UX Consultant: a Detailed Guide
The job of a UX consultant is gaining more traction by the day but not everyone is familiar with what that title entails. Although the sheer importance of proper user experience (UX) in a product is immeasurable, we are here to lift the curtain about a crucial specialist in this area.
In a nutshell a user experience consultant is a person which is tasked with supplying impartial insights from an outside perspective when it comes to the state of UX in any given product. This can be including analysis of UX design needs and coming up with a bespoke strategy to address adequately them in order to make a business thrive with users.
Within this read, we will delve deeper into the core skills and tasks that lay upon a UX design consultant as well as their everyday design process to leave no stone unturned. By the end of this read, you will have a comprehensive understanding of this speciality and its significance for common organizations.
What is a UX consultant?
When talking about the definition of a consulting specialist in the sector of UX design this is an expert that is tasked with giving advice to businesses on how to improve the user experience of a given product. This can be comprised of how generally usable or not the app or website is, its accessibility, whether the users are engaged when interacting with the product and so on.
To be able to give out constructive and effective recommendations in regards to the design UX consultants are obliged to conduct a few types of research and analysis and present their findings to the client in a constructive manner. For this they may also familiarize the team and the stakeholders with appropriate and necessary practices that will equip them to uphold such standards in the future.
At this point you may be questioning what is actually the difference between a consultant and a user experience designer as is. On paper and in practice the tasks of these specialists may overlap but ultimately they are responsible for doing different things. In simple terms designers are required for hands-on creation of the design while the consultant’s scope of duties is aimed at strategic vision and guidance.
Example of a career path of a UX consultant.
As for the question of how to become a UX consultant generally employees have two ways to go about it. They can whether start out as a user experience designer and get in the trenches of what it means to create meaningful and impactful products first-hand. Or go directly into consulting partnering with a consultancy firm or independent specialists.
In any path to choose, comprehensive education is a must which can include a bachelor’s or master’s degree in design, specialized courses, boot camps, and many other options. After all, it is simply unrealistic to enter such a career without appropriate credentials and expertise.
Tasks and responsibilities of a UX consultant
Now that we are on the same page when it comes to understanding who a consultant is exactly we can divert more attention to getting a sense of what the daily tasks and responsibilities are of these specialists. For a business it is crucial to know the factual duties of consulting experts to gauge how their services can aid your product. So let us start one at a time.
User research
Researching the behaviour, needs and pain points the users face can help unveil how to properly cater to the target audience and increase their overall satisfaction. On top of making sure you are creating a product that customers want to use, businesses can also save money on iterations by basing their creative decisions on actual data instead of blind guesses.
UX consultant can collect user data by using different research methods.
During this task, a UI UX consultant can gather qualitative data which is aimed at understanding how users feel about the product and their general impressions. Such practices can include:
- User interviews
- Focus groups
- Card sorting, etc.
The other side of the research also includes collecting quantitative data, which focuses on actual numbers and statistics that can be analyzed. This can include:
- User surveys
- Heatmaps
- A/B testing, etc.
Usability testing
Testing how usable the product is involves gathering a test group and giving out test tasks they need to perform according to an established procedure. These tests can be moderated with a specialist guiding the participants through the test or unmoderated leaving subjects to independently take action. It can further be divided into in-person or remote testing.
Main usability testing methods.
What a consultant UX can uncover is unbiased feedback in regard to any issues, confusing actions or areas for improvement users encountered during the test. Such data can then be analyzed and documented for the next stage.
UX strategy creation
Based on the findings recorded during the research and analysis phases a consultant is capable of creating a holistic strategy which will prove beneficial when it comes to further steps on UX design and even content. Now that they are aware of what users want and need, the expert can suggest a framework and valuable insights that will drive user engagement and keep the business competitive in its niche.
Elements that make up a UX strategy.
Over time UX design consultant can keep in touch with their clients in order to evaluate the current state of the product after the new strategy has been implemented and suggest any relevant revisions that will help the brand to stay on the right track. They can also pass along their insights to other team members and educate them on principles that can positively affect the user experience.
Audits of existing designs
Last but not least significant duty a consultant on user experience design can undertake is auditing existing designs of websites or applications. When tasked with such a job, a consultant first turns to the internal operations of the business identifying concerns within the design that, based on their experience, are glaringly obvious.
Benefits of a design audit.
The specialists can analyze the performance metrics of a product such as its conversion rate and others, to figure out what areas are lacking or outright causing problems. By reporting the findings consultants can advise on the best course of action to fix these issues, whether in the short span or in the long term.
The role of a user experience consultant in the design process
Coming to understand what kind of duties and responsibilities consultants carry in their daily work operations may pain a picture of a more isolated process that is outside the typical design process. In reality, that is far from the truth as consultants play a vital role in how the creation of the design may unfold with their help.
A consultant in UX design can come to the project within UX design services in its earliest stages and maintain its presence all the way to the deployment and even have a handful of tasks after the product’s release. So to put this narrative in a more comprehensible point of view, let’s go over the role of a consultant through the lifecycle of the design building.
Stages of the design building lifecycle.
Discovery stage.
The services of a specialist that provides consultancy regarding user experience design may become necessary during the initial conceptualization and ideation for the future product. At the time of what is called a discovery phase consultations can be essential in terms of identifying the target audience, the strengths and weaknesses of the competitors and what the product can overall offer to the customers that others haven’t before.
Through the course of discovery UX consultants can come aboard by researching the users, their desires and their expectations to suggest the best approaches regarding UX design. They are also free to get to know the clients and stakeholders getting to the bottom of what they want to achieve with their product and what goals they are after.
Strategy stage.
When concepts and ideas have been finalized and approved a user experience consultant can start developing a viable strategy that would help the client reach their objectives with the future product. This can include brainstorming on the user journey maps and information architecture and simultaneously testing ideas with users to ensure the strategy delivers on the best possible customer experience.
Design stage.
When the actual process of designing the solution is set into motion there are many stages a product has to go through to become final. Once it has gone through the phases of approved wireframes and mockups, designers release a prototype that can be practically tested with users to gauge their reactions and feedback.
A UX consultant is present through all of these stages, guiding the specialists and ensuring their work aligns with the vision of the strategy. And with a prototype ready to go a consultant can test the current version of the design with users and verify they are on the right track.
Maintenance stage.
By the time the final design is created, developed and is set to launch the duties of a consultant can still be needed. After all releasing the product is only half the battle, the business needs to keep afloat for years to come and be able to adjust to new opportunities and demands in the market. A trusted consultant can stand beside them evaluating and guiding the operations to the latest profitable directions.
Skills and competencies of UX consultants
The skills a consultant for UX design can possess, whether hard or soft, can vary from person to person depending on the type of professional experience they have, the number of years in practice and even interpersonal qualities.
Main skills and competencies of a UX consultant.
However, to be called a truly competent specialist, a consultant needs to have a strong set of the following skills:
Design thinking.
One of the strongest UX consultant skills in the arsenal is a methodology called design thinking which encompasses having an ability to step into the shoes of the users and perceive the digital product from their point of view. It is both an empathetic and analytical thinking approach helping a consultant understand what pain points the customers are facing and how to best approach to solve them.
Analytical and strategic capabilities.
Being able to get to the real root of the problems within a user experience design is a necessity for a consulting expert. They need to comprehend what stops users from engaging with a product and what motivates them to become a customer in the first place.
On top of analyzing the current state of the brand such professionals are also required to come up with achievable strategies that are aligning with the goals and objectives the client prioritizes proposing a tailored solution to a problem.
Collaboration and teamwork.
A well-rounded UX UI consultant is needed to bring effective communication to the table utilizing their skills in cooperation and teamwork. Uncovering issues and finding solutions is not going to cut it if they cannot be properly translated to the client and effectively implemented into the strategy alongside the design team in charge of the project.
UX design skills.
As we have mentioned previously many consultants come from a long-standing career in UX design so it is natural to assume that such an expert possesses standard design skills. These can include wireframing and prototyping, information architecture, visual design etc. Being acquainted with the dexterity of a designer can prove useful in many cases throughout a consultancy.
Final thoughts regarding a UX design consultant
As you can see the place of a properly qualified consultant for user experience design cannot be underestimated in a diverse range of cases. Whether you are looking to build an engaging product from the ground up or want to bring something new and special to an existing solution, insights that a consultant is capable of bringing to the table can be a turning point for a business.
Within our guide we uncovered the UX consultant meaning in detail, what skills such specialists possess, the tasks they handle and other vital information for general understanding. Leveraging this knowledge you can make informed decisions in regards to joining forces with a consulting expert.
If you are interested in partnering with highly experienced and competent UX consulting specialists, be sure to contact Limeup. With over a decade of successful projects, we can handle design solutions of any complexity and scale.