2018 NYC UXPA Mentorship Program

A short experiment in UX Research

I was very excited to take on the role of Director of Mentorship for NYC UXPA and my first project to kickstart this role was to organize the Mentorship Program 2018. As the director of mentorship, my goal is to help new designers foster meaningful relationships with mentors and build skills that foster success. 

Every year individuals who are looking to break into the field of UX, design, research and strategy are paired with mentors that have experience in the field.
Mentors and Mentees are paired based on overlapping interests, goals, and experiences, and are expected to build a close professional relationship over a period of time.

Planning

Constraints - Every year the program is organized by 3-4 individuals including the volunteers, but this year due to the lack of resources.

UX is a way of life. I put on my design thinking cap and set to work.

Step 1: Research

I conducted user interviews with mentors and mentees from previous years to understand their experience and journey. Through the questions, I tried to understand, in the previous years, what worked, what didn't and what was their biggest takeaway. 

I spoke to 5 candidates and the major takeaway was -

1. Most people have greatly benefited from the program in the past
2. The matching process could be better. Sometimes the mentors and mentees were not matched properly, some people felt the age gap was too much and they could not connect with their mentors and mentees. Sometimes the difference in experience led mentees to feel uncomfortable
3. The matches were made by coordinators and the mentors and mentees

Event Planning - Orientation Process

Mentor - Mentee Matching