UX Design Consulting | 9 Things to Know
[Listen to me narrate this article for free on Spotify, Design Party of One]
Coming up on two years working in UX design consulting, I thought it was time to dump my accumulated knowledge into an article for the consumption of the greater good.
Here are a few things to expect when working for a consulting firm as a UX designer:
1. You Will Gain Exposure to a Wide Range of Industries and Design Assignments
Depending on the size and niche of your consulting firm, you will be placed on multiple projects throughout your employment, maybe simultaneously. During my time as a UX analyst at my consulting firm, I was fortunate enough to be on mostly 4–6 month client engagements that ranged from the financial sector to food logistics. My assignments that were typically at least a few months proved to be the perfect amount of time to inspire urgency and novelty, but not so long as to feel like I was stagnating. While it is possible for UX designers to get housed on mundane multi-year legacy maintenance contracts, this is far more common for non-design consultants that do OCM or data migration.
However, on the flip side…
2. Prepare for Project Whiplash
It can be quite challenging to be plugged into short term engagements, yet expected to learn all of the institutional knowledge associated with a client and their industry. The expectation is always that you are getting quickly up to speed so that you can make smart business and design recommendations. And, just as quickly as you are getting into the groove of one project, you are snatched away to be placed on a different one.
While good consulting firms will do their best to ease the project roll-on / roll-off process, and make an effort to match you with clients you have an interest in working with, ultimately, you are staffed based on the demands of the business. Leadership and HR regularly go through, what appears to the outsider, a chaotic process of matching up consultant skills to the demands of client work. (Did I mention consultants are referred to as “resources?”) They do a dizzying balancing act of comparing consultants’ skills, titles, seniority, billing rates, availability, and cross referencing them with client needs, client expectations, factoring in when contracts are projected to be won or extended, and deciding if people can be staffed to multiple projects.
3. You Are Expected to Be an Expert in Industries You Know Nothing About
As I mentioned before, it can be a challenge to get plucked up and dropped into a new client project. The expectation from the client, rightfully so, is that you are an expert. Companies pay top dollar and place a lot of trust in opening up their businesses to the opinions of consultants — despite them probably having far more industry knowledge and experience.
While getting the opportunity to learn about new clients and developing the ability to quickly ramp up is an invaluable skill, it is not an easy task, and requires careful negotiation at all times. Asking questions is an absolutely essential part of consulting, but there is an unspoken understanding among your consulting team that asking the wrong questions to the client could damage your firm’s credibility. Don’t appear naïve or reveal a lack of experience on your firm’s part. Asking the wrong questions in front of a client can be awkward at best and irreparably damaging to the relationship at worst.
4. Client Demands and Personalities Will Vary
Some clients will be easier to work with than others. On the scale of “dream project” to “nightmare project” most will fall somewhere in between.
“Green flag” client attributes include: 1) wanting to be collaborative 2) trusting designers enough to run with ideas 3) understanding minor setbacks can occur and focusing on the larger picture.
On the other hand, “red flag” attributes include 1) clients that are difficult to schedule 2) clients that act aloof but then are suddenly particular 3) clients that constantly want to revisit previously decided designs decisions.
Additionally, when working with difficult clients it is often the impulse of senior leadership to tighten the grip on managing these projects. While an understandable reaction, it can result in relegating junior designers to contributing less overall — with the design work they do contribute subject to micromanaging and harsher-than-average scrutiny. This is obviously demotivating and quickly becomes a stifling work environment.
5. You are Constantly Looking Over Your Shoulder for the Boogeyman (aka the Bench)
An unfortunate reality of consulting is the dreaded “bench time,” or affectionately known as being “on the beach.” Being benched means not being actively assigned to a client project, aka “not being billable,” having “billable hours,” or being able to “bill the client.” While firms might try to assure consultants that it is a normal part of the ebb and flow of the consulting work pipeline, being on the bench means you are no longer generating revenue and are rather contributing to their overhead. Depending on your firm’s policies, having too much bench time can impact your year-end reviews, bonus eligibility, and future work assignments. It also is an unspoken rule that too much bench time puts you on the chopping block should a reduction in force be necessary. Finally, it is also implied that vacations should be taken during bench time — which is nearly impossible to accurately predict.
So how do I avoid the bench, you ask?
Your firm will tell you to ensure your internal resume is updated and your skills are up to date. I would add, be ready to constantly advocate for yourself to secure new assignments, and intentionally form a close relationship with your staffing manager to remain top of mind when assignments become available.
But, even if you are the most proactive self-advocate, have the most manicured resume, and are constantly upskilling, ultimately…
6. You Are at the Mercy of Your Company’s Ability to Sell Design Work
This is where the maturity of your firm’s design practice becomes paramount. There is an art to selling UX design work to clients — even more so to sell the importance of UX design research. If your firm is unable to sell, then there is no pipeline, no revenue, the bench grows, and layoffs happen. If you sense your firm’s ability to sell is lacking, this could spell an ugly trickle down impact.
Become knowledgeable in evaluating how mature a firm is, and what their business development processes are. When interviewing, ask questions.
How big is your UX design department and how is it structured? How old is the UX design department? How much emphasis does your company place on UX research?
A great book for learning about this topic is Org Design for Design Orgs by Peter Merholz. For business development processes, ask question like
What are the channels this firm uses to conduct business development? Is there a dedicated sales team? Who is responsible for going after RFP’s? Who are your main clients and what are some business development expansion goals for this year?
Good firms should have concrete answers to these questions with evidence of a continual solid flow of work.
7. Research will be a Hurdle to Overcome, Not a Powerful Foundational Step
Read any recent state-of-UX-design article and you will see designers bemoaning the death of UX and the rise of product design. While some companies don’t know or care about this difference (which might be an indicator of an immature design practice), the underlying message is that UX research with a firmly user-centric approach has always required extensive advocacy, justification, and careful nurturing.
In my consulting experience, UX research was not entirely neglected, but proper UX research rigor was usually not possible based on the resources allotted to the project — often heavily influenced by the client. This design industry challenge that haunts the most well-intentioned in-house firms becomes exponentially magnified when attempting to negotiate contracts with new-to-design clients who are primarily concerned with deadlines and budget.
Consulting firms must advocate for UX design and UX research in lockstep. Those that provide UX design services should be prepared to educate and effectively sell research work to clients.
8. You will Become an Excellent Orator & Design Presenter
It’s a no brainer that being placed in front of clients, answering their pointed questions, and delivering design reviews on a regular cadence will force you to become comfortable presenting. This is an invaluable skill as you progress throughout your career and explore possibilities for management and senior roles.
9. You Become a Better Business & Sales Person
Admittedly, this one might be specific to my particular consulting firm experience, but I was forced to take into consideration so many different business factors, as well as usability factors when designing. I would watch conversations from leadership begin from the time we were deciding if we would submit an RFP, to the finalization of a contract SOW, to discussions with the client of all of their goals and concerns; all BEFORE I ever started conducting discovery work. I was in the design trenches, quickly learning that the client needed to see consistent progress, all work needed to fall within budget and original scope, all while leaving room for upselling and scaling down the road. I started to consider my design role from various vantage points including OCM factors, software development, business development, and larger market trends. Being able to hold all of these factors in your mind while designing will set you apart from other designers and make you a natural candidate for future management opportunities.
So there you have it! Designers, for better or worse, rarely have the luxury of focusing solely on design — we are strategists and entrepreneurs that must look to “sell” our work and ourselves — even when gainfully employed! Consulting offers an opportunity for rapid career development, but navigates constantly the tug and pull of upholding UX design standards while doing what the client is willing to pay for. When considering UX consulting, consider your career goals, current design experience, and then go for it!
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Anne-Marie Lloyd is a DC-Based UX designer & strategist currently building out her freelance practice. Check out her website here.
