Don’t be tricked into leaving the UX frame
When we argue that we need to show how UX is contributing to the bottom line, the effect is that many UX professionals are changing the frame that dictates their work in order to fully accommodate the numbers game. But UX is about emotions, empathy, humanity and ethics. We should be be better at demanding that finance explains how the bottom line contributes to UX.
“How does your number help humans be better?”
By all means: show and tell, have that dialogue. But don’t leave the UX frame. This frame is what makes us good at our job. It is contributing to an organization that takes into account how outcomes affect people.
P.S. There is no necessary conflict between profit and doing what’s good for humanity. Rather, this is a health measure for capitalism and society. Many organizations need to stop pretending, acting, as if profit maximization is the one-and-only endgame.
