Good UX designers are so valuable because they have to continually evolve in what they produce and how they do it. Businesses and users expect an ever-changing and improving experience, and that’s made possible by an inexorable stream of tools for prototyping, elementary coding, design, wireframing and more.
Built In Chicago spoke with two leaders at Cat Digital, the tech arm of Caterpillar Inc., and Productive Edge, to learn how they stay up-to-date on the latest tools and expectations. What’s clear from these experts is that cross-functional collaboration is an essential part of the process. It keeps their design work user-centered, it enables creative problem-solving, it stays in alignment with business goals and quality assurance standards are maintained.
It’s UX designers, after all, who have to know how to use these great new technologies. And as is evident, they are also skilled at pulling together cross-functional teams to apply those tools to what comes next.
Cat Digital, the digital and technology arm of Caterpillar Inc., brings digital capabilities to the construction equipment manufacturer.
What technical skills — whether new or preexisting — have you acquired/sharpened in your current role? What facilitated that?
When I joined the team at Cat Digital, I needed to make sure I was fully brushed up on UX leadership, Atomic Design, agile development practices and product management. My role as a UX manager for a Caterpillar design system is a lot like being a product manager for an internally facing product. In this case, my team’s customers and users are our colleagues in Cat Digital’s product teams.
One of the most important ways I develop my skills is by learning from my team of experts. Learning best practices from each other has sharpened the quality of work coming out of my team so we deliver the absolute best product for our customers. Now, Cat Digital has a great, highly skilled design system team composed of designers, architects, developers, QA, BA and product people who were trained by the best in the industry, which makes my job easier and more fun.
What company resources have you used to pick up new technical skills?
Our group is a fast-paced tech community with a culture of learning and collaborating, so much of my learning comes from daily interactions and meetings. I feel lucky to be part of a team that is working with cutting-edge technologies across many platforms and disciplines. Because our team works with design systems and standards, we get to interact with UX designers, UX researchers, AI pros, developers, QA and product folks across the organization. That gives me regular exposure to exciting new knowledge.
My team has access to leading industry resources that contain case studies and the latest best practices for digital research and design. Just last week I was asking about best practices for drawer versus modal patterns and I was able to find a recent study to reference. Everyone on my team can access these resources, which is certainly something we tap into regularly to ensure we are always equipped to deliver premium digital experiences.
The learning opportunities that leave me most energized are the conferences, training sessions and workshops that my team and I regularly attend. It’s inspiring to learn from and connect with our industry’s leading minds.
Please share an example of how your sharpened technical skills have paid dividends at work. What skills did you flex and why were they central to your success?
This has been a tools-heavy year! We received training to learn how to use Azure DevOps for everything from road mapping to daily standups. Team members also attend major industry conferences and report back on what they’ve learned. We also integrated our team’s visual platform with Azure DevOps to help visualize the work during road mapping sessions.
Additionally, the UX team’s leadership delivered accessibility certification and design sprint facilitation training for our designers and researchers. That, combined with our design system resources, means we can accelerate our path from idea to release, with a set of solutions that are quickly validated and accessible, which is a boon to both our users and the business. This makes the work that much more satisfying.
Productive Edge is a consultancy and software company that supports clients in healthcare and other industries through digital transformations.
What technical skills — whether new or preexisting — have you acquired/sharpened in your current role? What facilitated that?
My journey at Productive Edge since 2014 as a UI/UX designer has been all about fine-tuning my skills that extend far beyond just drawing interfaces. Embracing UI/UX and interaction design, I’ve shifted my focus from surface-level aesthetics to solving real customer problems.
Collaborating closely with the team, I’ve immersed myself in user-centered design, a philosophy that puts the user at the heart of everything we do. This involves ensuring design choices resonate with customer needs, preferences and expectations.
Whipping up design systems has been a real cornerstone of my work. It’s not just about creating individual designs but weaving a thread of consistency throughout the project. Consider these as the essential element that ensures our team's collaboration flows smoothly, enabling us to work cohesively and maintain precise visual consistency. The outcome is a seamless, user-friendly and ready-to-scale product.
What is my go-to? Interactive prototyping. It’s a quick way to test and showcase ideas to clients, like offering a movie trailer for apps. This skill was honed through various projects and collaborations with talented peers.
What company resources have you used to pick up new technical skills?
In my pursuit of new skills, I’ve explored various resources at Productive Edge. Internal knowledge-sharing sessions are crucial, offering insights into diverse technical aspects. This broadens my understanding and lets me exchange valuable experience with colleagues, from whom I am constantly learning something new.
The company offers subscriptions to design tools such as Figma, Adobe Suite, Rive App and more. These subscriptions provide me with unlimited capabilities and dive into the nitty-gritty of UI/UX design, graphics and animations.
And let’s not forget Slack, our trusty sidekick. Through discussion groups and channels, I can shoot questions, share lightbulb moments and get feedback from teammates. It's a hub of collaboration that feels like a digital water cooler.
Please share an example of how your sharpened technical skills have paid dividends at work. What skills did you flex and why were they central to your success?
A tangible instance that exemplifies the impact of my refined technical skills involves a project at its nascent stage on which we were working. The client conveyed an urgent requirement: They had a presentation with stakeholders scheduled within a week and urgently needed visually appealing mockups to offer a glimpse of their forthcoming app. Capitalizing on the repertoire of design systems I had developed previously I managed to swiftly piece together these mockups on short notice.
Leveraging these pre-existing design systems allowed me to reuse numerous components, expediting the mockup creation process. I went a step further and developed an interactive prototype that offered a near-live experience of the product. This prototype served as a game-changer, providing a clear vision of the product to the client and stakeholders.
This endeavor had a dual impact. By merging aesthetic mockups with an interactive prototype, the client enhanced their stakeholder pitch. They delivered an app representation that combined visual allure with user experience. The blend of UI/UX and prototyping was pivotal to this success.
