The Challenges of Design Leadership

On this week's Boagworld Show, we delve into the powerful concept of invisible user research - tackling how to conduct essential UX work even when stakeholders resist investing in formal research. We explore the often-overlooked impact of UX debt, crown a new champion among user-testing apps, and surprisingly, find ourselves nodding along with McKinsey on the strategic role of design leaders.

App of the Week

This week, we're excited about Useberry, a versatile user-testing platform that covers a wide range of UX research tasks like card sorting, tree testing, five-second tests, preference tests, and single-task usability studies. It's particularly appealing due to its comprehensive features, straightforward user interface, scalability, and affordable pricing model. With a free tier for small tests and scalable packages allowing incremental purchases up to 2000 responses per month, Useberry makes rigorous user research accessible without heavy upfront costs.

Topic of the Week: Invisible User Research

One of the biggest hurdles in UX is convincing stakeholders of the importance of investing in user research. Often, organizations resist due to perceived cost, time constraints, or simply misunderstanding its value. However, this doesn't mean UX practitioners should abandon research altogether. Instead, we're advocating the concept of "invisible user research," embedding research seamlessly into the workflow without explicitly seeking permission or additional budgets.

Embedding Research into Your Workflow

Invisible user research is all about reframing how you incorporate research activities. Instead of flagging them as separate tasks, integrate research directly into your design activities. For example, avoid creating separate budget line items for user research; instead, simply extend your design phase slightly to accommodate quick, effective tests and validation steps.

Practical Approaches

Leverage everyday moments in your project timeline to slip in valuable research:

• Stakeholder meetings: If stakeholders question the design or argue over choices, propose a quick user test as a neutral way to resolve debates. For instance, if a stakeholder believes users might miss an essential CTA, perform a quick five-second test. You'll have concrete data within hours.
• Feedback delays: When awaiting feedback on your designs, use that downtime productively. Conduct small, targeted surveys or quick polls to fill knowledge gaps.
• Routine presentations: When stakeholders request updates or progress presentations, add a quick round of user research to validate your work and strengthen your position.

Addressing Common Objections

Stakeholders often push back against research for several common reasons, but here's how you can respond effectively:

• "It's too costly or time-consuming": Highlight how small-scale tests (like quick surveys or five-second tests) take minimal time and cost very little.
• "Our users are too busy or inaccessible": Utilize surrogate groups, such as customer support teams or sales representatives who interact daily with users.
• "Your research is biased or insufficient": Emphasize that even limited testing is more reliable than subjective opinions. Additionally, use tools like ChatGPT to ensure questions are unbiased and clearly phrased, or offer to conduct further rounds of testing to reassure stakeholders.

Reframing Research as Efficiency and Risk Management

Positioning invisible user research as efficiency gains or risk management can be particularly persuasive. Explain that catching design issues early prevents costly revisions later. Frame user research as a routine activity that ensures project success, rather than as an optional extra.

Pragmatism Over Process

Finally, remain pragmatic. Rather than adhering rigidly to a formalized research process (extensive discovery phases, multiple rounds of card sorts, or lengthy reports), opt for quick, targeted interventions tailored to immediate needs. This responsive approach ensures research stays relevant, actionable, and minimally disruptive to the workflow.

By adopting invisible user research, you embed essential UX validation into everyday project activities, ensuring user-centered outcomes without needing formal approval at every turn.

Read of the Week

We have three great articles recommended for strategic UX leaders:

• Are You Asking Enough of Your Design Leaders? from McKinsey emphasizes treating design leaders as strategic partners at the executive level, advocating for a more impactful role beyond implementation tasks.
• How to Bring Value as a Design Leader Without Getting Hands-On outlines practical ways to effectively lead UX teams by stepping back from hands-on design tasks and focusing on team support and organizational communication.
• UX Debt by Nielsen Norman Group introduces the concept of UX debt, akin to tech debt, highlighting how design shortcuts during development can accrue and negatively impact user experiences, providing strategies for managing and mitigating this debt effectively.

Listener Question of the Week

This week, we tackle a listener's common frustration: "How can I convince stakeholders to fund user research when they view it as unnecessary?"

The reality is, stakeholders often view user research as an optional expense rather than an essential investment. To combat this, you need to reframe the conversation:

• Highlight risk management: Show stakeholders how user research mitigates potential risks and prevents costly mistakes. Emphasize that decisions grounded in user data can avoid expensive rework later.
• Tailor your argument: Speak directly to stakeholder motivations. If you're addressing a finance person, stress the cost savings from preventing development errors. For marketers, highlight how understanding users leads to stronger market positioning. For developers, stress efficiency and reducing rework.
• Normalize research: Integrate user research as a standard part of your workflow, removing it as a separate line item in budgets. Stakeholders often accept research implicitly when it's framed as part of design processes rather than as additional, discretionary tasks.

By subtly repositioning user research within your existing processes and clearly communicating its practical, immediate benefits, you significantly increase the likelihood of stakeholder buy-in.

Marcus Joke

And finally, Marcus's inevitable joke of the week:

"I accidentally drank a bottle of invisible ink last night. Now I'm in A&E, waiting to be seen."

Thanks for joining us—we'll catch you next time!

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