<aside> 💡 UX architects usually think of more high-level strategies for products, and a lot of their work deals with user flows, information architecture, structures, etc. Let’s learn more about how it is like to be a UX architect by diving into an industry practitioner’s experiences!
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Could you briefly introduce your work? What kind of job do you usually do?
As a UX architect, I work with more back-end developers and stakeholders and instead of interfaces, wireframes, or anything related to front-end. My work focuses more on planning and high-level strategies, like writing rules, flows, information architecture, and holding workshops with stakeholders. We analyze the situation and make sure the rules and flows would work for the future. While not all UX architects do, I also do some user research and usability tests.
What is your daily routine like at work?
I usually have meetings in the morning, and the afternoon is my work time. During meetings, either I ask question or other people ask me questions and we solve them together. In the afternoon I usually work on my own, doing a lot of writing and planning work.
How do you collaborate with your team?
We work with people from all around the world and from different career background—while we are very software-focused, other people can be more medical-focused. We use different ways to solve problems, so there are mis-communications and misunderstandings for sure.
However, visuals make our communication better and easy for everyone. Since people we work with are from different time zones, sometimes we also record our meetings and people from different time zones would watch the recordings later. Another interesting point is that we use Slack for main communication and seldom use emails.
What is one project that your team is working on?
Our company is a biotech company and we deal with cancers using advanced imaging technologies. We also do diagnostic imagining for other diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cardiac disease, and endometriosis. I am currently working with electronic health record (EHR) and working to make it more customized for patients.
What are some challenges that you face during work?
I live and work in Michigan, and it is not a tech or UX hub, so UX is new to many people. A lot of people don’t know about UX, so it is a bit challenging to introduce UX to them and let them know the importance of it.