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My boss recently came to me and said that he was happy that we as a company had the experience to handle software projects we bid for, but that perhaps it was hard to prove.

He mentioned that our project managers could look into being PRINCE2 and ITIL qualified, for example, but that he wanted me to look into UX or design qualifications that we could include in our bid to convince potential clients that we're suitably equipped.

I want to make clear that my boss doesn't think I lack the necessary skills - just that for potential clients who don't have the time or inclination to look through the work I've produced in the past, they might want some reassurance that I know my stuff.

Is there an industry-accepted design or UX qualification I could aim for? I have a degree in Information Systems already, which covered a lot of UX and system architecture topics.

  • A lot of designers rely on a portfolio to show clients, rather than qualifications. – Franchesca Jan 11 '16 at 10:04
  • Absolutely! And I have work I could present in a portfolio format. But this was inspired specifically by tender documents. I don't think there's any space in a tender document for a design portfolio, nor do I think the client (Who'd be reading multiple 50 page tender documents) would take the time to explore it, since they're probably concerned with other factors more. –  Jan 11 '16 at 10:23

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Seems an unusual request! Generally speaking we would use a portfolio to present our skills - although even that can be hard to do effectively.

In terms of industry-accepted qualifications, the only one I have come across is the courses run by General Assembly. Depending on your location there may be a course in your area.

https://generalassemb.ly

Thomas Adcock
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  • Hiring managers all ask for portfolios recently, but I've always had trouble putting together anything that I think is interesting. My UX portfolio is just PDFs of wireframes and research reports. Pretty boring stuff. My fear is always that they'll expect them to look like a creative portfolio. – Ken Mohnkern Jan 11 '16 at 15:23
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    I read this article on the topic recently - presents a good argument for using case studies as opposed to more traditional portfolios. You might be interested! https://medium.com/@timj/refuse-to-create-a-ux-portfolio-a44f802fee11#.nwu5ce7af – Thomas Adcock Jan 11 '16 at 16:15
  • I agree that a portfolio is a better way to go - it helps make design a field of merit rather than a field of "Who sat through the most classes?". But in this case I'm not the focus. The company is the focus, and all they really want is some extra stuff they can put after my name to prove that I know my stuff. –  Jan 11 '16 at 16:55
  • I have also come across Nielsen Norman group and human factors international certifications .. https://www.nngroup.com/ux-certification .. However, a good portfolio is second to none! – Vjay Jan 12 '16 at 11:08