[TMA] Tools don't design, people do (yes, this is a little about AI)

Skills are not tools (and tools are not skills)

In my work developing career architectures for UX/Design professionals, I've invested enormous time thinking about the skills that these folks need in order to do their work. With all the discussion about AI, I revisited the competency rubrics that I created to see how they would need to change, and upon review, I think the answer is: not much, if at all. Here's my generic rubric for the skill of Interaction Design:

I firmly believe skill definitions should be tool agnostic, and I always cringe when someone labels "Figma" a skill. The skill definition focuses on behaviors and outcomes, and the accomplishment resides in people's ability to think and depict, not their mastery of any particular tool. In reviewing it, I think AI tools are simply a means enable the skill, and will likely have an impact akin to when diagramming flows moved from Illustrator to tools like OmniGraffle or Visio.

What any tool lacks (AI or otherwise) is the necessary quality of discernment. As I review what's above, it's that quality to judge appropriateness and applicability given a specific context (platform, audience, environment) that is essential to successfully perform what's captured here.

This said, I do suspect I'll want to evolve my skills taxonomy to reflect AI in some capacity—something like promptcraft, prompt engineering, or just a general AI savviness. If anyone has developed a definition or rubric for a UX/Design-relevant AI skill, I'd love to see it.

On Being a Chief Experience Officer

For the latest episode of Finding Our Way, Jesse and I had the fortune of chatting with Amy Lokey, Chief Experience Officer at ServiceNow. She shared her 5+ year journey of growing a team from 150 to now around 1000 (!), spanning product design, UX research, product content, information strategy, and operations. I was taken with her ability to speak clearly and directly, a skill I'm sure has been crucial in her career progress.

In her time at ServiceNow, she's highly elevated the strategic importance and input of UX/Design, initially demonstrating value through the application of UX metrics tools like System Usability Scale, and now spearheading how AI is used in their products to ensure a quality customer experience.

In fact, for those digging into AI matters, her team published a Responsible AI Guidelines handbook to be freely downloaded.

This episode is packed with her hard-earned wisdom, and very much worth your time! Listen on Apple, Spotify, or read the transcript.

Design Leadership Demystified in Seattle — tickets are moving!

And finally, a brief plug/reminder of my Design Leadership Demystified masterclass taking place in Seattle on May 21. 5 weeks out, and about half the tickets are sold.