Summary
UX is being recognized as a significant business differentiator for new as well as established organizations. This recognition has come with inevitable questions regarding how best to express the value of design teams and quantify the influence of design thinking methods and practices on a company’s bottom line. Design teams are seeking new ways to develop and refine UX return on investment (UX ROI) models for use as communication tools across a wide range of products, services and complex business environments. In this talk, JD Buckley will discuss an emerging model to communicate and measure the impact UX teams provide to businesses. Further, she’ll examine how this evolving process framework and model might be applied across other intricate environments inside and outside enterprises, including as a tool to reflect the impact of an anti-gun violence educational toolkit for middle-schoolers and educators.
Key Insights
-
•
Measuring UX ROI in enterprise settings requires a mixed-method approach combining qualitative and quantitative data.
-
•
Benchmarking the current user experience is critical before implementing redesigns to measure improvements.
-
•
Aligning UX metrics with company KPIs, such as customer satisfaction and call center contacts, enhances executive communication.
-
•
Accessing representative end users in large enterprises often demands extensive networking and internal collaboration.
-
•
Even in complex social issues like gun violence prevention, user-centered design and metrics frameworks can drive impactful digital solutions.
-
•
Embedding health education standards as KPIs in social design projects provides clear performance goals and funding justification.
-
•
Continuous data collection through digital experiences enables ongoing evaluation and adaptation of programs.
-
•
Collaboration with finance leaders, such as a CFO, facilitates translating UX outcomes into business terms.
-
•
UX teams can influence product roadmaps by highlighting gaps tied to users’ top tasks and business metrics.
-
•
Without measurable benchmarks, communicating the existence and urgency of a problem, as well as UX team value, becomes extremely challenging.
Notable Quotes
"After years of fighting to be included in strategic boardroom decision making, many UX professionals are now finding themselves seated at the grown-up table."
"We couldn’t demonstrate our team’s impact unless we could answer the question compared to what."
"Connecting your UX metrics to company KPIs requires the heart of a UXer but the soul of an economist."
"No benchmark, no evidence of the current state of a problem, no way to demonstrate ROI, no communication."
"Customer satisfaction and reduction in call center contacts are metrics that executives understand and value."
"We started to hear more terms like ROI and success metrics in conjunction with design a lot more conversations."
"It was humbling to hear educators’ stories about tight budgets, overcrowded classrooms, and how many of their students had firsthand experience with guns."
"If you can’t measure the impact and scale of a problem, it’s hard to communicate that the problem exists or the value of a UX team that could solve it."
"The digital experience is capable of continuously collecting data to evolve and measure the program effectively."
"Our LAUSD stakeholder felt armed with data and designs that reflected benefits for a clearly defined audience, all connected to health education standards."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"The consequences of inaction are not hypothetical; they are happening right now."
Alex Hurworth Bonnie John Fahd Arshad Antoine MarinDesigning a Contact Tracing App for Universal Access
October 23, 2020
"Mentors are wonderful partners for feedback, collaboration, and setting employees up for success."
Laine Riley Prokay Lisa GordonCarving a Path for Early Career DesignOps Practitioners
September 9, 2022
"Once cash prizes were gone, people stopped feeling ownership of the design system."
Eniola OluwoleLessons From the DesignOps Journey of the World's Largest Travel Site
October 24, 2019
"The most important value delivered to customers is always the qualitative value—the emotional and experiential impact."
Nathan ShedroffDouble Your Mileage: Use Your Research Strategically
March 31, 2020
"Voice control on mobile goes beyond digital assistants and can fully control the device for users who cannot use touch."
Sam ProulxMobile Accessibility: Why Moving Accessibility Beyond the Desktop is Critical in a Mobile-first World
November 17, 2022
"Rapid research is a flexible framework for quickly executing UX research for fast and often tactical or evaluative design decisions."
Feleesha SterlingBuilding a Rapid Research Program (Videoconference)
May 18, 2023
"Brand and product become two sides of the same coin when user insights have a seat at the top table."
Neil BarrieWidening the Aperture: The Case for Taking a Broader Lens to the Dialogue between Products and Culture
March 25, 2024
"For many years, folks came to us with questions beyond design — about career paths, tools, skills, and intake management."
John DevanneyThe Design Management Office
November 6, 2017
"Find the curious partners who will do some of the evangelizing for you to their peers."
Katy MogalBut Do Your Insights Scale?
March 12, 2021