UX design is a key factor for any product, as it’s important to identify blind spots that may hinder your ability to create a product that resonates with your target audience. Biases can creep in and prevent you from seeing where your product falls short. Every blind spot is a potential loss of user engagement and conversions, akin to a hole in a bucket. By proactively seeking out and addressing these blind spots, you can improve the overall success, performance, and ROI of your product.
I think the value of UX in business is not to understand the business objectives, it is to help the business discover its problems and consequently contribute to think of possible solutions. UX is not only the interaction between people and product, it is to know and understand people and with that knowledge UX will be aligned with business to find the success.
UX design is the process of creating products and services that are user-friendly, accessible, and enjoyable. But how do you convince your stakeholders, clients, or managers that investing in UX design is worth it?
In this article, here are some strategies to justify the value of UX design and demonstrate its impact on your business goals.
1. Align UX with business objectives
The first step to justify the value of UX design is to understand the business objectives of your project and how UX can help achieve them. For example, if your goal is to increase conversions, you can show how UX design can improve the user journey, reduce friction, and motivate action. If your goal is to reduce costs, you can show how UX design can prevent errors, simplify processes, and increase efficiency. Aligning UX with business objectives can help you communicate the benefits of UX design in terms that your stakeholders care about.
2. Use metrics and data
The second step to justify the value of UX design is to use metrics and data to measure and showcase the results of your UX efforts. For example, you can use analytics tools to track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as bounce rate, retention rate, or customer satisfaction. You can also use user testing, surveys, or interviews to collect qualitative feedback and insights from your users. Using metrics and data can help you quantify the impact of UX design on your users and your business.
3 Share stories and examples
The third step to justify the value of UX design is to share stories and examples that illustrate the value of UX design in action. For example, you can use case studies, testimonials, or portfolios to showcase your previous or current UX projects and how they solved user problems, improved user experience, and delivered business outcomes. You can also use stories and examples from other industries, competitors, or best practices to inspire and educate your stakeholders about the potential of UX design. Sharing stories and examples can help you create a compelling narrative and a visual evidence of the value of UX design.
4 Involve stakeholders and users
The fourth step to justify the value of UX design is to involve your stakeholders and users in the UX process. For example, you can invite your stakeholders to participate in user research, ideation, or prototyping sessions to expose them to the user needs, pain points, and preferences. You can also invite your users to co-design, test, or review your UX solutions to validate your assumptions and gather feedback. Involving stakeholders and users can help you build trust, empathy, and collaboration around UX design.
5 Educate and advocate
The fifth step to justify the value of UX design is to educate and advocate for UX design within your organization or community. For example, you can organize workshops, webinars, or newsletters to share your UX knowledge, skills, and best practices with your colleagues, clients, or peers. You can also join or create UX networks, events, or communities to connect with other UX professionals, learn from their experiences, and promote the value of UX design. Educating and advocating for UX design can help you raise awareness, influence, and support for UX design.
6 Demonstrate ROI
The sixth step to justify the value of UX design is to demonstrate the return on investment (ROI) of UX design. For example, you can calculate the cost-benefit analysis of your UX project by comparing the costs of UX design (such as time, resources, or tools) with the benefits of UX design (such as revenue, savings, or loyalty). You can also use frameworks, models, or formulas to estimate the ROI of UX design based on your specific context and goals. Demonstrating ROI can help you prove the value of UX design in monetary terms and justify your UX budget and resources.
Justifying UX Design with ROI can look different depending on the project and business objectives. One way to communicate the value of UX ROI is to present KPIs to your stakeholders.
For example, positive metric changes could be: •
- Performance • User Satisfaction • Loyalty • User Retention
- For each category, display the comparison of before and post-design metrics. Also, consider visuals and storytelling.
7 Here’s what else to consider
This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?
To demonstrate UX design’s value: it is essential to bring stakeholders along the journey.
This includes:
- Facilitating meetings for design progress and feedback
- Managing stakeholders’ opinions
- Setting clear expectations
- Monitoring feedback, satisfaction, and updates
- Business/engineer changes
- Always document changes and communicate regularly.