Shifting Our Team Goals to be UX Outcomes: How to Improve the Lives of Users

Shifting Our Team Goals to be UX Outcomes: How to Improve the Lives of Users

In the field of user experience (UX), it is common for teams to set goals based on the activities they perform, such as conducting usability tests or delivering wireframes. While these activities are important and necessary, they are merely outputs of the team's work. Instead of focusing on outputs, experienced UX teams shift their goals to outcomes – the results they achieve because of their work.

When we think about outcomes, we can consider the impact our designs have on the business and the lives of our users. For example, instead of asking if our UX efforts can generate more income or increase subscriptions, we can ask how our work improves the lives of our users. This shift to UX outcomes allows us to align our goals with the real needs and desires of our users.

To illustrate this shift, let's consider a job board platform. The traditional goal might be to deliver great designs and improve the business. However, if we focus on UX outcomes, our goal becomes to improve the lives of our users – the hiring manager and the job seeker. We want to make it easier for hiring professionals to identify and screen highly-qualified candidates, and for job seekers to find the best opportunities. This user-centric approach drives our roadmap and influences the features we consider implementing.

To identify the best UX outcomes, we need to have a deep understanding of our users' current experiences. This understanding can only be gained through a mature research practice, where teams spend significant time with their users. By observing and empathizing with our users, we can identify opportunities for improvement and create meaningful outcomes that address their frustrations and pain points.

To inspire and engage our team, it is important to create an aspirational story around our UX outcomes. Everyone loves a great, uplifting story, and when our team can see the benefits of their work, they will be motivated to contribute to the effort. Our UX outcomes become the seeds of the story we tell in our vision, painting a picture of what it will be like for our users in the future.

Finally, the best UX outcomes are measurable. If we want to know if we have truly improved someone's life, we need a clear understanding of what that improvement looks like. Defining the evidence we'll observe when the outcome has been realized helps us track our progress and ensure that our efforts are making a real difference.

In conclusion, shifting our team goals to be UX outcomes allows us to focus on improving the lives of our users. By understanding their frustrations and pain points, creating an aspirational vision, and measuring our progress, we can deliver great experiences in our products and services. Here are three actionable pieces of advice to incorporate this approach into your team:

1. Invest in research: Spend significant time with your users to gain a deep understanding of their experiences and identify opportunities for improvement.

2. Create an aspirational vision: Tell a compelling story of what it will be like for your users in the future, using your UX outcomes as the foundation.

3. Define measurable outcomes: Clearly define what improvement looks like for your users and track your progress to ensure you are making a real impact.

By following these steps, you can shift your team's goals to be UX outcomes and deliver meaningful experiences that improve the lives of your users.