My current role is a User Experience Architect (UXA). I'm responsible for conducting user experience research, designing and testing information architecture, building wireframes, interactions patterns, and building prototypes for testing and demonstrations with business leaders. I work and sit directly next to my project manager, so I'm also involved in project planning, strategizing how we communicate and work with stakeholders.

My team uses the Double Diamond Model of product development, and we work in an Agile XP (Extreme Programming) environment. That means pairs of product designers and developers sit together for the entire work day cranking out designs, testing on live code, and rapidly iterating. I should mention that paired designing is not for everyone and roles like mine do not require sharing a screen with someone all day. It's an interesting environment in which to work though, and you get to witness the benefit of truly iterative design.

Research in this environment can also be a challenge as the fast pace of the XP model leaves less time for comprehensive upfront research. We handle that by leveraging UX strategists and researchers who are part of a core team to conduct exploratory research and develop strategy. That work is then passed to product designers who design, test, and iterate based on the "blueprint" that's been established by said core team.