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With 17+ years leading UX organizations across complex product environments, I specialize…
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Articles by Utkarsh
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How UX professionals are failing the workforce of tomorrow
How UX professionals are failing the workforce of tomorrow
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We’ve been doing UX Research all wrong
We’ve been doing UX Research all wrong
Problem Let’s start with a typical UX Research workflow - A UX Researcher starts working on a project - understands…
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Stop calling them stakeholders.
Stop calling them stakeholders.
Companies are driven by a singular, overarching objective: to create and sell products or services. To achieve this…
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Activity
5K followers
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Utkarsh Seth shared thisI just signed 10 copies of my book, Applied UX Research, for the Savannah College of Art and Design Pro 340 class cohort. My message to them was simple: The frameworks you learn in school are your foundation, but your ability to survive depends on making the tradeoff between perfect and actionable UX. Most books teach you how to do UX. I wrote this to teach you how to make your work matter when the stakes are real. If you're a startup or a designer with no research resources, comment "Startup" and I'll send you a free copy of how to validate your ideas quickly. Bonus points if you tell me 1 struggle you're facing in understanding product market fit.
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Utkarsh Seth shared thisLast night, in the sessions I hosted with students and early career professionals, I asked this question: “𝗔𝘀 𝗮 𝗨𝗫𝗲𝗿, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆?” The word cloud was what came out. All good words. Thoughtful. Well-intentioned. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵: None of these are actually the job. • Your job is not to “advocate” in isolation. • Your job is not to “do research” or “design screens.” • Your job is not even to “improve usability.” 👉 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼: • Help teams ship better products • Help organizations make better decisions • Reduce risk before it becomes expensive • Move work forward in messy, ambiguous environments And that changes everything. Because now: • Research is not the output → decisions are • Design is not the goal → impact is • Insight is not enough → alignment is This is where most people struggle early in their careers. They optimize for: “Am I doing good UX work?” Instead of asking: “Is this actually helping the team move forward?” Those are very different questions. 💡 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿, 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀: Next time you’re working on a project, don’t just present your work. Add one slide: “Here’s the decision this work is trying to influence.” If you can’t answer that clearly, you’re not done yet. This gap — between what UXers think their job is and what it actually is — is where a lot of careers stall. It’s also where things start to click. Curious how others would answer this: 👉 When you joined your first product team, what did you think your job was vs what it actually became?
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Utkarsh Seth reposted thisUtkarsh Seth reposted thisFor 30 years, success in #tech was a brute-force game. If you had the best engineers and the fastest production cadence, you won. It took months to turn an idea into working software. That era is dead. #AI has commoditized the act of building. When anyone can ship code in minutes, the only differentiator left is #Vision. If your team is misaligned, the speed of AI won't save you—it will just help you build the wrong thing exponentially faster. I’ve spent the last decade in the trenches at #Google and #Amazon, pressure-testing a framework to solve this. It’s called the Vision Stack. I’m sharing the first look at the framework on Medium today (link in comments). If you’re tired of paying the misalignment tax, this is for you. #Leadership #UX #Product #Vision #AI #Collaboration
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Utkarsh Seth shared thisThe silent room problem: Why students and early career professionals should ask more questions I've given countless talks to aspiring UXers. Heads nod, eyes follow, and it feels like profound learning is taking place. Then, I say: "Any questions?" And the room plunges into silence. Students and junior UXers mistakenly believe that silence signals a gap in their knowledge. They couldn't be more wrong. Your speaking up is evidence that you’re investing in your learning. Career growth in UX is defined not by knowing everything, but by asking the best questions. Senior designers ask more questions than juniors. They aren't afraid to expose a gap; they're afraid not to. I have seen countless people accelerate in their career because they raised their hand, spoke up and asked questions. There is nothing stopping you from doing the same. Hiring managers aren't just looking for Figma wizards; they're hiring for agency. Because they know once hired, this student will be sitting in meetings, discussions, crits where their opinion is going to be valued. By not speaking up you’re breaking that expectation. "I did what the brief said" is a glaring red flag "The brief asked for X, but I noticed Y, so I’m asking why we aren't doing Z" is a brilliant green flag, indicating a problem-seeker with critical thinking. A Call to Action: For Students and Early-Career Professionals: Ask 1 question in every class or meeting: If you’re uncomfortable, make a goal to ask just 1 question in the next meeting you go to or the next class you attend. Just 1. Deploy Strategic Vulnerability Scripts: Try: "Help me understand the rationale behind [X decision] so I can reflect that in the hierarchy." This transforms a question into an intelligent inquiry. For Faculty and Mentors: Model Intellectual Humility: Openly admit when you don’t know something. Saying, "I’m not sure—let’s look at the guidelines together," normalizes not having all the answers and encourages inquiry. Kill "Any Questions?": This is a conversation killer. Replace it with Assertive Alternatives like: "What part of this was the most surprising to you?" or "What questions do you have for me?" These prompts solicit engagement. Incentivize Inquiry over Polish: Create a culture of good inquiry and celebrate when it happens. Next time: Be uncomfortable. Ask a question I’ll be hosting a free session next week where I’ll talk about some of the biggest gaps I’ve seen between design education and working in real product teams. If you're a student or early-career designer navigating this transition, feel free to join. Register here: https://lnkd.in/gX6fkf4k
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Utkarsh Seth shared thisFree session: What UXers Learn Too Late About Working in Real Product Teams March 17th, 7pm PST | Limited seats Registration link in comments Over the past year I’ve had the chance to visit several design programs and speak with many students and early-career designers. One thing keeps coming up in those conversations. The transition from learning UX to working inside a real product team is much harder than most people expect. In school (and even in many UX courses), you learn methods: research techniques, design frameworks, portfolio projects. But inside product teams, the real work looks different. UXers have to: • collaborate closely with product managers and engineers • translate research into product decisions • navigate trade-offs and constraints • communicate clearly with stakeholders • move quickly while still maintaining quality These are the skills that often determine whether people succeed in their first product roles. I’m hosting a free live session to talk about this gap and share what designers tend to learn too late about working in real product teams. Free Live Session: What Designers Learn Too Late About Working in Real Product Teams This session is for: • design students preparing to enter the industry • early-career UX designers • researchers or designers transitioning into product teams At the end, I’ll also introduce a small AppliedUX studio cohort where designers work through a product challenge together in a collaborative setting. If this topic resonates, you can register here: Registration Link : https://lnkd.in/gX6fkf4k . Limited seats available. Hope to see you there
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Utkarsh Seth shared thisOver the past week, I traveled across India speaking with design students, faculty, and university leadership at Amity Finishing School, The Office of International Affairs, Bennett University (The Times Group), ISDI Mumbai, Pathways School Gurgaon and many more about the future of design education. This was in collaboration with Savannah College of Art and Design & Maken Payne What stood out most was the energy and ambition I saw across campuses. Students are deeply curious about the future of design, faculty are actively exploring how programs should evolve, and institutions are thinking seriously about how to prepare graduates for a rapidly changing industry. Many of the conversations centered around a shared question: how do we better connect academic learning with the realities of modern product teams? What I found encouraging is that universities are not standing still. There is real openness to experimentation, stronger industry collaboration, and new ways of helping students translate classroom learning into professional confidence. After more than a decade of teaching and mentoring students globally, I continue to believe that education and industry are strongest when they learn from each other. The future isn’t about replacing academic foundations — it’s about building clearer bridges between theory and practice. Grateful for the thoughtful conversations, the warm hospitality, and the opportunity to learn as much as I shared. Looking forward to continuing these collaborations and conversations.
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Utkarsh Seth posted thisStop Trying to Specialize in UX at 22. I have seen this pattern talking to students and early career professionals for the past 10 years. They tell me: “How do I make my resume more focused on accessibility?” “I only want to work in AI UX.” “I want to go in service design.” “Does my portfolio convey my niche” And I always tell them: You don’t have a niche. You have limited exposure. There’s a difference. Right now your clarity is coming from what you’ve seen — not what you’ve done. You haven’t shipped enough. You haven’t operated under real business pressure. You haven’t defended tradeoffs in a room full of stakeholders. You haven’t watched your “perfect” design get cut in half because of budget. You haven’t owned outcomes. And that’s fine. But let’s call it what it is. Your first 5–7 years in UX are not for specialization. They’re for range. Retail teaches speed. Healthcare teaches regulation. Enterprise teaches complexity. Startups teach ambiguity. B2B teaches patience. Different industries build different muscles. Judgment comes from the diversity of problem spaces. Not from picking a lane early. Don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with focusing on a single path. All I am saying is don't let that be the only thing you do when you start your career. And I see the same thing in job searches. “I only want this specific role.” “In this specific city.” “At this type of company.” You don’t have leverage yet. You haven’t paid your dues yet and there aren’t 500 employers lining up to give you a job in that specific city in the specific area you want the job in. No one’s coming. You gotta go find it and make yourself seen. You need reps. You need shipped work. You need problems you didn’t choose. You need constraints you didn’t expect. Optionality comes later. Go explore, learn, mature and really take the time to build an understanding of what you want. Don’t rush into it. After 5–7 years of real execution, you might notice: • Certain problems energize you • Certain environments drain you • Certain skills compound faster That’s when you specialize. Not before. Mastery isn’t something you declare. It’s something you earn. So ask yourself: Have I actually done enough to deserve a niche yet? If not — good. Go build range. Go build scars. Go build judgment. Because clarity doesn’t come from choosing a lane. It comes from doing the work.
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Utkarsh Seth shared thisWhat I learnt from 750+ comments and 56000 post impressions Last week I shared a post about applying UX research in real product teams, and the response was overwhelming. I didn’t expect 700+ comments. At one point LinkedIn briefly thought I was a bot because I was replying to so many people 😅. Engagement screenshot pasted below After reading through the extensive DMs I got, several key themes emerged that highlight the current state of our field: 1. Many early-career researchers feel method-ready but not decision-ready. While many professionals have mastered the mechanics of running interviews, usability tests, and surveys, there is a significant struggle with the "so what?" factor. The persistent question remains: How does this research actually influence product decisions? This gap between rigorous data collection and meaningful product influence was a recurring pain point. 2. The academia → industry transition remains a major hurdle. Academic training often provides a solid foundation in research methodology but frequently leaves new practitioners unprepared for the realities of industry life—navigating stakeholder conversations, managing roadmaps, and making difficult trade-offs. Industry moves fast, and research must evolve to move at that same pace to remain relevant. 3. The demand for practical structure over theory. There is a clear desire for actionable resources rather than more high-level inspiration. Practitioners are looking for the "Monday-ready" workflows and templates that can be immediately applied to their current projects. This widespread feedback was one of the strong reasons behind the book, Applied UX Research: Bridging the Gap Between Academia and Industry. Curious for those working in UX right now: What’s been hardest when trying to make research influence decisions inside your team? In case you missed it: UX Research starter kit: https://lnkd.in/gbw7NC2E Applied UX Research Amazon link: https://a.co/d/015dJ4C6
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Utkarsh Seth shared thisOne thing I see many early-career UX researchers struggle with is turning theory into real-world research inside product teams. So I put together a free UX Research Starter Kit with practical templates I’ve used in industry: • research plan template • interview script • usability test guide • stakeholder questions If you’re early in UX or transitioning from academia → this should help. UPDATE — overwhelmed (in a good way) by the response here! LinkedIn temporarily limited my replies because of the volume of replies I was sending to everyone. Thank you for your support. If I missed your message, you can grab the UX Research Starter Kit here: https://lnkd.in/gbw7NC2E
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Publications
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Applied UX Research: Bridging the gap between academia and industry: Written for early UX Research career professionals
Self
See publicationAre you ready to bridge the gap between UX research theory learned in academia and the dynamic reality of the industry? Written by Utkarsh Seth, a seasoned UX researcher with over 17 years of experience at companies like Microsoft, Google, and Nordstrom, this book is your essential guide to navigating and mastering the foundational skills of this transformative field.
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Applied UX Research: Bridging the gap between academia and industry: Written for early UX Research career professionals
Self
See publicationAre you ready to bridge the gap between UX research theory learned in academia and the dynamic reality of the industry? Written by Utkarsh Seth, a seasoned UX researcher with over 17 years of experience at companies like Microsoft, Google, and Nordstrom, this book is your essential guide to navigating and mastering the foundational skills of this transformative field.
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A Virtual Reality Interface for the Design of Compliant Mechanisms
ASME 2009 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference
The objective of this research is to develop an immersive interface and a design algorithm to facilitate the synthesis of compliant mechanisms from a user-centered design perspective. Compliant mechanisms are mechanical devices which produce motion or force through deflection or flexibility of their parts. Using the constraint-based method of design, the design process relies on the designer to identify the appropriate constraint sets to match the desired motion. Currently this approach…
The objective of this research is to develop an immersive interface and a design algorithm to facilitate the synthesis of compliant mechanisms from a user-centered design perspective. Compliant mechanisms are mechanical devices which produce motion or force through deflection or flexibility of their parts. Using the constraint-based method of design, the design process relies on the designer to identify the appropriate constraint sets to match the desired motion. Currently this approach requires considerable prior knowledge of how non-linear flexible members produce motion. As a result, the design process is based primarily on the designer’s previous experience and intuition. A user-centered methodology is suggested where the interface guides the designer throughout the design process, thus reducing the reliance on intuitive knowledge. This methodology supports constraint-based design methods by linking mathematical models to support compliant mechanism design in an immersive virtual environment. A virtual reality (VR) immersive interface enables the designer to input the intended motion path by simply grabbing and moving the object and letting the system decide which constraint spaces apply. The user-centered paradigm supports an approach that focuses on the designer defining the motion and the system generating the constraint sets, instead of the current method which relies heavily on the designer’s intuition to identify appropriate constraints. The result is an intelligent design framework that will allow a broader group of engineers to design complex compliant mechanisms, giving them new options to draw upon when searching for design solutions to critical problems.
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“Cross-cultural Design & Evaluation of the Apple iPhone.” Proceedings of Human-Computer Interaction International
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