Monday, September 7

UX is everyone’s work—but where does the expertise live? | XPLORED

Monday, September 7

UX is everyone’s work—but where does the expertise live?

UX is everyone’s work—but where does the expertise live? — Image source: Medium · Kristine Breum

1. UX has expanded across the team

The UX perspective of addressing the entire product experience beyond the screen has become embedded in modern product development.

User research, problem exploration and hypothesis testing have become shared activities across product management, design and engineering.
- It is a positive change that understanding users is no longer left solely to the design team.
Yet distributing the work does not guarantee a place to develop UX expertise.
- Everyone may participate without it being anyone’s primary specialism.

2. UX still needs a place in the process

Scrum does not exclude UX, but UX specialists have had to find their role and way of participating within the team.

When designers join after the problem and scope have been defined, their work can become focused on producing and refining screens.
- Research can also narrow into validating a predetermined solution rather than discovering problems.
Alongside using UX methods, it matters to create conditions for that expertise to participate in exploring the product’s direction.

3. A UI/UX title does not reduce the depth of either discipline

UI has developed into a deep specialism encompassing components, states, tokens and accessibility.

Combining UI and UX in one role can be a practical choice in a small organization.
- Assigning both disciplines to one person does not halve the knowledge and practice they require.
Having both capabilities and having time to apply them are separate questions.
- If the schedule is filled with UI production, UX expertise may be present but difficult to use.

4. Working together and sustaining expertise are different

The value of a UX specialist lies in helping the team build an understanding of users, rather than already knowing their answers.

Designing research and facilitating the team’s learning and discussions are also part of UX expertise.
- This does not mean conducting every study alone or monopolizing decisions.
The key question is how to develop and apply expertise, rather than whether to retain a dedicated title.
- It is worth examining what depth could be lost when UX becomes a secondary duty across several roles.