Lynne Polischuik & Justin Davis - Navigating the Evolution of UX Consulting: Adapting to Industry Shifts

The UX Consultants Lounge

In this episode of The UX Consultants Lounge, host Kyle Soucy welcomes Lynne Polischuik and Justin Davis, two seasoned UX consultants, to discuss the evolving landscape of UX consulting. From the challenges of today’s market to the exciting opportunities presented by AI and emerging work models, this episode dives deep into the current state of UX consulting and where it’s headed.

At the top of this episode, Kyle shares a personal update about navigating the unexpected cancellation of a big project and the lessons she learned about asking for help, trusting her network, and staying resilient as a consultant.

Key Topics Covered:

• How the UX consulting landscape is shifting in today’s economic climate.
• Where consultants can deliver the most value as the industry evolves.
• The transformative role of AI in how we work and create impact.
• The unique challenges and benefits of taking breaks from consulting to go in-house—and how to successfully transition back.

Notable Quotes:
“As consultants, our value isn’t just in the deliverables—it’s in the outcomes we enable, like reducing costs, improving products, and creating business impact.”
“AI isn’t going to replace us, but consultants who embrace AI will deliver more value, faster. It’s a tool, not a threat.”

Connect with Us:

• Host: Kyle Soucy: Website | Linkedin
• Guest: Lynne Polischuik: Linkedin
• Guest: Justin Davis: Linkedin

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Links and Resources Mentioned:

• Kyle’s Linkedin Post about a project being cancelled
• Margot Bloomstein’s Linkedin post about GenAI
• Book: Just Enough Research by Erika Hall
• Book: Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller:
• Book: Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
• YouTubeTV Project Case Study
• Tools: Notebook LM | Hey Marvin

Submit a question or story: Have a question or topic that you'd like us to cover in a future episode and/or want to share an anonymous consulting story? Submit your questions and stories.

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I can’t wait to have you back in the lounge for our next episode!

Hoofdstukken

1. Lynne Polischuik & Justin Davis - Navigating the Evolution of UX Consulting: Adapting to Industry Shifts (00:00:00)

2. An update from Kyle (00:00:41)

3. Introducing Lynne & Justin (00:04:32)

4. Lynne and Justin's previous consulting partnership, First Chair Partners (00:14:47)

5. Taking breaks from consulting at times (00:17:38)

6. The state of UX consulting today (00:27:28)

7. Where can UX consultants provide the most value now? (00:40:11)

8. How AI will change consulting (00:43:14)

9. How Lynne & Justin would describe UX consulting (01:01:26)

10. The best piece of business advice Lynne & Justin had ever received (01:08:16)

11. What consulting resources have been most helpful to Lynne & Justin (01:14:01)