Paul Bryan, do UX Matters, resolveu fazer um levantamento sobre o que diz a comunidade de UX sobre o papel do UX Strategist em seu trabalho.

O nome “UX Strategist” tem aparecido com mais frequência nos perfis do Linkedin e em sites de divulgação de vagas. Foi aí que Paul resolveu fazer esse levantamento para verificar se é apenas um hype ou se é realmente um cargo diferente de UX Designer, UX Architect e tantos outros.

Abaixo algumas das definições que ele recebeu:

• “It goes all the way from defining the strategic objectives—vision and strategy—to team objectives and tactical plans, as well as execution and monitoring.” (Sudip Ghosh)
• “While I believe that UX strategy can be effective at many levels in an organization, if you don’t have executive ownership, investment, and communication, your chances of impact are greatly diminished. A true UX Strategist innately understands this and has the business acumen and interpersonal skills to actively seek and build these senior relationships.” (Ronnie Battista)
• “The UX Strategist is responsible for shaping and communicating Kohl’s user experience strategies and design, often serving as the team advisorresponsible for defining the overall UX vision throughout the digital ecosystem. The User Experience Strategist (UXS) will play a critical role in driving the overall UX practice with the Director of User Experience, developing team capabilities, and working as an evangelist and thought leader.” (Kohl, loja de departamentos)
• “This position will partner with key stakeholders across business units tounderstand clearly the business needs, customer insights, competitive landscape and define online solutions as well as user experience design to achieve business objectives.” (Allstate, seguradora)
• “Are you a senior or lead user experience designer who would like to leave the design desk behind and move into high-level discussions with project stakeholders / clients about the finer points of user experience and service solution design?” (IC Creative)

Penso que a principal diferença entre um UX Designer e um UX Strategist é até um pouco óbvia: é o profissional que foca mais na etapa inicial do trabalho de User Experience, um pouco antes da pesquisa e do Design de Interação.

É o tal do “sair da mesa” grifado no último exemplo.

De qualquer forma, é interessante ver como diferentes profissionais e empresas estão lidando com essa nomenclatura.