User Advocacy in Design

As UX Designers, we work on varied products and services. While the business metrics need to be met and the design needs to be developed in agile development, it becomes vital to empathize with the users and advocate the users' needs.

User advocacy means empathizing with the users and having an understanding so that their needs are met within the design. Many stakeholders and non-design teams lack user experience understanding and believe that UX is only about making things look aesthetically pleasing. This helps in understanding the users' preferences for the content and the features. When the design is led totally by product and business stakeholders. Users become frustrated with the product because it’s not intuitive, or they have to navigate to menus and submenus to find what they need–resulting in simple tasks taking longer than they should. Prioritizing business goals and assumptions over user research and user-centered design leads to:

• Slow user adoption 

• Low user retention 

• Low conversion rates

Few strategies to help designers advocate the needs of the users in UX Design

Identify the problem

Articulate clearly what problem are you trying to solve through design. This helps in keeping the stakeholders’ attention on the goal and keeps everyone on the same page. Otherwise, the conversation can quickly switch directions and become unproductive. 

Educate stakeholders about users' needs

Conducting user research is important to articulate the users' needs and frustrations. Present the user research insights to the stakeholders to enable them to understand the value of design.

Advocate for user-centered design principles

Promote the adoption of user-centered design principles within the design. This includes principles like usability, accessibility, and user satisfaction as the primary goals of the design process. Familiarize the stakeholders with Jakob Nielsen's usability heuristics and UX standards and display how they are inculcated in the design.

Articulate data-driven decisions

Utilize user data and analytics to make informed decisions. Track user behavior, gather user feedback, and use this information to drive design improvements and refinements. 

User Testing

Conduct user testing with the users and iterate your designs based on user feedback. Present the findings to the stakeholders to refine the design.

By advocating for design and user experience principles, designers can find a middle ground with product and engineering counterparts to deliver user-centric designs.