Understanding UX: Explaining UX To Clients

UX specialists have an obligation to teach their clients about the industry from a holistic approach. This is the opinion of Tim R. Todish, who wrote an excellent article for UX Magazine about the importance of understanding UX that’s “UX” isn’t a verb.

Understanding UX Design

Because UX incorporates so many different aspects of online use and web development, Todish notes that many people engaged in subsections of the craft are beginning to advertise their services as UX-oriented. This is a dangerous misunderstanding that can cost businesses tons of wasted time and effort if they don’t take a holistic approach to UX Design Strategy. It is the responsibility of UX design agency, Todish believes, to come up with universal understandings of what UX is, and a way to communicate that understanding to clients.

On client misunderstandings, Todish writes, “They must understand that ‘UXing it’ isn’t just about churning out a few wireframes and making something look nice. It is about putting the user at the center of the design process and what that really entails. We also need to be able to explain why all of it is important to them.”

Teaching the holistic approach to understanding UX Design and development is especially important for those who focus too much on single actions or deliverables. As proof, Todish points to a recent client who had a very clear picture of what they imagined the sales team needed from an ipad app. Rather than jump directly into wireframing and development, his team took two days to interview the concerned parties, and discovered that their actual needs were quite different from management’s perceived needs.

This situation repeats itself countless times each day in the development world. Todish encourages professionals engaged in User Experience & Design to stand up for themselves next time they are told to “UX it” in regards to a project, and to educate the client on viewing UX strategy as a holistic approach that leads to superior ROI while greatly reducing time and money spent on unnecessary project components. Contact us today!