Identification and Validation of Key Competencies for UX Designers in Generative AI Utilization: The User Journey Map Design Process; [UX 디자이너의 생성형 AI 활용 핵심 역량 도출 및 타당도 검증: 사용자 여정 지도 단계를 중심으로]

Abstract

Background The present study aims to identify and validate the key competencies required for user experience (UX) designers within the context of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), to proactively address paradigm shifts in the UX design field. Methods First, a comprehensive literature review was conducted to identify preliminary competency elements required for UX designers within the context of GenAI. Second, six UX designers were observed while utilizing GenAI tools to design user journey maps, followed by in-depth interviews. The collected data were then analyzed through qualitative content analysis. Third, a Delphi study was conducted with nine domain experts to validate the relevance and appropriateness of the competency elements derived. Results The findings revealed that the core competencies for leveraging GenAI in UX design are structured around three overarching dimensions: contextual understanding, interaction, and trust, comprising a total of thirteen sub-competencies. First, the contextual understanding dimension includes user insight emerged as a core sub-competency. Second, the interaction domain comprises nine sub-competencies, including creative collaboration with AI, AI-based ideation, prompt engineering, design innovation, user experience optimization, communication skills, AI tool proficiency, adaptability, and UX project management. Third, the trust dimension encompasses three sub-competencies of receptiveness to user feedback, continuous learning, and self-reflective capacity. Conclusions The current work holds academic significance in that it offers a theoretically grounded framework for defining the essential competencies of UX designers in the era of proliferating GenAI technologies. From a practical perspective, this work contributes foundational guidelines for the development of AI-integrated UX education and professional training. Furthermore, the results of this study should provide a comprehensive competency model that enables UX designers to function as both strategic designers and emotional interpreters in collaboration with AI. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits unrestricted educational and non-commercial use, provided the original work is properly cited.