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Breaking Free from Traditional Job Titles: The Power of the UX Career Ladder
Welcome. Again!
Today, I want to dive deep into the dynamic world of user experience design and explore a game-changing concept: the UX Career Ladder.
In this framework, we break free from the traditional constraints of job titles and embrace the idea of growth, evolution, and limitless possibilities.
No longer will designers be confined to narrow roles; instead, we empower them to develop their skills and take on greater responsibilities in a multitude of ways.
We'll be looking at four focus areas: Building, Executing, Supporting, and Strengthening and a comprehensive framework of skills and competencies — where we provide a clear path for designers to reach new heights of competency.
But our ladder goes beyond professional development. We codify what is expected of designers, acknowledging and valuing contributions that are often overlooked in traditional design ladders.
And that's not all.
The UX Career Ladder also tackles the issue of fair and equitable compensation, promoting diversity and preventing a homogenous team where everyone performs the same kind of work.
We believe in building a vibrant, inclusive design community that thrives on individuality and unique perspectives.
Prototyping Your Design Career AMA with Kate Pincott.
Example of Career Tracks
Building
Designing high-quality experiences. We expect designers to demonstrate empathy to understand both complex and subtle problems thoroughly and use their creativity and experience to design appropriate solutions.
Executing
Delivering great digital solutions in teams requires rallying people behind an idea, strong leadership throughout the project, a focus on quality and excellent communication to keep everyone aligned.
Supporting
Servant leadership develop team members, advocate for them, support their well-being, and ensure an environment conducive to enabling effective work. Effective people management is crucial to getting the most out of our team, building for the future, and providing stability during organisational change.
Strengthening
Often undervalued, the work that designers do outside of their “primary” responsibility can actually help strengthen the whole design team. Recognising and encouraging these contributions are key to building the kind of team you want.
This framework is part of UX Management Playbook—made for first-time managers building healthier and happier design teams.
Example of Focus Areas
Building | Executing | Supporting | Strengthening |
Research | Project Management | Mentorship | |
Validation | Communication | Org Design | Evangelism |
Execution | Craft | Recruiting | |
Definition | Initiative | Accomplishment | Community |
Example of the Levels of Competency
Building | Research |
Juniors | Understand the importance of making research-based design decisions by asking coworkers and their mentor about best practices whilst improving their research skills. |
Junior examples | |
Mid-levels | Apply research as part of their tasks. They are expected to be able to facilitate research sessions with stakeholders and real users and produce insightful research results and recommendations. |
Mid examples | Conduct a user interview session. |
Seniors | Demonstrate extensive knowledge of research techniques by designing appropriate studies for each scenario, being a reliable source of guidance. |
Senior examples | Help a junior design a research plan and script. |
Leads | Are not only active but also proactive in disciplines such as user research, market research or competitive research by introducing new techniques and trends that were previously undiscussed. This way, they are able to expand the team’s knowledge about users. |
Lead examples | Bring guerrilla user testing to the team and popularise it as an easy and flexible option. |
Principals | Influence the whole organisation by introducing research methods that are useful for various departments. Helping others implement these methods beyond design. As a result, a research-based approach is promoted in the organisation. |
Principal examples | Adapt focus groups to the recruitment process and successfully implemented it repeatedly since then. |
Key takeaways
This framework's ultimate aim is to give designers a clear answer to a burning question:
"How can I level up and advance in my career?"
When it comes to implementing the UX Career Ladder, it's important to acknowledge that this transformative journey may initially appear overwhelming for designers.
To avoid misunderstanding, it's crucial to allocate sufficient time for designers to digest the wealth of information presented.
Typically, this process should span around 3-4 weeks, allowing designers ample opportunity to absorb the nuances of the framework and reflect on how it can shape their professional growth.
By affording designers the necessary time and space, we set the stage for the successful integration of the UX Career Ladder.
Here's a simplified breakdown of the steps to implement the UX Career Ladder smoothly:
- Customize the UX Career Ladder to fit your organization's needs and get it approved.
- Announce the roll-out formally and distribute copies to all designers.
- Create a personalized version of the ladder for each designer.
- Schedule a one-on-one meeting and ask the designer to self-assess their skills and provide evidence beforehand.
- During the one-on-one session, designers showcase their progress on each track and competency level.
- Gather additional evidence by talking to other designers and collaborators the designer frequently works with.
- Have internal discussions with other UX managers for further insights and perspectives.
- Make final decisions on each track and competency level, and generate a Designer Attributes Chart.
- Present your decisions and growth plans to the designer during a one-on-one meeting and discuss potential paths for development.
By following these simplified steps, you can ensure a clear and structured process for implementing the UX Career Ladder, enabling designers to navigate their professional growth effectively.
Are you ready to level up your UX career?
Take the first step towards unlocking your full potential with the UX Career Ladder framework.
Whether you're seeking clarity, recognition, or growth, this comprehensive guide will help you navigate the path to success. Don't miss out on this invaluable resource.
Good luck designers! 🍀
Whenever you're ready, there are 4 ways I can help you:
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2. Senior Designer Bundle: Become a design leader with systems to build healthier, happier teams and grow you and others meaningfully. Join 500+ aspiring leaders.
3. UX Portfolio Critique: Get a 20-minute video of brutally honest feedback, a checklist of things to fix, in less than 48 hours. Get a personalised portfolio critique here.
4. Job Sprint Course: Stand out in an unpredictable job market by building a memorable personal brand and a killer job search strategy. Get hired in UX with Job Sprint.
