UX Consultants are great—like design ninjas dropping in to fix all the things. But what happens when you want to take the relationship to the next level and bring design in-house? How can you tell the good candidates from the bad, and sift through the good to find the great? How do you avoid someone who looks good on paper, but won’t deliver the results you need? In this talk I’ll share the 3 core qualities I seek in every designer I hire, and how to discover if your candidates have them.

1. The Triforce of UX
3 Qualities To Seek In Your Next UX Designer
Brandon E.B. Ward • @uxward • Precocity

2. Who Is This Guy?

3. Who Is This Guy?
Experience Designer
Loves stuff
Hates Country (mostly)
Huge nerd
Married 17 years
4 kids
SHE proposed to ME (3rd date)
Never had a fight
Is Tron
Enjoys solving real problems
Doing this for 16 years
Is bald, but not by choice
Kung Fu Fighter
Has 2 cats
Pop-culture Nut

4. Preface…

5. 2 Key Questions:
What three skills would you place as most important
for a UX Designer?
How you might phrase some interview questions to
validate a candidate actually has those skills?

6. The Triforce

7. The Triforce of UX

8. IT’S DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE!
TAKE THIS.

9. The Triforce of Empathy

10. The Triforce of Empathy

11. The Triforce of Empathy
Does the candidate know how to get into the heads,
and hearts of the Users? Developers? Stakeholders?
Can they walk a mile in their shoes?

12. The Triforce of Empathy

13. The Triforce of Empathy

14. The Triforce of Empathy
Diplomacy & Consensus
Actual UX Deliverables
What UX Designers Do
At its core UX is not a deliverable, but
a business strategy and competitive
advantage in the marketplace.
—Troy Parke

15. ?The 3 questions

16. The Triforce of Empathy
1. What is your primary goal
as a UX Designer?

17. The Triforce of Empathy
1. What is your primary goal
as a UX Designer?

19. Users

20. Users Business

21. Users BusinessTechnology

22. Users BusinessTechnology
UX

23. The Triforce of Empathy
1. What is your primary goal
as a UX Designer?
2. Tell me about your user-research
techniques & methodologies…

24. The Triforce of Empathy
When do they do research?
Why do they do research?
Can they talk to people in general?
Can they help customers talk about their problems
without asking leading questions?
Can they shadow people in their environments?

25. The Triforce of Empathy
1. What is your primary goal
as a UX Designer?
2. Tell me about your user-research
techniques & methodologies…
3. Who has final say what a UI
looks like and why?

26. –Tim Rayburn
Decisions are made by those who show up.
The Triforce of Empathy

27. –Brandon E.B. Ward
UIs are designed by those who commit code.
The Triforce of Empathy

28. –Tim Rayburn
The .PSD is a lie.
The Triforce of Empathy

29. The Triforce of Empathy

30. The Triforce of Empathy
UX Wheel by Magnus Revang

31. The Triforce of UX

32. The Triforce of Curiosity

33. The Triforce of Curiosity
Does the candidate want to get into the heads and
hearts of the Users? Developers? Stakeholders?
Do they foster a healthy nature of inquiry?
Do they harbor a desire to always be learning
something new?

34. The Triforce of Curiosity

35. The Triforce of Curiosity

36. —Banksy
All artists are willing to suffer for their work.
But why are so few prepared to learn to draw?
The Triforce of Curiosity

37. The Triforce of Curiosity

38. —Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
When we think we know, we cease to learn.
The Triforce of Curiosity

40. ?The 3 questions

41. The Triforce of Curiosity
1. What inspires you?

42. The Triforce of Curiosity
Knowledge

43. The Triforce of Curiosity
Experience

44. Steve Jobs
WIRED, February 1996
The Triforce of Curiosity

45. —Frank Herbert, Dune
Without change something sleeps inside us, and
seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.
The Triforce of Curiosity

46. —Frank Herbert, Dune
Without change something sleeps inside us, and
seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.
The Triforce of Curiosity

47. The Triforce of Curiosity
Résumé

48. The Triforce of Curiosity
Résumé
Portfolio

49. The Triforce of Curiosity
Résumé
Portfolio
Website

50. The Triforce of Curiosity
Résumé
Portfolio
Website
Twitter

51. The Triforce of Curiosity
Résumé
Portfolio
Website
Twitter
LinkedIn

52. The Triforce of Curiosity
Résumé
Portfolio
Website
Twitter
LinkedIn
Facebook
Snapchat
Google

53. The Triforce of Curiosity
Résumé
Portfolio
Website
Twitter
LinkedIn
Facebook
Snapchat
Google

54. Steve Jobs
WIRED, February 1996
The Triforce of Curiosity

55. —Brandon E.B. Ward
Old knowledge is helpful, but new knowledge
will be the key that unlocks the best
solutions for new problems.
The Triforce of Curiosity

57. The Triforce of Curiosity
1. What inspires you?
2. Are you involved with Online,
Local, National, and/or Global
UX communities? In what ways?

58. The Triforce of Curiosity

60. The Triforce of Curiosity
1. What inspires you?
2. Are you involved with Online,
Local, National, and/or Global
UX communities? In what ways?
3. When was the last time you learned
something new? What was it? Who
taught you? How did it change you?

61. —Proverbs 29:11
A fool uttereth all his mind:
but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.
The Triforce of Curiosity

62. The Triforce of Curiosity

63. The Triforce of Curiosity

64. The Triforce of UX

65. The Triforce of Humility

66. If the heart of the one who holds the sacred
triangle has all three forces in balance, that one
will gain the True Force to govern all. But, if that
one’s heart is not in balance, the Triforce will
separate into three parts...
—Zelda, Ocarina of Time
The Triforce of Humility

67. …yearning for the Triforce soon turned to lust
for power, which in turn led to the spilling of
blood. Soon the only motive left among those
searching for the Triforce was pure greed.
—Gates to the Gold Land
The Triforce of Humility

68. The Triforce of Humility
Does the candidate want to build up others, or
themselves?
Are they seeking to impose their will, or to
establish balance in the team?
Do they use their position as a weapon or a binding
agent?

69. The Triforce of Curiosity

70. The Triforce of Curiosity

71. ?The 3 questions

72. The Triforce of Humility
1. Tell me about a time when you were wrong. or—
Tell me about a time when you failed…

73. The Triforce of Humility
1. Tell me about a time when you were wrong. or—
Tell me about a time when you failed…

74. —Robert I. Sutton
Fight like you know you’re right,
listen like you know you’re wrong.
The Triforce of Humility

75. —Anon E. Mouse
Prototype like you know you’re right,
test like you know you’re wrong.
The Triforce of Humility

76. How it feels to watch a user test your product for the first time.

77. —Bill Nye
Every person you meet knows something you don’t.
The Triforce of Humility

78. The Triforce of Humility
1. Tell me about a time when you were wrong. or—
Tell me about a time when you failed…
2. A developer calls you over to their desk to show
you how they implemented your design, but they’ve
made some significant changes. What do you do?

79. The Triforce of Humility
1. Tell me about a time when you were wrong. or—
Tell me about a time when you failed…
2. A developer calls you over to their desk to show
you how they implemented your design, but they’ve
made some significant changes. What do you do?

80. —C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
True humility is not thinking less of yourself;
it is thinking of yourself less.
The Triforce of Humility

81. The Triforce of Humility
1. Tell me about a time when you were wrong. or—Tell me about a
time when you failed…
2. A developer calls you over to their desk to show you how they
implemented your design, but they’ve made some significant
changes. What do you do?
3. You know you’re right. You have the data & evidence to support
your position, but the primary stakeholder just doesn’t like it &
wants something else you know is wrong. What do you do?

82. The Triforce of Humility
1. Tell me about a time when you were wrong. or—Tell me about a
time when you failed…
2. A developer calls you over to their desk to show you how they
implemented your design, but they’ve made some significant
changes. What do you do?
3. You know you’re right. You have the data & evidence to support
your position, but the primary stakeholder just doesn’t like it &
wants something else you know is wrong. What do you do?

83. Twelve
Angry
Men
The Triforce of Humility

84. That’s just not
professional!
The Triforce of Humility

87. The Triforce of UX
3 Qualities To Seek In Your Next UX Designer

89. Thank You!
The Triforce of UX
3 Qualities To Seek In Your Next UX Designer
Brandon E.B. Ward • @uxward • Precocity