What’s the most valuable UX method? What are the best UX tools? What techniques do teams use the most? This presentation covers those topics and more in fresh findings from research with UX practitioners from across the industry. You’ll learn something useful whether you’re a manager, a seasoned pro, a newcomer planning your next career move, or just want a few ideas about new skills to learn.

1. @LKANTROV #IAS17
The State of UX: Industry Trends & Survey Results
IA Summit – March 24, 2017

2. Hi.
Ancestry
Black Lab
Mountain Cur
Red Bone
Coon Hound
70
108
Predicted
Actual
Weight (lbs)
(49 kg)

3. 3
UX Has Gotten “Bigger” Over the Last 20 Years…(in my experience)
Before 2000:
• Ergonomics, Human Factors
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Usability & User-Centered Design
• Information Architecture (emerging)
• Graphic Design
• UI Developers
• & Other related groups/disciplines
Circa 2000:
• User Experience (UX or UE?)
• Defining what it is…

4. 4
UX Has Gotten “Bigger” Over the Last 20 Years…(in my experience)
Since 2000:
• UX becomes “tribe” for many
pre-existing disciplines
• Lots of marketplace demand
• Technology changes
• More formal educational paths into UX
• New methods, practices & tools
• Contextual changes (Agile/Lean, etc.)
• Many still trying to define the damn
thing…

5. 5
…And Now Some Want to Declare It Dead.

6. 6
Foundations: Methods & Tools
• Project Planning
• Scope Management
• Microsoft Project
• Rally
• Etc.
PROJECT
MGMT
Methods
Tools
Philosophy?
Practice?
Industry?
Discipline?
Job Category?
Many
Many More

7. 7
Foundations: Methods & Tools
PROJECT
MGMT
Methods
Tools
USABILITY
Methods
Tools
UX
Methods
Tools
• Usability Testing
• Field Studies
• Morae
• SurveyMonkey
• Etc.
• ?
• ?
• ?
• ?

8. 8
Competitive Analysis – UX Method or Not?
• 2015 UX Competitive Analysis
Presentations
• Absent in published materials
– Mentioned in some UX books
(often in a list of methods)
– Little specific “how to” information
• Not talked about much overall
(e.g. at conferences)

9. 9
Competitive Analysis – UX Method or Not?
• Is Competitive Analysis REALLY a UX method?
• Is Competitive Analysis really USED by UXers?
– How many?
– How often?
– How useful do they find it?
Idea:
Find out what UXers actually do.  Get data!

10. 10
Survey Goals
• Understand better what “UXers” use in practice
– Methods / Techniques
– Tools
• Avoid labels as much as possible (IxD, UX, CX, SD, IA, etc.)
Possible Outcomes:
• Provide UXers with a broader perspective on their own practice &
the industry
• Help managers, job seekers, students & others make more
informed decisions
• Share insights from research, not opinions & anecdotes often
found online

11. 11
Methodology
• Vivid Mojo conducted an online survey (Fall, 2016)
• UX practitioners invited via various online UX related communities
– Large UX LinkedIn Groups
– UTEST Email List
– Twitter (thank you to UX rock stars who shared)
– UX related Facebook pages
• 21 Questions
• About 12 minutes to complete on average
• 263 Responses from UX Practitioners
Respondent Type Total
UX Practitioner 94%
Non-UX Role & not a Student 2%
Student in a UX related program 2%
Student in Non-UX related program 1%
Other 2%

12. 12
Internal vs. External UX (Type of Products)
In your UX work, who owns the products/services you primarily work on?
Works on products or
services their company
sells or uses
Works on client owned
products or services
n=263

13. 13
Experience & Education
n=263
Years of UX Experience Education

14. 14
Respondents
n=263
25 Countries
Gender
Range of Ages

15. 15
Company Size
S: n=60 | M: n=43 | L: n=81 | NA: n=79
Company Size (# of Employees)

16. 16
Creating My First “UX” Job Title…(2001)
Role Involved:
• Usability
• Information Architecture
• Design
• Strategy
“User Experience Architect”
Googled it and only found one other person with that title.
(That person was also on the SIG-IA email list.)

17. 17
Job Titles – A Long (Tail) Story…
262 responses  149 unique job titles
(Only three User Experience Architects)
Top Titles #
UX Designer 33
Senior UX Designer 19
UX Consultant 8
UX Researcher 8
Senior UX Researcher 7
UX Lead 6
User Researcher 6
n=262
Job titles mean (almost) nothing.
Word cloud of respondent job titles

18. 18
Quiz Time…
Which of the following categories best describes your ROLE?
(PICK ONE)
– Designer
– Researcher
– Consultant
– Manager
– Executive (Founder, Owner, President, CEO)
– Project Manager
– Other

19. 19
Roles
n=263
Roles Roles vs. Internal/External
74% identified as a
designer, researcher or
consultant
What category best describes your role?

20. 20
Company Size Relates to UX Roles
Respondents at small
companies identified
more as “consultants”
less as “designers”.
S: n=57 | M: n=41 | L: n=82
Company Size vs. Roles
Even large companies
have consultants.

21. 21
Methods (& Skills, Techniques, & Practices)

22. Hound Dog Skills
• Sleeping
• Eating
• Drooling
• Napping
• Cat Chasing
• People Smelling
• Barking
• Tail Wagging
• Hole Design & Dev.
• Snoozing
• Innovation in Chewables
• Food Testing
• Self-Eyelid Inspections
• Rolling in Stuff
• Squirrel Chasing
• Territory Marking
• Sunbathing
• Misc. Social &
Interspecies Skills
Hound
Lips
(4lbs)
Hound
Ears
(1lb)
#HarleyTheHunnerPoundHound

23. Hound Dog Skills
• Sleeping
• Eating
• Drooling
• Napping
• Cat Chasing
• People Smelling
• Barking
• Tail Wagging
• Hole Design & Dev.
• Snoozing
• Innovation in Chewables
• Food Testing
• Self-Eyelid Inspections
• Rolling in Stuff
• Squirrel Chasing
• Territory Marking
• Sunbathing
• Misc. Social &
Interspecies Skills
UX Skill Areas
• Interviewing
• Testing
• Designing
• Prototyping
• Sketching
• Facilitating
• Evaluating
• Mapping
• Storyboarding
• Wireframing
• Researching
• Analyzing
• Writing
Skill?
Ability?
Technique?
Proficiency?
Method?
Activity?
Behavior?
Expertise?
Yes.

24. 24
Quiz Time…
What is your most valuable
UX method or technique?

25. 25
6 Methods Related Survey Questions
Which methods…
• have you personally used in your UX work?
• have you used in the last 12 months?
• do you use most frequently? (Select 5)
• provide the most value? (Rank top 3)
• do you most want to learn more about? (Select 3)

26. 26
• Accessibility Reviews
• Accessibility Testing
• Agile / Scrum / Lean
• Animation Design
• Card Sorting
• Coaching / Mentoring
• Competitive Analysis
• Competitive Studies /
Reviews / Benchmark
• Content Inventory / Audit
• Content Strategy
• Content Translation
• Copy Writing
• Creative Direction
• Diary Studies
• Ethno / Field Studies /
Contextual Inquiry
• Eye Tracking
• Focus Groups
• Formal Usability Testing
• Heuristic/Expert Review
• High Fidelity UI Mockups /
"Comps"
• Process / Workflow Design
• Product / App Roadmapping
• Product Management
• Product Strategy
• Project Management
• Prototyping - High Fi
• Prototyping - Low-Fi
• Prototyping - Paper
• Recruiting Research
Participants
• Remote Mod. Usability Testing
• Remote Unmod. Usability
Testing
• Requirement Gather
• Screen / Page Layout
• Screenflow Mapping
• Search Analytics
• Search Engine Optimization
• Service Design
• Site Mapping
• Sketching
• Sound Design
• Stakeholder Interviews
• Storyboarding
• Icon Design
• Illustration
• Informal Usability Test
• Information / Content Design
• Information Visualization
• Interface Design / IxD
• International / Globalization
• Journey Mapping
• Lean UX
• Logo Design
• Market Research
• Mobile Development
• Moodboarding
• Multivariate / A-B Testing
• Navigation Design
• Online Research
• Participatory Design
• Persona / User Profile
• Photo / Image Licensing
• Photo Editing
• Photo Studies
• Plain Lang. Evaluation
• Style Guide / UI Standards
• Surveys
• System Data Analysis
• Task Analysis
• Taxonomy Design
• Technical Writing
• UI Development
• UI Pattern Creation
• Use Cases
• User Interviews
• User Stories
• User Story Mapping
• Video Design
• Visual / Graphic Design
• Voice UI Design
• Web Analytics
• Web Development
• Web Strategy
• Wireframing
• Workflow Analysis
Methods Used by UX Practitioners
35 used in the past on average
21 used in last year on average
84 methods, techniques & skills to choose from

27. 27
Methods/Techniques Used by UX Practitioners
Top Methods (1-10) Top Methods (11-20)
n=263 / 223

28. 28
Most Valuable Methods
Which methods / techniques provide the most value? (Pick 3)
n=220
Listening to users is our “secret sauce”
…and observing…
UX really IS about users.
(Yay!)

29. 29
Top 10 Methods UX Practitioners Want to Learn
Which methods / techniques would you most like to learn more about? (Pick 3)
n=195

30. 30
Tools (& Apps, Services, Etc.)

31. 31
Quiz Time…
?
What is your
most valuable UX related tool
(software, site, app)?

32. 32
3 Tools Related Survey Questions
Which UX Tools…
• have you personally used in your UX work in the last
12 months?
• do you use most frequently? (Select 5)
• provide the most value? (Rank top 3)

33. 33
• Adobe Analytics /
Omniture
• Adobe Fireworks
• Adobe Illustrator
• Adobe InDesign
• Adobe PhotoShop
• Axure RP
• Balsamiq Mockups
• Camtasia
• Chalkmark
• Clicktale
• CrazyEgg
• dscout
• Ethnio
• Five Second Test
• Mockups.me
• Morae
• Omnigraffle
• Optimal Workshop
• OptimalSort
• Ovo Logger
• Paper Prototyping
• Patternry
• Pixate
• Powerpoint
• Programming Code
(.Net / HTML / CSS
/ Java / etc.)
• Proto.io
• Protoshare
• Reframer
• Fluid UI
• Foresee
• Gliffy
• Google Analytics
• Indigo Studio
• iRise
• Jing
• Justinmind
• Loop11
• Mechanical Turk
• Microsoft Blend
• Microsoft
SketchFlow
• Microsoft Visio
• Mockplus
• Silverback
• Sketch
• SnagIt
• SurveyGizmo
• SurveyMonkey
• Treejack
• UsabilityTools
• Usabilla
• Uservoice
• UserZoom
• UXPin
• Webtrends
• Xsort
Selected 7 tools used in the last year on average
167 respondents wrote in over 90 other tools
60 tools, apps & services to choose from
Tools Used by UX Practitioners

34. 34
Top Tools Used by UX Practitioners in Last 12 Months
Top Tools (1-10) Top Tools (11-20)
n=197
20 Write-ins

35. 35
Most Valuable UX Tools
Which UX tools provide the most value? (Rank Top 3)
n=180
We get a lot of value from our design tools.
7 of Top 14 were design tools.

36. 36
UX Role Differences

37. 37
What is a “UX Practitioner”?
• Job Postings are a mess
• The people hiring UX often don’t
understand UX.
Example:
– Information Architect
– Visual Designer
– Agile
– Enterprise applications
– PhotoShop & Illustrator
– Wireframes, Visio, Balsamiq
– User studies, focus groups,
taxonomies, research
– HTML5, CSS3, Angular
Information Architect,
Graphic Designer,
UI Developer,
User Researcher
Generalist?
Unicorn?

38. 38
The “Average” UXer
• A blend of roles/profiles
within the industry.
• Research #1 activity
even though designers
were largest segment
(33%) of respondents.
n=185
Average Activities: All Respondents

39. 39
Development
• Only 44% of respondents did
any development
• Max development % of job for any
individual was 50%
• 70% of those who develop estimated
it between 3-30% of their time.
n=185
Average Activities: All Respondents
Most UXers don’t develop.
For those that do,
it’s a small part of their job.

40. 40
Development
• Only 44% of respondents did
any development
• Max development % of job for any
individual was 50%
• 70% of those who develop estimated
it between 3-30% of their time.
Most UXers don’t develop.
For those that do,
it’s a small part of their job.
?
Maybe.
It’s true for at least
this sample.

41. 41
Role Differences: Activities
D: n=54 | R: n=43 | C: n=39 |M: n=12 | E: n=35
Activities by Role
Managers & Execs do a lot of “other”

42. 42
Role Differences: Job Titles
“Role” seemed
to predict job
titles better
than job titles
predict roles.
At least for
Designers &
Researchers.
Cloud of designer job titles
Cloud of researcher job titles Cloud of execs/other job titles
Cloud of consultant job titles

43. 43
ALLRESPONDENTS
Method Type %
User Interviews RES 79%
Wireframing DSN 72%
Persona / User Profiles RES 70%
Stakeholder Interviews RES 68%
Informal Usability Test EVAL 68%
Prototype - Low-Fi DSN 67%
Sketching DSN 65%
Heuristic / Expert Review EVAL 64%
Interface Design / IxD DSN 63%
Card Sorting RES + EVAL 63%
Online Research RES 61%
User Stories ETC 59%
Navigation Design DSN 59%
Requirements Gathering ETC 58%
Formal Usability Test (Lab) EVAL 56%
Agile / Scrum / Lean ETC 56%
Screen / Page Layout DSN 55%
Coaching / Mentoring ETC 55%
Prototype – Paper DSN 54%
Competitive / Comparative Analysis RES 53%
Role Differences: Methods Used
CONSULTANTS
Method Type %
User Interviews RES 89%
Heuristic / Expert Review EVAL 86%
Wireframing DSN 82%
Informal Usability Test EVAL 82%
Prototype - Low-Fi DSN 82%
Persona / User Profiles RES 81%
Stakeholder Interviews RES 77%
Card Sorting RES + EVAL 75%
Navigation Design DSN 75%
Sketching DSN 74%
Online Research RES 70%
Prototype – Paper DSN 70%
Requirements Gathering ETC 68%
Interface Design / IxD DSN 67%
Competitive/Comparative Analysis RES 67%
Formal Usability Test (Lab) EVAL 65%
Coaching / Mentoring ETC 65%
Task Analysis RES 65%
Process / Workflow Design DSN 61%
User Stories ETC 60%
RESEARCH DESIGN EVALUATION ETC = OTHER

44. 44
Role Differences: Methods Used (2)DESIGNERS
RESEARCHERS
Method Type %
Wireframing DSN 92%
Sketching DSN 90%
Interface Design / IxD DSN 87%
User Interviews RES 83%
Agile / Scrum / Lean ETC 79%
Navigation Design DSN 79%
Screen / Page Layout DSN 79%
Prototype - Low-Fi DSN 75%
Prototype - High Fi DSN 74%
Persona / User Profiles RES 71%
User Stories ETC 68%
Stakeholder Interviews RES 67%
Informal Usability Test EVAL 67%
Requirements Gathering ETC 63%
Style Guide / UI Standards DSN 63%
High Fidelity UI Mockups / "Comps" DSN 62%
UI Pattern Creation / Editing DSN 62%
Visual / Graphic Design DSN 62%
Prototype – Paper DSN 61%
Process / Workflow Design DSN 60%
Method Type %
User Interviews RES 94%
Persona / User Profiles RES 82%
Formal Usability Test (Lab) EVAL 82%
Stakeholder Interviews RES 80%
Card Sorting RES + EVAL 80%
Online Research RES 80%
Heuristic / Expert Review EVAL 76%
Informal Usability Test EVAL 76%
Remote Moderated Usability Test EVAL 74%
Surveys RES + EVAL 66%
Recruiting Research Participants RES 64%
Ethno./Field Studies/Context Inq. RES 64%
Competitive / Comparative Analysis RES 60%
Wireframing DSN 58%
Prototype - Low-Fi DSN 58%
Competitive Studies/Reviews RES + EVAL 58%
Coaching / Mentoring ETC 56%
Task Analysis RES 56%
Remote Unmod. Usability Test EVAL 54%
User Stories ETC 52%
RESEARCH DESIGN EVALUATION ETC = OTHER

45. 45
Role Differences: Methods Used (2)DESIGNERS
RESEARCHERS
Method Type %
Wireframing DSN 92%
Sketching DSN 90%
Interface Design / IxD DSN 87%
User Interviews RES 83%
Agile / Scrum / Lean ETC 79%
Navigation Design DSN 79%
Screen / Page Layout DSN 79%
Prototype - Low-Fi DSN 75%
Prototype - High Fi DSN 74%
Persona / User Profiles RES 71%
User Stories ETC 68%
Stakeholder Interviews RES 67%
Informal Usability Test EVAL 67%
Requirements Gathering ETC 63%
Style Guide / UI Standards DSN 63%
High Fidelity UI Mockups / "Comps" DSN 62%
UI Pattern Creation / Editing DSN 62%
Visual / Graphic Design DSN 62%
Prototype – Paper DSN 61%
Process / Workflow Design DSN 60%
Method Type %
User Interviews RES 94%
Persona / User Profiles RES 82%
Formal Usability Test (Lab) EVAL 82%
Stakeholder Interviews RES 80%
Card Sorting RES + EVAL 80%
Online Research RES 80%
Heuristic / Expert Review EVAL 76%
Informal Usability Test EVAL 76%
Remote Moderated Usability Test EVAL 74%
Surveys RES + EVAL 66%
Recruiting Research Participants RES 64%
Ethno./Field Studies/Context Inq. RES 64%
Competitive / Comparative Analysis RES 60%
Wireframing DSN 58%
Prototype - Low-Fi DSN 58%
Competitive Studies/Reviews RES + EVAL 58%
Coaching / Mentoring ETC 56%
Task Analysis RES 56%
Remote Unmod. Usability Test EVAL 54%
User Stories ETC 52%
The methods you use define
the type of UXer you are.
RESEARCH DESIGN EVALUATION ETC = OTHER

46. 46CONSULTANTS
ALLRESPONDENTS
n=222
Method Type %
User Interviews RES 36%
Wireframing DSN 32%
Formal Usability Test (Lab) EVAL 19%
Sketching DSN 19%
Stakeholder Interviews RES 18%
Prototype - Low-Fi DSN 16%
Interface Design / IxD DSN 16%
Heuristic / Expert Review EVAL 15%
Informal Usability Test EVAL 15%
Coaching / Mentoring ETC 14%
Role Differences: Frequently Used Methods
n=51
Which methods / techniques do you use most frequently? (Pick up to 5)
Method Type %
User Interviews RES 36%
Wireframing DSN 32%
Stakeholder Interviews RES 19%
Sketching DSN 19%
Heuristic / Expert Review EVAL 18%
Informal Usability Test EVAL 16%
Prototype - Low-Fi DSN 16%
Interface Design / IxD DSN 15%
Coaching / Mentoring ETC 15%
Formal Usability Test (Lab) EVAL 14%
RESEARCH DESIGN EVALUATION ETC = OTHER

47. 47
Role Differences: Frequently Used Methods (2)
DESIGNERS
RESEARCHERS
n=70 n=48
Which methods / techniques do you use most frequently? (Pick up to 5)
Method Type %
User Interviews RES 54%
Formal Usability Test (Lab) EVAL 46%
Surveys RES + EVAL 29%
Heuristic / Expert Review EVAL 27%
Informal Usability Test EVAL 25%
Remote Moderated Usability Test EVAL 25%
Ethno./Field Studies/Context Inq. RES 21%
Coaching / Mentoring ETC 19%
Remote Unmod. Usability Test EVAL 19%
Recruiting Research Participants RES 15%
Method Type %
Wireframing DSN 50%
Sketching DSN 36%
Interface Design / IxD DSN 29%
User Interviews RES 29%
Prototype - High Fi DSN 29%
Prototype - Low-Fi DSN 23%
Stakeholder Interviews RES 14%
Style Guide / UI Standards DSN 14%
Agile / Scrum / Lean ETC 13%
Formal Usability Test (Lab) EVAL 11%
RESEARCH DESIGN EVALUATION ETC = OTHER

48. 48
ALLRESPONDENTS
n=197
Tool Type %
PowerPoint ETC 53%
Adobe PhotoShop DSN 44%
Axure RP DSN 42%
Google Analytics RES 38%
Paper Prototyping DSN 34%
Adobe Illustrator DSN 28%
SurveyMonkey RES 27%
Sketch (App) DSN 26%
SnagIt ETC 24%
Balsamiq Mockups DSN 23%
Role Differences: Tools Used in Last 12 Months
CONSULTANTS
n=43
Which tools have you personally used in your UX work in the last 12 months?
Tool Type %
PowerPoint ETC 51%
Axure RP DSN 49%
Adobe PhotoShop DSN 42%
Google Analytics RES 35%
SnagIt ETC 33%
SurveyMonkey RES 28%
Treejack RES + EVAL 28%
OptimalSort RES + EVAL 26%
Sketch (App) DSN 26%
Optimal Workshop RES + EVAL 23%
RESEARCH DESIGN EVALUATION ETC = OTHER

49. 49
Role Differences: Tools Used in Last 12 Months (2)
DESIGNERS
RESEARCHERS
n=61 n=44
Which tools have you personally used in your UX work in the last 12 months?
Tool Type %
PowerPoint ETC 66%
Axure RP DSN 41%
Morae EVAL 41%
Google Analytics RES 34%
Paper Prototyping DSN 34%
SurveyMonkey RES 34%
SnagIt ETC 34%
OptimalSort ETC 32%
Balsamiq Mockups DSN 27%
Camtasia ETC 25%
Tool Type %
Adobe PhotoShop DSN 64%
PowerPoint ETC 48%
Axure RP DSN 48%
Adobe Illustrator DSN 46%
Sketch (App) DSN 46%
Google Analytics RES 43%
Paper Prototyping DSN 43%
Programming Code DEV 39%
SurveyMonkey RES 26%
Omnigraffle DSN 21%
RESEARCH DESIGN EVALUATION ETC = OTHER

50. 50
Additional Findings

51. 51
Activities of Internal UX vs. External UX
Nearly identical
responses from
these segments.
Note:
Doesn’t mean there
aren’t significant
differences
between these
roles/jobs.
I: n=101 | E: n=77
Activities: Internal vs. External

52. 52
Activities of Men & Women in UX
• No significant
differences between
genders in terms of
time spent on
activities
• Also no major
differences between
age groups.
M: n=65 | F: n=52
Activities by Gender

53. 53
Summary

54. 54
Sleeping
Drooling
Snoozing
Hound
Dog

55. 55
Researching
Designing
Testing
UXer

56. 56
What we have learned…
• We get the most value from involving users…it’s what defines us.
• Most UXers have experience with over 20 different methods.
• We only use a few tools in our work…but there are lots of tools
emerging.
• Most UXers identify as:
– Designers
– Researchers
– Consultants
– Executives / Managers
• Titles don’t really mean much
What you do &
how you do it is
who you are.

57. 57
What we have learned…

58. 58
Questions & Feedback
• Feel free to send me any questions.
• Will be creating a PDF report – contact me if you’d like a copy.

59. LinkedIn: Lyle Kantrovich
Twitter: @LKANTROV
FaceBook: 100PoundHound
Twitter: @100PoundHound
Instagram: HarleyTheHunnerPoundHound