UX professionals create models to represent the emotions, thoughts, and activities of people as they interact with a service. These models aren’t about perfection—they’re about capturing a realistic snapshot of how users think, feel, and act. The real value lies in their ability to help us anticipate the future, even if just a little.
When we build models based on user research, we gain a practical tool for making better decisions. They allow teams to predict potential challenges and spot pain points before they become real problems, so we can design experiences that truly align with user needs. Models also create a shared understanding across teams, ensuring designers, developers, and stakeholders are all on the same page about what users want and why. Additionally, they help us compare and organize insights from research, making it easier to see patterns, identify gaps, and turn raw data into actionable strategies.
One of the most powerful aspects of UX models is their ability to highlight the gap between how users actually experience a service and how the software is designed to function. The bigger this gap, the worse the user experience—because it means the product isn’t meeting real needs or expectations. By visualizing this gap, teams can focus their efforts on closing it, leading to more intuitive, satisfying, and effective solutions.
While models can’t predict the future with certainty, they give us a smarter way to prepare for it, collaborate more effectively, and build experiences that truly resonate with real people.
What I am talking about here? It is simple. If you exclude user experience from your development process you exclude your customer from your development process. Think about it: Who else is able to bring your customer to the table?
This User Experience (UX) process is an approach to designing and improving the interaction between users and services. It involves understanding user needs, creating solutions to meet those needs, and continually testing and refining those solutions. The overarching goal is to enhance user satisfaction and create services that is not just functional and usable, but also delightful to use.
From an industry perspective, ISO 9241-210 defines UX as:
the user perceptions and responses that result from the use and/or anticipated use of a system, product or service — [ISO9241-210 2019]
Typically, the UX process progresses through several stages, each with its critical role in the design process:
Research: This involves understanding the user’s needs, goals, and context of use.
Design: Based on insights gained in research, design ideas are generated and refined into usable interfaces.
Implementation: The design is built and integrated into the larger system.
Evaluation: The system is tested for usability, performance, and satisfaction among users.
Iteration: Using feedback from the evaluation, the design goes back to the appropriate stage for further improvements.
The UX process emphasizes iteration, allowing for improvements based on user feedback and changing circumstances. This process ensures services are created with the end-user in mind, leading to higher user satisfaction and success in the market.
User-Centric Development: UX design ensures that services are developed with the end-user in mind, addressing the common problem of creating services that don’t meet user needs or expectations.
Reduced Development Costs: By identifying and addressing usability issues early in the development process, UX design helps avoid costly redesigns and changes later in the project lifecycle.
Improved Service Quality: UX methodologies lead to more intuitive, efficient, and satisfying services, solving the problem of poor user adoption due to subpar interfaces or experiences.
Alignment of Business Goals and User Needs: UX design bridges the gap between what businesses want to achieve and what users actually need, solving the misalignment that often occurs in traditional development processes.
Risk Mitigation in Service Investment: UX research plays a crucial role in validating or invalidating business ideas, helping to overcome confirmation bias. By gathering objective data about user needs, activities, and market conditions, UX professionals provide valuable insights that can:
Measuring Success with Users: UX design provides frameworks and methodologies for measuring user satisfaction and service success. This includes:
Increased User Satisfaction and Loyalty: By focusing on creating positive user experiences, UX leads to higher user satisfaction, increased service adoption, and improved customer loyalty.
Reduced Support Costs: Intuitive, user-friendly designs result in fewer support tickets and lower customer service costs.
Informed Decision Making: UX research and data analytics provide valuable insights that inform service strategy and development decisions, reducing the risk of building features users don’t want or need.
Improved Team Collaboration: UX processes often involve cross-functional collaboration, leading to better communication between designers, developers, and stakeholders.
Accessibility and Inclusivity: UX practices emphasize creating services that are accessible to all users, including those with disabilities, solving issues of exclusion in service development.