[ARCHIVE] Todays’ life of a UX consultant

Being a multi skilled UX-er can drive you crazy, here is how to continually drive your creativity and how to pick and choose that slice of the cake that most challenges you.

Having works both in-house, out-house or freelance and agency side over the last few years I’ve been concentrating on the role of UX Consultant over the past year. This is my quick take on the pros and cons on getting the best out of a changing employment model.

Without that preaching to the converted, everyone can see in last 15 years the role of a UX Designer, UX Lead or even UX Manager has changed massively. A combination of hard tech skills with those sought after soft skills, stakeholder management and boardroom skills are all now a prerequisite when you get more and more senior.

That’s what I think is key to be a UX Consultants; it’s not just ability to deliver but also the ability to negotiate in the boardroom. brands are looking for that intelligent designer who can justify their decisions based on best practice, current trends and, unfortunately, office politics!

The cons

Consultant life has its pitfalls, as you are essentially the go-to guy brought in quite often at the 11th hour, you very rarely build a relationship with your team members over months if not years. This is part of the job and also you very rarely get to demonstrate the ends-to-end process. But this has its bonuses too, as you can pick and choose that slice of the cake that most challenges you – you become the Subject Domain Expert (SDE) of your choice.

The pros

Clearly the exposure to many different industries and many different teams gives you a wealth and breadth of experience than most employers a crave for. As mentioned before as I’m not rarely given the opportunity  to be involved in the entire process , as a consultant I can pick and choose my specialism. I personally benefit from the Discovery Phase, initiating workshop’d ideas and bringing them to life.

What I strive for is bringing other consultants within my organisation together. These Design Clinics or knowledge sharing forums get the best out of other specialist, give oneself an opportunity to validate your decision or process and also build links within your organisation. Agency life is usually (although not always) steered by one vision and one mission statement.

This can prove to be a challenge , to combat this isolation my organisation have set up a weekly show n’ tell which now have compulsory attendance, wherever you are in the world. These sessions cover topics from how to implement design systems through to the latest museum visits. It’s not only builds your knowledge base but also builds trust and friendship, which is sometimes missing from a consultancy environment.

Conclusion

So there’s always that zig and zag when it comes to being consultants. From experience, I believe it drives my creativity and my independence and consequently my confidence in front of the client. Working for a large consultancy can provide back-up, so it is like working for yourself or with the reassurance of a large organisation.

Finally I think is the way of the (UX) world in 2018 and moving towards, this employment model where UX consultants are the necessary link between tech, business and the user you are going to have to flex with it and mould yourself into the role. Sink or swim!