When and how to involve UX

Objective post by Jason Buck on econsultancy, who has both become a victim of, and noticed an increase in, the connection between UX people being given no access to end users and clients AND mutterings about the high expense and 'lack of ROI' for user experience.

He presents a solution in the form of how to successfully engage UX professionals so that you do in fact get the intended result.

His points for getting UX involved successfully listed below are from the full article on

econsultancy.com

To prevent UXDs becoming known as purveyors of digital snake oil and maximise the real benefit of a UXD’s skills here are my suggestions from behind enemy lines:

Check your UXD’s skills. Anyone can draw wireframes. They must be able to research, facilitate discussions and workshops, present and debate with clients, be excellent verbal and visual communicators and be focussed on getting the job done well.

Involve the UXD early on. It costs more to rectify dodgy designs and change cemented thinking than it does to get it ‘right first time’. Get a proper brief from the client, or get the UXD in on the briefing.

Allow a UXD access to the client. If they aren’t good face-to-face, they’re not a good UXD. Working on a consultative basis will get you (and your client’s) money’s worth and again ... gets it ‘right first time’.

Ensure a common understanding of the UX deliverables and what the final outcome of the project will be. Templates may mean a single standardised wireframe to one person and a working prototype of the complete site to someone els

Let your UXD present their work. They did the thinking, wireframes aren’t good at describing design strategies – and clients often wonder where the colours and spinning globes have gone. Read more at econsultancy.com