Many UX practitioners have had the feeling of being undervalued or even outright ignored. Have you had the experience of your team or company perceiving UX as a secondary activity?
- Design is seen as an afterthought, as a way to “beautify” the UI after the product has already been conceived and coded.
- User research, when done at all, is seen as the first thing to be thrown away.
- Content is seen as the thing that will “fix” any omissions and flaws, whether it is through documentation or in-app messaging.
We need to talk about it.
In this panel discussion, we will try to understand why we are in this situation. We will look for ways to change – whether of ourselves or of the companies we work for. Daniel Dungyov will lead the conversation in two directions:
- How can UX design earn a “seat” at the table?
- What is a UX-led initiative in an organization and how is such an initiative led?
We will learn from experience.
The panelists for this discussion are all experienced UX professionals who have faced the challenges of being undervalued or ignored
- Svetlin Nikolaev with Progress,
- Daniel Mitev with Ship.cars,
- Kremena Pehlivanova with Chaos Group,
- Sevil Rahimova with Smule.
During the sessions, you will be able to ask questions live on Sli.do.
The presenter’s thesis
How do we earn a seat at the table?
The answer may not be simple, but I will try to summarize it as such. For a long time, UX design has struggled to be heard. Growing in my own career, I learned what things we need to focus on to be successful and what mistakes we are making en masse. For businesses, we are still the people who “draw” and there is a reason for that. Often, many designers continue to focus on the user experience and in their intoxication with it, they forget that there is an organization that needs to support itself.
There is always a way to create an unforgettable experience, to improve something. If this effort does not give the necessary return on investment at the moment in which the organization is located, then it is not worth it. The formula is simple: revenue minus expenses. The organization needs more money than it spends. Money is the language that executives speak and we must learn this language. Product managers are well-respected and have a voice because they think exactly about that – and we need to learn to do that. We need to stop coloring the Excel tables and start filling them with data.
UX Initiatives
UX initiatives are projects led by designers in an organization. Projects in which we are the main actor and the driving force behind change. They are often a shared responsibility with other departments. Design systems are a great example. They start with us. In collaboration with the programmers, we create their principles. The real users are the front-end developers. This is where the greatest value comes from, because in the long run, such a system reduces the time for design and development or Time to market. This leads to a higher return on investment for the company and faster creation of new experiences and innovations that are at the same time homogeneous.
Another example is accessibility. In order to convince the company we work for that it makes sense, we again need to think about the effect and the bread on the table. 16% of people in the world are in a disadvantaged position, whether temporarily or permanently. If the product or service we develop is not accessible to them, the business loses 16% of its potential revenue. Separately, in some countries around the world, depending on the type of product or service, compliance with certain levels of the WCAG standard is required. Non-compliance can be prosecuted. And if the organization does not follow the standard – it will not only not earn, but will also lose money. There is no better catalyst for such initiatives than the designer, because of the empathy that is our driving force.
Даниел Дунгьов
Senior Product Design Manager at CleverTap
Daniel is a Senior Product Design Manager at CleverTap, a coach and co-founder of Figmaistor, Partner and Lead Designer at Agency HYPE, and a teacher at Softuni Creative.
His interests and experience span user research, product strategy, and design systems. He preaches the Jobs-to-be-done methodology and believes that every designer should strive to deliver results and value above all else.
Design is function and should not be confused with art.