Interview Questions

Question 1

How do you balance the goals of the end user with those of the business?

Answer 1

As a UX Designer, we must have a strong understanding of who our user is in
order to advocate for their needs with our business stakeholders. If we involve
our stakeholders in the product development journey from the very beginning,
either through getting their input on survey & interview questions or inviting
them to observe user research sessions, they will ideally be equally invested in
the goal of solving our user’s problems. Additionally, the UX team should
encourage the business to recognize usability testing & user research as proof of
our success and approach any consumer pain points as business opportunities to
improve our product. It is important to remember that if a business depends on
consumers adapting their natural behaviors to coincide with the goals of the
company will most likely result in disappointment for both users and business.

Companies usually hire UX/UI designers for a very specific end goal which is to help the business grow. and with that understanding as a UX designer, I like to start every task by first understanding why it’s important for the business. Why nailing this feature would help the business grow. And only then, I move on to the usual user experience methodologies - learning more about the users, their pain points, what they are trying to accomplish, etc. And potentially also backing it up with relevant research and creating some assumptions regarding both impact on business metrics and the impact on user experience.

Another Answer: To find the right balance between making UX design truly useful for the business as well as the end-user, designs should make the necessary content accessible in the most intuitive manner and also promote the business in such a way that is it beneficial for the business, but does not hamper the overall user experience. Ultimately tho, I think it all comes back to research. Do I have the right balance between objectives and UX? and if the answer is no, it’s important to start conducting UX research to be back on track. Business goals can never be fulfilled if you don’t fulfill user goals. It’s why UX design is so important. I think if you understand your user needs well, you’ll find users that are happy to pay for your product. Designing an experience that acknowledges user needs, in a way that directly supports profit, is a win-win. That usually happens when a business is providing true value to the customers.

Question 2

How do you know if you’re asking the right research questions for a project?

Answer 2

At a basic level, asking the “right” questions means encouraging users to share their point of view, without your influence or bias.

But ultimately you know you’re asking the right research questions for your project when you’ve really considered the aim and scope of your UX research. It helps plan your questions out that will help you discover what your users’ goal is when using a product and how they go about using it.

With all this information in place, you can begin exploring what works well, what doesn’t work so well, and what doesn’t work at all for users.

https://uxplanet.org/how-to-define-the-problem-in-product-design-86c66ebc01d9

Question 3

What’s the most challenging part of your research projects?

Answer 3

In my experience working for a very small startup a few years ago, I’ve learned it’s most challenging at the beginning of the research when there’s a lack of clearly defined direction. Also when there are stakeholders who undervalue the research.

Research projects involve a lot of data and there really isn’t a limit to how much research you can collect and so for that reason, it’s very challenging to analyze and summarize qualitative research. I mean it’s time-consuming. so when you have stakeholders who are impatient with that process that could make it even more difficult.

Question 4

What kind of research methods do you use when starting a new project?

Answer 4

I start new projects with generative research methods, such as competitive analysis and market research (which helps inform me of existing solutions and gaps in the market) and combined with a more user-focused method such as surveys, interviews, personas, etc.

The main objective really is to explore possible problems by learning about the potential users and their motivations. Additionally, this
research helps to confirm the assumption that there is a problem and directs the team towards a specific need when creating their product.

Question 5

What’s the role of the problem statement in UX design?

Answer 5

A problem statement identifies the gap between the current state (i.e the problem) and the desired state (i.e. the goal) of a process or product. It frames the problem (or need) in a way that is actionable for designers. It provides a clear description of the issue that the designer wants to address, keeping the focus on the user at all times.

Question 6

How do you begin your design process?

Answer 6

I always start with research. I gather information about the project either from the client or on my own. and this will consist of any generative research. Then I try to understand all the correlations between requirements and features of the project.

Then I sketch out my ideas and start wireframing. I do this before mood boarding because it’s much easier to look for UI inspiration when I become aware of what components I’m looking for.

Then comes mood boarding. I look for design patterns, color styles, and UI components, Then I start creating mock-ups.

If usability testing is available that is when I start user testing. With the feedback, I refine the final version.

And while the development process is in progress, I keep updating the design until it’s “done”.

Question 7

What questions do you need to be answered before you start designing an experience?

Answer 7

Before I start designing an experience I ask several questions but I’ll discuss the top three questions I
like to focus on first. Who are we designing for? We need to know this because we need to know
what their needs are, what their goals are, their demographics, their user behaviors when using the
products. We can’t design a product if we don’t know who will be using it. What problem are we
solving and why are we solving it? By understanding the problem it helps designers get context
into how their decisions can relate back to the initial problem. It’s also good to know why a problem
exists or if it’s been solved already and how other companies are solving it. What are the
constraints? In every project there’s going to be multiple constraints such as the bandwidth of the
developers, access to user research, budget limitations, etc. It’s good to know this so a designer
knows how to work within those limitations and deliver what’s possible.

During the research phase, I like to ask:

1. How does the organization presents or wants to present itself?
2. Understanding the problem
3. The impact of the solution on the business or presence of the organization
4. Frustration/pain point: The friction or the problem the character is facing and needs a solution for
5. Goal: This is the ideal reason why the user will be using the app and will continue using it.

Question 8

Can you describe a time when the requirements changed in the middle of a project and how you handled that?

Answer 8

When at a hospitality startup, where they had a restaurant application that let you order and pay from your phone(much like what we see now in restaurants) but this was back in 2017 when it wasn’t popularized.

Our application integrated directly with the restaurant POS systems, when a user made an order it would send a ticket to the kitchen, and those were the original requirements for the app. After doing a live test with real users in an actual restaurant we soon found that this model was not sustainable, as users would order multiple things and the kitchen became overwhelmed with too many individual tickets. Taking this into account in our following design sprints we changed the designs of the app to make it that all orders were grouped by table when sent as a ticket to significantly reduce the number of tickets the
kitchen received.

I learned a great deal about exceeding customer expectations during that time and our team also worked out a process document covering our lessons learned so that this type of situation could be handled more efficiently in the future…”

Question 9

What are the design tools in your tool belt and in what situations do you use one tool or method over another? Do you sketch with paper and pen, and will you be ready to prototype something in Sketch/Invision?

Answer 9

I personally prefer sketching over digital wireframing as it is much more flexible and you can experiment a lot. This part of the process does include wireframing at times when it is really needed. This makes looking for UI inspiration much easier as I become aware of what components I am looking for.

Figma is my preferred option to design mockups for website or app design, but I do switch to sketch or adobe xd at times if it’s the client’s preferred software.

Question 10

How would you go about verifying or testing your design?

Answer 10

I choose a usability testing method I believe best suits to project I’m working on. It’ll either be moderated or unmoderated user testing. I prefer moderated user testing because it allows you to develop a strong rapport with the candidate and open up a channel for more candid feedback.

Question 11

What were your learnings or takeaways from the paper prototyping process?

Answer 11

Whenever I want to quickly get ideas out, I feel that paper prototyping allows me to quickly
draw out a concept without focusing on perfecting it. Which is why I dislike brainstorming on software
like balsamiq or figma. It’s also easier to make any changes to the design earlier in the process.
Although I enjoy paper prototyping, I also learned that there are some pitfalls to it. Even though I’m
not the worst at drawing, I feel that getting user feedback from showing a paper prototype isn’t the
best way to get good results. I’ve noticed there’s a perfectionist in almost everyone, and because we
are getting used to beautiful interfaces it’s hard to look past the pencil drawings. This ruined the
opportunity to get any good insights.

Question 12

How would you figure out whether your prototype does what it’s supposed to?

Answer 12

Multiple user testings would help me figure out whether my prototype does what it’s supposed
to do. With the feedback I gather from the users, I would make adjustments to my prototype and
repeat this process until it solves the problem I’m working on.

Question 13

Did you draw inspiration from existing apps? How did this inspiration influence your work?

Answer 13

Before designing anything, I always look for inspiration. I looked for similar apps and would
note anything I liked or disliked, and what would work for my app and what wouldn’t. I also looked on
Behance, Dribble, and Pinterest for design layout inspirations. With all the inspiration I collected, I
created a moodboard that helped me visualize how I wanted to design my app. In the end, the
inspiration I gathered allowed me to transform their work into something of my own.

Question 14

How do you define UX design?

Answer 14

UX design is all about learning about your users (asking your user, watching your users, etc.)
and then designing a product by making progress through continuous analysis and testing. It’s
a form of design that is always evolving.

Question 15

Who do you admire, follow, and are inspired by in the industry?

Answer 15

When it comes to UX education I follow Jamal Nichols, Mizko, Alicia Quan, Taylor Ling, Josh
Brewer, Laura Klein and many more on platforms like twitter, youtube, instagram creative live, etc.
I also check the website UX Collective on a weekly basis to read curated stories on UX, visual,
& product design.

Question 16

How do you estimate the amount of effort a project or task will take?

Answer 16

Broadly speaking:

The first step would be to break down a task into mini “sub-tasks” and assign a set amount of time for each sub-task. It is important to set an amount of time because of a phenomenon called Parkinson’s law where “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”. Consider doing this as a team because someone might have prior experience and knowledge with a particular sub-task and will therefore have a more realistic idea of the timeframe involved.
At the end of this process, you should have an approximate timeline from start to finish. Then, if it is feasible, assign more buffer time to the most
important tasks to take into account for any unforeseen delays or issues. As the last step, if at all possible, add some “decompression” time to the project timeline. This allows people to come back to the project with fresh eyes. In an ideal world, this phase would commence on the next day. This makes the task of revision far easier and you are likely to spot more
mistakes.

Short Answer:
I always make a plan with reasonable deadlines and with extra time included in case it is needed. Indeed, I have learned that I should never underestimate the amount of time a certain task can take (e.g. preparing assets for the engineering team, studying the user’s feedback, etc.) and I should always be prepared for the unexpected.

Question 17

How do you hand off to engineering?

Answer 17

I am particularly sensitive to the fact that producing “clean”, sensibly structured, and organized files is an absolutely vital aspect of design work.

Prior to handoff, I would consult engineering and find out how they would like to receive the assets and use a handover tool like Zeplin to transfer the assets.

Question 18

How would your teammates describe you professionally?

Answer 18

Team player because

Honest, they feel that they can come to me for unfiltered & unbiased feedback on their designs.

Question 19

Tell me about a difficult project where you overcame a challenge. about a difficult project where you overcame a challenge.

Answer 19

During a freelance opportunity, I was tasked with designing their mobile experience for a new application. I had some difficulties delivering on time due to over-focusing on minor details and obsessing over pixels. I overcame this with my own personal research and learned to give my clients a less perfect version and then iterate on their feedback.

Question 20

Think of a question you could ask an interviewer. For instance, it could be something about the culture, flow, company vibe, or product questions!

Answer 20

A question I would ask the interviewer is what their whole product design process from start to finish (Initial brainstorming to software developer handoff) looks like to see if I can help anywhere in that flow.

Question 21

If you had two products and had to ask one question of users to determine which they preferred more, what would you ask?

Answer 21

If I only had one question to ask I would out of the many I would have I would ask a question that focused on the user needs

Question 22

How do you evaluate a design?

Answer 22

First understanding what the purpose of the design is and the intended function of the design is then evaluated that through usability testing, A/B testing, Preference testing to figure out how easy it is to use, how functional it is, and how long it takes the users to accomplish their goal.

Question 23

What kind of data have you used to validate a design?

Answer 23

I’ve used both quantitative and qualitative data to validate my designs. I’ve gathered quantitative data by asking questions like how many users were able to complete the task or how many users were able to find the call to action button. I’ve gathered qualititaive data by observing and understanding users also by having them perform task anaylsis and getting feedback during user interviews.

Question 24

Are there usability testing methods you already have experience in? If so, explain.

Answer 24

I’ve used moderated testing method. I perfer to conduct usability testing in person or remotely with direct actions because it produces more in-depth results and gives me more control of the testing sessions.

Question 25

Tell us about yourself? (How did you get into the field of UX? How did your journey through UX lead you here?)

Other forms of this question:

1. Why are you interested in UX?
2. How did you get started in UX?
3. Tell me a little bit more about your background.

Answer 25

think about your “UX story”. How did you discover your passion for UX, and what have you done with it since? What experiences have you had so far, either professional or personal, that set you apart?

I hope I can show you how my background and approach to UX will make me a great addition to your team!

Question 26

What is the value of UX Design?

Answer 26

Talk about the value UX adds to THEIR business. By framing your discussion of UX in terms of the employer’s needs and priorities, you’re not only showing your ability to explain the importance of UX, but also how it relates to making their product a success.

Do you truly understand the field? Why is UX design so crucial?

Question 27

What is the difference between UX and other design disciplines?

Other forms this question might take:
What’s the difference between a UX designer and a graphic designer?
How is UX design different from visual design?
What sets UX apart from other design disciplines?

Answer 27

What they really want to know: Do you have your priorities right as a UX designer?

Give an example of a project where you focused on usability and worked with a colleague who handled the visual design. If you’ve got experience in both, talk about the priorities you set to focus on usability as a first-order goal, and then how you align the visuals with that in mind.

Question 28

Talk us through your workflow?

Other forms:
Walk me through your portfolio.
What’s your design process?
Tell me about a project that challenged you. How did you work through the challenge?

Answer 28

How do you solve problems? Are you user-focused at all times?

This question is all about analyzing your critical thinking and problem solving skills. Pick a successful project you’ve worked on in the past and walk through the steps you took. Structure your answer much like the design process itself by mentioning how you researched, designed, and validated your design decisions. Avoid the temptation to answer this question in general terms.

Use an example to frame your process. Talk them through your steps in handling a (successful!) project. Ideally, one which also relates to the kinds of challenges you’ll be focusing on in this role. Then wrap up by tying this process to those challenges.

Question 29

Do you consider yourself a team player?

Answer 29

Will you work well with developers, UI designers and product owners? Are you open to feedback and ideas?

Talk about a time when collaboration was key to making the project a success. Outline the challenge, the steps your team took, your particular role in all of this and how things ended up. Relate this process to a typical challenge for doing good design, and relate this process to succeeding at delivering a well-designed product.

Question 30

Tell us about your most (or least) successful UX design project

Answer 30

What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses and how do you learn from them?

In both of these scenarios, your learnings are a key aspect of the answer. How would you evaluate the project’s success in terms of reaching its goals? Talk about what you did to make this happen (or mitigate the failure). Finish by highlighting the takeaways from this outcome: what did you learn that you’ve used on other projects, and what did you learn to avoid?

Question 31

How do you practice universal design?

Answer 31

Are you clued up on inclusive UX? Do you know how to design for ALL users?

Talk about the importance of universal design from a business perspective: why is being accessible to all users a winning strategy for a business or product?

Question 32

What do you think will be the next big thing in UX design?

Answer 32

Are you passionate about your craft? Have you got your finger on the pulse?

If you’re truly passionate about a particular trend, relate it to the employer’s business needs and goals. How do you see it contributing to their success?

Question 33

How would you improve the UX of our product?

Answer 33

Have you researched the company? Are you full of ideas and ready to hit the ground running?

Diplomacy here is key. Remember, one of the 3 things an interviewer is trying to find out is the answer to the question: Can we stand working with you? Don’t be afraid to defend your thoughts (while recognising you may not be privy to all of the background information which shaped the current product), but be aware of how you present the information: don’t go out of your way to step on any toes, or make it sound like this is information they should already know.

Question 34

Where do you go for UX design inspiration?

Other forms this question might take:
What do you think is the next big trend in UX design?
What inspires you?
What inspires your work?

Answer 34

Are you constantly learning and developing? Are you invested in the industry?

Keep your audience in mind. You may get inspiration and ideas from lots of places, but by talking about how they shape your approach to design and how this relates to their products and challenges.

Question 35

What is UX design? 
Other forms this question might take:
Why should we hire a UX designer?
What’s the value of UX design?
How do you define UX?

Answer 35

UX design is all about championing the user. Consider discussing how empathy and user-centered design create value. Also talk about the ways in which you keep the user at the center of the design process: user research, personas and user journey maps, and usability testing.

Question 36

Tell me about some of your favorite examples of good UX.
Other forms this question might take?
What does it mean to be a good UX designer?
What are the elements of good UX?

Answer 36

Do you understand the elements of good user experience?

Question 37

What kind of research methods do you use?

Other forms this question might take:
Have you conducted user research in the past?
How do you decide which research method to use?

Answer 37

What they’re really asking: How do you validate your design decisions?

You can approach this question in a couple of ways. Be sure to walk through any user research methods you’ve used in the past (this can include research you conducted as part of a course or degree project). Talk about the benefits and limitations of each method.

If you have limited experience in UX design, you can also frame your answer in terms of research methods you’d like to try and why.

Question 38

How do you respond to negative feedback?

Other forms this question might take:
Do you work well as part of a team?
Describe your ideal work environment.
How do you hand over your designs to developers?

Answer 38

What they’re really asking: Are you a team player?

UX design is a highly collaborative process. Take this opportunity to talk about a successful collaboration. This could be a group project or a team effort in a previous job. No matter the example you choose, remember to point out the role you played in the group, how you overcame any challenges, what you learned from your teammates, and how the finished product benefitted from the collaboration.

Question 39

Tell me about your most/least successful UX design project.

Other forms this question might take:
Walk me through your portfolio.
What is your biggest strength/weakness as a UX designer?
Tell me about a design problem that challenged you.

Answer 39

What they’re really asking: What are your biggest strengths or weaknesses?

Getting asked about the design project you’re most proud of is your chance to showcase your strengths. Outline your contributions to the project, then go into a little more detail about what made it so successful. As you prepare for this question, see if you can tie in some of the qualities listed in the job description for the role.

The negative version of the question is another way to ask you about your weaknesses. Be honest, but keep the focus on what you learned from the not-so-successful project and what you’d do differently in the future.

No matter which version of the question you get, take it as an opportunity to define how you measure success (hint: tie it to the user).

Question 40

How would you improve the UX of our product?

Other forms this question might take:
Tell me about a bad user experience you’ve had. How would you fix it?

Answer 40

What they’re really asking: Have you done your research?

It’s always a good idea to read up on the company you’re applying to ahead of your interview. This demonstrates your interest in this company and this role as opposed to any other UX designer job.

Take some time to explore the company’s products. Browse their website. Use their app if they have one.

Think about what works and what could be improved. Pick one or two examples, and come up with a sample plan of action. Remember to mention the company’s target users and the type of research you might conduct when enhancing an existing design.

The point here isn’t to bash your potential employer but to offer a preview of the value you’d bring to the company.

Question 41

Do you have any questions?

Answer 41

What they’re really asking: Are you engaged and curious?

This question closes out many interviews, and it’s important that you come prepared with your own thoughtful questions. The main point of an interview is for a company to determine whether you’re a good fit for a role. But that goes both ways. This is your chance to explore whether the company is a good fit for you.

Demonstrate your interest in the company and the job by asking two or three questions. You can prepare some questions ahead of time, but don’t be afraid to ask questions that may have come up during the interview process. Topics to inquire about might include the company culture, team structure, and business goals.