Why UX? (Jakob Nielsen keynote)

Summary

In this talk, Jakob Nielsen addresses the importance of user experience (UX) and tackles common objections faced by organizations with low UX maturity. He provides three key arguments supporting UX: anecdotal evidence, a conceptual approach highlighting the difference between developers and users, and statistical data proving UX's high return on investment. Nielsen also refutes common counterarguments against UX and explains why UX is essential for improving interfaces and reducing training costs. He envisions UX’s future growth and asserts that the 21st century will be the era of UX, with major improvements still to come.

Takeaways

• 💡 UX is still new to many organizations, despite existing for decades, and objections to it are common in companies with low UX maturity.
• 📝 UX is essential because people use simple, easy systems more than complicated ones, as shown by the switch from the old British money system in 1971.
• 🤔 Designers often forget 'You are not the user,' and need to test with real users rather than relying on personal judgment.
• 📊 On average, investing 11% of the development budget in UX leads to a 75% improvement in usability metrics.
• 🚫 Common objections to UX include the belief that training can solve bad design, but training is costly and unrealistic for most cases.
• 🎨 Even good designers need UX methods and testing to refine their designs—great design rarely happens on the first try.
• 👥 Making UX everyone’s responsibility leads to poorer outcomes, as specialists are needed to focus on advanced UX tasks.
• 🧪 Analytics and A/B testing are useful but do not replace the need for strong UX foundations and user-centered design choices.
• 📈 The UX field is in a growth phase, with most companies still in early stages of UX maturity, but it’s improving steadily.
• 🔮 The next few decades will be critical for UX development, with expectations that by 2100, UX will make computers fully human-compatible, and the journey itself is the reward.

Q & A

What are the main objections to adopting UX in low-maturity organizations?

Low-maturity organizations often believe UX is unnecessary or costly, think that training can substitute for good UX, and may prefer hiring 'good designers' to bypass UX research and testing. They may also argue that UX responsibilities can be shared by the entire team or that analytics alone is sufficient to judge design quality.

What is Jakob Nielsen's first argument in favor of UX?

Nielsen’s first argument for UX is anecdotal. He refers to the UK’s transition from a complex currency system to a simpler one, which demonstrated that people prefer easy systems over complex ones, thereby supporting the idea that better-designed, user-friendly systems lead to smoother user adoption.

What conceptual argument does Nielsen make for prioritizing UX?

Nielsen’s conceptual argument centers on the phrase 'You are not the user,' emphasizing that team members working on a project cannot rely on personal preferences for design decisions. User interfaces should be evaluated by real users since designers’ familiarity with the project often leads them to overestimate its usability.

What statistical evidence does Nielsen present to support UX?

Nielsen provides data showing that UX improvements lead to an average 75% improvement in usability metrics, while only 11% of project teams are dedicated to UX on average. This indicates a high return on investment for UX, making it economically beneficial for companies.

Why does Nielsen argue that 'fixing it in training' is not a viable solution to poor UX?

Nielsen argues that training is costly and unrealistic for most applications, especially websites, where users rarely receive training. He adds that even in corporate settings, turnover and training costs reduce effectiveness, making better UX design more economical.

How does UX methodology enhance the effectiveness of good designers?

While good designers can create quality designs, Nielsen argues that proper UX methodology—such as user testing and iterative design—further refines their work, producing better results than initial designs alone could achieve.

What does Nielsen mean by the argument that 'everybody is a UX-er,' and why does he disagree?

The argument suggests that since everyone on a project can contribute to UX, there's no need for dedicated UX professionals. Nielsen disagrees, arguing that without specialized UX roles, accountability diminishes, often resulting in lower-quality user experiences.

What role does A/B testing play in UX according to Nielsen, and why isn't it a substitute for UX design?

Nielsen acknowledges that A/B testing is helpful but says it only optimizes specific design elements. It doesn’t guide the foundational design choices or feature selection, which require UX insight to align with user needs.

What are the 'Dark Ages of UX,' according to Nielsen?

Nielsen refers to the period from 1950 to the dot-com bubble in 2000 as the 'Dark Ages of UX,' when UX was largely ignored, usability was poor, and companies prioritized functionality over user experience.

How does Nielsen describe the future of UX, and what phase are we currently in?

Nielsen describes the future of UX as moving toward full adoption by around 2050, with most companies reaching mature UX practices by 2100. Currently, we are in the 'growing acceptance' phase, where UX is valued but not yet universally optimized.