Hiring a UX designer won’t magically solve your product problems (& other UX misconceptions debunked)

You might have created the first version of your digital product very quickly. And, at that time, you might not have been concerned with its UX; you just wanted it to work.

Since your initial launch, you have probably added features in different places. Perhaps you have put links, forms, and maybe a few flags that show everyone what’s new wherever there is room. And you didn’t focus on the best content layout for your users.

Your pride over your initial launch has faded. And you might wonder how your product got so messy. You may even have read a little about user experience design (UX design) and now believe adding a UX designer will be the panacea for your messy product.

There is a frequently referenced statistic that every $1 invested in UX can return up to $100 in revenue, and you wanted that $100 return yesterday. More and better-designed products from competitors are popping up everywhere, and you want your product to compete right now.

So now you believe that the thing to do is hire a UX designer — one outstanding UX designer because that’s all you can afford — and let them work their magic. And, in a month or so, you hope they will fix everything that went wrong with your product development over the last few years.

Not so fast.

What UX design can’t do for your product development

UX design is a powerful and valuable tool. However, there are many misconceptions about what UX can do for product development and how long it can take to reap the benefits.

In engineering-driven organizations, product management can be very feature-focused. Engineering teams likely have a history of delivering features and delivering them very fast.

Now, bring in one solo UX designer. They might tell you that you need to slow down and take a step back to do user research. Then, analyze what the users say so the designer can start designing. Meanwhile, the company culture is already geared toward feature releases quarterly or monthly.

Be honest: how do you think that kind of business proposal, coming from one person new to the company, would be received? I’ll tell you: that UX proposal is guaranteed to be received poorly. And the UX designer will be unable to do their job effectively. Plus, your new designer’s time and money will be wasted.

This scenario, unfortunately, plays out in businesses all the time. But it doesn’t have to play out that way for your business. How?

UX practices and people are investments. Before you begin, you must do your due diligence, like any investment. Part of that due diligence is understanding what UX designers and researchers do daily. With that understanding, you can build a strategy to add user experience to your organization’s culture, minimize conflicts, and keep your product cycles running smoothly.

So here are some common misconceptions about what UX designers do vs. what they actually do. Do any of these sound familiar to you?

UX is about solving product problems.

If you were carried away by the statistic that good UX can increase conversion rates by up to 400%, you are not alone. If you also believe that UX is all about interface, swanky front-end design, and product usability, I don’t blame you.

These misconceptions about UX are common.

Our research report on investing in digital transformation and product development highlights that UX in the digital age requires modernization of both the front-end (i.e., design) and the back-end (i.e., data management, application logic, and elements not visible to the end users).

This means UX designers are not just worrying about fonts and color palettes. They are spending time and energy trying to understand the problems your users have to come up with solutions that make them happy.

Designers are not looking for flaws in your product. They are looking for the problems users have. Preventing UX designers from finding those user problems will only create another big problem — for you when your users leave for competitors.

UX is a long journey of continuous learning.

UX design is not a discrete function or an end destination. It’s a long, collaborative process with multiple stakeholders, including product development and engineering teams. Every time there’s pressure to “ship it,” there’s probably a UX designer fighting against time, trying to get more information about the product or do more research.

This is because a UX designer would rather spend time building products that customers use. Researchers found that UX investments made earlier in the conceptual phase shorten development cycles by 33-50%.

If you want your customers to experience convenience and delight, look beyond the screen. Dig deep into customer journeys, identify challenges, and figure out how you can deliver the best experience, time after time.

Did you know that 1 in every 2 gaming apps is uninstalled within 30 days because the game fails to make a memorable first impression? Or that 3 out of every 5 customers experience frequent frustration when interacting with chatbots?

What’s considered intuitive UX today can be obsolete tomorrow, particularly as game-changing AI products take over the market. You need to learn how to keep up with the pace of changes and stay ahead of the curve.

Don’t end product development with UX. Start with it.

Application modernization is a priority for organizations. Our research shows that 36% of technology leaders surveyed said they would focus on transforming existing customer-facing products in 2024.

UX expertise is necessary for product development, but it can be a wasted investment if only some in your organization are aligned. Don’t wait until after a product release to rope in your design team.

UX designers are trained to empathize with users. They can learn what the user wants, analyze user feedback, ideate, and build prototypes to find the best solution.

Don’t treat UX designers like special snowflakes. Many designers started as developers. Integrate them with your product and development teams as much as you can, as early as you can.

Digital products move faster and smoother when designers, product owners, and developers are on the same page instead of throwing work at one another over an imaginary wall.

How to get the most out of your UX

According to our research report on digital transformation and product development, 69% of organizations have implemented or overhauled a customer-facing product or application in the last 2 years.

However, before you make a significant UX investment, take a baseline of your metrics. You will need ways to measure UX design success. Think about which metrics could be moved if your design was better. Here are some examples to get you started:

• Less outreach to customer support
• More renewals
• Increased product adoption
• Higher deal win rate

Think about how your product got here in the first place.Do you want to continue with the practices that got your product to a place filled with stagnation and “we’ve always done it this way?”

Hiring a UX designer for your product development process may initially sound simple. But doing so commits your organization to doing things differently.

Designers are there to ask hard questions and get to the root of making an organization more user-focused instead of feature-focused. Is your leadership ready? Are you ready?

If your app or product isn’t attracting users, don’t just look at UX as the magic solution. Instead, recognize that UX is crucial to a broader digital transformation strategy. Effective UX design requires an ongoing commitment to understanding and solving user problems rather than merely polishing the surface of your digital product.

Need better UX/UI design for your product? Learn more about our design expertise here.