UX Thought Leadership & Community Activities

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Cory Lebson, Principal of Lebsontech, LLC, is a leader in the User Experience world. He served on the UXPA International board from 2012 – 2014 and was president in 2014. He also served on the UXPA DC chapter board from 2009 – 2013 and was the president from 2010 – 2012.

Publications (Book, Videos, Articles)

Also see Cory’s blog.

Book

Lebson, Cory. The UX Careers Handbook Second Edition. New York: CRC Press (Taylor & Francis Group), 2022.
Lebson, Cory. The UX Careers Handbook. New York: CRC Press (Taylor & Francis Group), 2016.

Videos

Lebson, Cory. “Planning a Career in User Experience – New version for 2023.” LinkedIn Learning Video Training Course, 2023.
Lebson, Cory. “Finding Meaning in your Design Career.” LinkedIn Learning Video Training Course, 2022.
Lebson, Cory. “Managing Stakeholders in UX Projects.” LinkedIn Learning Video Training Course, 2022.
Lebson, Cory. “Conducting Research in a Post-Pandemic World.” LinkedIn Learning Video Training Course, 2022.
Lebson, Cory. “UX Research: Being Flexible.” LinkedIn Learning Video Training Course, 2022.
Lebson, Cory. “UX Research: International Projects.” LinkedIn Learning Video Training Course, 2022.
Lebson, Cory. “Empathy in UX Design.” LinkedIn Learning Video Training Course, 2019.
Lebson, Cory. “Hiring and Managing UX Professionals.” LinkedIn Learning Video Training Course, 2019.
Lebson, Cory. “Strategies for Successful Freelancers.” LinkedIn Learning Video Training Course, 2017.
Lebson, Cory. “Freelancing and Consulting in User Experience.” LinkedIn Learning Video Training Course, 2017.
Lebson, Cory. “Planning a Career in User Experience – Original 2016 version.” LinkedIn Learning Video Training Course, 2016.
Lebson, Cory and Amanda Stockwell. “Planning for a Usability Study.” Skillshare.com / Skillshare Video Training Course, 2018.

Published Articles

Glasson, Chelsey, Cory Lebson and Jeff Sauro. “Working with External User Researchers: Part II.” A List Apart April 17, 2018.
Glasson, Chelsey, Jeff Sauro and Cory Lebson. “Working with External User Researchers: Part I.” A List Apart January 16, 2018.
Lebson, Cory. “AI Bots and User Research: Adapting Our Methods.” UX Magazine June 2, 2016: Article No. 1630.
Lebson, Cory. “User Research for a Disaster Relief Organization.” In Successful User Experience: Strategies and Roadmaps, 137 – 144. New York: Morgan Kaufmann, 2015.
Lebson, Cory and Amanda Stockwell. “‘Til Retirement Do Us Part?” UX Magazine July 9, 2015: Article No. 1503.
Lebson, Cory. “Go Ahead, White-Label Your Services.” UX Magazine July 18, 2014: Article No. 1275.
Lebson, Cory. “Certification by UX Organizations: Is There a Business Case for This?” UX Matters May 19, 2014.
Lebson, Cory. “The Hidden Value of UX Connectors and the Future of Our Community.” UX Magazine April 10, 2014: Article No. 1219.
Lebson, Cory. “What Qualitative and UX Researchers Can Learn From Each Other.” Quirk’s Marketing Research Media March 2014: Article ID 20140326-3.
Lebson, Cory. “Lessons from Disaster Research.” UX Matters March 2014.
Lebson, Cory. “Are You Ready to Be an Independent UX Consultant?” UX Matters January 2014.
Lebson, Cory. “These Are My People: The Value in UX Organizations.” UX Magazine August 21, 2013: Article No. 1075.
Lebson, Cory. “Care About Your UX Career? Network Now!” User Experience Magazine. Vol. 13. Issue 1 (First Quarter 2013).
Lebson, Cory. “UX Adventure: Enhance your resume, improve your career potential, and feel the excitement!” UX Magazine March 22, 2013: Article No. 983.
Lebson, Cory. “Making Usability a Priority: Advocating for the Value of User Research (PDF).” Intercom Magazine October 2012.
Lebson, Cory. “The Critical Importance of Web Usability in Disasters: Agency-Wide Efforts to Promote Usability at FEMA (PDF).” International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) Bulletin. Vol. 28. No. 11 (November 2011).

Presentations

Most presentations before 2020 were in person and most from 2020 – 2022 (except for the UXPA conference and X Event) have been remote because of Covid.

2023

Lebson, Cory. “Generative AI and UX Research: An Open Conversation.” CPH UX. Copenhagen, Denmark, July 31, 2023.
Lebson, Cory. “Generative AI and UX Research: An Open Conversation.” NoVA UX. Fall Church, VA, June 14, 2023.
Lebson, Cory, Jennifer Romano, Carol Barnum and Danielle Cooley. “Starting a UX Business.” May 24, 2023.
Lebson, Cory, Jennifer Romano, Carol Barnum and Danielle Cooley. “Starting a UX Business.” April 3, 2023.
Lebson, Cory, Jennifer Romano, Carol Barnum and Danielle Cooley. “Starting a UX Business.” March 20, 2023.
Lebson, Cory. “Finding Meaning In Your UX Career.” Triangle UXPA. Raleigh, NC. January 12, 2023

2022

Lebson, Cory. “Starting a User Research Career.” Bahcesehir University, Istanbul, Remote Guest Lecturer. November 16, 2022
Lebson, Cory. “How to Get Started as a UX Consultant.” Interaction Design Foundation Master Class. October 20, 2022
Lebson, Cory. “How to Get Started with Usability Testing.” Interaction Design Foundation Master Class. June 7, 2022
Lebson, Cory. “In-Person UX – Now What? Gain Long-lasting Benefit from Lessons Learned During COVID.” The X Event. Atlanta, GA. June 2, 2022
Lebson, Cory and James Viano. “Golden Rules for Web-Service Success: User Research Q&A” Federation of Tax Administrators. March 9, 2022
Lebson, Cory. “Finding Your Happy Place In a Chaotic World.” NoVA UX. February 10, 2022
Lebson, Cory. “Balancing remote and in-person UX work.” Interaction Design Foundation Master Class. February 9, 2022
Lebson, Cory. “Como ter sucesso na sua carreira em UX.” (English with simultaneous translation). UXPA Brazil. February 2, 2022

2021

Lebson, Cory. “Starting a User Research Career.” Bahcesehir University, Istanbul, Remote Guest Lecturer. December 8, 2021
Lebson, Cory. “Prioritizing Happiness in Your New UX Job.” Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Guest Lecturer for UX Capstone Course. November 11, 2021
Lebson, Cory. “Finding Your Happy Place In a Chaotic World.” Triangle UXPA. October 22, 2021
Lebson, Cory and Carla Briceno. “The Basics of Taking on Government Contracts and Doing UX Work for the Government.” UXPA 2021 Conference. Baltimore, MD. September 1, 2021
Lebson, Cory. “Are You a Mid-career UX Professional and Wondering What’s Next? Let’s Talk About It!” UXPA 2021 Conference. Baltimore, MD. August 31, 2021
Lebson, Cory. “How to Make Your Life as a Freelancer the Best it Can Be.” UXR.work webinar. August 12, 2021
Lebson, Cory. “Working in UX: During a Pandemic and Beyond.” Human-Computer Interaction Lab at University of Maryland. February 25, 2021
Lebson, Cory. “Demonstrating Credibility as a User Research Job Seeker.” CPHUX Denmark. February 22, 2021
Lebson, Cory. “How to Successfully Change Your Career to UX.” Interaction Design Foundation Master Class. February 17, 2021

2020

Lebson, Cory, Chris Nodder and Amanda Stockwell. Stickynotes Livestream. View 20+ Episodes!
Lebson, Cory, Alexis Antonelli Morris and Hilary Bienstock. “How to Build a Successful Freelance Research Practice.” LA UX Research Meetup. December 10, 2020
Lebson, Cory. “Is In-Person Research an Option During a Pandemic?” State of UX Summit. November 19, 2020
Lebson, Cory. “AI and the Future of UX Careers.” World Usability Day Turkey / UXPA Istanbul. November 12, 2020
Lebson, Cory. “UX Research Careers Q&A.” UC Berkeley Extension, Remote Guest Lecturer in User Research for UX course. October 26, 2020
Lebson, Cory. “Advancing Your UX Career: Is It Time to Become a Freelancer?” UXPA 2020 Virtual Conference. October 15, 2020
Lebson, Cory. “Just Go with the Flow: On Being a Flexible User Researcher” UCD Gathering. October 15, 2020
Lebson, Cory. “UX Research and Strategy: Interview with Cory Lebson.” Writers in Tech Podcast by UX Writing Hub. September 15, 2020
Lebson, Cory. “UX Research Careers Q&A.” UC Berkeley Extension, Guest Lecturer in User Research for UX course. August 31, 2020
Lebson, Cory. “UX Research Careers Q&A.” UC Berkeley Extension, Guest Lecturer in User Research for UX course. June 15, 2020
Lebson, Cory. “Starting a User Research Career in the days of Covid-19.” Bahcesehir University, Istanbul, Remote Guest Lecturer. April 29, 2020
Lebson, Cory. “Tech Talk on UX Careers, Skill Sets & Personal Brands.” University of Maryland, College Park, MD, Remote Guest Lecture for College of Information Studies. April 4, 2020

2019

Lebson, Cory. “Introduction to UX for Industrial Engineers.” Bahcesehir University, Istanbul, Guest Lecturer. December 4, 2019
Lebson, Cory. “Introduction to a Career in Consulting.” University of Maryland, Guest Lecturer. December 3, 2019
Lebson, Cory. “Managing Empathy as a UX Professional.” Montgomery County UX Meetup. Rockville, MD. October 10, 2019
Lebson, Cory. “Getting Started in UX.” University of North Texas, Guest Lecturer. September 12, 2019
Lebson, Cory. “The UX Careers Handbook: Finding Success in your UX Career.” New Hampshire UXPA. Manchester, NH. June 19, 2019

2018

Lebson, Cory. “UX Careers with Cory Lebson.” Louisville IxDA. Louisville, KY. April 24, 2018
Lebson, Cory. “How to Hire and Manage Consulting Firms and Freelancers.” ConveyUX Conference. Seattle, WA. March 1, 2018
Lebson, Cory. “Speed Networking at ConveyUX.” ConveyUX Conference. Seattle, WA. February 28, 2018
Lebson, Cory, Peter Morville, Pamela Pavliscak, Dan Brown and Geoff Harrison. “The Evolution of UX Careers: Looking to the Future.” Puget Sound UX Meetup. Seattle, WA. February 27, 2018

2017

Lebson, Cory. “How and When to Hire UX Employees, Consulting firms and Freelancers.” Keylime Interactive Webinar. December 18, 2017
Lebson, Cory. “Finding Success in Your UX Career.” Usersproof Webinar. December 18, 2017
Lebson, Cory. “The UX Careers Handbook: Finding Success In Your UX Career.” UXPA Boston. Boston, MA. October 16, 2017
Lebson, Cory. “The UX Careers Handbook.” UX Book Club PDX. Portland, OR. September 28, 2017
Lebson, Cory. “Getting Started in UX.” Atlanta IxDA. Atlanta, GA. June 12, 2017
Lebson, Cory and Amanda Stockwell. “The Basics of Consulting, Freelancing and Moonlighting.” UXPA 2017 Conference. Toronto, ON, Canada. June 5, 2017
Lebson, Cory. “State Tax Interfaces: Lessons Learned and Best Practices.” Lebsontech Training Seminar. Centennial, CO. April 5, 2017
Lebson, Cory. “The UX Careers Handbook: Finding Success in your UX Career.” UXPA International Webinar. March 28, 2017
Lebson, Cory. “UX Hiring: Find and Retain Talent.” ConveyUX Conference. Seattle, WA. March 2, 2017
Lebson, Cory. “Speed Networking at ConveyUX.” ConveyUX Conference. Seattle, WA. March 1, 2017
Lebson, Cory, Amber Case, Peter Merholz, Joe Munko, Emma Rose and Tom Satwicz. “The Evolution of UX Careers: Looking to the Future.” Puget Sound UX Meetup. Seattle, WA. February 28, 2017
Lebson, Cory. “Establishing and Maintaining a Successful UX Career.” IxDA Chicago. Chicago, IL. January 10, 2017

2016

Lebson, Cory. “The Latest Trends in UX and the Future of UX Careers.” Lebsontech Training Seminar. Washington, DC. December 9, 2016
Lebson, Cory. “How to Get Into UX.“ Boulder UX/UI Group. Boulder, CO. November 29, 2016
Lebson, Cory. “Getting Started in UX.” NoVA UX. Vienna, VA. November 16, 2016
Lebson, Cory. “UX Book for October: The UX Careers Handbook.” UX Book Club DC. Washington, DC. October 19, 2016
Lebson, Cory. “The UX Careers Handbook DC Launch Event.” Washington, DC. September 22, 2016
Lebson, Cory, Sean Fitzpatrick, Rich Panzer, Jeff Pass and Dick Horst, Moderator. “Peculiarities in Human Factors Consulting on Government Projects.” Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) 2016 Conference. Washington, DC. September 21, 2016
Lebson, Cory. “Finding Success in your UX Career.” Triangle UXPA. Durham, NC. September 15, 2016
Lebson, Cory. “The UX Careers Handbook: Finding Success In Your UX Career.” Big Design Conference. Addison, TX. September 9, 2016
Lebson, Cory. “Fundamentals of Usability Workshop” Big Design Conference. Addison, TX. September 8, 2016
Lebson, Cory. “Afternoon Keynote: e-Services Usability.” FAST Revenue Agency Customer Conference. Pittsburgh, PA. August 11, 2016
Lebson, Cory, Billy Seabrook, and Brigid Mellon. “Transforming User Experiences: The Intersection of Content and Design.” Digital Banking 2016 Conference. New Orleans, LA. June 21, 2016
Lebson, Cory. “UX Jobs: Hiring and Getting Hired.” Connecticut User Experience Professionals Association (CT UXPA). Hartford, CT. May 25, 2016.
Lebson, Cory. “Create Usable Web Content.” Lebsontech Two-Day Training Seminar. Hartford, CT. May 24-25, 2016
Lebson, Cory. “The UX Careers Handbook: Finding Success in your UX Career.” NYC User Experience Professionals Association (NYC UXPA). New York, NY. May 24, 2016
Lebson, Cory. “Usability Testing for Marketing Researchers: A Quick Start Guide.” Qualitative Research Consultants Association (QRCA). San Francisco, CA. May 13, 2016
Lebson, Cory. “UX Careers Handbook Launch Event: What you need to know about UX Careers” WeWork. San Francisco, CA. May 12, 2016
Lebson, Cory. “How to Recruit for and Fill UX Positions with Qualified Talent.” Lebsontech Training Seminar. San Francisco, CA. May 12, 2016
Lebson, Cory. “Understand the Framework of UX Careers.” Lebsontech Training Seminar. Washington, DC. March 29, 2016
Lebson, Cory, Jennifer Romano Bergstrom, Amanda Stockwell, Kane Albarron and Tim Gilligan, Moderator. “UX Career Growth: Should I focus on technical expertise or management?” Panel organized by Aquent, Vitamin T and Fjord. New York, NY. March 9, 2016
Lebson, Cory. “Understand the Framework of UX Careers.” Lebsontech Training Seminar. Minneapolis, MN. February 8, 2016
Lebson, Cory. “How to Recruit for and Fill UX Positions with Qualified Talent.” Lebsontech Training Seminar. San Francisco, CA. February 2, 2016

2015

Lebson, Cory, Jennifer Romano Bergstrom, Amanda Stockwell, Amritha Prasad, Michael Jefferson and Clara Kuo (Moderator). “UX Careers 2015: Where is the field headed and how do you stay current?” Panel organized by Aquent, Vitamin T and Facebook. Menlo Park, CA. November 10, 2015
Lebson, Cory. “Creating a Good User Experience: A Guide for Intranet Contributors.” Lebsontech Training Seminar. Washington, DC. October 1 and 29, 2015
Lebson, Cory, Scott Gunter, Don Relyea and Soowan Scheuermann (Moderator). “UX/UI – What’s the Difference? Does it Matter?” Big Design 2015 Conference. Dallas, TX. September 18, 2015
Lebson, Cory and Amanda Stockwell. “UX Career Bootcamp.” Big Design 2015 Conference. Dallas, TX. September 17, 2015
Lebson, Cory and Amanda Stockwell. “UX Career Bootcamp: Optimize Yourself for UX Career Success” UXPA DC Workshop. Washington, DC. August 5, 2015
Lebson, Cory, Jennifer Romano Bergstrom, Prarthana Johnson, Amanda Stockwell and Teaque Lenahan (Moderator). “UX Careers 2015: Where is the field headed and how do you stay current?” Panel organized by Aquent, Vitamin T and Facebook. Seattle, WA. July 16, 2015
Lebson, Cory, Dana Douglas, Elle Waters and Dick Horst. “Promoting Accessibility on Projects With No Accessibility Aspirations.” UXPA 2015 Conference. San Diego, CA. June 24, 2015
Bergstrom, Jennifer Romano and Cory Lebson. “Speed Networking at UXPA 2015!” UXPA 2015 Conference. San Diego, CA. June 23, 2015.
Lebson, Cory. “UX Fundamentals.” UXPA DC Workshop. Washington, DC. May 1, 2015
Lebson, Cory “Opening Keynote: Global UX Career Success: It is more than just your knowledge.” UX Istanbul. Istanbul, Turkey. April 28, 2015
Lebson, Cory, Chelsey Glasson, Steve Portigal, Dave Snowball, Kevin Lee, Rob Huddleston and Amanda Stockwell (Moderator). “UX Careers 2015: Where is the field headed and how do you stay current?” Panel organized by Aquent, Vitamin T and Wix. San Francisco, CA. February 26, 2015.
Lebson, Cory and Amanda Stockwell. “UX Strategy: Avoid user abandonment by giving them what they want.” Wix. San Francisco, CA. February 26, 2015
Lebson, Cory. “Usability Testing for Marketing Researchers: A Quick Start Guide.“ The Quirks Event, Brooklyn, NY. February 23, 2015

2014

Lebson, Cory. “Creating a Good User Experience.“ Lebsontech Training Seminar. Jackson, MS. December 2, 2014
Lebson, Cory (Moderator) for Q&A with Fahd Arshad, Chelsey Delaney, Elisabeth Hubert, Karen Pascoe and David Whittle. “World Usability Day 2014: Engagement.” NYC UXPA & IxDA NYC. New York, NY. November 13, 2014
Lebson, Cory, Jennifer Bove, Chad Vavra, James Torio, Andrew Miller and Amanda Stockwell (Moderator). “UX Careers 2015: Where is the field headed and how do you stay current?” Panel organized by Aquent, Vitamin T and Wix. New York, NY. November 4, 2014
Lebson, Cory. “Introduction to Information Architecture.” General Assembly (Guest Lecturer, User Experience Design Course). Washington, DC. October 6, 2014
Lebson, Cory. “Promoting Positive UX: Lessons for Stakeholders.” Lebsontech Training Seminar. Washington, DC. October 2, 2014
Lebson, Cory. “Creating a Good User Experience: A Guide for Content Contributors.” Lebsontech Training Seminar. Washington, DC. September 30, 2014
Lebson, Cory. “UX Skills Only Get You So Far: Get Out There to Advance Your Career!” + UX Speed Networking Event Triangle UXPA Workshop. Raleigh, NC. September 16, 2014
Lebson, Cory. “Usability in a Day.” Big Design Conference. Addison, TX. September 4, 2014
Lebson, Cory. “User Experience Evaluation: Web Analytics, Survey Research and Qualitative Methods.” Texas Instruments / Aquent. Addison, TX. September 3, 2014
Lebson, Cory. “Be a UX Advocate: Institutionalize UX in Your Organization.” Lebsontech Training Seminar. Chantilly, VA. August 28, 2014
Lebson, Cory. “Translations and Internationalization of Web and Mobile Resources.” Lebsontech Training Seminar. Chantilly, VA. August 28, 2014
Lebson, Cory. “UX Skills Only Get You So Far: Get Out There to Advance Your Career!” + UX Speed Networking Event UXPA Chicago. Chicago, IL. August 12, 2014
Lebson, Cory. “Want an Accessible Website? Create Knowledgeable Content Contributors.” Capital Camps/Gov Days Conference. Bethesda, MD. August 1, 2014
Lebson, Cory. “Usability Testing: What You Need to Know.” Capital Camps/Gov Days Conference. Bethesda, MD. July 30, 2014
Lebson, Cory. “The Ethics of UX White Labeling.” as part of Rauch, Thyra, Richard Bellaver, Cory Lebson, Donna Tedesco, Bill Albert, Kara DeFrias, Elisa Delgado. “Ethnical Issues in UX.” UXPA 2014 Conference. London. England. July 21, 2014
Lebson, Cory. “Why You Should Conduct User Research.” Association of International Product Marketing and Management (AIPMM). Webinar. July 11, 2014
Lebson, Cory. “These Are My People: Find value in UXPA International and share your vision for the future.” UXPA Boston Annual Conference. Boston, MA. May 15, 2014
Lebson, Cory. “Deciding Whether You Want to Be an Independent UX Consultant and Succeeding If You Do!” YouInUX Global UX Career Summit. Webinar. May 9, 2014
Lebson, Cory. “Creating Usable Web Content.” Lebsontech Training Seminar. Springfield, VA. May 6, 2014
Lebson, Cory. “Accessibility Workshop: WCAG 2.0 & Section 508.” University of Baltimore. Baltimore, MD. February 25, 2014
Lebson, Cory. “Mobile Accessibility.” Lebsontech Training Seminar. McLean, VA. February 25, 2014
Lebson, Cory. “Workshop to Produce Usable Web Content.” Lebsontech Training Seminar. Washington, DC. February 20, 2014
Lebson, Cory. “Usable design: Learn about your users and create what they need.” The Intelligence Community Interactive Alliance Conference. Chantilly, VA. February 7, 2014
Lebson, Cory and Jennifer Romano Bergstrom. “The 2014 User Experience Intensive: A one-day workshop.” Connecticut UXPA. Hartford, CT. January 30, 2014
Lebson, Cory. “UX Skills Only Get You So Far: Get Out There to Advance Your Career!” + UX Speed Networking Event IxDA NYC and NYC UXPA Event. New York, NY. January 28, 2014
Lebson, Cory. “Raising Awareness of User Research Throughout your Agency.” DigitalGov User Experience Community Summit. Washington, DC. January 28, 2014
Lebson, Cory. “Assess your web content with qualitative research.” Society for Technical Communication (STC) Webinar. January 17, 2014
Lebson, Cory. “How to Include UX Research and Evaluation in Proposals.” Lebsontech Training Seminar. Springfield, VA. January 15, 2014
Lebson, Cory. “UX Skills Only Get You So Far: Get Out There to Advance Your Career!” South Florida User Experience Meetup. Fort Lauderdale, FL. January 9, 2014

UX Research, Evaluation, Strategy and Training