How to find project ideas for your portfolio
Resources to find a problem statement to jumpstart your UX portfolio.
Every UX beginner has this question. Hence I decided to write an article to help people going through the same struggles and challenges before I started to work on my UX portfolio.
I am writing this article for all the newbies or those transitioning into UX. I am all about giving it back to the community. I have experienced, sharing knowledge improves your understanding. I always thought of “how can I show my transferable skills and experience into a case study?”
People with limited or no practical/industrial experience always wondered how to create a case study or what problem they should look at. I have been there, and I have thought that. I knew I had to look for a UX problem and start implementing my work. As easy as it sounded, I soon hit rock bottom. Where do I find UX research problems?
My academic knowledge was not enough. I had to reach out to the experts in the field and ask what they did. I also spent lots of time researching and googling this. I came across a couple of businesses that help UX professionals volunteer their skills and time to a nonprofit organization in need. Check the following options:
They provide virtual volunteer projects that fit your schedule. There are plenty of options under “Find a Project.” Multiple nonprofit organizations value your invaluable skills and
Taproot Foundation acts as a connector, connecting the skilled volunteers to the nonprofits to solve critical challenges in the communities. You have to choose a list of skills you own, and they provide you with various projects. Try it out.
This is another platform where you can find COVID-specific problems. They have around 750+ projects.
4. UX Rescue
UX Rescue, too, has a very similar goal. They connect UX practitioners to organizations in need across the globe. They believe in creating an impact together. They have a slack channel as well!
5. Look around you: Reach out to the local nonprofits in your neighborhood/city to see if they face any difficulties.
Ask them if they are looking for volunteer help with visibility for their organization’s goals OR if they want to attract more donors OR if they are having difficulty hiring people or updating their websites. It is a win-win situation for both.
6. Last but not least, My favorite: Reaching out to the community and connections you have made with people.
In 2020, I attended several virtual conferences/meetups and connected with people via LinkedIn, Slack, and other social media. I messaged people personally, asking them if they were open to collaborating on a UX project. Some never replied, but some were as enthusiastic as I was, and we started right away. Collaborations are the best way to learn something. During pandemic times, I thought this was the most efficient way I could utilize my time.
All of these are fabulous options to do volunteer/pro-bono work and help the organizations meet their goals. It also makes an impact when the hiring company looks at your work.
So what are you waiting for? Give it a try! Everyone should try one or all of these options and get some hands-on experience. This will boost not just your confidence but also your portfolio and ultimately help you land a job! I hope this works for you.
Always remember, don’t just select a problem because you want to make an attractive portfolio; select a challenge to find some insight or solution for the users. Ask yourself this question “Are you REALLY putting “users” first for whom you are building this?” because, in the end, you are choosing a field that is going to make a difference in people’s lives and make the world a better place!
So let’s believe through these options, you found a problem statement. What would you do next? How would you start?
This is my mantra. I found this sequence extremely helpful. Problem — Process — Outcome. In the problem step, I will carefully understand what the user/business problem is. Understand why research is needed in the first place and what is the problem that I am planning to solve. In the process step, I will look into the research methods: the users, scope, etc. In the last step outcome, I will look into what happened, what were the key insights and findings. This is the basic framework needed to build a case study.
The following is a detailed structure of the overall flow of research steps. You could also follow these steps for an excellent case study.
- Overview and Problem Statement: Overview is a summary of the project, as the primary goal of the project. Ideally should be 2–3 sentences long. A problem statement should clearly state why research is needed and what exactly you are solving.
- Role and Constraints: This part should describe what your role was in the project. Constraints are like limitations you had while running the project, for example, limited time or budget, timezone, etc.
- User and Audience: Understanding whom you are doing this research for millennials, working mothers, and present this study to stakeholders, including product managers, designers, etc.
- Process: Mainly consists of Research methods. According to the Nielsen Norman Group, it helps to consider each possible method along with a 3-dimensional framework with the following axes: Attitudinal vs. behavioral, qualitative vs. quantitative, and context of use. You can explore these dimensions in more detail here.
- Insights, outcomes, and Recommendations: This should talk about what you found in the study,
I have briefly talked about these steps, and there is a lot more to explore. I have provided some links and references at the end of this article.
I am open to collaborating with anyone from the UX field- it can be with a researcher, designer, illustrator, or UI. I believe in learning something new every day. I am a fast learner and love to experiment with new ideas and implement them to make the user’s journey comfortable.
It’s my first attempt to write a medium article. Please feel free to share your experience in the comments regarding what you did to find your first case study.
Further readings links:
- https://uxdesign.cc/100-example-ux-problems-f90e7f61dd9f
- https://uxplanet.org/ux-portfolio-case-study-template-plus-examples-from-successful-hires-86d5b0faa2d6?gi=4f7d334f1469
- https://www.notion.so/A-Beginner-s-Guide-to-Getting-Started-in-UX-Research-1e3e0567b4944c938ae8d1a4f0a21c56#2c3406084533498eb7d89bca1648abe7
- Artiom Dashinsky https://dashinsky.com/
- https://www.formpl.us/blog/exploratory-research
- https://medium.com/100-days-of-product-design
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