What not to do in a UX Research portfolio

A Meta-analysis of 13 UX Research Portfolio Advice Articles

Today, I’ll be reviewing what not to do in a UX portfolio. But instead of looking for a number of posts/articles and then reviewing them individually, I’m going to list the articles/posts that I used for light research and then make a list of insights gained from them. I feel like it’s more value added for readers if I essentially conduct a meta-analysis and summarize the advice across several posts/articles into a single list.

So today I’ll be searching for posts and articles that are relevant in answering one key question: what shouldn’t I doing when making a UX research portfolio?

Search Methodology

I’m starting with four search terms that I think will return some relevant articles on the first page of search results. Then, I’ll open each relevant article and add it to a central list. Not all of the articles were relevant, so those were removed and not included in analysis.

The search terms:

1. “what not to do in a UX research portfolio”
2. “ux research portfolio mistakes”
3. “ux research mistakes”
4. “ux research portfolio problems”

Insight Summary

In total, I read through 13 articles that are listed at the end of this post. From each article, I found a number of recommendations for what not do in your UX research portfolios. Naturally, there was considerable overlap of recommendations. I found 17 unique pieces of advice and made a table of insights with three columns: (1) the insight/advice, (2) the number of articles that made the recommendation, (3) a list of the specific articles that made the recommendation. While I put this information into a table for easy reading, I found that tables are incredibly difficult to include on this platform, so I opted to include both a screenshot of the table as well as a list form of the table.

Insights: Table Format

Insights: List Format

1. Don’t over-explain your work or include unnecessary details. Keep it Brief. The ability to condense a lot of information into a few salient points is really valuable, and hiring managers/recruiters won’t spend a lot of time looking at your portfolio. Make your portfolio easy to read and understand.(Recommended by 8 articles: 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13)

2. Do not forsake context and process information by over-emphasizing outcomes or flashy graphics. Master storytelling in your portfolio.
(Recommended by 6 articles: 1, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13)

3. Don’t exceed 3–5 case studies in your portfolio.
(Recommended by 5 articles: 2, 3, 8, 10, 11)

4. Don’t be unclear about who you are or what roles you want, and don’t pretend to be what you’re not. Do: apply for things that match your background and actual career goals. In other words, know how much of a researcher vs. designer you are.
(Recommened by 5 articles: 2, 3, 10, 11, 13)

5. Do not favor an aesthetically pleasing portfolio over a portfolio that contains actually great research.
(Recommended by 5 articles: 1, 4, 8, 10, 13)

6. Do not have an ugly portfolio or have a hard-to-read portfolio.
(Recommended by 4 articles: 1, 8, 10, 11)

7. Don’t forget to have real people review your bio and give feedback. Do: practice presenting your case studies to people.
(Recommended by 4 articles: 1, 3, 4, 9)

8. Do not fail to provide a brief overview/summary of the project at the beginning of each case study.
(Recommended by 3 articles: 9, 10, 11)

9. Do not omit your contributions or value added to a project. You need to demonstrate your value in your portfolio.
(Recommended by 3 articles: 8, 9, 13)

10. Don’t ignore your soft skills and other talents
(Recommended by 2 articles: 1, 7)

11. Don’t leave out the constraints you had to work with. All projects will require constraints, so it’s good to show that you know how to work in less-than-ideal conditions.
(Recommended by 2 articles: 1,8)

12. Don’t publish anything confidential, or anything that breaks the trust of your clients.
(Recommended by 2 articles: 2, 5)

13. Don’t be too sterile in your bio; don’t be afraid to show who you are as a person.
(Recommended by 2 articles: 3, 4)

13. Don’t overuse the same method in your case studies. Do: have a diversity of methods.
(Recommended by 2 articles: 4, 8)

14. Don’t spend too much time developing your portfolio. Basically, don’t over invest your resources and time in making a perfect portfolio at the cost of neglecting your applications or networking.
(Recommended by 2 articles: 5, 10)

15. Don’t include stock photos (this is mostly for designer roles)
(Recommended by 2 articles: 9, 11)

16. Don’t have your UX research portfolio purely exist as a pdf slide deck. Do consider how the portfolio can be best presented on a webpage.
(Recommended by 1 article: 10)

17. Don’t rely on image captions to adequately explain an image or graphic.
(Recommended by 1 article: 10)

What TO DO

After reading approximately 15 of these articles, I’ve been able to distill the basic things that you should be doing when making a UX research portfolio that also addresses the common pitfalls and mistakes you should avoid.

1. Include a brief bio that quickly explains who you are — but don’t be afraid to show some personality here.
2. Include 3–5 case studies.
3. Make sure your case studies are short, readable, and scannable, and need to showcase a diversity of methods expertise.
4. Your case studies need a short overview/summary at the beginning that provides context for the project/product, describes the research goals, the team, and your role within the team.
5. While your case studies should be aesthetically pleasing, this does not mean you should jam in a bunch of graphics with no explanation or context, or spend so much time making your portfolio nice to look at that it doesn’t demonstrate your ability to generate good, clear, high-impact research.
6. You need to tell a clear research story that includes context and explanations for your decisions in a very short amount of time. You need to learn how to condense a lot of information into a little space.
7. You need to highlight your contributions and your value added to the project.
8. Once you’re done, you need to have other people review it. At a base level, some friends or colleagues you trust. At an advanced level, get your UX research portfolio reviewed by actual hiring managers and recruiters.

Hiring managers and recruiters are reading your portfolio. They need to be able to quickly digest your entire portfolio, be impressed, and then remember who you are. You should make their life easy by making your portfolio easy to read and understand, while also telling a good research story, providing context for your decisions within the project, and highlighting your contributions / demonstrating your value added. Your portfolio needs to be pretty and easy to digest, but it can’t be so pretty that you forget to explain the research. But at the same time, it also can’t be so detail-dense that a hiring manager can’t quickly scan it and understand who you are and the value of your work. Ultimately, crafting a great UX research portfolio is about striking a balance: Aesthetically-pleasing but information-rich. Information-rich but scannable and easy to understand.

That’s it for today! I think I genuinely learned a ton today, and have a much better understanding of how to make my own UX research portfolio. If you’re interested in the specific articles I used to gain the insights described above, read on. Otherwise, thanks for reading!

Josh

Article Analysis

This section simply numbers and lists each of the articles I reviewed for this post, shows the author, and summarizes the key points the article made about UX research portfolio pitfalls.

1. Top 5 Mistakes to Avoid in Your UX Research Portfolio by Emerson Schroeter

(1) Don’t pretend to be a visual designer. (2) Don’t ignore visual aesthetics entirely. (3) Don’t make assumptions about desired skills. (4) Don’t emphasize outcomes at the expense of context and process. (5) Don’t ignore the constraints you were working with. (6) DO have other humans review your portfolio to test it out.

2. Tips for UX research portfolios by H Locke

This article is more about what to do rather than what not to do, but I still found some things to avoid: (1) Don’t exceed three case studies. (2) Don’t pretend to be what you’re not. (3) Don’t publish anything you’re not allowed to publish.

3. How To Build A UX Research Portfolio (Step-By-Step Guide by Emerson Schroeter

(1) Don’t publish more than 3–5 case studies. (2) Don’t pretend to be a designer if you’re not one. (3) Don’t let your short bio exceed 150 words. (4) Don’t be too sterile in your bio — it’s okay to show personality.

4. Should UX Researchers have a portfolio? by Kelly Moran

This is not a “Don’t do this” advice article about UX Research portfolios. (1) Don’t sacrifice great storytelling in research for the sake of nice visuals and aesthetics. (2) Don’t overuse the same method in your case studies. (3) Don’t leave out the constraints you had to work with. (4) Don’t forget to include a bio

5. Should You Have a UX Research Portfolio? by Lawton Pybus

This is not a “Don’t do this” advice article about UX Research portfolios. But it does raise an interesting point from a survey conducted: 61% of respondents have either never had a portfolio or no longer maintain a portfolio. (1) Don’t include anything in a portfolio that’s confidential. (2) Don’t take too long developing your portfolio, as some employers do not seem to care too much about them. Don’t over invest time and resources in a perfect portfolio at the cost of neglecting things like applying for work or networking.

6. Research on UX Research Portfolio by fernandocomet

Once again, this is not a “Don’t do this” advice article about UX research portfolios. But it presented the results of a survey of UX research professionals and is very interesting, so I recommend checking it out.

7. The Ultimate Guide to Building a UX Research Portfolio — with Great Examples by Tímea Falmann

Once again, this is not a “Don’t do this” advice article about UX research portfolios. (1) Don’t forget to describe your research process and give context. (2) Don’t ignore your unique skills and interpersonal skills.

8. Portfolios for UX Researchers: Top 10 Recommendations by Lexie Kane / Nielsen Norman Group

This is a “Do this” advice article about crafting UX research portfolios, so I’d recommend reading it for what to do. That said, there are some things to avoid. (1) Don’t favor aesthetics over research quality and clarity. (2) Don’t include unnecessary details. (3) Don’t exceed 3–5 case studies. (4) Don’t forget to include your context and team. (5) Don’t forget to acknowledge your constraints. (6) Don’t overuse the same methods. (7) Don’t forget to demonstrate and emphasize your own value and contributions.

9. 7 Case Study Mistakes You Are Making in Your UX Portfolio by Klaudia Simon

(1) Don’t fail to include a brief overview/summary of each case study at the start. (2) Don’t forget to include contextual details. (3) Don’t forget to include outcomes and metrics that demonstrate your value. (4) Don’t be too wordy. (5) Don’t include stock photos. (6) Do not forget to have others review your portfolio.

10. 8 UX Mistakes To Avoid On Your UX Portfolio Website by Sarah Doody

This is more about UX design portfolios, but there is research-relevant advice here as well. (1) Don’t use excessive animation. I’m bundling this with the first insight — don’t favor aesthetic quality over research quality. (2) Don’t confuse your recruiters with a confusing portfolio or work history. I’m bundling this with “Don’t pretend to be what you’re not.” Basically, it should be immediately clear to recruiters which roles you’re appropriate for. (3) Don’t do a direct slide presentation. This is interesting because I’ve seen others recommend using a slide presentation. (4) Don’t forget to include context about each project. (5) Don’t rely on small image captions to summarize a graphic or image. (6) Don’t make your portfolio require a long period of intense concentration. It needs to be scannable. (7) Don’t show deliverables on a page without providing context. Don’t just dump wireframes or a graphic about KPIs improved. You need to provide context. (8) Don’t spend too long making your UX portfolio at the expense of other things.

11. 15 UX portfolio mistakes to avoid as a junior designer by Renee Fleck

This is about UX Design portfolios, but there is some research-relevant advice. (1) Don’t exceed 3–5 case studies. (2) Don’t be too wordy/detailed. (3) Using stock images. (4) Don’t be unclear about what your role in the project was. (5) Don’t make the portfolio ugly or hard to understand with tiny images or low-res images.

12. Reviewing UX Portfolios: 4 High-Risk Hiring Mistakes by Jared M. Spool

This is only about “UX Portfolios”, and it’s geared toward hiring managers, but there was at least one thing that stuck out to me for aspiring UX researchers: (1) Don’t be unclear about who you are or what roles you’re going for.

13. How to wow me with your UX research portfolio by David Travis

(1) Don’t pretend to be a visual designer. (2) Don’t omit context by only showcasing the research results. (3) Show enough detail, but keep it brief. (4) Don’t forget to highlight the impact of your work — demonstrate your value added. (5) Don’t take up too much time.

Thanks again!

Josh (again)