ICT research manager to user experience analyst
An ICT research manager already meets 36% of what the user experience analyst role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.
67.2/ 100
1 How much of what a user experience analyst is expected to do is already part of an ICT research manager’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the user experience analyst role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A user experience analyst role treats 5 of its required skills as things an ICT research manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- conduct qualitative research
- conduct quantitative research
- conduct research interview
- execute ICT user research activities
- report analysis results
What stands in the way is 13 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 19 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A user experience analyst role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an ICT research manager background worth leading with.
- already held execute ICT user research activities information skills
- already held identify technological needs communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held apply systemic design thinking communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held LDAP information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held MDX information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held XQuery information and communication technologies (icts)
All 19 carried skills, including the 5 the user experience analyst role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 26 missing skills fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn application usability required
- still to learn human-computer interaction required
- still to learn software interaction design required
- optional, not held ICT system user requirements optional
- optional, not held software metrics optional
- optional, not held World Wide Web Consortium standards optional
- optional, not held web analytics optional
- still to learn create prototype of user experience solutions required
- still to learn analyse business requirements required
- still to learn measure customer feedback required
- optional, not held forecast future ICT network needs optional
- optional, not held identify ICT user needs optional
- optional, not held test system accessibility for users with special needs optional
- optional, not held perform market research optional
- still to learn assess users' interaction with ICT applications required
- still to learn define technical requirements required
- still to learn behavioural science required
- still to learn cognitive psychology required
- still to learn use experience map required
- optional, not held create website wireframe optional
- optional, not held use access control software optional
- still to learn interactive media required
- optional, not held visual presentation techniques optional
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a user experience analyst role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 application usability study this
- 02 assess users' interaction with ICT applications practise this
- 03 create prototype of user experience solutions practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 19 skills that carry over
- already held conduct qualitative research skill
- already held conduct quantitative research skill
- already held conduct research interview skill
- already held execute ICT user research activities skill
- already held report analysis results skill
- already held Agile project management knowledge
- already held ICT project management methodologies knowledge
- already held LDAP knowledge
- already held LINQ knowledge
- already held MDX knowledge
- already held N1QL knowledge
- already held Process-based management knowledge
- already held SPARQL knowledge
- already held XQuery knowledge
- already held apply systemic design thinking skill
- already held identify technological needs skill
- already held lean project management knowledge
- already held query languages knowledge
- already held resource description framework query language knowledge
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn measure software usability required
- optional, not held online moderation techniques optional
- optional, not held manage localisation optional
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held ICT system user requirements optional
- optional, not held create website wireframe optional
- optional, not held forecast future ICT network needs optional
- optional, not held identify ICT user needs optional
- optional, not held online moderation techniques optional
- optional, not held software metrics optional
- optional, not held test system accessibility for users with special needs optional
- optional, not held use access control software optional
- optional, not held visual presentation techniques optional
- optional, not held World Wide Web Consortium standards optional
- optional, not held manage localisation optional
- optional, not held perform market research optional
- optional, not held web analytics optional
30 held skills the user experience analyst role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role ICT market knowledge
- not needed by the target role ICT power consumption knowledge
- not needed by the target role ICT project management knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply reverse engineering skill
- not needed by the target role apply statistical analysis techniques skill
- not needed by the target role apply system organisational policies skill
- not needed by the target role build business relationships skill
- not needed by the target role conduct literature research skill
- not needed by the target role conduct scholarly research skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate technological activities skill
- not needed by the target role create solutions to problems skill
- not needed by the target role crowdsourcing strategy knowledge
- not needed by the target role emergent technologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role execute analytical mathematical calculations skill
- not needed by the target role information extraction knowledge
- not needed by the target role innovate in ICT skill
- not needed by the target role innovation processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role insourcing strategy knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage ICT project skill
- not needed by the target role manage staff skill
- not needed by the target role monitor ICT research skill
- not needed by the target role monitor technology trends skill
- not needed by the target role organisational policies knowledge
- not needed by the target role outsourcing strategy knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform data mining skill
- not needed by the target role plan research process skill
- not needed by the target role process data skill
- not needed by the target role provide user documentation skill
- not needed by the target role scientific research methodology knowledge
- not needed by the target role write research proposals skill
12 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn application usability required
- still to learn human-computer interaction required
- still to learn software interaction design required
- still to learn behavioural science required
- still to learn cognitive psychology required
- still to learn interactive media required
- optional, not held ICT system user requirements optional
- optional, not held online moderation techniques optional
- optional, not held software metrics optional
- optional, not held visual presentation techniques optional
- optional, not held World Wide Web Consortium standards optional
- optional, not held web analytics optional
Common questions about this move
Can an ICT research manager become a user experience analyst?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An ICT research manager already covers 36% of what a user experience analyst is expected to do: 19 skills carry over, 5 of which the user experience analyst role treats as required.
What skills does an ICT research manager need to become a user experience analyst?
13 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information and communication technologies (icts). The single most important is application usability.
How hard is the move from ICT research manager to user experience analyst?
Its learning distance is 67.2 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.