The most persuasive argument I ever gave for UX research was a piece of paper pinned to the hallway next to my office. I had created an organizational map to understand how the organization grouped different teams and had stuck it to the wall on a whim. But because of that, people stopped by to study the chart and asked me many questions about UX, User Research, and more.
How Visibility of System Status Extends Beyond Screens
The first Usability Heuristic of User Interface Design states that the design should always keep users informed about what is going on through appropriate feedback within a reasonable amount of time.
- How visible is UX in your organization? Are you hidden in a corner or are you visible to others to evaluate as a method of reaching their goals?
User research findings don’t have to be boring
Create research summaries and publish them in the company newsletter/create a quarterly UX Newsletter
- Send out visualizations, metrics, or other things of interest to hands-on operators
- Keep an open real-time communication channel (with design artifacts visible)
- Organizational maps, Journey maps, Experience maps, Ideation, User quotes
Making UX more visible raises all boats
It’s one thing to convince your stakeholders of the importance of user research to understand users, test prototypes with them, and develop design recommendations. It’s a much easier (and more interesting) journey when stakeholders stop by your office, see the value of UX, and then approach you for your advice, testing, and more.
The visibility of UX Design and Research
Despite UX being around for decades, despite successful case studies and UX advocates, you still may work with people who know little about what UX does.
- You can spend your time trying to convince your team through lots of time and effort, often, you’re not starting from scratch.
The different reach of UX Design and UX Research
Design exists as visuals like screens and prototypes, easily visible, shareable, and immediate
- Research lives as Powerpoint presentations, usability reports, and other things that aren’t as easily shareable
- If people aren’t aware of the type of user research UX does, then they might not get invited to specific crucial meetings or advocate for users early on
