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The UX Portfolio Workshop: Roll Up Your Sleeves...

Michelle Chin
October 09, 2015

The UX Portfolio Workshop: Roll Up Your Sleeves, We’re Getting Past “Portfolio Creator’s Block”

These are the slides from the sold out UX Portfolio workshop I facilitated at UXDC15 in Washington, DC on 10/9/15. The slides are mostly for visual purposes around the content that I talk about. If you're interested in having a portfolio workshop conducted for your organization or conference, feel free to contact me!

Michelle Chin

October 09, 2015
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  1. UX PORTFOLIO WORKSHOP: by Michelle T. Chin | @soysaucechin #UXDC2015

    | #UXPortfolio Roll up your sleeves, we’re getting past “Portfolio Creator’s Block”!
  2. WHO ARE YOU? • Transitioning to a UX career •

    Looking for a new job • Adding credibility to your career
  3. WHY A PORTFOLIO? It’s your key to unlocking an opportunity.

    Hiring Managers use your portfolio as a way to gauge your skill set and abilities.
  4. STEP 1: WHAT IS YOUR GOAL? What kind of work

    do you want to do? (UX/interaction designer, user researcher, full time, contract)
  5. WHAT IS YOUR GOAL? Where do you want to work?

    (Enterprise company, in-house, agency, government, non-profit)
  6. EXAMPLE GOALS I’m creating a UX portfolio because: • I’m

    a graphic designer that wants to become a UXer for a non-profit association. • I’m ready to advance my UX career. • I want to work for an in-house company on mobile products. The more concrete, the better!
  7. ACTIVITY: WHAT IS YOUR GOAL? Take a few minutes to

    determine your goal. • What kind of work do you want to do? • Where do you want to work? • Anything else?
  8. ACTIVITY: INVENTORY • Write down projects you’ve done relevant to

    your goal - strive for five! • Projects from start to finish • Projects that involved UX process ABC Website Acme iPhone App Shutter Photography Site
  9. ACTIVITY: INVENTORY • On the back of each index card,

    list the UX activities you did for each project
 
 • Use the checklist as a guide • Complete the checklist - what have or haven’t you done yet? •Info Arch. •Wireframes •User testing
  10. ACTIVITY: INVENTORY • Do you have the contents? •Info Architecture

    - No •Wireframes - Yes •User testing - Yes
  11. ACTIVITY: INVENTORY • Are these projects really your best work?

    • Are they really relevant to your goal? Uncle Bob’s Blog NASA.gov Biking App Cooklite Calorie Counter App
  12. INVENTORY: MISSING PROJECT SCENARIO For my next job, I want

    to work on mobile apps… but all my UX experience is with websites. “I need to demonstrate mobile UX experience.”
  13. INVENTORY: MISSING PROJECT There’s no shame in taking the time

    to practice your UX skills and demonstrating a great job.
  14. WHO CAN YOU REACH OUT TO FOR A PROJECT? Who

    could be your “client”?
  15. PART 1: LEARN THE SKILLS Give yourself a project that

    allows you to practice the skills. Image: http://bitmethod.com/blog/book- review-a-project-guide-to-ux-design A Project Guide to UX Design by Russ Unger and Carolyn Chandler
  16. PART 2: WORK ON A REAL PROJECT Practice those skills

    in a real environment. Sneak them into your current job.
  17. ACTIVITY: WHAT ARE YOU GAPS? • On index cards: What

    are the projects missing in your portfolio? • On the checklist: What are the skills you need to learn or improve? • On the worksheet: What are some ideas for projects where I can practice these skills?
  18. ARCHITECTURE By topic (e.g., mobile, user research, etc.) Project A

    Project B Project C Project D Project E Project F Mobile Website Software
  19. ARCHITECTURE By the project’s lifecycle Project A Project B Project

    C Project D Project E Project F Discovery Concepting Prototyping
  20. WHAT NOW? • Use the workshop materials as a guide

    moving forward • Gather materials for the projects you have • Work in small chunks • Iterate, iterate, iterate!
  21. DON’T FORGET • The Golden Rule: Let it go. •

    You are what you present. • Iterate; maintain. • Stay in touch with the folks you meet today. • Complete the eval, please!
  22. REFERENCES • A Project Guide to UX Design: For user

    experience designers in the field or in the making (2nd Ed.) by Russ Unger and Carolyn Chandler
 • Examples of Portfolios: • Jess Hang: http://portfolio.jesshang.com/ • Tyler Womak: http://portfolio.tylerwomack.com/ • Simon Pan: http://simonpan.com/