The holiday season is here! We hope that you are connecting with friends and family and planning ahead for a great 2017. This issue is packed with forward-thinking UX ideas, including essential UX wisdom from Carol Rossi. Dig in!

As user experience professionals, we all realize the importance of getting real insights from real users and not just making decisions based on a hunch. So what can you do if you’re a designer who doesn’t have trained researchers on your team and you want to go beyond throwing your prototype in front of a few friends?

Well, here’s some help to get you started! This month and next we’ll lay out some steps so you can learn basic research skills and start to collect your own insights. This month, we’ll focus on preparing to run a study. In January, we’ll cover things to think about when you’re actually doing the research and need to roll up what you’ve learned into insights.

First thing to consider:  Preparation is crucial

Step 1 of 4: Focus on usability testing

A well-designed, practical, usability study can tell you how users respond to your design and give you plenty of input on how to improve it, whether your design is a low fidelity prototype or a fully functioning product. Focus on usability testing and leave the interviews, surveys, and other techniques to the pro researchers for now. Read on for tips to run a usability study

Ready for for 2017!? Not quite? Help is on the way. We asked several experts to offer advice on UX in 2017. We are grateful for the contributions from pros like Hilary Bienstock, Jon Fox, Jason Gillard, Jeff Gothelf, Esther Kimm, Steve Portigal, Alastair Somerville and Joe Welinske of ConveyUX. Be sure to read, reread and read again their insightful tips. And, that’s not all. We will have additional tips in the January 2017 newsletter.

Hilary Bienstock’s 3 Tips on UX Research

1. Observation is a universal UX research building block. At the same time, it applies to much more than just UX research. Why didn't we know that Trump was going to win the election? I would argue it was because the pollsters and reporters were so focused on quantitative polling data, and on demographic groups (white college-educated voters, etc.). More nuanced qualitative data collection and, dare I say it, personas, could have helped us understand the American electorate in more detail. Just as the 2000 Butterfly Ballot debacle brought information design and usability to the forefront of the discussion, I would argue that this election brings the need for qualitative research as a whole into the limelight as never before. Where can you use your observation skills in unexpected ways in the next year? Read Hilary’s next tip

Jeff Gothelf’s 2 Tips on UX

In my work I meet with many companies who have jumped aboard the Agile train. Their journeys have had mixed results with a few organizations truly adopting agile values while others (the majority) adopt agile rituals more than anything else. Regardless of their dedication to true transformation, all of these companies are recognizing that user experience and design are critical to their success. They’re investing in design leaders and practitioners but continue to struggle to integrate the user-centric approach these colleagues advocate. 2016 drove an organizational understanding and demand for these skills. 2017 will provide the opportunity to integrate UX skills in more meaningful ways. Why? Two reasons:

1. Outcome-based management — Regardless of the maturity of their process most companies now recognize that out-featuring your competition is not how you win in the market. Instead, delighting your customer, making it easy and efficient for them to achieve a goal and providing a modern experience are the factors that keep customers loyal. In a software-driven world, these are measurable success criteria. Companies will increasingly be asking their teams to achieve these outcomes rather than simply shipping features (aka output). This trend will highlight the need for user-centric teams — cross-functional teams that truly understand the motivation behind user actions and are continuously optimizing the customer experience towards those needs. UX’ers will have the opportunity to lead many of these efforts, bring teams closer to their customers and power the engine that drives market-based evidence into how the teams work. Read Jeff’s next tip

Steve Portigal’s 3 Tips on UX Research

1. Research is everywhere. I continue to marvel at the growth of research. Back in the day, people would write to ask me if they knew of any research openings; now they write to ask me if I know of anyone who they could hire for their research position. We shouldn't get cocky, as demand for research can lead to commodification, degrading research to a tactical, evaluative tool rather than the strategic powerhouse it is. Read Steve’s next tip

By Arvia Glass

UX Fest’s VR/AR Panel Discussion
The UX Fest 2016, on Sat., Dec. 3rd at Blankspaces DTLA, had a number of experts in attendance, including a panel of virtual reality specialists. They discussed where the industry currently stands, VR’s potential, and what this means for UX designers. There is no doubt that design practices will undergo an inevitable shift, as new technologies demand new solutions to problems. Continue reading

THE LOS ANGELES USER EXPERIENCE NEWSLETTER TEAM
Jessica Brown, Emerson Dameron, Arvia Glass, Katie Huang, and Noel Saw.

Want to contribute an article? Awesome! Fill out our newsletter article submission form for consideration and let’s make this happen.

Have a great career opportunity you would like to share? Visit our career postings page.