The Role of UX Research in Product Development

Testing with users isn’t just for the end. Or is it? I love Artiom Dashinsky’s take that vibe coding lets him validate ideas with real users much faster. Instead of running upfront research, he watches what people do, fixes issues on the fly, and ships new ideas directly into production.(https://lnkd.in/gc_U2w9Z) That kind of fast energy is exciting. It’s harder to do with big teams or strict systems that have a lot of compliance, but it points to a future where building and testing happen at the same time. I can see this leading to better products. But if the value of your product is hidden behind too many steps, users end up doing the hard work just to get through it. That might be okay for simple tools, but in more complex ones, you're turning users into lab mice. There's a middle ground where gut instinct and research work together. In our work with UX metrics in Helio, we see how helpful it is to get quick structured feedback from users while building. As ideas become more complex, it's even more important to know when to test and when to watch. My take is that user testing is useful at every stage of the design process, not just at the end. At each step in ideation, different types of user feedback help guide the work. In the early stage, attitudinal UX metrics help frame the challenge. As the concept develops, behavioral UX metrics help assess potential. Once the product is live, performance metrics help finalize choices. Even if you're moving fast with vibe coding, quick testing with users can help you make stronger design decisions along the way. I’m excited for what’s next. What’s your take- when is user research really needed? #productdesign #uxmetrics #productdiscovery #uxresearch

Without user research, even the most exciting product in the world can fail. Ever played with LEGOs?👷 That’s a company that narrowly avoided collapse thanks to UXR. 📉In the 80s, Lego was losing its hold on the toy market. Video games and tech-based toys were entering the landscape. To keep up, LEGO launched its own theme parks & video games. They assumed what tech-savvy children would want, and launched new products. New customers didn’t care, loyal fans were confused. Nothing worked. This is when the LEGO team turned to user research. They reached out to adult fans and asked the community for feedback. They also launched a huge customer research programme in order to understand their Most Valuable Customers (MVCs)—the children who loved LEGO. The research showed that a lot of their assumptions were wrong. Even though the toy world had evolved, the tenets of play remained the same. Adults and children loved LEGOs for the possibilities of imagination, and building anything you wanted, with your friends. 🤝LEGO’s new moto? “constant empathetic contact with customers” Designers tested every new idea with users first before development. Fans became co-creators. Revenue tripled.💸💸💸 The value of RoI behind UX research sometimes only becomes obvious to companies once they’ve been burned. 🔴 For those of you struggling to prove that to your teams, here’s how you can calculate the RoI of your work (template included): https://bit.ly/3TRklJT And don’t just calculate it—shout it from the rooftops!! #uxroi #uxr

On the heels of a Sprint planning session this morning with a client, I've got a takeaway in the form of a PSA for my #ProductManagement friends out there: Speed is great — until it sends you backward, because you're driving in the wrong direction. Many of you often tell the #UX and #ProductDesign folks on your teams, “we don’t have time for that” — but here’s what happens when you skip discovery and research and design iteration: You ship the wrong thing. You fix it later — at 5-10X the cost. And somehow, I continually see designers blamed for those results. Look, I'm gonna say it again, even though it's a truth you already damn well know: fast is only good if you’re sure you’re going the right direction. So UX is NOT slowing things down — they’re actually helping you keep the pace. They’re preventing you (and the team as a whole) from wasting time doing things that really aren’t worth doing in the first place. They get paid to do that. So LET them. #UXdiscovery #ProductDesign #LetsGetReal (Photo: Benjamin Farren)

We've all been there - that amazing product idea that seems like a can't-miss hit. But far too often, those game-changing inventions end up failing spectacularly because of one critical oversight: not actually understanding user needs. Let's learn from some cautionary tales of failed products: 1. Google Glass: Google Glass failed to resonate with consumers due to privacy concerns and a lack of clear use cases. The product's intrusive nature and potential for surreptitious recording made people uncomfortable, while the high price point and limited functionality failed to address any specific consumer problem, leading to its downfall. Now we’ll be able to see if Apple can get it right with their headset. 2. Juicero: Juicero's expensive Wi-Fi-connected juicing machine was ridiculed for solving a non-existent problem. The device required proprietary, pre-packaged fruit pouches, but consumers quickly realized they could squeeze the pouches by hand, rendering the over-engineered and costly machine unnecessary. 3. Microsoft Zune: Microsoft's Zune struggled to compete with Apple's iPod, largely because it didn't offer a distinct advantage or address any particular customer issue. It entered a market dominated by an established competitor without a clear understanding of consumer desires, leading to its eventual discontinuation. These products missed the mark because the teams failed to deeply understand the human problems they were trying to solve. It's a trap that's easily avoided by embracing user research. User research builds empathy, mitigates risks, prevents costly misses, and ensures you're designing solutions to real problems your audience actually has. It's the critical step that separates products that flop from ones that flourish. What has been your experience with user research? I'd love to hear about other success stories, challenges faced, or lessons learned! #UserResearch #ProductDevelopment #ProductManagement #ProductInstitute

💥 Harsh truth about UX ↴ Most UXers can't guarantee you the success they've achieved for other products. UXers often have portfolios full of successful case studies. These serve as proof that they ↴ - Understand user behavior - Can create balanced experiences - Can impact user retention and engagement I’ve been a part of projects that saw 200%+ increase in user engagement. Can I guarantee the same for you? Honestly? Probably not. Because your product, target audience, and market dynamics are unique. You might not have the resources, time, or tolerance for constant iterations and testing. But what a UXer can (and should) do is ↴ - Save you months of making common design mistakes - Offer a strategy to deeply understand your users - Minimize the risk of launching a flawed product With a skilled UXer, you'll have a user-centric design from the start. Without compromise. And if you do prioritize user feedback and are open to continuous iteration ↴ Your product’s UX will improve. Far more rapidly than without expert guidance. Many underestimate the biggest advantage of user-centric design ↴ 👉 You create trust and loyalty with your users. Which is ESSENTIALLY what good UX is all about. Not trendy animations. Not feature overload. Purposeful design that makes your users feel understood and valued 💥 #ux #design #productdesign #uximpact --- ✍️ Do you agree? ♻ Repost if it could help others

How do we stop the never-ending tension between giving UX research the time it needs and stakeholders’ wanting to move too quickly? Unfortunately, stakeholders don’t want to wait for research, even though their most important decisions need that support. 💸Delaying a critical decision costs money. So you get pushback and never get to do the research that would significantly influence vital decisions. These decisions determine what your organization delivers, how long you’ll have to build it, and, ironically, whether there will be enough time for research. Continuous UX research breaks this cycle. With ongoing UX research, you strategically influence your stakeholder’s critical decisions when they need to make them. 0️⃣These decisions get made in no time — in zero days — because you’ve already answered the most critical questions. During this thirty-five-minute recorded session, Achieving “Zero-Day Decisions” With Continuous UX Research, I explored how you’ll build up your continuous UX research program. You’ll discover how to provide answers to questions stakeholders just realized they had. ▶️Uncover how to influence your stakeholder’s critical decisions strategically: https://lnkd.in/eQ89cnKi