UX Orchestration

Orchestration skill for comprehensive UX work spanning research, architecture, interaction, visual design, and strategy.

When to Use

Starting a new UX project that spans multiple competencies
Unsure which specialized UX skill to invoke
Need to coordinate work across UX disciplines
Planning UX team workflow or handoffs

When NOT to Use

Task is clearly within one competency (use sub-skill directly)
Pure implementation work (coding, deployment)
Non-design tasks

Sub-Skills

Skill	Invoke When	Key Deliverables
research	Understanding users, testing designs	Personas, journey maps, usability reports
architecture	Organizing content, navigation	Sitemaps, taxonomies, navigation specs
interaction	Designing flows, behaviors	Wireframes, prototypes, user flows
visual	Creating UI, design systems	Components, style guides, design tokens
strategy	Aligning UX with business	Roadmaps, metrics, maturity assessments

Quick Decision Guide

What do you need to do?
|
+---> Understand users or test designs?
|     +---> Use: research
|
+---> Organize content or navigation?
|     +---> Use: architecture
|
+---> Design flows or prototypes?
|     +---> Use: interaction
|
+---> Create visual UI or design system?
|     +---> Use: visual
|
+---> Align UX with business goals?
|     +---> Use: strategy
|
+---> Multiple areas or unsure?
      +---> Continue reading this skill

The UX Process (Double Diamond)

flowchart LR
    subgraph Discover["Discover"]
        D1[Research Users]
        D2[Understand Context]
        D3[Identify Problems]
    end

    subgraph Define["Define"]
        Df1[Synthesize Insights]
        Df2[Define Problems]
        Df3[Set Strategy]
    end

    subgraph Develop["Develop"]
        Dv1[Ideate Solutions]
        Dv2[Create Prototypes]
        Dv3[Test & Iterate]
    end

    subgraph Deliver["Deliver"]
        Dl1[Refine Design]
        Dl2[Specify Details]
        Dl3[Hand Off]
    end

    Discover --> Define --> Develop --> Deliver

    style Discover fill:#e3f2fd
    style Define fill:#fff3e0
    style Develop fill:#e8f5e9
    style Deliver fill:#fce4ec

Competency Mapping by Phase

Phase	Primary Skill	Supporting Skills
Discover	research	strategy
Define	architecture	research, strategy
Develop	interaction	visual, research
Deliver	visual	interaction

Orchestration Patterns

Pattern 1: Sequential (Traditional)

Research --> IA --> IxD --> Visual --> Handoff

Best for: Well-defined projects, waterfall environments

Pattern 2: Parallel Tracks

Research ---------------------------->
         +-- IA --------------------->
         +-- IxD -------------------->
         +-- Visual ----------------->
Strategy ---------------------------->

Best for: Agile sprints, time-constrained projects

Pattern 3: Iterative Loops

Research <--> Define <--> Design <--> Test

Best for: High-uncertainty projects, continuous discovery

Agent Coordination for UX Projects

When using multiple agents for parallel UX work:

Handoff Checkpoints

From	To	Checkpoint Artifacts
research	architecture	Personas, mental models, card sort data
research	interaction	User flows, task analysis, pain points
architecture	interaction	Sitemap, taxonomy, navigation spec
interaction	visual	Wireframes, component list, interaction specs
strategy	All	OKRs, success metrics, constraints

Parallel Execution Rules

strategy can run parallel to all others (provides constraints)
research must complete Discovery before Define
architecture and interaction can run parallel after IA basics
visual needs wireframes before full component design

Full Project Procedure

Step 1: Project Scoping

Define project goals and constraints
Identify stakeholders
Determine timeline and resources
Invoke: strategy for roadmap and metrics

Step 2: Discovery Research

Conduct user interviews
Analyze existing data
Create personas and journey maps
Invoke: research

Step 3: Define Structure

Create information architecture
Design navigation patterns
Validate with card sorting
Invoke: architecture

Step 4: Design Interactions

Map user flows
Create wireframes
Build prototypes
Invoke: interaction

Step 5: Apply Visual Design

Establish design tokens
Create component library
Apply visual styling
Invoke: visual

Step 6: Validate & Iterate

Conduct usability testing
Measure against metrics
Iterate based on findings
Invoke: research for testing

Definition of Done (Full UX Project)

User research insights documented
Information architecture validated
Interaction flows complete and tested
Visual design system established
Success metrics defined and baseline captured
Handoff documentation complete

Guardrails

Always:

Start with understanding users (even briefly)
Define success metrics before designing
Test designs with real users
Document decisions and rationale

Never:

Skip research entirely
Design in isolation from business goals
Ignore accessibility requirements
Assume without validating

Reference Files

references/process.md - End-to-end UX process details
references/orchestration.md - Parallel work patterns
references/handoffs.md - Competency transitions
references/competency-matrix.md - Skills overview

orchestration