Tasha Markovich likens the process of user experience design to the scientific method we all learned in middle school. You start with a question, create a hypothesis as a possible solution and conduct experiments to test the hypothesis. In the case of user experience design, the goal is to determine how people can more efficiently interact with products, software or processes.
"You want to figure out what a business needs, what the end user needs, and what the technical boundaries are in building the software," explains Markovich, who is with the healthcare-focused software company Explorys.
For example, if Markovich is trying to add a filter to the table on a search box, she will observe people actually using the proposed solution she has created. "You have to watch what they're doing and get them to open up about their understanding of the process," she says. "Their feedback allows you to make changes." The process can continue until the best possible solution is reached.
Markovich switched careers about a year ago, moving from developer to user experience designer. "I wanted to be involved with how to make a product more usable for people," she says. "Developers can make anything they want. It's a different story when you're watching someone use software. As a user experience designer I get to actually talk to the end user and see where the design falls short, where it's intuitive and where it's not intuitive."
To make the career jump, Markovich went back to school to obtain a Master's in user experience design. Hands-on work helped her to finesse the skills she learned in the classroom. Strong communication skills that encourage the end user to confide in you is one such skill. "You don't want to lead people to tell you what you want to hear," Markovich says. "You have to know what to say so you're guiding them, not telling them."
When you successfully connect with people and get important feedback, you're able to return to the development stage and create a better, more effective product. "I get to see how people do their jobs and then test a design based on that," Markovich says. While the process used by a user experience designer may not change, the situations and people do and that makes for an interesting career, according to Markovich.
What it takes to succeed
As mentioned earlier, classroom education is just one key part of working in user experience design. On the technical side, you should have a good understanding of common programs like Word and Excel, design software and Adobe XD. "You need to keep up with the different tools used in the field," Markovich explains. "Understand what developers can do with coding such as HTML and Javascript."
Actual work in the field builds the confidence needed to excel in user experience design. "You can get a degree," Markovich says, "but you need hands-on experience." End users are increasingly playing a larger role in product and software development, making this a career with a bright future.