisions; understand the business model and monetization opportunities.
• Explain the cost-benefit of user experience and design activities to the business and make suggestions how to measure and monitor their effects on their success.
• Feature prioritization; support the client in product strategy considering the related impact and effort needed.

Development

• Web development (HTML, CSS)
• Web development (Javascript)
• Android development
• iOS development

Workshop facilitation

• Find the right method and tools; create a workshop plan for the product need and know how to modify when unexpected issues come up.
• Soft skills: Handle different personalities, time management, assertive communication, support the team decision.
• Effectively synthesize the information and push the participants towards their workshop goals (effective decision making and action plan).
• Ensure participants understand the workshop’s outcome and take further actions.