Five Rules for Mentoring New User Experience Professionals
20
5 Rules for Mentoring New User Experience Professionals Bob Thomas Manager of User Experience, Liberty Mutual [email protected] @bobthomas
-
Upload
bob-thomas -
Category
Business
-
view
160 -
download
0
description
This presentation was an IGNITE session at the UXPA 2012 Conference and is accessible here: http://www.igniteshow.com/videos/5-rules-mentoring-new-user-experience-professionals Being a successful mentor requires an organization’s support for a mentorship program; getting buy-in from all parties before committing to a mentoring project; structuring the mentor-mentee relationship to the benefit of everyone involved; and pinpointing the methodology or best practices for mentoring. How can you make mentoring work for you? Mentoring is different from managing. It’s different from teaching. These are important skills to have, but they usually involve managing projects and people, or teaching skills and behaviors. They maintain a manageable status quo or have a limited scope. On the other hand, mentoring involves a social contract, where the mentor wants to set up a one-to-one relationship to effect a change in the person being mentored. As a mentor, you want to bring the mentee to a higher level, say from a Junior Designer to a Senior Interaction Designer, a Business Analyst to a Usability Researcher, or a nervous UX Practitioner to a confident UX Moderator.
Transcript of Five Rules for Mentoring New User Experience Professionals
5 Rules for Mentoring New User Experience ProfessionalsBob ThomasManager of User Experience, Liberty Mutual
[email protected]@bobthomas
What Does It Mean To “Mentor,” as Opposed to “Teach”?
๏ “to teach or give advice or guidance to (someone, such as a less experienced person or a child)… − Merriam-Webster Dictionary
๏ However, teaching (or coaching) is related to tasks and often comes with a specific agenda (the teacher’s)
๏ Mentoring is related to personal choice and also comes with an agenda (the mentee’s)
What Does Mentoring Mean to Me?
๏ Developing a relationship where both mentor and mentee benefit
๏ Being a leader in our field
User Experience Opportunities
U IA D
Usability Research/Testing Information Architecture Visual & Interaction Design
Rule #1๏ Sometimes, your boss can be your
mentor
If You Establish a UX Practice, People Will Seek You Out
Mentors Can Provide Learning Opportunities for Mentees
Mentors Can Give Mentees Confidence
Rule #2๏ Sometimes, your boss can’t be your
mentor
Performance-Based Objectives Can Introduce Conflict
If Your Boss Is Your Mentor, Your Objectives May Not Match Up
Your Boss’s Performance-Based Objectives for You
Your UX-Based Objectives
A X
B Y
C Z
Rule #3๏ A mentor is responsible for
guiding and assisting the mentee, based on a social contract
A Mentor Is There For You When You Have No Right or Wrong Answer
Rule #4๏ You can’t mentor a stone
You Cannot Successfully Mentor Everyone. At Times You Will Fail.
Rule #5๏ Perspective is additive
Let’s Face It: We Can’t Make Carbon Copies of Ourselves
Mentors Enable Mentees to Lend Their Unique Perspectives to the UX Community
Summary๏ Rule #1: Sometimes, your boss can be your mentor
๏ Rule #2: Sometimes, your boss can’t be your mentor (in other words, find someone else)
๏ Rule #3: A mentor is responsible for guiding and assisting the mentee, based on a social contract
๏ Rule #4: You can’t mentor a stone
๏ Rule #5: Perspective is additive
Thank you very much
Bob ThomasManager of User ExperienceLiberty Mutual
E-mail:
Twitter:
@bobthomas
