The Golden Opportunity

Many companies understand the importance of investing in design, but most fail to prioritize UX.

I think the reason for this is the simple fact that the difference between UI and UX design is often misunderstood, leading some to the misconception that they are one and the same. Of course — this couldn’t be more wrong.

A company’s lack of investment in UX design creates a golden opportunity

for employees in other roles (product people, designers, developers, etc.) to step up and fill that void.

A developer with a solid understanding of UX is in a unique position to fill that void, because he/she (should) know what is and isn’t possible on the platform a product is developing for.

If you aren’t already a student of the industry, I’d encourage you to become one. You should stay informed on the latest features of the language/platform you develop in. Like a good carpenter, a developer should understand what each tool in his/her tool belt is for and be able to quickly discern the right tool for each job.

A strong developer with UI/UX abilities is an unstoppable force — he/she is able to contribute to products in ways that his/her peers simply cannot.

Hunting for UX Design Deficiencies

I have worked with many product people and designers throughout my career, each with different skill levels and strengths — that experience taught me this:

If a team does not have a UX designer — sometimes, even when it does — it creates a void that you can exploit to increase your value just as I have.

Product people are usually pretty adept at creating solutions for things users gripe about, and many are skilled at taking abstract ideas and turning them into concrete product features.

I’ve found, though, that many of them fail to consider the effect that adding or changing a feature has on a product’s UX.

Conversely, I’ve found that designers often give a fair amount of thought and consideration to the UX of a feature they are designing.

They use color, spacing, animation, and typography deliberately to adhere to brand standards and clearly convey a feature’s intent to the user.

Most of the designers I’ve worked with are able to create nice looking designs, and many of them understand the importance of a cohesive look and feel across products.

An area they are commonly less skilled in, on the other hand, is having a deep understanding of what is possible on each platform — many don’t understand the technical differences between developing a mobile app and developing a web app.

I have also found that very few designers give thoughtful consideration to transitions between various UI states.

The key to learning how you can add value is by identifying the UX voids in your own company

You can do this by performing a personal UX review of each feature assigned to you — asking yourself things like

What is the goal of this feature?

Is it accomplishing that goal?

Is it’s intent clear to the user?

Are there any jarring interactions?

If there are animations, do each of them have a distinct purpose? Or, are they simply design flourishes?

It takes time to develop this ability, but you should make it a routine to go through this process before you start developing any UI task. At first, you may just see if you can find flaws and write down ways that you think they could be improved.

Once you gain confidence in your ability to identify and solve UX issues, you are ready to start raising your findings with your product/design team.

This can be uncomfortable at first, as it’s common to feel as though you are stepping outside your realm of responsibility — you aren’t.