The LUMA UX certification experience

As a UX/UI Designer at Airteam, continuous learning and professional development are crucial aspects of my role. While a lot of learning happens on the job, we are also encouraged to invest in our professional development, with everyone on the team being given a dedicated training budget and development days. 

Recently, I had the opportunity to use this resource and complete the LUMA Institute’s Practitioner Certification Program. This is a certification everyone in the UX team has prioritised, meaning we can now proudly say our full UX team are LUMA certified. 

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What is Luma?

The LUMA Institute provides businesses and teams access to training, digital resources, and programs that give us a framework to focus our creativity and collaborate with people to ensure that designs are customer-centred every time. Their suite of modular and adaptive design methods is provided to designers like myself to improve UX workshops and internal meetings, and help us become more capable problem solvers. Their methodologies, known as "recipes," provide structured ways to gather insights, generate ideas, and solve problems more efficiently.

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My LUMA training experience

The core part of the LUMA training to become a certified Human-Centered Design Practitioner spanned four days, from Monday to Thursday, with each day consisting of five-hour sessions. We were then tasked with bringing what we'd learned out into the world and running our own workshops to learn through experience. I facilitated a workshop with the Airteam UX team to identify key areas of growth for the year, which were worked into a roadmap of internal projects. This was then followed by three coaching sessions where I showed how I had applied the methodologies learned during the training to real-world scenarios. 

An aspect of the LUMA training that I enjoyed the most was its emphasis on practical, hands-on learning. Rather than just focusing on testing our theory, we were often working in groups and running through collaborative exercises, which allowed me to apply what I had learned with other UX designers across the country. This gave us all the chance to demonstrate the theory’s actual effectiveness in a dynamic setting.

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Key methodologies and tools

The LUMA system organises its methodologies into recipes that are categorised by the need they solve. For example, if you're looking to enhance business growth through internal meetings or client sessions, there are specific recipes tailored to these goals. For example, a commonly used method is "Rose, Bud, Thorn," which helps identify challenges and opportunities within a project.

During the training, I learned how to customise these methodologies to fit specific workshop needs. This customisation ensures that the tools are not only effective but also align with our client's unique requirements and contexts.

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Applying LUMA methodologies at Airteam

Since completing the training, I have had the opportunity to apply LUMA’s methodologies in our projects at Airteam. One example is the “Affinity Clustering” method, which we use to organise ideas and feedback into thematic groups. This method has proven invaluable in workshops where we need to synthesise large volumes of information quickly and efficiently.

Another powerful tool is the “Importance/Difficulty Matrix”, which helps us prioritise tasks by evaluating their impact and feasibility. This has been particularly useful in project planning and decision-making processes, allowing us to focus on high-impact activities achievable within our constraints.

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Benefits of LUMA certification

The LUMA certification has not only broadened my skill set but also provided me with a structured framework that enhances the quality and efficiency of our UX workshops. The training has equipped me with a dashboard of tools that I can reference anytime, ensuring that our workshops are not only well-organised and effective, but fun and engaging for all who attend them.

I also think that the certification adds to our credibility when engaging with clients. It demonstrates that we are committed to employing the best practices and methodologies in UX design, which is a good value add for our clients who want to know they are working with people trained and certified in these practices.

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Happy to chat

For anyone considering professional development in UX, I highly recommend exploring LUMA’s training programs. The practical, hands-on approach, combined with a robust set of tools and methodologies, makes it a great resource for anyone working in UX.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about the LUMA training or how we implement these methodologies at Airteam. I'm always happy to share insights and discuss how we improve our UX practices

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