The value of User Experience is no longer in question. Facebook paid $1 billion for Instagram – not for their technology, but for the best photo sharing experience. And, the growing appreciation of the value of UX is not restricted to technology companies. GE, known for their industrial expertise, recently created a UX Center of Excellence (UX CoE) to set standards and guidelines for the company’s software, to ensure it matches the company’s well-earned reputation for stellar engineering.
UX continues to move to the forefront of what differentiates one company from another. Aligning product specifications with business objectives and user needs delivers a real competitive advantage. It’s very exciting to those of us who love UX because if you influence can the organization, you can influence the product and potentially society.
When designing to impact the organization, it is important to understand these 3 things:
- Understand the company
- Understand the competition
- Understand the customer
- Understand the company
Until you understand exactly how your designs impact business results, you can’t purposefully make design decisions that support the company’s success. You need to figure out what factors increase the company’s profitability and connect UX design decisions to that.
- Understand the competition
While it can be difficult to get a complete picture of the competitive landscape, benchmarking allows you to know UX features and interactions other companies have already released.
- Understand the customer
The end goal is to create a positive user experience that captivates, engages and emotionally connects with users. To do this you need to understand their behaviors, goals, and expectations.
Keeping these 3 things in mind will help make impactful decisions that help organizations grow.