UX portfolio projects that didn't launch or didn't go as planned are exactly the kind of work recruiters and hiring managers want to see, not the kind you should hide.
This is week four of a five part series on UX portfolio myths, and this episode tackles the belief that a canceled, pivoted, or unsuccessful project doesn't belong in your portfolio.
Sarah pushes back on this directly. Smart hiring managers understand that things go wrong in real UX work all the time, and a project that didn't launch says nothing about whether you're a good researcher or designer.
In fact, she argues that a messy or canceled project is one of the best opportunities to show how you adapt, collaborate, and think under real constraints, exactly the soft skills recruiters are trying to evaluate.
She walks through common scenarios people worry about, like research getting cut entirely or not being able to run usability testing, and gives specific ways to handle each one in a portfolio.
Rather than hiding the gap, she suggests explaining what happened, what you did instead, and what you would do differently with a do-over, which turns a limitation into a chance to show your thinking.
She backs this up with a clip from her interview with Jeni Bible, a UX Manager at Home Depot and a Career Strategy Lab alum who is now hiring herself. Jeni's take is simple, projects get canceled constantly, and what she actually wants to hear is what you did, what you learned, and how you collaborated along the way.
If you've been sitting on a portfolio project you assumed was too messy or unfinished to include, this episode makes the case for why it might be exactly what you need.
Topics Discussed
✅ Why a project that didn't launch doesn't signal that you're a bad researcher or designer
✅ How to handle a portfolio project where research got cut or skipped entirely
✅ What to include if you never got to run usability testing on something you worked on
✅ The "do-over" framing Sarah recommends for showing what research or testing you would have done in hindsight
✅ What Jeni Bible, a UX Manager at Home Depot and Career Strategy Lab alum, said she actually wants to hear about canceled projects
✅ Why a canceled or pivoted project can be one of the strongest ways to show adaptability and collaboration
✅ A preview of the fifth and final myth in the series, coming next week
Links & Resources
🔗 Episode 187, Myth 1 of 5, on why you don't need three to five projects in your portfolio
🔗 Episode 188, Myth 2 of 5, on why your portfolio doesn't need to be a website
🔗 Episode 189, Myth 3 of 5, on why your case studies don't need to show the full UX process
🎯 How I can help with your UX job search
📋 Get my UX case study template